Wargame Design: Play Too Find Out

Some of my faithful readers will recall when I spoke about how fun can not be a design goal for your game.  In that discussion, I highlighted a few things that I find fun in order to highlight my own bias.  To save you some trouble my list looked something like this: 

• Making a meaningful decision is fun
• Seeing the stories of the world unfold is fun   
• The spectacle of the game is fun
• Learning about new things is fun
• Seeing what happens is fun

At least half of those things fall into a category that I call "Playing to Find Out".  This was a term that was coined from Role-Playing Game (RPG) discussions.  However, today I want to apply it to wargames and see what we come up with.  

Are you ready to go on a journey and see what happens?  I guess we will have to read along to find out! 

Wars of the Republic

What Does It All Mean?

First of all, it is a philosophy.  That means it is a way to approach the game.  A way to think about what playing wargames means.  

In this case, the philosophy you bring to the game is one of action.  You intend to explore the games reality by actually taking actions and playing the game.  You are going to explore it mechanically, narratively, and through decision-making.

In RPG parlance, that means an emphasis on open-play, with emergent story-telling, player agency, and multiple choices.  Similar philosophies can be applied to wargaming.  I would categorize it as scenario-focused, meaningful decision-making, friction, and cooperation before competition.  To have a "Play to Find-out" mentality in wargames means being willing to engage with the game and see where it goes.

Sometimes, it is illuminating to define something by talking about what it is not as well.  "Play to Find-Out" is not about playing to try to manage the outcome of the game.  You are not trying to optimize the results.  You are not trying to see which player is better at using and understanding the mechanics of the game.  It is not about game state or rules mastery.              

Restless Sun

Philosophy Not Rules, BUT.....  

You may recall that I also said in the What is Fun article that designers need to have an idea of what they find fun.  That should be the foundation of their own POV to help create games that meet those criteria.  So how do you make a game that is conducive to a "Play to Find Out" mentality?  Let's talk about it.

I have referenced Ash Barker's design notes for Last Days in the past.  I still recommend that folks give them a read.  One of his own ideas is something he calls a "Cracker Jack".  For those unfamiliar with the old-style snack, they were a caramel cover popcorn and peanut snack.  However, their claim to fame was having a "prize inside each box".  This was often a sticker or temporary tattoo.  The idea is that you can access the prizes once you eat all the Cracker Jacks.  

Ash Barker uses the term to mean the surprises players uncover from engaging with the game.  What are the "cool" things that you can unlock as you play.  This could mean picking up found equipment, enhancements from objectives, challenge events, how it rewards clever use of mechanics stacking, or campaign buffs and debuffs.  

Therefore, as a designer you can apply this philosophy of Play to Find Out into the rules.  

Odin's Ravens

The Wrong Way? 

In my opinion there is a right way and a wrong way to implement a Play to Find Out philosophy in your game.  It is a method that was popular in the early days of wargaming.  However, it has since fallen out of fashion.  I use the term "wrong way" but that is not the correct way to think of it.  It was a method that worked for what the designers were attempting to do at the time.  However, time has moved on and methods have changed.  

To me, the wrong way of going about adding these surprise moments is by adding random tables of effects that are applied "in game".  Now, I think random tables have a place BUT that is in the Strategic portion of the game, away from the tactical action of the game.  

For example, in Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader there were numerous charts and tables to help determine the effects of things.  Where you hit a vehicle, effects from Shokk Attack Gunz, psychic effects, etc.  These were charts that would break the flow of the game as you had to roll the result, open the book, and cross-reference the dice roll with the effect, and then apply the effect.  It lead to some amazing, memorable, and crazy events but things that would take seconds on the battlefield ended up taking multiple minutes to resolve fully. 

However, there were also a lot of tables for determine things like equipment load-outs, missions, mutations, flora and fauna, etc.  These charts were used PRIOR to game play and not during game play.  These also led to crazy, memorable, and interesting events happening in game.  

To summarize, randomized charts and tables during game is bad, randomized charts and tables before or after game is fine.   

 

Restless Stars

The Modern Way?

