Bob Jones
Rules Designer
Piquet
Miniatures Rules
Interviewed by Russ Lockwood
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Genius: Analytic Thought, Intuitive Action, Humorous Attitude Designs Bio:
Hallowed Ground-ACW (1996) Din Of Battle-19th C. Colonial (1996) Cartouche-18th Century (1996) Archon-Ancient (1997) Point Of Attack-WWII (1997) Tars & Spars-Napoleonic Naval (1974) Le Jeu De La Guerre-Napoleonic Rules (1972) Current job (and title): VP of Programming for The Jones Education Co.-Knowledge TV (Cable)
Mechanically, the crude example of a sequence deck found in Craig Burnett's Push Of Pike was the germ of the key idea. It needed to be coupled with the impetus rolls, and the idea that the armies could have separate and unequal decks. In terms of a design inspiration, it was the reading of battle reports, and trying to capture their 'novel-like' qualities. What makes it such a cutting edge rules set? It is the only set I know of that completely breaks with the idea that turns, player opportunities, and "time" has to be absolutely and immediately equal for both players. It also rewards people that can manage variable resources well with incomplete knowledge of all factors, rather than rewarding people who can immerse themselves in arcane and baroque detail and manage constants in a repetitive, predictable and obvious structure. In creating Piquet, how did your design philosophy evolve? Beginning with La Guerre, I have always sought ways of illustrating incomplete knowledge (The Fog Of War) and encouraged intuitive problem solving rather than formulaic "puzzle" solving ("I have 12 Grenadiers worth 6 against his 8 musketeers worth 4. According to table #18, I need one more Grenadier to get 2 hits with a 6 roll!") My model for war is poker not chess. Did something trigger the proverbial lightbulb to light up over your head during design and testing? It was realizing that a "Fire" card was the wrong answer, and by going to the idea of reload, not only could fire be distributed over the whole turn, but serious decisions had to be made by the gamer, and he could not optimize his fire in a predictable way. Also the creation of the "Dressing Line" and "Milling Around" cards made Piquet the first set that captured the most common battle effect-Nothing happening! It was Zen, and I loved it! What do you believe was the greatest success of the design? I think Piquet forces real decision making that has observable consequences that you have to live with. It also handles time and the fog of war in new and exciting ways. It is also open ended-meaning that the gamer has the opportunity to 'design' his game play to a far greater extent than in most games. It removes the designer from being some sort of guru-savant, and makes the gamer ultimately responsible for the game he plays. It is also a lot of fun-something that got lost in the shuffle in the preceding decade. It is a VERY social game! Just stand next to a Piquet game in progress and you'll hear shouting, laughter, and agitated pleas to the impetus dice gods! If you're a recluse, an introvert, or shy, it will either cure you or send you scurrying from the room! The most noticeable flaw? Many of its subtleties are not readily apparent, prior to play, and it takes a few games before some gamers "get it". Also, because it is so different from many previous rules, many gamers who are entrenched in their "approach" have to deal with systems that are counter-intuitive to their past experience. New gamers often have an easier time of it. Another "Flaw" is that it is a VERY social game! Some gamers just want to mull and mutter over a thick rulebook and bury their eyes in a complex CRT rather than interact with the other gamers. This ain't their game! What were some other influences as you developed the system? Both the successful La Guerre rules and the unsuccessful Rebel Yell! rules strongly influenced the rating, combat, and morale systems in Piquet. I call Rebel Yell! the YB-1 of Piquet! Many of Paddy Griffith's 'heretical' writings, as well as John Keegan's Face Of Battle. Also, Ed Meyers, Timm Meyers, and, even more strongly, Brent Oman were instrumental in the design and development of Piquet. Jeff Valent took on and executed a very difficult production and assembly project with Piquet. It is a very complex product to produce. Cris Brown has come aboard for the POA rules. Jim Getz and Trip Alford have been invaluable in developing some new directions for the rules that will become apparent in the next few months. How long did Piquet take from inspiration to final product? The first playtest was in May of 1994 at my house. Over the next twenty-two months, over twenty drafts of the rules were written-and over a 150 playtests were played- and it was published along with the Grognards and Hallowed Ground supplements in March 0f 1996. It is not yet a final product, as my goal is to complete all of the listed supplements by Historicon 1998. It will then be the first set of rules that covers every period from the Ancient Greeks to WWII! Several other products are under development as extensions and playing aids for the rules. Did you get any faster as you continued?
