1. In a previous issue, I've mentioned a site maintained by a fella named Loyd Krassner, whose site goes by the name of 'warpspawn'. He seems to have a zillion games that he himself created, most of 'em one-on-one card games, and I never cease to wonder at his creativity. In this issue is a description of a naval battle fought with miniatures, and derived from one of Krassner's ideas for a naval boardgame. 2. In searching for, and reading wargame rules that have been posted on the various websites, I've gradually developed a number of instant likes and dislikes... call `em prejudices if you like. a. Any set of rules that, in describing the restrictions pertaining to units moving on rough ground, uses the term `bad going', is an instant no-no. `Bad going' is a derivative of the WRG and DBX rules, all of which, because of their opaque writing, cause me to grit my teeth. b. Rules that contain instructions that make no sense. For example, there's a set of rules by a guy named Dominic Goh called DEATH OR GLORY for the Napoleonic era. I downloaded his 25 page rule book, and Mr. Goh states: Movement is simultaneous. At the beginning of the turn, each player rolls a die for initiative. The player with the initiative moves and fires first. Does Mr. Goh speak to his editor? Is there an "initiative" or isn't there? Or, better yet... is movement simultaneous? c. Any set of rules that, when I refer to the movement sequence, states that order writing is required, also rates high on the no-no list. d. Another irritating item is a site that contains lots of graphics. One of these days, I intend to sign up for DSL and get the digital downloads going, but that's in the future. As for now, my 56K modem klunks along in not-too-rapid fashion, and when I attempt to download a site on which the owner, in an attempt to impress and pretty it up, has added lots of graphics, there's a lot of waiting time, which, to me, is wasted time. One thing I like about Lloyd Krassner's site, mentioned above, is that there are no graphics... it's all text and comes across the aether efficiently. e. Any set of rules that uses the "groping for dice" procedure, i.e., using different types of dice (6-siders, 8-siders, 10-siders and the like) for firing or melee. Back to PW Review December 2001 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 Wally Simon 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