Since the days of Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader wargames have found new and different ways to create interesting situations via rules-interactions and on-table activities in order to "Play to Find Out".  Here are a few examples that I have seen and would like to touch-on: 

1. Complications 

A complication is something that is placed on the board or game-wide effect that can make it harder for players to achieve their objectives.  As the name implies, they make it harder for players to freely act within the confines of the game.  

For example, Pulp Alley has various tokens on the board.  When a player's models interact with them they draw a card from a deck.  This will lead to a challenge that the Model will have to overcome with a dice roll.  if successful, they gain a beneficial result, if failed they gain a handicap. There is no way to know what will happen until it is resolved.  All components needed to resolve the complication are on the card so you do not need to go back to the rulebook.  

2. Resource Allocations

In this scenario, players can choose to allocate special resources to units to improve their performance or abilities.  These resources are often finite and their allocation on one part of the battlefield means they are unavailable elsewhere or at a different time of the game.  You can not decide how to use them until you are actually playing the game, and the results are determined within the game.  

For example, Dux Bellorum has Leadership tokens that you can use to boost the combat power of a unit.  How you allocate and when you use them is a key part of the game.  They stack and can allow you to push or defend a key part of your battle line.  These are played out immediately in the turn.       

3. Rules Overlaps

In this example, various rules overlap and interactions are built into the game to trigger various effects.  You know these effects prior to the game, but how they will interact with other special rules will come into effect when the game is played.  

For example, War Machine is well known for their chaining of special rules together to trigger effects.  It is these cascading results that happen once they begin tumbling like dominoes on the battlefield that means you need to play to find out how they will interact together. 

4. Chrome

Chrome is special rules that come into play during the game.  These rules impact how a unit or model will perform in the moment.  These are often gained as the game itself is being played or when certain criteria occur during the game.  

For example, the game Ragnarok has the models collect "power-ups" that can unleash extra effects when they defeat foes or interact with terrain.  These power-ups can be stacked and used as the player wishes during the battle.  

5. Mechanics 

The mechanics themselves allow a degree of randomness in the results beyond the normal fail/succeed states.  This is often in the form of a critical hit or critical failure states that add further success or complications into a normal rules interaction.  

For example, Dystopian Wars is famous for using something called "exploding dice".  Essentially, as you roll a maximum result on the dice, you can re-roll and keep adding effects until you stop rolling maximum results on the die.  This can lead to unexpected outcomes of over-reach or surprising success levels that are outside the normal statistical range.

6. Campaigns

Adding a post-game campaign sequence is a great way to add surprise for players.  This can come in a variety of forms.  However, the idea is that the players unlock new abilities, equipment, or other options and complications for future games.  

For example, Outremer from Osprey Games has a very in-depth and elaborate campaign system that makes each member of your warband a unique individual.  If you played a new warband, they would also each develop their own unique abilities and niche.  This makes each member unique and each game using them a different experience.  You have to play to find out.              

Heirs of Empire

Final Thoughts

Play to Find Out is a philosophy for approaching games that encourages the players to engage with the game to see what happens and how the outcomes unfold.  It is one of many philosophies.  Typically, these types of philosophies of play should be provided by the players.

As a designer, you may wish for players to bring certain philosophies to the games you design.  You can influence these with the way you design your rules to lean into these philosophies.  To do this, you will want to bring a POV of the game.  Then, as always; you can apply the right game design tools to the job. 

The best way to lean into the "Play to Find Out" philosophy is to create "surprises" that the players will be able to unlock by playing the game.  The more they play, the more they can potentially unlock.  Therefore, they will want to "Play to Find Out" what can happen in a game. 

Until next time. 

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On the Painting Desk: Finishing off the Tormentors of Telor's Queen?

 

Back to finish off the final miniatures from Spirit Queen's Torment and The Prophecy of Telor.  I finished off the Greenskins and the Undead.  However, that left the forces of Dread and the Abominations.  So about 7 guys.  However, the Dread Warriors, Gargoyle and Wizard I typically paint individually while the Abominations I batch.  That means these guys took a weekend to complete.  

