Christmas Challenge

[Sane Max]

I made an odd purchase at Recon last week – ‘One Hour Wargames’ by Neil Thomas. I am not too sure what I think – part of me goes ‘A choice of 4 units? For WW2? Are you CRAZY?’ And another part of me goes ‘Wheeeee what fun!’

If nothing else, it has made me want to do something I have never had before – some single-base units.

My plan, and it’s deliberately over-ambitious, is to do two armies for the game by Christmas. That’s 20 units of about a dozen figures each 😊 In the spirit of the rules I have grubbed through my unpainted drawer and will be doing 20mm plastic Caesar Egyptians and Hittites. The only cheat, which is due to me having already painted all the chariots I own in that scale, will be using existing chariots on movement trays for my ‘Cavalry’*

My other determination is to last as long as possible playing it without saying ‘We could add some house rules for that couldn’t we?’ as I think the small pleasure this concept gives is nested in its extreme simplicity.

*You might, if you know these rules be going ‘Errr Pat? The Ancient rules don’t cover Biblicals?’ but actually I think the definition of Cavalry in that set better suits Biblical Chariots than it does Classical Cavalry. Make one of the Infantry choices an additional archer instead and I think it will be fine.

[Harry Faversham]

Play it straight and you’ll have a great Crimbo’s gaming. Here’s our take on ‘One Hour Wargames’ scenario 2…

Your Shrine or mine?

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Sane Max]

Nice, hadn’t read that before 🙂

I think ‘Queen Bolster’ is an odd name though.

[jeffers]

Great set of rules, you’ll have a blast. They are eminently tweakable too. You just need to know when enough is enough to keep the spirit of the game. Here is my take on Napoleonics:

http://jefslittlewinki.pbworks.com/w/page/67177361/Nappy

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Sane Max]

two units done, 14 to do…. I am starting to think I may have challenged myself a week too far though…. New Title – New Year’s eve challenge.

[Northern Monkey]

Sane Max wrote:

My other determination is to last as long as possible playing it without saying ‘We could add some house rules for that couldn’t we?’ as I think the small pleasure this concept gives is nested in its extreme simplicity. *You might, if you know these rules be going ‘Errr Pat? The Ancient rules don’t cover Biblicals?’ but actually I think the definition of Cavalry in that set better suits Biblical Chariots than it does Classical Cavalry. Make one of the Infantry choices an additional archer instead and I think it will be fine.

 

erm, isn’t that basically a “House Rule”

My attempt at a Blog: http://ablogofwar.blogspot.co.uk/

[Sane Max]

Northern Monkey wrote:

erm, isn’t that basically a “House Rule”

a List for a period not covered by the ones in the book? Nah, i would argue it’s Not 🙂

4 Units down. I am realising that an awful lot of these lads were in my drawer for a reason – the ugly guys, the ones with too much flash, the ones I had painted 30 of already… well, I must be strong. Peleset next, The leather-boys of the Ancient World they are always fun.

[Harry Faversham]

Sane Max wrote:

Nice, hadn’t read that before I think ‘Queen Bolster’ is an odd name though.

I thought it might be a tad rude using her proper title based on Herself…

‘Queen Hoppagob’...

 

 

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Sane Max]

Tada, all 8 units painted for my Egyptians, with two-pre-done ‘cavalry’ chariot units – an army in 4 days. This is looking do-able.

So, on to the Hittites.

I will take some pics when both armies are done, and then I have a cunning plan for testing how well these rules will suit the beginner. More to follow.

[jeffers]

Only eleven sleeps left… plenty of time. Keep going!

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Norm S]

There is something about the motivation and enthusiasm that comes with preparing ‘last minute’  🙂 for a Christmas deadline for a Christmas game. Look forward to your ongoing plans and report of play.

Here is a link to a post I made upon my initial exposure to the rules. I still use them, though have added a variable in so that morale is tested when suffering hits and fail forces them to retreat 2 moves. I roll 3 dice and the combined score must be higher than the hits currently held by the unit if they are to pass. It does help get elites out of protective terrain, which I think are too strong in the game.

