The V.B.A.C.W. rules set was created with several underlying tenets which give it form and function. It's original inception was in the broad spectrum of wargaming the Horse and Musket period. In an earlier day of wargaming history, rules were created to cover very broad time spans. I suppose they still exist, these categories of game rules, yet every rules set created in this decade is an entirely different species of refinement. Carried to its ultimate end, some rules are written for a specific battle or engagement and come all apart if applied or carried off to do service elsewhere.

This is not the environment V.B.A.C.W. was created in. In that innocent day (1962) Joseph Morschauser wrote his hobbificly insignificant work "How to Play Wargames in Miniature.'' and created nary a ripple in the pond. (D.F. wrote "Wargames" in May 1962). Morschauser's rules had three parts to them: Shock Period, Horse and Musket, and the Modern period. They are brutally simple, which allows the hobbyist to shift focus from ballistic minutiae to the collection of artistic miniatures. Despite the disappearance of this American wargaming pioneer's work, many of the game mechanics he used are still in force today.

After putting into practice the original Morschauser rules and getting good mileage. I rewrote the rules set to convert them from the archaic D6 to the more sophisticated D10. What in essence was distilled from the original was the simplistic nature of the rules. Can you say, "Convention playable?" This is one tenet of the Lion's Den Wargame Club. A playable set of rules is more desirable. What is sacrificed in dogmatic historic recreation is more than compensated for by the historic aptitude of the wargamer.

Where is the focus? It is on the artful depiction of military splendor. This is the second tenet of the VBACW rules set. The format created by the rules give the historic figure collector an outlet for the animation of his collection. Did you know some hobbyists collect toy soldiers whose only martial skill is to hold a parade ground stance on a shelf? To this individual. The debate over rate of fire versus turn sequence would seem like foreign language. They want a smartly dressed regiment to look at. Visual stimulation. hey that looks great! VBACW is a port of entry into wargaming for individuals who collect 54mm military miniatures specifically.

If VBACW were a commercial product. you would be able to turn the box over to the underside and find one of those informative bar graphs to assist you in pigeon holing the game into its genre. I am going to create a bar graph to give my estimation of where this rules set fits into wargaming history.

Complexity: 1
Convention Playable: 4
Solitaire Suitability: 5
Visual Appeal: 3
Historical Discussion: 5
Historical Accuracy: 2

While I am on the graphic depiction of wargaming trends and theory, here is another graph of continuums that affect miniature gaming:

Slot Car Racing: (2,1,-4)
Monopoly: (-3,1,3),
Chess (-5,2,5),
VBACW (-3,2,-5)
Magic (-5,-5,5)
AH Wooden Ships and Iron Men: (3,5,4)

(x,y,z) coordinates