First off, all these miniatures were all ready base-coated and ready to go.  Therefore, I decided to work on one of the Dread Warriors first.  I had the idea of a fallen former King's Guard knight who did not really even know he had fallen.  Therefore, he was not in typical Dread livery, but instead Paladin like Golden armor with a white cloak.  

Thankfully, I have a set of Metallic speedpaints, and one of the colors happens to be Golden Armor.  How nice.  I also wanted to use White for the cloak and Loincloth.  The hardest part was the shield, because I wanted to incorporate the Golden Armor but not the whole thing!  That would be too gaudy.  Therefore, I used Zealot Yellow as the other color.  Finally, I gave it a nice Light Tone wash and based the usual Heroquest way.  

Behold..... Sir Beauregard the Chosen!  Once and future champion of Kings!  I guess I see him a bit like Sir Ragnar but this guy did not make it back.  

As Sir Beauregard was drying I also worked on the Abominations.  I had to go remind myself how I painted them in the Core set and Kellar's Keep.  I used Plasmatic Bolt on their leg plates and tentacles with Abomination Green for the skin.  That was the bulk of these guys.  Their eyes are Zealot Yellow and their teeth and claws are Pallid Bone.  Their loincloths are Zealot Yellow, Crusader Skin, and Fire Giant Orange.  They got a Light Tone wash and based as normal.  

From there, I went back to my last Dread Warrior.  My Core set Dread Warriors were all painted in the colors of a different Chaos god.  You may know them as Khorne, Slaaneshi, Nurgle, and Tzeentch.  Well, I wanted to keep that theme and there was one Chaos God I had not painted.  You know him, you love him; of course I am talking about Malal!  The Chaos God opposed to the Chaos of the Chaos Gods.... or something.  There was a concept and business reason he never made it into the big Chaos Gods club.  

Anyway, one of the challenges of Malal was that his color scheme is not easy to paint!  It is a Black and White checked or Quartered pattern!  I had never done a quartered pattern before because they look like a right pain to paint!  However, with this guy I was going to try it!  I did not want Malal to be left out of the Dread Warrior club..... that would be bad luck! 

I used the Black I use for the base edge to draw a line down the center of the model's chest and helmet.  I made the right side arm and leg white, with the chest black.  The opposite colors on the other side.  I used Grim Black on the black side and a mix of pure white and Holy white on the white parts.  I did the same on the hilt of his sword, and even quartered the cloak.  The shield I followed the design but used Black and White mix.  When I was done, I gave the whole thing a Dark Tone wash this time and based per usual methods. 

That left the female Dread Wizard and her pet Gargoyle.  Again, I had to recall how I painted the last Gargoyle from the Core set.  I wanted that trad stone Gargoyle look.  I turned out really easy!  Runic Grey on claws, teeth, and horns.  Red on the eyes.  The rest was a watered down Dark Tone wash.  Easy-peasy.  

The Dread Wizard I wanted in Magic Blue and Yellow as those were the colors of Tzeentch.  However, I also wanted to add the jewelry in Prismatic Green for a Jade style effect.  I also used Aztec Gold for the metallics.  It is one of my favorite of the metallics as it has a slightly greenish hue.  I finished it up, gave it a dark wash and based as normal.  

With that, I had two of my Heroquest mini-boxed sets finished.  The only carry-over from 2025 is the Jungles of Delthrak now, and I have painted all the Heros and Merc critters from that all ready.  Still a big accomplishment as I am now above 80+ models painted for the year.  

That said, I think I am going to pivot and paint something different next.  I need a break from Heroquest for a bit. 

And here is all the blue-ish and Orange-ish plastic minis from the two sets all painted up.  

Until next time! 

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Wargame Design: Grid-based Wargames

 

Using a grid in wargames is almost as old as wargaming!  The original wargames used grids overlaid on real-world maps.  Of course, Hex and Chit wargames the grid over the map is an integral piece of the puzzle.  However, this blog is focused more on Miniature based wargaming rather than the more traditional grid and map-based versions.