LINK

http://battlefieldswarriors.blogspot.com/2015/04/1-hour-wargames-initial-look.html

 

[Sane Max]

Thanks Norm, I found your blog under my own steam after I bought the rules 🙂 It’s good to see a common thread on these blogs – people are still using them, which suggests they are worth the work.

I do think that without Morale, or any sort of fog of war, they lack the ‘HAHA!’ moments that many of my favourite sets have – that moment you say, or at least think, ‘Get In!’ when something happens you had been hoping for but could not be sure of. They seem quite.. predictable.

One thing I spotted when I slapped some Goths and Romans on the table – they are the only set I can think of where combat only takes place in your own turn. it means if the enemy destroy a unit, it’s always your turn next – so supported lines actually work. I could do a Mons Graupius, send the auxiliaries in first to wear the Barbarians down, and if they do break, the legionaries can actually be in position to charge in and finish the job – charming that a rule set this simple can convincingly model something that in most other systems is very difficult to achieve.

[jeffers]

If I get around to actually playing a game again, I would try a ‘recoil’ rule that I was toying with. If you score a six on the combat D6 it forces the enemy back whatever the final score is after modifiers are applied.

Like all my ideas it sounds good when I explain it to myself….

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Harry Faversham]

Found the ‘supporting ‘twizzle’ very useful in our ‘one hour wargames’ pop at Qutra Bras. The Froggies blasted my Dutch/Belgain riff-raff from the buildings at the crossroads…

They copped for it, mid gloat, as a Brigade of British Infantry moved in to steady the line!

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Pictures… or it didn’t happen. Looking forward to seeing Egyptians and Hittites slugging it out.

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[Sane Max]

jeffers wrote:

If I get around to actually playing a game again, I would try a ‘recoil’ rule that I was toying with. If you score a six on the combat D6 it forces the enemy back whatever the final score is after modifiers are applied.

Like all my ideas it sounds good when I explain it to myself….

The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion any sort of ‘tinkering’ is a bit of a bad idea.

I have loads of 1/72 fantasy figures that I have never found a game for. as soon as I saw this I thought of doing a fantasy variant…. “let’s see…infantry, cavalry, archers, … um… monsters… canon.. warmachines…. oh but surely goblins are not the same as chaos warriors are they…” only adding one or two more troop types is to make it a far more complex thing than it is – and if you are going to make it complex, why not play Age of Sigmar and be done with it.

the best metaphor is that lots of people like to play football. The author’s point is that every wargame mag and rule-set seems to assume we have the equivalent of an all-seater stadium,, 21 like minded mates and a ref and full kit and that’s the only way to play. These rules are encouraging you to pile some jumpers up in the park and have a kick-about with some mates. start adding rules to a kick-about and all the fun is gone.

[Harry Faversham]

Autodidact-O-Saurus wrote:

Pictures… or it didn’t happen.

Panto Season… Oh, yes it did!!!

I know this, I was there… I was that soldier…

Quatra Bras, proper 'Old Skool'…

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Sane Max]

3rd Hittite unit painted…. i am flagging. The problem is that I am determined to use the many unpainted 1/72 figures I have, and the sets never had enough archers in them – so my 3 Hittite archer units are made up of the only ones I have left – they are ‘Nottites’

in this case they are Libyans. not even the most optimistic king of Hatti could expect to raise archers in Libya…. I have removed their feathers to make them a little less obviously Libyan, but could not bring myself to cut of their penis-sheaths. (That’s not a sentence that will get written very often. And when will the Penis Sheath make a fashion comeback? Flares, the Poncho, Beards – they all have had their second chance, but not the Penis Sheath. Odd, that) and I am finding painting them a depressing chore.

Hey Ho, man up and keep painting.

[Norm S]

Sane Max wrote:

 

The more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion any sort of ‘tinkering’ is a bit of a bad idea.

