Okay, so how do you make up your own games? Welcome to the art and science of scenario design!
A scenario is just a situation that must be resolved. It can be based very closely on a historical battle. It can be inspired by a historical occurrence, with some leeway for altering the exact starting forces, or reinforcements, or terrain. It can be wholly invented, to determine what might have happened if a certain battle had been fought. The last two types are sometimes called "what if' scenarios.
A historically based scenario should have a range of possible outcomes, which should include a chance that what really happened in the battle will happen in the game. If the actual battle had an unusual outcome, like so many did, it might only rarely happen in a game. Many great battles are so interesting because what happened shouldn't have happened.
For this reason, "what-if' scenarios are popular. The players must do their own planning, without a real-life precedent, and the rules don't artificially force some "historical" result.
Lots of games use a point system to assist in designing scenarios. A point system attempts to balance opposing forces by assigning values to specific units, vehicles, and figures. If two sides have the same number of points in their compositions and go at it head-to-head, it should be an even fight. If one side is the attacker and the other is the defender, the attacker should have two or three times the points of the defender, unless the defender's terrain, prepared positions, etc., are also rated as being worth a certain number of points.
Most Battleground games are simply based on a situation, and the opposing forces involved must capture objectives, destroy enemies, or move across the tabletop without getting too shot up. The scenarios presented in these rules were designed this way: just come up with something that is kind of balanced, with both sides having a fair chance to win, and with all players able to have some firn.
A possible point system
I don't use a point system with these mles very often. As a general guide, I would suggest:
Grade A figures 10 points each
Grade B Figures 8 points each
Grade C figures 6 points each
Grade D figures 4 points each
Leaders are worth an extra 50% and heavy weapons are
worth double.
Vehicles and other forces are difficult to rate, because the use
they are put to determines their value. I have used:
Jeep with a machine gun 20 points
Armored car or light tank 45 points
Medium tank 70 points
Heavy tank 100 points
Scenarios
Here are two scenarios, two completely different games, that you can play with these rules. They are just "made up", with no definite historical inspiration, although I like to think they could have happened.
As an example of how units for a scenario are specified, consider this unit description: IOBI 1. This is a 10-figure, grade B unit, including one leader and one heavy weapon. A third digit is added after the letter if there is a medic. 8C201 would be a total of eight figures, grade C, two leaders, no heavy weapons, and a medic.
Scenario 1: Hold Until Relieved
This scenario is designed for two players, although more could participate. You can play this on an average kitchen table in just 40 to 60 minutes.
This game only uses infantry units, and you need less figures for each side than you could get in a box of im scale plastic figures. Just get a box of Germans and a box of Americans (or British; or Japanese and U. S. Marines; or whatever), and you're almost ready to go.
The trees (woods terrain) can be model railroad trees or lichen, or just areas of colored cloth or paper. Theroadscan be strips of cloth or paper or tape. For the buildings, use small model railroad buildings, toy houses, or make some simple ones from cardboard or balsa wood. Two to three inch square buildings are best; you don't want them too big,
Set up a three foot square tabletop approximately as shown below. The black lines are roads, the squares are houses, and the irregular areas are woods. The rest of the table is clear terrain. The central house is within 12 inches of each of the other houses.
An American 8C11 is in the central house, and has dug in,
Roll a die for the unit: on a four, five, or six, the unit is
grade B. The American also has two 12C I I units. Roll a
die for each: on a six, the unit is grade B. The American
reinforcements enter at a random corner on turn four
(number the comers one through four, and roll a die to pick
one; ignore five or six). When they enter, just place the units
at the edge of the table, and that is the entire movement for
the turn. One unit may be on a road. Once the units are on
the table, they may move independently on later turns.
The German player has two 10C11 units. Roll a die for each: on a five or six, the unit is grade B. These units enter side- by-side in the middle of a random side of the table on turn one. One unit may be on a road. Once the units are on the table, they may move independently on later turns.
Victory conditions: After 12 turns are finished, the Germans win if they are in possession of the central house. Otherwise, the Americans win,
Scenario 2: LRDG to the Rescue!
This scenario is for players who want to use some vehicles in a game. If you don't have exact models of the types described, there are lots of toy cars, trucks, and military vehicles that are usable. This scenario doesn't have any tanks, though. I'll bet you can design one that does.
This is a game for two to four players. It can be played on a kitchen table, and will probably take an hour or so.
Set up a 3' by 5' tabletop as shown below. There is a long valley with gently sloping hills or ridges on each side, running most of the length of the table.
Three British trucks are shot-up and immobilized, and their
passenger units, each a 6C 11, have dug in around their own
truck. The British trucks are white rectangles. A dug-in
unit is shown by a dark broken circle. Six German trucks
(black) have parked behind the hills and unloaded six 6C11
units, who are ready to advance over the hills and complete
the destruction of the British. Roll a die for each German
unit: on a six, the unit is a 6B11, on a five, it's a 6C 12.