Even in miniature wargaming and sci-fi versions, the grid was a part of early miniature wargaming.  Battletech did and still uses a grid-based map system.  However, this approach has been growing in popularity again recently as something of a trend!  I can think of To The Strongest, King and Parliament, and Arrowstorm in the historical space.  In the sci-fi space there is Priestley's Space Battles and Mantic's Deadzone.  Of course there are many, many more from the past, near past, and current.  

So, let's take a closer look at why a designer might choose to use a Grid in their wargame.  

Types of Grids

Before we get started, it might be useful to categorize a bit about the different types of Grids.  These categorizations are ones that I have seen "in the wild" and I will try to put in some examples as well.  This will be a useful place to start talking about Grid-based wargaming.  

Graph Paper: 

This is often what people think of when it comes to a Grid-wargames.  The board is divided into equal sized boxes that are centered and aligned next to each other.  It looks like a piece of square graph paper only laid on the table.  

The example I can think of is Travel Battle or even Heroquest and similar dungeon crawlers.  

Travel Battles "Raw" Graph paper Style- Board Plates

Hexes: 

Of course, the classic example is Battletech but a lot of Hex and Chit wargames also use hexes.  Another example is Heroscape.  

Hex grids are a series of interlocking Hex shaped spaces that are spread across the board.  That means each space has 8 facings to it.  These are often not laid out in straight lines like a Graph Paper Grid style.  

  

Brick Wall: 

This is a style that looks similar to a Graph Paper style Grid.  However, instead of the boxes lining up with each other, they are off-set.  Therefore, on each top and bottom side you will have access to two spaces to move into.  Each row is aligned, but then the row above and below any row is off-set making a bit of a zig-zag pattern.  

I honestly can not think of an example, but I have seen them being played.  If you can think of a Hex and Chit or miniature wargame that uses it, let me know in comments.  I feel silly for not being able to come up with one.   

Brick Wall

Different Sizes: 

Some games use Grids that are not of equal sizes, with various points or places being larger than others.  This sizing is more about the relative importance or traffic for the space, or based on real-world geographies.  Therefore, the table or board is made up of spaces of varying sizes.  

The examples I can come up with are Clue where each Room is large and can accommodate multiple pieces, but the hallways are gridded for movement.  I have also seen this in Dudes on a Boardgames like Last Night on .... series.  

These are probably not the correct "technical" terms for these Grids, but I am using these categories as a type of short-hand and layman's terms so we can all get on the same page.  Going forward I will mostly refer to all these types simply as "Grids".   

Gridz 4 teh Win!1!   

Grids have a lot of advantages for a wargame rules set.  They can help make games much easier by simplifying things like:

• Movement
• Facings
• Fire and Combat Arcs
• Ranges
• Adjacent Spaces
• Melee and Charging

The preset distances that a grid allows for these variables to be constant and identified at a glance.  This visual element allows for game mechanics to be streamlined and simplified.  The game has strong visual clues for game play.    

In addition, the grid removes tools to play.  With a grid, no need to have measuring devices like sticks or tape measures.  It reduces the "what you need to play" elements of a game.  

Gridded movement and firing can be useful for pre-programmed scenarios, solo-wargames, and even remote wargaming.  The specifics of movement and location can be abstracted in a way that helps clarify for the remote, solo, or AI opponents.  

Finally, grids can be used to provide information on the game board.  In Battletech it gives detail like terrain, height, and other situations that would impact game play.  Difficult terrain can just be a number to represent speed penalties, height could impact line-of-fire, etc. 

Grid Drawbacks

The biggest drawback is simply aesthetics.  A big reason people get into tabletop miniature wargaming in the first place is that it looks cool!  Evocative scenery, sweet models, and the overall sweep of the battlefield make people want to play the game!  Grids..... not so much.  

Things that hamper the visual aesthetics are a big turn-off to many wargamers.  It detracts from what they consider fun in exchange for some streamlines in gameplay.  Many players prefer to play non-gridded wargames for this simple reason alone.    

In addition, Grids can create a "static" battlefield.  I.e. units are a bit stagnant.  They are confined to certain moves and distances allowed by the grid.  This takes away some of the free-wheeling potential of non-Grid games.  Despite the cleaner movement offered by Grid games, sometimes they lead to artificial movement rates and other odd measurement irregularities.  For example, it can be "faster" to move in a zig-zag pattern across the field of battle than in a straight line.  This means that grid design and lay-out can be of critical importance to the designer.  

