Rules of Engagement Part I - Work in Progress

Last year (and a couple of times this year as well), I've played several different rules for wargaming I've found online for free which could be used with ordinary toy soldiers and army men. The complete series of reviews can be found on this blog. I played the same setup and scenario each time, which made it easier to see the different rules pros and cons. All the different rules had different advantages and some disadvantages. I wanted to see if it was possible to take most of the elements I consider as 'the best' from the different rules and collect them into one ruleset, and see if it was possible to get it all on one page as well since I'm a fan of one page rules. It became clear with so many great rules; there was not place enough on the paper for including all their best elements together on only one page.

Don't get me wrong; I really enjoyed playing all these different rules found online for free (and had a good time doing it as well), and I'm definitely going to play them over again for different scenarios and periods. At the same time I wanted to see if it was possible to develop my own 'home brewed' house rules based on my experience playing these games made by others. Therefore my rules are heavily influenced by great rules such as FUBAR, 1 BC Toy Soldier rules, Fighting Plastic, OMOG, Close Wars, Wargame in a bag and Plastic Command by Craig Cartmel, Pete Kautz, Corey Butler, Thor Sheil, Donald Featherstone, Nick Grant and J.P. Medved respectively. Thanks for your inspiration! The result of  these inspirational games was my own draft for home brewed, onepage rules for army men and toy soldiers.

Developing these home brewed rules was a process so long, so to describe it all in one blogpost would have made it far too long to read in one piece. Instead I've made it into a series of 4 blogposts with a short description and a Battle Report in each which will follow here shortly. It would be tempting to do like George Lucas and start with Episode 4 and the most interesting part right away, but as these rules are playable in all stages I'll show the different stages of the development of them. And IF following Lucas' example; the prequels would not be so interesting...

From my own service abroad I remember we got a single page card with the Rules of Engagement for the mission/conflict. Since my own homebrewed rules for miniature battles also are just a single page, I decided to simply name these Rules of Engagement for Wargaming with Miniatures.

Link: Draft - Rules for Army Men Wargaming

The test

Where the initial rules playable? They needed to be tested. They say that no plan survive the first contact with the enemy, so to test these rules I decided to try them out on the same, familiar by many now, setup and scenario as I did for the other games I've got the inspiration from. 

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Forces:
  • Katangese:
  • 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
  • 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
  • 1 sniper
  • HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
  • After turn 12: QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces.

  

  
  

  
  

  • UN:
  • 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
  • 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
  • 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
  • HQ-section with platoon-leader
  • 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

  

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    5 hours and 30 minutes (!)

Turns:   23 (!)

Result:  UN withdrawal

The UN started their offensive by placing the Katangese supportbase under heavy fire, which managed to suppress the HMG for a turn...

...but the Katangese sniper managed to hit the UN machine-gunner in the same turn, and he had to be replaced by the UN platoon-leader.

The Katangese forces managed to successfully pin down several units in the UN advancement for several turns with suppressive fire...

..which really slowed the UN offensive down...

When slowly approaching the village, there came to fierce fire-fighting in the outskirts...

And the UN forces was about to make a breakthrough, but by turn 12 the Katangese QRF entered the village, just in time to change the tide of battle.

The UN forces decided to make another push for it, as they were close and about to break through the Katangese defense-lines. The UN Bazooka-team managed to strike a direct hit and took out the Katangese HMG and pickup. Would they make it after all?

In these rules the Katangese QRF are played as an 'elite unit', and their appearance made the UN offensive come to a definite halt. 

The UN forces closest to the village met the Katangese QRF first, and were charged into a hand to hand combat, in which they had no chance with this elite unit.

The other UN units got pinned in their positions outside the village...

...which also made it difficult to retreat without leaving any brothers in arms behind...

The UN support-weapons were eventually used to cover the retreat, while the UN troops in the battlefield were striving to get back to their own lines...

...due to enemy fire they were struggling to withdraw from the battle, and only a few of them managed at the end.

The Katangese Forces made to hold Lumbaya, and this was a clear victory. For now. The UN engagement in Congo was to last for many years and there would be more clashes to come.

Pros

• Being 'own' rules based upon the best of a lots of other rules, so sure there should only be pros in this section, or...? -Well, being own rules makes you remember them easier, as you have used a lot of time tweaking about them, so you don't use so much time for reference check in the rules while playing. 

Cons

• I wouldn't exaggerate and claim that these were fast playing rules...
  On the contrary. But perhaps that is a pro for some? 
• I feel it was low casualty rates from shooting, and perhaps that's why the game took so long? On the other side this makes it easier to slow down, suppress and pin units for several turns, which again are as in real combat; slowing down, halt and interrupt enemy actions, forcing the other side to abort, step down or retreat with minimal own losses. Regarding armour-savings; I remember from my own service we always asked 'if we had to wear helmets' during different exercises as we preferred to use our berets or field caps instead. Now it's clear why wearing helmets have it's benefits, even in a wargame.

