1. Over the past years, I've looked at quite a number of different sets of published rules. In truth, most of them fell short of perfection, failing to achieve either a Simon "Wow!" and "Gee!" Indeed, some of them have evoked the response: "Why were they published?"
Below, in no particular order, is a listing of a number of rules I've examined, plus my comments, plus the 'success' the rules have achieved in the wargaming world.
| Rules | Comments | Success? |
|---|---|---|
| (Ancients) WRG 6th and 7th | Too much pseudo-historical nitty-gritty disguised as historical accuracy. I never liked it. | Won the hearts of ancients gamers in the US and in the UK. |
| (Ancients) DBA | Very clever little 12-token 'chess type' game, but passed off as an historical simulation. | Quite popular. |
| DBM/DBR (Ancients, and renaissance). | An expansion of the DBA concepts which went too far. | Won the hearts of wargamers all over the world. |
| (19th century) VOLLEY & BAYONET | A simple game, yet despite its simplicity, too many holes in the published version. | Occasionally, you'll see a game presented at a convention. |
| (ACW) FIRE & FURY | Don't like it because of the charts | Won the hearts of ACW players all over the world. |
| (ACW) BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER | Silly, slick looking game which shouldn't have been published. | Seems to be played at conventions. |
| (Napoleonic) IN THE GRAND MANNER | Uses 'big units' in the manner of COLUMN, LINE & SQUARE. | Played by a few devotees who have amassed 'big units'. Otherwise, an ordinary game. |
| (WWII) CROSSFIRE | Excellent set of rules, presenting a new concept in skirmish gaming. | Hasn't caught on yet. Occasionally, a game is presented at a convention. |
| (Napoleonic) NAPOLEON'S BATTLES | Bland approach to Napoleonic warfare. Tries to make up for its blandness by presenting a plethora of pseudo-precise national characteristics' charts. | Quite popular. |
| (WWII) SPEARHEAD | Not too different from other similar scale WWII rules sets. | Quite popular |
| (WWII) COMMAND DECISION | The pits of WW II gaming. Too much! Too much! | Extremely popular. |
| (All eras) PIQUET | Incorporates some very clever gaming ploys. To the players, it can be quite boring (but they won't admit it). To the onlooker, it's definitely boring. | Being pushed to the fullest by the author. |
| (Wild West) DESPERADO | Card-sequenced skirmish game. Author, however, selected the worst possible method of ginning up a movement sequence. | Occasionally presented at a convention. |
| (British colonial) SWORD & THE FLAME | of the first of the card-sequence games. A wee bit out-dated by now. | Occasionally, you'll still see a game presented at a convention. |
| (ACW) JOHNNY REB | Tried this when it first came out, but when the author couldn't decipher his own artillery rules, I gave up. | At least one game seems to be presented at each convention. |
| (ARW [AWI]) PATRIOTS AND LOYALISTS | Card-governed sequence which incorporates some rather neat gaming systems. | Author pushes it at HMGS conventions, but it hasn't caught on. |
| (WW II) CANADIANS IN WWII | Very 'grand-scale' game. Multi-phase procedure makes for an interesting sequence. | Hasn't caught on. |
| (Franco-Pruss) THEY DIED FOR GLORY | A simple game, but I never liked it. And I'm not sure why. | Occasionally, a game is presented at conventions. |
| (Medieval) DAY OF BATTLE | Expansion of the author's earlier medieval rules, which, to my mind, were better. | Author pushes it, but it hasn't caught on. |
| (ECW) FOR GOD, KING AND COUNTRY | Booklet contains too few rules, not enough explanatory material. | Hasn't caught on. |
| (ACW) ON TO RICHMOND | One of the first card sequence games. For a small one-on-one game, it's interesting. More than 4 players, it's boring. | Rarely see the game played. 99 percent of its devotees went to FIRE AND FURY. |
| (Medieval) REVENGE | Way too many charts, making it unnecesarily complicated. | Never see it played. |
You'll note that, most times, the Simon "Kiss of Death" seems to raise the popularity level of a given set of rules. In other words, if I don't like it, it's sure to be a success.
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© Copyright 1999 Wally Simon
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