Why Use the Grid?

Like all things in Wargame Design, the intent of the designer and what you are trying to create is critical when determining if you want to use a Grid or not in your wargame.  Ultimately, a Grid is simply a tool.  Like all tools, it must be applied to solve a problem so your game can do what you envision it doing.  Sometimes, a Grid is the correct tool and others it is not.  

Here are some things to consider when deciding to use a Grid: 

1. How Abstract is the game?  I.e. what are you trying to simulate and create with your POV
2. How Precise do your locations need to be?  The more precise the tighter the Grid.
3. How much does Aesthetics tie into your design vision?
4. What Scale is your game? The larger the geography your game plays over, the more a Grid can help. 
5. How will people create the Grid?  I.e. in a game like Blood Bowl the Grid comes with the game, a game like To The Strongest the player makes it.    
6. Is this a Solo-game that employs an AI Opponent system?
7. Is this game intended to be played Remotely?  

Often times, this type of Grid-based gameplay lends itself well to a more abstracted game type.  For example, Army-vs-Army games where the action is large units and army wings clashing.  There abstracted movement and distance is not as big of a deal because the scales you are covering is greater.  Oddly, it can also be advantageous in precision model-vs-model games where your location compared to fellow models and their facings is key, such as Dungeon crawlers or duel-based games.  Paradoxically, the Grid can help you ignore details on a larger scale, or dive into them with precision at smaller scales.  Different outcomes from the same tools.  

Heroscape use a Grid Board

Final Thoughts

Grids are a very useful tool!  They can really help you streamline gameplay and make a game much more intuitive.  However, it can come with a cost to aesthetics and barrier to entry.  Like all Tools you have to have a clear idea of how you plan on using it before you make it an integral part of your design.  It is important to have an idea of what your game is to know if a Grid is the right tool for the job.  The advantageous maybe off-set by the disadvantages depending on your POV, Scale, Goals, Chrome, and Hooks you intend on deploying with your game.     

Let me know your favorite Grid-based wargame in the comments.  Until next time!

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On the Painting Desk: Perry Miniature's Travel Battle

 

As a palette cleanser from all that Heroquest, I am going to shift gears and work on something different.  I want to take a weekend or two to paint up my Travel Battle by Perry Miniatures.  This is a Horse-and-Musket game that uses 8mm miniatures on a pair of gridded terrain plates.  It is the ultimate Kitchen Table game.  

Box is also a carry-case

I spray undercoated all the components with Grey Seer.  I guess this was a mistake, as the core rules claim that the minis do not need to be undercoated.  Woops!  The rules have a small painting guide that I have all ready messed up!  Oh well.  

For the terrain boards, I did not want to use my fancy paints.  Those are too expensive for this type of project.  Instead, I picked up some Big Box craft paints.  I got a nice pack of 10 or so Nature colors for $10 USD.  These come pretty thick to start, but you can water them down and they work just fine.  I also picked up a make-up brush for the amount of Drybrushing I was planning on doing.  I also used some of the Speed Paint markers for certain touch-ups and a few other spots.  

I really should have taken more "in progress" shots.  The "grass" took two-layers of dark green, and two drybrush coats of progressively lighter greens.  The farms I used a couple different base coats of brown and a layer of drybrush. The roads were tough to not mess up as well.  Finally, I painted the little houses and forest canopies with my Speedpaint Markers.  

As finishing touches, I trimmed the edge of the board in straight black to give them a nice clean edge.  Then, I sprayed a protective coat over the whole thing to protect it from harm when we play.  I really find the terrain boards pretty cool because no matter which edges you line up, they match!  This board took me a nice Saturday to complete.  

From there, it was onto the two armies.  Each army was a pair of identical sprues with a light cavalry unit, Heavy Cavalry unit, a Guards Infantry unit, two Brigade Commanders, and some regular infantry units too.  Each infantry unit took two rows of soldiers, cavalry three horsemen, and commanders are singles.  I tend to think of these armies as British and French, but the rules only refer to them as Blue and Red. 