Conclusion

Even though it took some time to develop this draft and a pretty long time to play them, I had a good time all the time working on and playing this. Even if I took all the parts I considered as pros from different rules I couldn't fit them all into one page and the result was defiantly not a 'perfect ruleset', but it's still playable though if you wanna have a go. 

Despite of this I hope you will read through my rules and feel free to give me a feedback in the comment-section. If some of you also consider to try out a game with these rules, you're more than welcome to share your experiences. I'm curious to see if they coincide with mine.

As this was only a 'test play' of my draft for a homebrewed houserules for wargaming with Army Men, I think It's still needs some more tweaking and adjustments to fit my demands for such a wargame. It seems like there will have to be a return to, and a second battle for Lumbaya (again).

To be continued...

Plastic Command Rules

As I wrote in my previous post, I really appreciate all you readers and your comments. Especially those which points me into new rules or aspects of wargaming.

After writing a review on Nick Grant's Wargame in a Bag (2), J.P. Medved suggested on the Facebook-group Army Men Homepage another free ruleset; the Plastic Command Rules, which can be requested on the Plastic Command Homepage. The rules are made by J.P. Medved him self. I signed up and downloaded the rules and wanted to try them out. 

I think it would be fair to play them with the same scenario as I've done with all the other reviews of free wargame rules for army men and toy soldiers, and a scenario some of you will be familiar by now. I repeat the scenario here if it's your first time here and you haven't read it yet:

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Katangese:
• 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
• 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
• 1 sniper
• HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
• After turn 12: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces. 

• UN:
• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    1 hour and 45 minutes

Turns:   9

Result:  UN defeat

The UN offensive against the Katangese forces in Lumbaya did not have a successful start as the Katangese rooftop HMG immediate got a direct hit on the UN Jeep and eliminated it and the HMG. In the next turn the Katangese forces managed to eliminate an entire UN rifle squad as well.

Lacking an entire squad and necessary support-weapons, the UN had to improvise by using a bazooka-team in the support role for not to loose the initiative in their offensive.

The Bazooka team did well as close support and managed to score a hit in the Katangese defense line. Luckily for the Katangese Gendarmes, they had medics nearby, which managed to help some of the casualties (with good dice rolling). 

At this point the Katangese forces managed to make the UN advancement come to a halt and the forces were exchanging fire.

But when an UN mortar-grenade punched a brief hole in the Katangese defense-line, the UN troops had  to utilize it and make a run for it before the Katangese Gendarmes could fill it up again with their reserves.

But they were not quick enough to exploit the hole in the defenses, as the Katangese reserves arrived just in time to fight back and took out almost an entire rifle squad. The remaining UN-soldier failed his morale test and was hurring back to his own lines.

By this time the UN did not have the necessary forces left to continue their offensive against Lumbaya, and the Platoon-leader ordered a retreat for those very few left.

After giving his orders the UN Platoon-leader was taken out before he managed to leave the line of fire himself

The UN offensive against Lumbaya had taken a toll on the Katangese Gendarmerie, but they managed to hold their position. for now. Probably the UN will return to finish the job.

Pros

• It's free to download on the Plastic Command homepage or on this link.
• It can be played with any toy soldiers and inexpensive army men.
• The rules have very generous firing ranges. Maybe too generous considering that the suggested play area is 4'x6'. This may cause less movement and more static fire exchange. Remember to load your table with different kind of covers. You troops will need them.
• The rules have an own section how to build (equally strong) armies.
• The rules have an own section for urban fighting in buildings.
• It have rules for medics and how and for long to treat casualties.
• It has rules for airborne troops and where they arrive at the gaming area.
• Own rules for planes and helicopters if you want to add such to your game.
• Rules for how to cross and lay minefields.

Cons

• Despite a wide weapon range, the rules just list 'MG' and do not separate between LMGs and HMGs. HMGs just makes more damage than a LMG.
• The rules doesn't make it harder to hit the targets on langer ranges than shorter. And units not moving do not gain any benefits for having time to aim.
• There is no Owerwatch rules to interrupt enemy actions.
• The penetration and save rules makes it theoretically possible to blow up a truck with a single pistol or rifle shot.
• There seems to be contradictory information concerning snipers. In the unit section sniper units are given a shoot value of 4+ but in the weapon section it always hits on a 2+. I played as the latter.
• If the roll of a "1" is always considered a failure, why does a roll of a "1" give vehicles a save?

Conclusion

I'm glad J.P. Medved shared his rules, and I'm happy to play it. Thanks!! I had a good time and a narrative game. I also must say that these rules includes a lots of the different elements I've considered as 'pros' in earlier reviewed free wargame-rules for toy soldiers and army men. It's worth taking a closer look at them and have a game.