When in design mode, what's your favorite snack food? A good single-malt scotch like Cragganmore or Lagavulin, Canadian Stone Wheat Crackers, and, upon the completion of a supplement, a Havana Montecristo cigar. Do you play computer games? Yes, but I find many of them to be "puzzle" solving, which, once the 'key' is found, are very boring. Also they often lack the social dimension. What type of system do you have? I have a functioning male system, but if you mean what kind of computer system do I have, it is a Power Mac 7500 with 64 Meg of ram and about a gig of storage, 17" color monitor, 28.8 modem, and an inkjet printer. I use Pagemaker for layout-Word and Excel for first drafts. What piece of hardware--real or imaginary--would you add to it? A Laser Printer to cut down the trips to Kinko's and a scanner to increase the graphic content in the rules. In general, do you think board wargames make the leap to computer screens effectively? Why or why not? Yes, I think board games translate well, but AI is no replacement for a human opponent. Too often the computer version reveals even more clearly the "puzzle solving" quality of many games, and underlines just how far removed they are from the events they simulate. They do handle the fog of war well. How would you like to see Piquet presented on a computer screen, if at all? Piquet already exists on computer! More on this in the next few months, but I have seen Piquet played on a laptop! If you were going to be represented on a computer screen by an icon, what would it be? My icon, which would match my favorite set of silver cufflinks, would be a question mark. You gotta ask the right questions to get the right answers. Computer games are becoming an extension of Hollywood--games based on movies or movie characters. Do you believe the Hollywoodized games to be better, worse, or about equal to ones created from original material? Why? Hollywoodized (Good God! What a word!) games are usually easier to market and sell, but are far weaker games to play. If you start with a clean slate, you are only limited by your ideas. Hollywood-based games are always twisted to fit the movie marketing and plot, usually to the detriment of the play qualities. What was the last movie (theater) you watched? Woody Allen's, Everybody Says I Love You Last videotape rental? John Sayle's, The Legend Of Roan Inish Is there a movie you'd like to do a game of? I always thought The Great Race (Tony Curtis/Jack Lemon) would be a great game (MB did it-but badly). Flashman was a bad movie, but I've always wanted to do a set of rules that accommodated Fraser's books (note the Good Ol' Flashy! supplement) and the Patrick O'Brien-Aubry/Maturin books are great game inspirations. Given unlimited resources but present day technology, what would you design and why would it be cool? Effective air conditioning for the Lancaster and the Tennis Courts-It would be cool and, if you happened to walk into (or tried to walk into) the New Holland Room on Saturday at the last Cold Wars you know that there are odors known only to zoos, rendering plants and Wargame conventions. They say everyone needs a hobby. How do you decompress outside of game designing/playing? Reading, travel, Rockies baseball games at Coors Field, Bombay Gin martinis at Del Frisco's, dinner with friends, an occassional bird hunting trip. Where was the last place you visited on vacation? Taos, New Mexico-one of the axes of the earth goes through there. What's your next vacation spot? My wife, Bev, and I are going to New Zealand in Late January of 1998. If not bound by time or space, where would you go...and why? Time: The 1930's the last era that had style-real style! Cole Porter, Astaire & Rodgers, Packards...Of course, this was only good if you were really rich! Space: The South Of France-Provence and the Cote d'Azur-for a long time. The light is magic: The food is superb; The land is beautiful. We go there about every 2-3 years. My admiration for the French people, their country, and their culture, is immense. Excluding your own creations, what three games (of any type) would you take with you to the proverbial desert island?
What three books?
We see the emergence of online gaming as putting the social aspect (and the smarts of a real-live opponent) into gaming on a world-wide scale. Good or bad? Good. Why? With such a small base of gamers in any one geographic locale, the only way to achieve a critical mass of ideas and a viable commercial economy is to bring all the hobbyists together via the web. Do you have a favorite poster or cartoon hanging by your desk? What is it and what makes it your favorite? A Gary Larsen "Far Side" Cartoon showing a young "dumpling" person pushing determinedly on the 'Pull' marked door of the Midvale School For The Gifted. I think it shows, contrary to popular belief, that effort is no replacement for talent. What epitath would you want encoded on your (hopefully far in the future) digital tombstone? I have always liked the opening to Sabatini's Scaramouche, "He was born with a gift of laughter and a sense that the world was mad." What question did we leave out that you would like to answer? Do you use all the optional cards in one Piquet game? Ans: No! No! No! Any last omniscient thoughts for MagWeb members? The greatest threat to the hobby may be the growing, vertically integrated, monopolies in rules, figures, and publications that certain vendors are gaining. Short Bio (optional) of accomplishments outside game design: In television:
Created Almost Live - the longest running comedy show on television. Created New Media News - the first daily new media newscast. President of the National Association Of Television Program Executives in 1986. Related: Back to List of Interviews Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Coalition Web, Inc. 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 |
Name: Bob Jones
Where did you get the inspiration for Piquet?
Yes and No. Certainly the process of writing and assembly became smoother, but new ideas kept popping up that had to be tested and assimilated. Archon was particularly challenging in this regard.