This a idea for a campaign thatis mission driven. While it could be played with multiple gainers on one side, its ideal for someone who wants to play solo. It was inspired by the tour of duty system used in the Heavy Gear computer game. Although it's primarily geared for modem or science fiction gaming, with a little tweaking it could be used for other games as well.

The campaign assumes you have to gather intelligence to find the enemies weak points (i.e. supply) and by striking at resources, you destroy their ability to wage war. Your successes bring you more forces and more options, your failures set you on the defense. The game also assumes you are taking commands from some higher authority. It doesn't matter what level you want to play at (division, platoon or even role-playing an individual). The missions you are given by higher are determined by drawing from a ordinary deck of cards.

To start, separate the cards by value and suit. The two through ten of diamonds represents your facilities, clubs represent the enemies. Keep them in separate stacks, you'll need them to keep track of supply. Make a draw deck from the tens through aces of hearts and spades. The duces through tens of hearts and spades will be explained later. You wont be using the jacks, queens, kings or aces of diamonds or clubs.

To start the game decide on the size of the forces you want to use and how you facilities will effect reinforcements and supplies (for example each facilities produces 20 army points, one infantry regiment, etc.). To start the first turn simply shuffle the draw deck, pull a card and carry out the mission as described below.

ACE = Attack. You have been ordered to attack an enemy in prepared position.
KING=Meeting Engagement. You meet the enemy in a pitched fight in the open.
QUEEN=Defend. You have been ordered to hold a prepared position against the enemies attack.
JACKS= Intelligence Mission: You have been ordered to recon an enemy position
DUCES through TENS: Rear Area Mission. SPADES: You have been ordered to destroy an enemy support facility. HEARTS: You have been ordered to capture enemy support facility.

When you draw and successfully complete an intelligence mission, add another pair (hearts and spades) of number cards to your deck.

The more you recon, the more you know about the enemies support and have the opportunity to neutralize them. When you draw and successfully destroy an enemy facility pull the matching clubs card from the enemy's supply deck and place it out of play. If you capture the facility add it to your support (diamonds) deck. Be sure to pull the corresponding hearts and spades card out of the draw deck. When you lose a defend mission you place one of your diamond cards out of play. When either you or the enemy is out of supply cards the game is over.

In the computer game you also have a combat priority. The more victories points you have, the higher your priority goes and the more access you have to better weapons. You'll have to decide how this will effect your game, but the following are some guidelines.

A) Each side starts out with 0 points and combat priority (CP) of C.

B) For each Ace mission successfully completed add 3 points. For each lost subtract 3 points.

C) For each King mission successfully completed add 2 points. For each lost subtract 2 points.

D) For each Queen mission successfully completed add 3 points. For each lost subtract 3 points.

E) For each Jack mission successfully completed add 1 point. For each lost subtract 1 point.

F) For each rear area mission successfully completed add I point. For each lost subtract 1 point.

G) For each 10 points gained raise the CP by one level. For each 10 lost lower the CP by one level.

H) A CP of A (20+ points) may have 15% of its force is elite, 25% veterans, 50% regulars and 10% green. You get replacements to bring you force up to 100% strength and can have the best technology available.

I) A CP of B (10-19 points) may have 10% of its force elite, 20% veterans, 55% regulars and 15% green. You get replacements to bring you force up to 90% strength and can have improved technology available.

J)A CP of C (0-9 points) may have 5% of its force elite, 15% veterans, 60% regulars and 20% green. You get replacements to bring you force up to 80% strength and can have average technology available.

K) A CP of D (-10 to -1 points) may have 0% of its force elite, 15% veterans, 55% regulars and 30% green. You get replacements to bring you force up to 70% strength and can have less than average technology available.

L) A CP of E (-20 to -11 points) may have 0% of its force elite, 10% veterans, 50% regulars and 40% green. You get replacements to bring you force up to 60% strength and can have the worse technology available.

WWII Example

O.K., in case this doesn't make any sense lets have an example. We're playing an imaginary W.W.II game of miniatures called Thunder and Lightning. Its a tactical microarmor game where one model is one vehicle. We play the Germans and take a tank battalion. Now this is an ideal battalion with three companies of three tank platoons each and five tanks in a platoon for a total of 45 tanks (for this example don't worry about H.Q. , support etc.). We start at a CP of "C" which will let us have PZKIIIs. PZKIIIs cost 10 points each. We decide that each facility we have produces 20 supply points and that the end of every third turn is a supply turn.

We put a deck together and draw our first mission. Its a king, and we must fight a meeting engagement. A friend volunteers to run a equivalent force of Russians. Players set up on either side of the table and clash in the middle. It's a glorious victory for the Germans but we lose ten tanks. Our CP goes up to by 2 points.

The second mission is a recon. To win this one we decide that the Germans must have a unit within 5 inches of a model supply dump for one combat turn and have it leave the table. Another German success at the loss of two tanks. Our CP goes up to 3 and we put the eight of hearts and spades in the draw deck.

For the third mission we draw an eight of spades. We must destroy the facility we just reconned. The Germans succeed but at the cost of six more tanks. Our CP is now 4 and we discard the eight of hearts from our draw deck and the eight of clubs from the enemies supply deck.

We now do supply. We have all eight facilities (duces to nine of hearts) intact so can have 160 points of replacements. We've lost eighteen vehicles from the battalions original 45 so were down to 60% strength. Our CP of C allows us to refit up to 80% strength. That means although we have the resources to buy more, H.Q. will only send us nine replacement vehicles (90 points). The remaining points (70 points) are lost. If our CP was higher we could have spent more supply points and replaced our PZKWIIIs with PZKWIVs at say 15 points each, losing only 25 points this turn. Now do supply for the Russians the same way.

The system can be made as simple or complicated as you see fit by just interpreting the cards. For example you can add all four suits of cards to the draw deck (keeping track of supply facilities on paper) and have say the king of hearts be an attack against an unprepared position, spades be a lightly prepared position, clubs a fully prepared position and diamonds an ambush. Or the suits could represent the size of the opponents force. If you want a game that's attack heavy add more kings from another set of cards. The possibilities are endless.