I started by painting the "Red" team.  I painted them on the sprue, which is not something I normally do!  I painted their pants with Holy White.  Then, I painted the coats with Slaughter Red.  The Shakos were Grim Black.  I painted the muskets and backpacks with Hardened Leather.  Horses were a mix of Graveyard Grey, Runic Grey, Holy White, Harden Leather, and Dark Wood.  I then washed them with Dark tone.  One done, I went back and painted all their skin Crusader Skin and did some touch-ups with some metallics, Zealot Yellow and some bands with White acrylic.  Once done, I sprayed them with protective enamel.   

Painted the "Red" Army took me a night of effort.  A few days later, I turned my attention to the "Blue" Team.  The horses I painted the same way, and I stuck with the white pants.  However, instead of Slaughter Red on the jackets, I used Magic Blue to try and get a bright blue coat.  Unlike the "Red" army, I decided to paint the chest straps with Holy White.  Shakos were Grim Black and Muskets and Backpacks were Hardened Leather.  Very similar to the "Red" army except for the jackets.  This was another night of work.   

At 8mm, it is more about getting the right dot of color in the right place.  This is not the smallest I have painted, but I found this scale harder than when I painted ancient 6mm.  The level of detail always surprises me at this scale.  You really can not see it that well at arm's length, but it is there.  I also used speedpaints, but they are not well suited for this scale.  I prefer my traditional Armypainter paints for this scale and historicals.  However, they were not available and were packed away.  Also regretted using Dark tone, I should have used a Sepia-tone ink instead of a Black-based ink.  Oh well, lessons learned or something?     

Once I had the "Red" and "Blue" army painted up it was time to get them on their bases.  I had previously painted them with the same Greens I used on the board.  I painted them at the same time.  Once mounted, I rimmed the bases with white and then painted Red or Blue to match the army.  Finally, I sprayed it down with a protective coat.  This is going to be a travel game, so it needs to be able to stand-up to wear and tear.  

Armies deployed

With all of this painted up, it was time to set it all up on the table.  

I am not sure how to put this on the Painting Tracker, but I will figure it out!  This freed up time and space for me to start working on my Vandal army for the Late Roman period.  Watch this space for some big bulk painting projects, however I will need to dig out my traditional paints before I start doing those.   

Until next time! 

All packed away in the carry-case.  Ready to travel! 

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On The Painting Desk: Prophecy of Telor about the Spirit Queen's Torment

 

I finished off the Frozen Horror so it is time for me to move onto my next set of expansions for Heroquest.  This time, I am going to tackle the miniatures found in the two "smaller" expansions, Prophecy of Telor and Spirit Queen's Torment.  These boxed sets came with alternate sculpts of the main enemies and a new hero each.  I all ready painted the new Heroes at the end of 2025.  

You may recall that these alternate enemy sculpts were new orcs with Hammers, alternate Abomination, some new Gobbos, female zombies, female mummies, sword-and-board skeletons, dread warriors with swords, a female Dread Sorcerer, and an alternate Gargoyle.  These minis were all also cast in transparent plastic.  Prophecy of Telor was an orange-red color, while Spirit Queen's Torment is a bluish-green.  Therefore, I hemmed and hawed about what I wanted to do with them.  Ultimately, I decided to just paint them up like normal minis for the game.  I think they will be more versatile and likely to see the table that way.  

So, that means the first step was to go ahead and get them undercoated!  Will my usual methods work with these transparent plastic figures?  To save time, and kill the suspense; the answer is Yes.  Yes it does.  Here they are after being sprayed in Grey Seer from GW, washed with dark grey wash, and drybrushed with cheap acrylic white.    

For my first painting session, I decided to start by painting all the Undead at once.  It did not matter which expansion they came from, I was going to paint them all together for ease and unity.  I was all ready concerned about matching with my previous minis, so no need to make it worse by splitting these up into smaller batches.  

