In case you thought we had vanished - no chance - the Skirmish Line is alive and kicking. After Mike's splendid article setting readers the problem of how they would attack the farm house in our Napoleonic game, you're no doubt wondering where his second article, solving the situation, has disappeared. The answer is, we invited replies from you all, and apart from a couple of pleasant asides from people saying they liked our ideas, not one of you put pen to paper with a reasoned reply to the problem. Our thoughts, articles, yes and the rules we write, are based on and influenced by your queries, suggestions and comments - so come on - let's hear from you. This column should be an open forum for any ideas from you in and around Skirmish Individual ised wargames.
Over the past four years that Mike, Ian and I have been writing rules for our Western Gunfight and Colonial periods, we have received varied comments on the rules themselves. One reaction that seldom fails to arise with anyone new to our books is - "Well, it's nicely produced, but I prefer simple rules myself". That has me reaching for my Remington .44 every time. The point being that our rules are simple, as Don will vouch for, as long as you know how to use them. Most important is the fact that all the tables and rules are contained on just two sides of the Summary Chart at the back of each book. Having once grasped the basic idea that one figure represents one man, one phase equals around a second, with the basic framework of movement, reaction,firing and melee, all the rest is optional. You can dip into the rules and chat for odd points on unusual weapons or uniforms or whatever. Games are seldom dull as new facets of the rules and the periods are continually emerging.
The rules encourage individual characters rather than faceless figures, all the same. This development of miniature personalities, each with his or her own biography, is not a written rule, though perhaps it should be. As we have mentioned in previous articles, writing a story setting the scene for the game, and continuing the tale based on the game played, on into the next game soon develops into an interesting saga. The worth of your story depends largely upon your own writing talent, but however humble your I iterary efforts, such a narrative is invaluable for wipping up enthusiasm amongst the players. The whole thing with the odd map or two, makes an,informal "campaign", open-ended, with no particular side trying to rub out the rest - well not completely!
Our first set of Gunfight Rules featured as fast and fancy a way to shoot yourself as any. You guessed it - fanning. For those not familiar with this spectacular way of reaching that big ol I wargame room in the sky, let me explain. The single-action Colt revolver is held tight in the right hand with the first finger squeezing back the trigger, whilst the left hand slaps the hammer back again and again. Your revolver, for five or six shots, becomes like a small machine gun. On the movies it looks an ideal way of ousting the opposition. Hollywood's blanks are only quarter-strength powder charges though, whilst the kick from a full charge cartridge takes the gun up and to the right, nearly to your shoulder. Control after one shot is lost, and you have as much chance of ventilating the sky as shooting your big toe off, and precious little hope of more than disconcerting the enemy. All these little factors combined to make us drop fanning from the Second Edition. Before we did, though, one unforgettable query from an enthusiast was: "Why can't a man fan a Winchester carbine?" Our answer was that to do so he would need three hands!
The fanning ghost just would not stay laid - to coin a phase. The other day, whilst chatting to our rules expert, Ian, about the Third Edition of the Gunfight (available, hopefully, in February/March 174), he said, "I've thought of another type of firing". "Surprise me," says I. "Fanning", says he without a trace of a grin. Steve, for once, was speechless.
Serious Body Wounds - a sore point with many (pun intended). This causes more questions than almost any other item in the Colonial Rules. To start with you ask, "Why do we get so many serious body wounds in our games?" Quite simply, that's what we reckoned happened when a man was hit. The trunk of the torso is the main target and makes up a third of the man. We assumed, somewhat rashly, that most bullets entering that area would cause nasty wounds. Medically, that may be the case, but from a game point of view, that's too harsh a wound for too many targets. Thus in the Third Edition of the Gunfight (which will probably be called the "Old West Skirmish Rules") we have reduced the chance of scoring a serious body wound and increased the chance of a light body wound.
One query, from Don amongst others, was why, once a man has suffered a serious body wound, can he get up after ten seconds and start fighting once more? It will take him six phases to stand and he won't be moving far under the present rules; to lay him out for longer -- well you may as well call him dead. The old devil , "playability" raises its ugly head. The usual skirmish game lasts around twenty phases and to inflict a longer knock-out time than ten phases for any wound is the same as asking, what kind of flowers would he like?
Then there's the other nasty one. Does a Light Wound knock a target down? This has caused no end of discussion between Mike, Ian and myself. We used to reckon it was up to the Umpire, but now this is our ruling: A Light Head Wound or a Leg Wound will knock a target over. Other Light Wounds leave him standing dazed for the stated time.
Then several people have asked: Can a man, seriously wounded in one arm, fire a shoulder arm with it steadied on say a wall or hitch-rail? Certainly, still referring to the Colonial Rules, we deduct 30% from his firing factor. And for those enthusiasts who went to see their mounted Sioux warriors swinging down to one side and firing a carbine beneath the horse's neck, well be patient, it's all in the new Old West Skirmish Rules.
Finally, many of you seem confused by Observation on page 15 of the Colonial Rules. The references to "subject" should more properly have read "object" (Steve's error!). The object not observing is in cover, and therefore difficult to see, whilst the object observing, e.g. sticking his head over a wall, has a much better chance of being seen.
Well, the Lazy B seems more like home every day. We're working on several interesting western items to enhance the skirmish range, which should be available next summer. But should you wander up to me with, "About your rules bit long winded aren't they?"
Smile when you say that.
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© Copyright 1973 by Donald Featherstone.
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