Just jack, Card drive Company Command?

[JozisTinMan]

Hey Jack, I am thinking about dusting of 5Core Company command again.  I remember you had used a card driven sequence for one of your sets of games (KG Klink I think?).  I have dug through your blog but cannot find it, could you summarize it for me?  I would really appreciate it.

 

I think it was 1 card per platoon or something like that, but cannot recall if you had a “tea break” style card to end the turn.

http://jozistinman.blogspot.com/

[Just Jack]

Hey man, hope all is well.  I did indeed use a card-driven activation system.  It’s funny, I looked at it at “I Ain’t Been Shot Mum” (IABSM), but using… well, everything from 5Core Company Command but the activation system.  Hmmm…  I think I like your way better.  So yes, I used 5Core Company Command, but bolted on IABSM’s card-driven process for activation (to include the ‘Tea Break” card, of which I used two per turn).

A lot of people find IABSM’s activation style a bit too chaotic; indeed, even I do, I can only stand it for brief flurries of games before it kind of drives me nuts.  If it’s too chaotic for you, use the Bolt Action style activation.

Just to make sure we’re on the same page, some definitions:

-IABSM activation: Each unit on the table (platoons and “Big Men”), and certain activities (like artillery barrages) have a card.  The card actually has the unit or leader’s name on it.  Both sides put their cards into a deck, they’re shuffled, and you draw cards out one by one, activating the unit or leader (or carrying out the activity) named on the card.  So that’s the first thing that throws people; you may have some grand plan dependent upon specific sequencing, but you’re units are going to act in the order their card is drawn (and pieces of them can act when their Big Man is drawn).  Further adding to the chaos is the introduction of the “Tea Break” card which, when it is drawn, ends the turn.  What this means is that not every unit is going to get to activate every turn, and you are very much at the whim of the Card Gods.

-Bolt Action activation: Count each unit on the table (if I was playing a platoon-level game, each unit would be a single stand or vehicle; if I was playing a company-level game, I might make each unit a platoon) and each side puts one card in the deck for each unit.  The cards are not tied to individual units, only to a side, so you’ve got ‘good guy’ cards and ‘bad guy’ cards in the deck, equal to the number of each sides’ units on the table.  You shuffle them up, then draw and act one at a time.  The big difference is that when you draw a ‘good guy’ card, it’s not labelled or tied to a specific unit, so the player makes the decision as to which of his units to activate each time a card is drawn, which gives much more flexibility to the player.  Additionally, in Bolt Action there is no equivalent to the “Tea Break” card, so every unit on each side is going to activate every turn.

For my money, Bolt Action is probably the better overall activation system, but I do enjoy torturing myself with IABSM* because I do enjoy the friction, particularly when I’m playing solo wargames.  For me though, and why I say Bolt Action is better, if you’re playing against an opponent, IABSM can really be restrictive and feel a bit ‘unfair’ if there are some bad/weird runs of cards and you end up with units not activating the entire game.  I can live with it solo, but when it happens to you in a face to face game it really gets frustrating, and when it happens to your opponent it really gets uncomfortable, like you’re cheating…

*I’m just joking with this, I’ve had some incredible solo games with IABSM.  If you want to read what are probably my best batreps ever, read these six from “The Northern Shoulder of Kursk”: http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/search/label/IABSM?updated-max=2019-10-20T19:28:00-07:00&max-results=20&start=5&by-date=false

So, there it is, for what it’s worth.  Please let me know if you have any further questions, I’m happy to help.  Oh, and here’s the link to my rules ‘tweaks’:
http://blackhawkhet.blogspot.com/2017/12/i-aint-been-shot-mum-rules-tweaks.html

V/R,
Jack

[JozisTinMan]

@Jack Thank you so much!  And thanks for alerting me on the other thread…  I am going to digest all of this.  I have put my blog on hiatus for a while as I do a lot at work and teach a class at the local community college.

But I did get my table cleared off and am going to try some games.  I will force myself to go out of the box initially and then start fiddling rather than what I usually do which is the reverse.

http://jozistinman.blogspot.com/

[Tony S]

and when it happens to your opponent it really gets uncomfortable, like you’re cheating…

Ha!  It does get uncomfortable.  I end up apologizing a lot, and commiserating with my opponent about his luck.  Occasionally I’ll change my dice being used, if they’ve been rolling hot.  My opponents are all gentlemen, and would never ask, but I always feel awful when it happens.

Many years ago, one of my friends whom I used to play with never, ever, ever shuffled cards for whatever game we were playing.  He was a very decent, honest person, but he was also a semi- professional magician.  He did once demonstrate his card abilities and after it we could see why.  He’d never, ever cheat…but he didn’t want even a shadow of doubt to poison the game.

[Just Jack]

TinMan – No sweat, I know all about ‘real life’ intruding on wargaming time.  I’m happy to help, hope you get some great games in.  And post them on your blog 😉

Tony S – Yep!  No one needs to accuse you of cheating, you just get a real bad feeling deep down inside 😉

V/R,
Jack

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