The mummies are always where I start because they are super easy and you can build momentum quickly.  I painted their eyes Blood Red, any exposed flesh Malignant Green, and then their hair Graveyard Grey.  Then, I hit them with a Dark Wash.  All Undead get a Dark Wash to make them extra scary looking! 

Next were the Zombies.  I painted them Malignant Green flesh and then gave them a Green Tone ink wash.  From there it was simple to paint their dresses, belts, hair and gear.  I kept their hair Graveyard Grey or uncolored and just based.  Then, they got their Dark Wash and basing done.  

Finally, I did the skeletons and for these ladies (You can't really tell with Skeletons, and since almost everything else is a female version these must be too right!) I decided to go off the reservation with my usual paint scheme.  I decided to use Wizard Orb in order try to get a faded Bronze look to some of their gear.  I also used Fire Giant Orange for a rusted look on the metals.  The bones were of course Pallid Bone.  I also used Talos Bronze, and Copper from my Metallic Speedpaint set.  The final metal color was Graveyard grey.  These ladies took the longest, but they came out very different from my usual batch of skeletons.  Not sure my experiment worked 100%, but I will take it.  I never go back and re-paint a painted model!  

   So, after a day of effort, here is where the Undead ended up..... ooooh, scary! 

With the Undead finished, it was time to turn to the Greenskins for this effort. I had 4 goblins and 4 Orcs, all in the same pose.  I batch painted the Gobbos together and then the Orcs together the following weekend.  However, I swear these Orc models are cursed.  When I painted them up for Keller's Keep you may recall that I accidentally spray primed them instead of sealing them?  Well, this time I painted them all using Orc skin as the flesh tone, not realizing until I was done with the models that the flesh tone was supposed to be Malignant Green like the Goblins!  Arrrgggghhh!  Therefore, I went back and reprimed the fleshy bitz and repainted them.  I do not think it turned out that great, but they will blend in a bit better with thier fellows now.  

The Goblin gear I kept mostly Magic Blue and Runic Grey to blend in with the OG Goblins.  Weapons were Pallid Bone, Runic Grey, and Graveyard Grey.  The other assorted straps was either Hardened Leather or Crusader Skin.  The Orcs were pretty much all wearing Graveyard Grey armor which makes it look fierce and iron-like.  I also used some Runic Grey, Pallid Bone, and Graveyard Grey on the hammer's to make them distinct weapons too.  Their tabards were Blood Red, Magic Blue, Zealot Yellow, and Fire Giant Orange to help me tell them apart on the table if I need too.  

That was two weekends of painting down, and a hefty chunk of the models for Spirit Queen's Torment and Prophecy of Telor done.  These took about two weeks, and my painting total for the year is now hovering around 75+ models and they are all for Heroquest!       

Next time, I will get those Abominations and the Dread forces painted from these two supplements.  Once those are done, I will be at a cross-roads.  Do I keep on going on Heroquest, do I switch over to Late Romans, or do I paint up my Travel Battle game as a break?  Keep tuning in to find out! 

Until next time! 

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Review: Pillage- Victrix

 

I was buying a lot of miniatures, so I figured I might as well pick-up this set of rules to go with them.  I all ready have a large Viking, Anglo-saxon, and Dark Age Irish army so I had more than enough miniatures for a dozen or so figure, model-vs-model skirmish game.  I also have cattle and loot markers.  Therefore, this one seemed like a low-cost investment for me to pick up! 

This would not be my first raid into the Viking Age.  I myself have a few rulesets related to Vikings; Fury of the Northman and Odin's Ravens.  Therefore, I know my way around a Viking based game.  I was curious what this brought that could be new to my table.  

This one has a very nice forward where the author is very clear that this game is about "forging the narrative".  I.e. the focus is on telling stories on the tabletop and revolves around scenarios and scenario play.  This is not intended to be a competitive, tournament ready ruleset.  

So, don your hauberk, heft your shield, and hoist your spear arm for now is the time to loot this rulebook of ideas!  

Things I Liked

This is a gorgeous looking book.  It has very high production values, great photos, great miniature pictures, and really nice terrain lay-outs.  This reminded me of what separated early GW books from the competition.  Rules are detailed with images and diagrams over laid on the photos.  This is a sumptuous looking book with great, hard cover, artwork.  Just really top-drawer production values all around. 

