I daresay that there is not much that is new in the solo wargamer’s catalogue of methods of wrong-footing the imaginary enemy, or indeed ourselves. ‘Tables of Reaction to the Enemy’, ‘Change of Situation Reactions’, ‘Multi-Choice Reactions’, or using matchboxes or dummy counters for secret manoeuvres are but a few of the tried and tested methods of self-deception with which we arm ourselves to play solo. Another useful tool for the solo player, of course, is a pack of playing cards.
What follows is my own method of running a card-driven game. I have used it successfully for both tabletop and map campaign games. No doubt the idea has been poached from somewhere else, although unwittingly. Like I said, nothing much is new…
The system allows me to reflect the varying abilities of leaders, impose restrictions on armies that traditionally manoeuvred clumsily, and reward those that were innovative for their time. I have found that the system is usable in any period or indeed with any set of game rules that I use.
Each side has its own pack of playing cards, which consists of a varying number of cards depending on nationality, ability, or leaders. Each pack contains at least one Ace and one Joker. The rest of the pack is made up of a number of ‘other cards’. A pack should contain at least one ‘other card’ for each formation in the army, be it division, brigade, battalion etc. Some armies, clearly, will have more such cards than their enemies.
In addition, some armies may have more than one Ace and/or Joker. Aces are used to signify the end of movement, while Jokers are used to denote the loss of initiative.
METHOD
Both sides fire (if this fits in with your normal move sequence).
Both sides cut their packs and the highest card wins the initiative (N.B. that some leaders may have a higher command ability and so add 1,2,3 or 4 to their card value.)
The winner of the initiative moves the units of a single formation (division, brigade etc.).
The same player then draws a card from his reshuffled pack.
If the card is not an Ace or a Joker, then he may move the same formation again if he wishes, or move a second formation. (Note that once a player moves a second formation the first formation is deemed to have completed its movement, and he cannot revert to them.)
Once again he draws a card, and the sequence (move a formation, draw a card) continues until such time as the player does not wish to move any more formations in the turn or until an Ace or a Joker is drawn. (Note also that a move or a formation change for a single battalion of brigade will count as a move for the whole brigade, so whether you move all of the units of a formation or just one of them, it is still necessary to draw another card afterwards.)
Once a player draws an Ace, all of his movement for that turn is over (unless he is able to steal the initiative from the enemy (see below)).
If the player draws a Joker, not only is his movement over, but also the enemy has stolen the initiative and may take over the remainder of the pack and move, draw a card etc. until the Ace appears.
Once all movement from the first player’s pack is finished, you may wish to conduct combat etc. depending on what sort of rule system you use. Otherwise the second player begins his own moves until he draws either an Ace or a Joker or he decides not to make any further moves this turn.
Once all movement for the turn is completed, conduct combat, morale etc, thus concluding the game turn.
That’s the basic outline of the system, but variations on the theme might be made. For example, drawing a King could mean that the player is allowed to return any used cards to his pack, reshuffle and continue moving, thus potentially extending the length of his movement allowance.
A second Joker in a pack would mean that there is a greater chance of the enemy stealing the initiative, but of course the original holder has a chance of stealing it back if the second Joker is drawn.
A player might have no joker in the pack, thus reflecting an enemy that is particularly inept (such a pack might be given to the French during the Napoleonic Wars when up against a stolid Austrian or Spanish foe).
Another variation might be to have a third pack, which is drawn from if the enemy draws a Joker during its move. This third pack might be smaller or have a different mix, such as having a Joker but no Ace; in this case, eventually the stolen initiative must swing back to the original holder if the stealer does not cease movement before drawing the Joker.
Other thoughts on the subject include such things as if a drawn card is of a certain value, such as 8 or higher, then the player gets a free move. The possibilities are not quite endless, but given the variety available in a pack of cards I am sure that this merely scratches the surface.
I would like to conclude this article with a couple of sample make up packs to suit a particular army and its opponents, but before I do, another thought to consider is what happens when an army is broken and removed from the field, or its general is lost?
When a formation is lost, the proportionate number of ‘other cards’ should be removed from that side’s pack, e.g. if the proportion of cards in the pack is two per unit or formation then two cards must be removed for each unit or formation lost.
If the general himself is lost then perhaps you could remove a percentage of the ‘other cards’ from his side’s pack. Alternatively, if that does not appeal, you could add an extra Ace or Joker to his side’s pack, or perhaps remove a number of cards equivalent to his rating value. One last thought on the subject of variations; a general that is leading a formation might not be required to turn a card on the first occasion that he moves the formation during a turn.
As promised, I move on to some examples of how you might use this system.
Example 1: A Napoleonic card make up for an Austrian army consisting of eight brigades: 1 Ace, 1 Joker, 12 ‘other cards’. The French opposition force, also of eight brigades: 1 Ace, 1 Joker, 16 ‘other cards’. Third pack: 1 Ace, 1 Joker, 4 ‘other cards’. This pack is to be used only by the Austrians and then only when they steal the initiative from the French. Should the French steal the initiative back, then they must continue to use their own pack. If the French steal the initiative during an Austrian turn, then they take over the Austrian pack and carry on from where the Joker was drawn.
SAMPLE PLAYOUT
EXAMPLE 1: NAPOLEONIC
MOVE 1
French move 1 brigade and then draw the Joker -- the Austrians ‘steal’, and so use the third pack. The Austrians move 1 brigade and then draw the Joker, so the French steal back the initiative and revert to their own pack. They move 3 brigades before the Ace is drawn.
In the Austrian turn, they move 3 brigades and then draw the Joker. The French steal and continue, using the Austrian main pack. They make 5 brigade moves before the Ace is drawn. Both sides conduct combat, morale etc.
MOVE 2
The French win the initiative again and move 9 brigades before the Ace terminates their movement. The Austrians make 7 brigade moves and then draw the Joker. The French take over the Austrian pack and make 5 moves. The Ace is the last card to appear. Combat, morale etc. is conducted.
EXAMPLE 2: SECOND PUNIC WAR ARMIES
The CARTHAGINIANS always have a ‘steal back initiative’ card in their pack and two other cards per formation.
The REPUBLICAN ROMANS have a ‘steal back initiative’ card in their pack ONLY when not facing the Carthaginians, and also have two other cards per formation.
OTHER ARMIES do not have a ‘steal back initiative’ card in their pack. In addition, IRREGULAR ARMIES also have only three other cards per two formations.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I have enjoyed writing this article and hope that it is of value to some of you. Sometimes I see an article in Lone Warrior which has what I call the ‘Ah Yes!’ factor, which usually means if I take the idea and then do this and that to amend it, I’ll have just what I’m looking for. I hope that this article has a little piece of ‘Ah Yes!’ for you.
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