The admiration I have for these rules is the absolute discipline that the author adopted in not falling to the temptation of adding this and adding that. In their own right, they are a fascinating study into the question of rule minimalism Vs believable outcome Vs game. Their purity as written should in my view be fully explored and appreciated before the temptation to house rule compels our own sense of ‘improvement’ 🙂

 

[jeffers]

Couldn’t agree more. When I first read the Horse & Musket rules I noted down a lot of tinkers that never made it into the rules after I actually played them. I’m a fan of his Napoleonic rules so if I wanted a more detailed game I would use those. The point of the one hour rules is written in the title!

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Sane Max]

Sigh….. I am out of undercoat and my size 4 brush is dying… Resorted to using cheapo spray paint undercoat… 6th Hittie Unite painted. an archer (yuck) and a spearmen unit to go….I can certainly do this but I am now hating them with a passion and taking shortcuts…

[MartinR]

I played a lot of OHW (they are great for mini campaigns) but I found the Ancients ones just too vanilla as I usually do the Punic Wars. It was easy enough to get rid of the archers and substitute other troop types from the other period rules as facsimilies of Warband, Pike blocks, Elephants etc.

I binned the WW2 rules completely and use a variant of the ‘Machine Age Warfare’ set, with added tanks and motorised infantry, which seems to work for 1910 to 1945.

I still use the scenarios as written as only having four to six units forces brutal decisions on the players with immediate consequences. The whole thing is a great concept.

There are a number of combat variants which reduce the excesses of the combat system. I prefer the six hit/ and 1-3 combat dice variant.

 

 

 

 

"Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified" - Helmuth von Moltke

[Sane Max]

Done.  Thank Amon for that. 16 Units in 10 days. Good enough that from a distance they look O…K….

Now my plan unfolds. These rules need to be payed by beginners and Grognards alike with enjoyment, in less than one hour. And I have the supreme test awaiting…. the 17 year old Daughter.

Previous wargaming experience? None. 0/10
Previous any gaming experience? Played Backgammon once when the internet was down. 1/10
Nerd rating? Thinks my hobby is sad…. does like (new) Star Trek, GoT and is enjoying ‘His Dark Materials. 3/10

 

Game report incoming.

 

 

[Autodidact-O-Saurus]

Pictures or it didn’t happen . A seventeen year old female playing a historical miniature game? Ptah! Impossible!

Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/

[Shaun Travers]

With such a low score, I think your plan may need to include bribery, oops I mean rewards (Someone once said to me that you should never bribe children, so I never bribe my children (“You will get ice cream if you do this”) but reward them (“If you do this, you will get ice cream”))

 

 

[jeffers]

I played the OHW rifle & sabre rules with my daughter when she was eight. She picked up the rules quickly. I lost. Badly.

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Shaun Travers]

Same here.  5 years ago I played a game with my 8yo daughter and she beat me.  We used the medieval rules.  At the time I wrote a blog post on it:

https://shaun-wargaming-minis.blogspot.com/2014/11/ancient-game-with-8-yo-daughter-and-one.html

 

 

[jeffers]

Brilliant, Shaun! I liked the way she rubbed it in at the end. Mine did a victory dance and high-fived everybody.

More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/

[Shaun Travers]

I had actually forgotten about the note she wrote (in the last image on the blog) until I got out the One Hour Wargames book when we were moving earlier this year.  The note was inside the front cover and brought back the memory!  I also think my daughter did a victory dance.  She still remembers she won.

Note that I have packed up nearly all my books, including rules etc for the next year or two while renovating.  I kept about half dozen rules (out of about two hundred) that I thought I may do some gaming with in the next year or two.  One Hour Wargames was one of those books.  On the flip side, I do have a lot of rules as PDFs!

[Harry Faversham]

Sane Max wrote:

Done. Game report incoming.

Went the day well…

“I gots to know!!!???”

"Wot did you do in the war Grandad?"

"I was with Harry... At The Bridge!"

[Sane Max]

She is still resisting. I have a game using my 6mm ECW with this next week, which is an odd one as it’s the period whose OHW rules make me go ‘Huh???’ the most – But I am still trying my damnedest with the Trainee Nerd.

[Author]

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