There have been quite a few articles on the subject of solo gaming printed in MWAN in the last couple years, and as a solo gamer I find this very encouraging. Years ago when I began subscribing to wargaming magazines I must admit that I often felt a bit inferior at being forced to "go it alone". But it is clear now that there are quite a few gainers out there who for one reason or another play their wargames solo. With this in mind I have written up a couple off scenarios that use some of the solo techniques that I use. There isn't anything particularly new or revolutionary here just tried and true ideas - the old fashioned random die roll to control unexpected events. THE SURVIVORS Zulu War: 1879 A British reconnaissance platoon has been ambushed by a large number of Zulu warriors and only a handful of men have managed to escape. The main British column has heard the firing and is moving forward, but they are still some distance to the rear (it seems the British general was in the middle of his tea interval). The recon survivors must try to make their way back to the main column before they are overwhelmed by the pursuing Zulus. Setup: The game is played on a 3' by 9'table. I use Geo-Hex terrain so setting up tables in different configurations is no problems The tabletop terrain should be typical of the area; rolling hills, ravines and dry stream beds and sparse wooded areas. Roll two 6-sided dice, this is the number of British soldiers in your force. Now roll one d6. If you roll a 6, one of your men is an officer, Otherwiset you can assume that a sergeant is in charge. Your troops start at one of the short table edges and must make their way across the length of the table to the other end, Once they reach the far end it is assumed that they have reached the British main body and safety. On the first turn of the game you get a free move onto the table. Each turn there after, at the beginning of the turn roll one d6. If you roll a 6, a group of 2d6 Zulus will appear. Roll 1d6 for their direction: 1-west (in front of you), 2- south, 3 -north, 4 to 6-east (behind you). Zulus appearing from the north or south will enter from the appropriate table edge directly opposite your troops, Zulus appearing in front or behind you will appear 3d6 inches away from the nearest British soldier. In each group of Zulus, a 1d6 roll of 6 means one of the Zulus is rifle armed* Other Zulus are armed normally (that is shields and assegais). The Zulus' bloodlust is up, having just wiped out your recon platoon so their tactics are simple; close in quickly and wipe you out before you can reach your main body. A few notes: The rules that I use are 'Fire And Steel' published by WRG. These rules allow infantry to move six inches per turn, so to clear the eight foot table will take at least sixteen turns. It is possible to play the entire game without having any Zulus show up, but with that many turns to play through, it is pretty unlikely, Thus it is best to keep moving. The longer you are delayed by the enemy the more likely it becomes that more will show up. Also, it is a good idea to have a 'point man' and a 'rear guard,' since Zulus appearing in front or behind you measure their arrival distance from the closest British soldier to them. Victory is pretty simple. To win, you have to survive. If you lose more than half of your troops, you lose. If you have an officer with you, he counts as two troops if lost. This scenario can be converted to other periods as well. For instance I have played it with cavalry and Indians. Other ideas might be to use it for the French and Indian War. French versus Spanish guerrillas in the Peninsular war or maybe even Roman Legionnaries versus Barbarians or WWII Germans versus Russians. THE PATROL Vietnam War: 1968 Combat in Vietnam was, for the American soldiers frustrating to say the least. Probably the most common mission for the average soldier was the patrol. Since there were no permanent front lines and it was hard to tell the enemy from friendly civilians you never knew when you might encounter resistance. and when you did, it was often in the form of an ambush, mine, or some other ingenious traps Setup: You can use any table size you like; I usually use 5' or 4' by 6. Terrain should include jungle trails, dense underbrush, hills, a stream or two, and possibly a small village. Your force is an infantry squad of 11 men, one with an M79 grenade launcher, one with an M60 machine gun, and the rest with M 16's. Your squad can enter the table from anywhere you like. Your objective is to pass through each square foot of the table with your entire force and then exit at the same point you entered at. As I mentioned before I use Geo-Hex, so it is easy to tell when you cross from one hex to another, each hex being one foot across. On the first turn of the game you got a free move onto the table. From then on, each time your troops enter a new hex (or square foot) you roll 1d6, If you get a 6 you have an encounter. Roll another 1d6 with the results as follows: 1 - Mine. Choose one of your soldiers randomly. Roll 1d6, If you get a 6 your soldier spots the mine in time and you earn I victory point. If he doesn't spot it, it goes off. Determine the effects normally as per your rules. 2 - Grenade Trap, Use the same procedure as per the Mine above, except that the explosion effects are as per a grenade rather than a mine. Safe discovery is also worth I victory point. 3 - Punji trap (or something similar): Again, this uses the same procedure as above except that if the trap 'goes off it only affects the randomly determined soldier, treat him as if he were shot by a pistol. Also worth 1 victory point. 4 - Sniper. AVC sniper with an SKS rifle is hiding somewhere nearby and will fire on the nearest US soldiers Determine his direction by rolling 1d6; 1 -north, 2-northeast, 3 -Southeast, 4-south, 5-southwest, 6-northwest. Distance is 3d6 inches. This position is approximate He will, of course be in some kind of cover near this position. The sniper will run away after three turns if he is able, and should be removed from the table. Worth 3 points if wounded but escapes, 10 points if killed, and 15 points if captured alive. 5,6 - VC troops. 2d6 VC troops are nearby: Determine location as per sniper. These troops will run away after 3 turns, or as soon as they take 50% casualties. Points values are as per the Sniper above. You may (but do not have to) cancel the mission anytime after receiving two casualties. You still have to make your way back to your entry point though, rolling for encounters if necessary. During the game the US side gains victory points as described above, but also loses points as follows. For each soldier wounded but alive, -05 points. For each soldier killed or (heaven forbid) captured, - 15 points. You win if your points total at the end of the game is positive. If negative, you lose. Like the previous scenario it is possible but unlikely for you to run through the whole game without encountering anything. You never know if, when or where an encounter will occur, so you must be prepared at all times. Well, I hope you enjoy these scenarios, Even if you don't play them, I hope that you might get some ideas on similar systems for your own games. Back to MWAN #97 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com