Being an avid reader of wargame magazines, new rules, books relating to wargaming, and in correspondence/gaming with members of other clubs, it has become increasingly evident to me that the concept and use of the roster sheet is a thing of the past. Further, those gamers who use this old Dinosaur are considered archaic in their gaming skills by the "Neuveau Literati". With this premise in mind (since this article was originally written for Halls edition on Home Rules..sorry, Hall) I felt an article on the Roster sheet as a playing aid appropriate. It will be my intention to avoid the tired old arguments from either side. These have typically consisted of "Rosters keep people from cheating" or "Rosters slow the game down." Instead, let us look at whether or not the use of a Roster sheet provides an element that assists us in producing a better game. To accomplish this, I think it best to explain why and how HATSOFF uses Roster sheets. In the first place our club very rarely wargames with pre-published rules. This is by no means saying that there are not good rules sets out there. In fact we purchase many of these rules systems to observe what other gamers are doing. We have found that a lot of the authors are Gamers and have many ideas similar to ours. However, one of the precepts of our group is that we very much enjoy researching different periods of History, gathering a "feel" for the period, and then developing rules around how we perceive warfare must/may have taken place in that time frame. Again this is strictly a personal preference, and never has reflected any "feelings" about the quality of anyone else's game! A second major premise in the development of HATSOFF Rules is that we hate to take figures off the table, therefore, necessitating the use of rosters for casualty computation. To us the idea of painting 500-600 figures, the time and effort that takes, then to have them removed from the table during the game causes us much distress. Our feeling is that all those beautifully painted figures should stay on the table for a number of reasons. The first of course would be the "Fog-of-War" rationale. One's opponent should not easily be able to determine where his Foe is weakest, and plan tactics around that observation. Frederick the Great in his treatise to his Generals on Coup d'Queil stated that the ground will dictate the placement of your opponents Forces; study it and you will not have to react to his dispositions, rather, he will be Forced to react to yours. Third, for years now HATSOFF has developed many sets of period rules around a singular concept of casualty calculation that readily lends itself to the use of Rosters. This concept, originated by Sam Gill, is one we call the "full 50's". It derives from the assumption that we give all Bodies of castings a number of men. Casualties are determined by multiplying the number of full 50's (i.e. paper strength) in a unit by a die, average, 6D, etc. This result then gives the losses in strength that turn. Under this system, scales and ratios remain flexible. One can readily see that this system gives a slowly reducing volume of fire as a unit receives losses, without the need for any elaborate processing of modifiers. This is similar to what would happen if figures were removed but we think it looks so much better. Further, this system can easily be adapted to any period where large amounts of infantry fire or "melee" actions are going to take place. As a final point, I believe the Roster sheet adds stimulus to the Game when used correctly. For example, the roster usage helps slow down a Wargamer's reaction time to what he observes his opponent doing. The roster forces the player to write, move and then observe, rather than observing the table and then moving his troops. In closing, I hope those reading this article will be encouraged to write down their thoughts and opinions on this topic, and send them to Hal for publication in MWAN. I believe we as wargamers can engage in a "genteel" discussion and not become embroiled in a point-counterpoint "Broohaha". By this manner of discussion, I believe we shall benefit and learn. Back to MWAN # 41 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1989 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com