This book is pitched at beginner wargamers.  It is written like the reader is unfamiliar with the hobby of wargaming.  In addition it has a short history section, timeline, historical sidebars, etc.  There is also a Hobby section about collecting miniatures, making terrain, and painting.  There are some fun little tutorials about painting miniatures and making nice looking terrain.    Again, it reminds me of early GW rules as an introduction to wargaming.  I do not need this section, but I unironically LOVE this section.  

There are a few charge reactions a model can make when they are the target of a charge.  If you have a missile weapon you can shoot, you can run away, or you can stand and accept the charge.  Nothing super hard to do, but gives some options for melee early on.  

Armor is similarly simple with unarmored, some armor, and fully armored.  Of note, armor dictates how fast you can move as well.  That is a good idea, and everyone basically moves the same.    

This game is called Pillage, and there are several chapters on looting and another on setting things on fire.  That matches the theme of the game and ties into several scenarios.  Interesting, there is also rules for ship-to-ship combat!  Nice!

Things I Did Not Like

The game does not use frontage or combat arcs.  Weapons and line-of-sight is 360 degrees.  This reduces some of the tactical gameplay. There is some detail about shooting from windows or other constricted spaces, but that is a niche rather than the standard.   

Charging into combat is an extra 1d3 of movement leading to contact.  I am not a huge fan of random charging typically.  No real reason, but for such a critical action I like a bit more certainty in the action.  Melee is pretty quick and brutal by design but still is a bit of Melee Yahtzee coming down mostly to dice rolls based on a table with different weapons hitting better or worse based on armor type. Pretty basic.  Thankfully, the advanced weapon rules add some more nuance to the weapons and melee about supporting allies.  

There are 5 scenarios.  Nothing that you have not seen before.  The game explicitly recommends you to design and make your own scenarios.  However, I think the game could have provided a few more guidelines on alternate deployment zones, objectives, and perhaps some complications.  

Meh and Other Uncertainties

Of note, this game does not allow pre-measuring.  If you grab a tape measure, it is assumed that you are committed to the action.  I.e. you do not measure until you are all ready going to shoot at that target, move to that place, or charge that model, etc.  

Of note, this game only uses d6 to resolve all actions.  It uses simple modifiers and rules for rolling above a 6.    

It also uses WYSIWYG for simply determining who is armed with what.  

The game itself is for 4x4 tables or even 3x3 tables.  This makes it just a bit too large for a Kitchen Table game.  However, it is a good size for a convention or club game.     

The game turn is broken down into the usual of Initiative, Move, Shoot, Melee, and End.  This gives you all the basic 4Ms.  Of note, games use alternating Phases, so it is not IGOUGO but not alternate activation either.       

Army lists include Vikings, Anglo-saxons, Normans, Irish/Scots/Picts, Carolingian Franks, Bretons, Welsh, and Generic.   

Final Thoughts

This is a solid, well-produced product.  It is a basic wargame, but comes into its own with the Advanced Rules.  Here is where it shines allowing some period specific and unique activities to add some tactical depths.  However, it is still relatively straight forward and easy to teach.  That is its strength.  

This is not for Competitive play because there is a fair amount of randomness in the rules.  It is not intended for that.  It is intended for a beer-and-pretzels experience focusing on story-telling, social interactions, and narrative fun.  This is explicit in the foreword and in the rules themselves.

For a first rulebook product from Victrix, this is a slick product!  It is intentionally designed to get people into playing the period and folks that are new to wargaming.  I applaud this approach BUT I am not sure that it is a good strategy.  I think they are simply following the GW template of a rulebook, but I am not convinced that people get into Dark Age Wargaming cold by buying a rulebook.  However, I really do not know how people get into Historical Wargaming anymore.  

Anyway, a great introductory product but not a great wargame.  It is very serviceable but old hands to the period will find it wanting.  To veterans the big adds are the pillaging and ship-to-ship combat ideas.  

Until next time! 

 

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