Wargame Design: Abstraction is the Name of the Game

Recently, I reviewed Mike Hutchinson's latest game; Pacific Command.  This reminded me that Mr. Hutchinson is a master at using abstraction to focus game play on the key elements of the game that he wants to emphasize.  His abstraction technique has two parts to it: 

1. Focus on what the Game is intended to focus on

2. Reduce the energy need to complete everything else

I think he has only refined this ability as he has gone along.  I would say, it might even be considered his "signature" game design style.  This is a real skill and one of his key strengths as a designer.  Well, at least in my humble opinion.  Not all of the 4Ms.  Need to be given equal weight during a game.  

Wars of the Republic

What is Abstraction?

There has been a surprising amount of digital ink spilled on this topic.  Abstraction is surprisingly hard to pin down!  My definition of Abstraction is pretty straight forward. 

Abstraction = Reducing Complex Realities into Simple Game Procedures

For example, the process of flying an airplane is a very complex procedure involving a lot of physics and calculations.  It is so complex that I don't have the faintest idea of how it actually works.  It has a wide variety of factors involved in order to do it well and not doing it well can lead to the death of the people in the aircraft! 

We see the challenge of Abstraction when you look at many modern aircraft games.  There are complex maneuver cards, speed and altitude changes, stalling, and other complex rules.  The action that takes seconds in real-life can take half-a-day to play!  I love to play these types of rules sets because they often tax my brain tactically, but they are nothing like an actual dogfight.  These are very complex realities involved. 

Therefore, Abstraction would be taking these abstract realities and reducing them down so that the only decisions for the player are the ones the game designer intends them to make.  Taking a look at the air combat example again, Blood Red Skies abstracts most of the Physics of flying.  Instead, it focuses on decision to move your planes into a position where they can or can not shoot at the foe to reduce enemy morale.  The rest of the game is secondary to that main focus. 

Ork Fighters for Aeronautica Imperialis

Why Abstract? 

This is much easier to answer.  

Complex processes may more accurately reflect the reality of a given situation, but typically such complex procedures bog down the game, require a higher mastery of game play to execute, disrupt the pace, requires more resources, and makes a game less interesting to play.  Players spend more time operating the controls of the game than interacting with the experiences the game is trying to recreate.  This puts cognitive distance between the game and the player.  This cognitive distance is often considered to be "less fun" by large segment of wargame players.  

Of course, what is FUN is another question all together, and not easy to answer. 

Odin's Ravens

Abstraction in Wargame Design

There is a lot of debate about whether abstraction is: 

1. A compromise forced on game designers to make games playable 

2. Abstraction is the whole purpose of game design in the first place

The first argument basically believes that Wargames should be mostly simulation in nature.  They are trying to recreate a space and time as closely as possible in order to mirror the decision making of the participants.  The purpose of the game is to create an experience that can be used to teach, draw conclusions, or otherwise as a learning tool.  This approach is more commonly a mindset in "professional" wargaming community, the historical Hex-and-Counter community, and some Historical games.  

The second view is more of a gamist or narrative approach.  The focus is to create a game experience to either "find out what happens" or to entertain as a game.  In these approaches, the abstraction is necessary to make a game playable by a layman or leisurely hobbyist.  The abstraction is to allow players to resolve a scenario or game with a plausible conclusion in a timely manner.  Lessons and learnings can happen, but the focus is more on delivering an entertaining and satisfying conclusion to and for the players.  The main focus is on playability rather than completeness. 

Now, I am not doing either of these positions any justice.  Both are equally valid and useful ways to think about abstraction.  However, I have a strong bias towards the second for a simple reason, I am designing Hobby wargames with a more Gamist and Narrativist slant to them.  The Simulation is secondary for me.  

Since I lean into the second category, I tend to ABA- Always Be Abstracting.  Therefore, I am trying to create the shortest possible procedure to resolve a process in a way that I find satisfying and gets a solid result.  

Battle of Kadesh using In Strife and Conflict

Abstraction Tips and Tricks

 Here are some tips and tricks to help you think about abstraction in your game designs.  

1. Have a Point of View on how things work in your game world or historical setting.   

2. Decide which parts of your game you want to emphasize and put more rules and detail there. 

3. When you create a process to achieve a result, always try to strip it down to the fewest steps possible.            

4. At the point of emphasis, do not leave the rules flavorless.  This is the heart of your game, if it has no bite; than no one will want to play your rules.  

5. Not all processes need to be given equal weight. 

6. Just because it happened one time doesn't mean you need rules for it, focus instead on what your rules are trying to do. 

7.  Be ruthless in streamlining your game.  Kill your favorite rules. 

8. It is always easier to add complexity via Special and Advanced Rules later.  

9. Abstracted rules give your more design space if you want to expand later

I talk more about this with Mark's Game Room

Final Thoughts

To me, the difference between good wargame design and not-so-good wargame design is often determined by how well it can abstract the core concepts into playable rules.  For my money, good designers should ABA- Always Be Abstracting.  Emphasize the key aspects of the game or period and abstract the rest even further.  

Abstraction is the name of the game.  

Until next time! 

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