On turn one, a small force of the British Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) enters at the extreme northern end of the west side of the table, heading from west to east. The four vehicles are placed on the map as shown and do no other movement that turn. From then on, they may move as separate units. The small, round comered boxes are jeeps, and the large ones are the special trucks the LRDG used. The LRDG was an elite force (grade B). The vehicles, as shown from the lead vehicle on the right, to the last one, are:
Jeep 4B-2W-1R
Truck 3B-2W-2B-1R
Jeep 4B-2B-1R
Truck 3B-2W-2B-IR
roll 1D6 for each truck: on a five or six, the truck has a defense of 2R, see below for information)
And now that you need to know, here's a note about vehicle descriptions for games. The first digit is the number of movement dice. Then comes the unit quality. After that there is a list of the vehicle's weapons, with each weapon separated by dashes. If the weapon is bow-mounted and can only shoot to the front, the description would have a "B" in front; otherwise, it is turret-mounted, or can shoot in all directions (like the machine guns on the vehicles in this game). The "W' or "B" indicates white or blue dice. There is an "18" or "24" afterwards if the range is other than 12 inches. At the end of the description is the armor rating, with the "W" being the number of red dice rolled by the attacker when shooting at the vehicle. Look at this light tank description as an example:
- 3C-B2W-2W-2W2B18-3R
This tank gets up to three dice for movement and is a grade C unit; it has a bow-mounted two-white-dice machine gun; it has a turret-mounted two-white-dice machine gun; it's main gun shoots with two white and two blue dice to a range of 18"; it gets three red dice for defense.
Now, back to the scenario!
You'll notice that the second jeep has a better weapon than the lead jeep. The trucks each have two weapons, and can each engage two targets. The jeeps can go faster.
The LRDG player needs to turn south and save those beleaguered comrades-in-arms. The British infantry must wait for an LRDG vehicle to be within six inches before they can dig out and run north, if they choose. The LRDG may not carry any of the infantry or repair their trucks. The German trucks are unarmed, with vehicle ratings of 3-1R, and do not move unless a German unit reaches them, either to retreat or to move to another part of the battlefield. The German infantry may not shoot when loaded in a truck.
The German players win if they destroy the three dug-in units and get some Germans off the table to the south, by truck or on foot. They win BIG if they eliminate all of the LRDG vehicles, too. The British win if 1D6 infantry and at least one LRDG vehicle exit north. They win BIG if, also, no Germans exit south. Other results are draws.
What's Next?
Carpe Diem means "seize the day" or "enjoy the day". Those two phrases, considered together, really express my feelings about playing games. Try to win (someone will, it might as well be you), but play for fun. This rules book is the first effort of Carpe Diem Enterprises. I hope it won't be the last. More rules, board games, maybe even miniatures, are things I might eventually be able to offer. Thanks to those who have encouraged me to try.
This set of rules can help provide many hours of gaming time. The scenarios included can get you going. Most any small action from WWI through the Korean War can be played. Working backward or forward in time, some changes to the rules should probably be made. I hope that any future versions of Battleground will include modifications for playing some games in other historical or hypothetical periods.
Just as an example, consider these games that can and have been played using these Battleground rules as a basis. I've also mentioned just a few of the special rules used for the different games.
- Vikings in 15mm: separate abilities for the bow armed and other figures in a unit; berserker attacks even if the rest of the unit doesn't melee, longboat landings; burning and pillaging
American Revolution in 54mm: artillery; add firing bonuses for line formations; movement bonuses for "marching to the cadence", which can only be done with a drummer in the unit
American Civil War in 54mm: artillery (including canister); leaders who can attach to any unit; flag bearers are treated like heavy weapons, and they get three chances to save, since somebody would probably pick up the flag
WWII, Wild West, and other period skirmish games in 20 and 25 mm: use of the shooting and movement rules for individual figures, not units of many figures; heroes with special abilities who can also take multiple hits and/or get multiple chances to save.
Modern battles in 1/300 scale: lots more vehicles; aircraft, especially helicopters, handled on the tabletop as integral participants in the game; rear-area artillery directly involved and vulnerable to attack by enemy aircraft
Hypothetical near-future or science fiction battles in 25mm: longer ranged weapons; special "jump" movement by units with rocket packs, teleportation (not too much different from the sudden appearance of paratroopers or glider-bome troops)
Please feel free to experiment with these rules. They're yours now! Just be sure that everybody agrees on the special "house" rules you are using before the game begins.
Battleground WWII Era Small Unit Actions Miniatures Wargame Rules
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© Copyright 2002 Hal Thinglum
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