The OCS started to be designed in earnest in the summer of 1988. I ran through every imaginable system, standard stuff, capability points, assorted sequencing methods, and a bunch of ideas I'd care to forget. The evolution of the current set of rules was long and tedious -- a process that both allowed me to re-examine many gaming concepts and their relationship to actual historical occurrence (a self-education that would not be wasted on a few of my fellow designers...)

The result is the rules which are now undergoing a dress rehearsal playtest using our test- bed North Africa game. The draft underwent extensive playtesting in the last year or so which allowed the game to be stripped down to its essence, refined, and checked for errors. The process also calibrated the games charts and tables, so that they would provide historically accurate results.

An Overview -- The Major Ideas in the System

The OCS presents a number of interrelated concepts which attempt to recreate combat as a coherent whole, these Modes, Combat Chits, Surprise, and Supply. I'll examine each in turn, but first I want to emphasize that this game is moderately complex and gives an accurate rendition of operational combat If you want something very simple and abstract, it would be best to look elsewhere...

Modes

A tradition, of sorts, here is our innovative command rules. This game system, at first glance, has none. If you feel cheated, look again -- they are there, built into the game for you, no writing required! I determined early on that our standand method of command-orders specifying actions to be conducted in the future was not needed here. Given the ground, unit and time scales (5 miles per hex, Battalions and up, 1 week per player turn) the ability to switch from one operation or set of objectives to another need not be planned so far ahead. What was needed was a method of determining the overall operational posture of units, a posture the player would select and then have to live with for all or part of the turn. Modes were the system of choice. Six modes are available, of which the player can choose four (the remaining two are "inflicted" on the player as a result of combat.) These are: Combat, Move, Strategic Move, and Reserve Modes. Combat and Move modes are almost identical in that they can move, fight, overrun, but have differing combat and movement values. The difference between the two is that in combat mode the unit is more deployed for combat than movement, and move mode is the opposite. Units in Strategic Move Mode are incapable of attack, but are able to move at two- times their movement allowance and are restricted to roads. Reserve Mode units are able to move some during regular movement, but, more importantly, are able to be "released" in the Reaction and Exploitation Phases in order to react to momentary opportunities or to assist defenses by counterattacking or reinforcing trouble spots. How a player controls his modes will either put him in the right position to take advantage of what happens or not -- based completely on his skill.

The two modes which a player has little control over are Exploitation and Disorganized Modes -- the good and the bad that come out of combat.

Combat Chits

In addition to modes, the Combat Chit selection process (as wellas supply, below) is a part of the command command system in the game. Before each attack is resolved, bath players choose one combat chit and this choice detennines how hard their units fight and the actual combat result. The attacker from "At All Cost" "Normal," and "Diversion" and the defender chooses from "Last Man, Last Bullet," Normal," and "Screen." These allow the players to influence the shape of the battle in the same way as real commanders -- you feed the battle with the resources you have and tell them how hard you demand they try -- with the results of greatness and disaster based on the choices made. There is also a random combat chit selector for use when playing solitaire -- which chooses the defender's combat chit for you based on the odds of the battle.

Surprise

A basic law of actual battle is that surprise is much more important than numbers in determining victory. If one side has it, it will probably win. A corollary of that is that the better the unit, the more likely it will gain surprise over enemy forces worse than itself. In the OCS, the most important number on the counter is the Action Rating, not the combat factor. Action ratings run from 0 (the pits) to 5 (outstanding.) Even when surprise is not obtained the Action rating differentence acts as a dice roll modifier in combat, so that better troops have better chances of doing weli than poor ones at the same odds level.

Surprise (while critically important is still an optional rule) is obtained by a dice roll before the combat is resolved, using the Action Rating differential as a dice roll modifier. Both the attacker and defender have a chanoe of obtaining surprise. When obtained by one side or the other, surprise is inflicted as a number of column shifts one way or the other depending on who has surprise equal to a single die -- thu is, up to a SIX column shift! When I say its more important than numbers, I mean it.

Supply

Logistical preparadon of operations is the absolute key to victory, period. That is a basic fact in real life, but is almost ignored in wargames. I wanted a supply system that foHowed a few simple principles of logistics and one of playability -- it must provide: the consumption of supply through time based on unit size and type; the atility to andgile for the future; the degradation of ability due to distance; and a minimal amount of bookkeeping.

I think we have succeeded in all respects. Starting with an originally unwieldy system, playtesting gradually pared it down to its bare guts in which any further "improvement" would eliminue one or more of the desired principles. It requires no paperwork.

Players simply move supply points about using trucks, trains, ships, and wagons to the places they think they will need them. Again, this is the command system in acttion -- you can't divert your attack simply by moving the unit rapidly down the road -- the logistical support you put in the wrong place must also be relocated (with the reverse being true if you planned properly...)

Once within range of units or their HQ's, the units can expend them in a weekly overphase food, clothing, office supplies, and gas needed to keep the units running -- and during combat operatioos -- ammunition, medical supplies, more gas. Supply points represent 1500 tons of assorted stuff (no multiple supply types to juggle - assume the unit staffs are competent enough to send forward the right kind of supply, even though this isn't always the case.) Players expend supply during the overphase and in each combat.

Mechanically the system is very simple once players get used to it. And, I think, it adds greatly to the game's simulation without a corresponding over-subtraction of playability.

A Summation

The system operates using a weekly overphase followed by two idendcal half week player-turns. Therefore the game's supply functions (other than combat) are handled after every two complete turns which as a by-product adequately simulates the amount of stores carried with the unit as it funcdons. Player-turns are basically divided into: Movement, Reaction, Combat, and Exploitation phases. Overrun and some Barrage combats may occur in any of these phases, which gives the player able to properly utilize his army an enormous edge overone who can't.

Aircraft are on-map units which may fly out from their bases to be "on station" and provide interdiction capabilides or may fly from base to a target to deliver a ground support strike. Air activity is allowed in most game phases which keeps it fluid and active -- as air power should be. The air units represent 45 aircraft (transports somewhat more.) Air to air combat is handled on a unit vs. unit manner using the differential between the aircraft until the hex is owned by one side or the other.

Keep in mind this is an intense simulation. It involves no required paperwork and can be played fairly quickly, but it is a fairly complex beast. It was designed to give the player a deep challenge, one that requires a fair amount of sweat in planning ahead and making your army work the way you want. Like real life, your gaming army will not magically fall into place with the right logistical requirements -- I guarantee it!