It looks like there have to be another revisit to Lumbaya....

Stay tuned!

A simplified set of rules for Modern Wargames

One of the nice things with writing this blog are all you people who reads it, and sometimes comments on my posts. Especially appreciated  are comments which points me into new rules or aspects of wargaming.

After writing a review on Donald Featherstone's 'Close Wars', John Yorio from the excellent blogg '54mm or Fight' suggested another Donald Featherstone's rules; 'War Games or Battles with Models Soldiers' as an alternative for simple rules in a more modern setting with heavier weapons. This was also encouraged by Mark from the excellent 'Man of Tin blog'. Links to both of these inspiring blogs are found in the bar to the right and below in the link-sections (and if you haven't been there yet, pay them a visit). John even provided me of a copy of the 3 short pages of Donald Feathersone's rules.  So I decided I had to try them out. Wow! What a society!!

I think it would be fair to play them with the same scenario as I've done with the other reviews of free wargame rules for army men and toy soldiers, and a scenario some of you will be familiar by now. I repeat the scenario here if it's your first time here and you haven't read it yet:

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Katangese:
• 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
• 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
• 1 sniper
• HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
• After turn 12 if rules include vehicles or skilled troops: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces.

• UN:
• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    1 hour and 30 minutes

Turns:   11

Result:  UN victory

The UN platoon made their advance towards Lumbaya, supported by both a Mortar team and a vehicle-mounted HMG.

Very early in the campaign the UN mortar made two successfully hits andt eliminated the Katangese HMG and support-base. This made the UN advancement much easier and quicker...

... and gave the UN the needed initiative in the battle.

When getting closer to the village the UN forces met more resistance and heavier fire, and their jeep and HMG were eventually taken out by a Katangese LMG, but not before...

...the UN support weapons made to tear up the Katangese line of defense completely...

...and the Katangese reserves didn't even make it to their defense line before they were under heavy fire and taken out by another successful UN-mortar grenade.

In turn 8 the first UN squads were entering the village. The Katangese had only one team and surprise left for the entering UN-troops, a 'secret weapon'. 

...Until it malfunctioned in the next turn (because you just don't miss with a weapon like this), and another UN squad came to the rescue. By this time there were only 2 unarmed Katangese medics left in the village, and an UN success with minimal losses (just a jeep and 4 plastic grunts).

Pros

• It's simple and can be played with easily available and cheap army men or toy soldiers from a lot of different (modern-) periods.
• Fast playing.

Cons

• These rules are really simple. Perhaps too simple. In only 3 small pages there are minimal information which may lead to misinterpretations.
• Even if the rules were short they were contradictory on the rifle ranges. One place it was written that the rifle range was 12", and on another thet you had to deduct '3' from your dice if firing rifles on ranges between 12"-24". I went for the long range alternative as I think the firing range for infantry weapons are a little too short.
• There were no clear turn sequence, so I decided to play is at 'I go, You go'.
• Even if it contains rules for a lots of special weapons, it doesn't have any rules for sniper rifles. It didn't matter much in my game anyway, because my 'sniper' (which I treated as a infantry man with long range) was only rolling '1's every time.
• In this game you don't roll a dice (or more) for each weapon. Infantry units fire 1 D6 for each volley of 5 men. - and deduct numbers from your dice depending on the range. The units under fire makes a roll for a save thou. So some calculation is needed when not operating 5-men teams or teams divisible by 5. It also makes it very difficult for smaller units to hit anything at all.

Conclusion

As the last time I played a game by Donald Featherstone, I had a good time. The game is easy and fast playing. I think it would work even better in a smaller scale such as 1:72 or similar. This game also shows that heavier weapons cause more damage and casualties, and that was exactly what I missed with Donald Featherstone's Close Wars. Thanks to John for the suggestion and the rules and Mark for the encouragement.

When writing this it seems like there has to be at least one more revisit to Lumbaya during 'Grand Slam'. Sign up on this blog if you haven't done so already, and stay tuned...

Once Upon a Dice in the West - Edition 3

Once Upon a Dice in the West - Version 3

The Rules

I really like 'Westerns', and a couple of years ago I wrote my own 'home brew' I called 'Once Upon a Dice in the West'. I've been playing it, and like the rules it as it gave a narrative game and a kind of cinematic feeling of a 'Western'. I've played so many other games since then, and I wanted to upgrade my 'house rules' with mechanics found in other games to it, and trying to get the whole thing on one page as well (as I'm also a fan of one page rules). So Once Upon a Dice in the West is now in it's 3rd edition.

I recently played Thor Sheil's OMOG - One Man, One Gun 19c with an Old West scenario, and wanted to try it out the same scenario with my recent version of 'Once Upon a Dice in the West'.

The Scenario

The scenario was vaguely inspired by the Dalton gang's robbery i Coffeyville in 1892; An Outlaw gang had to tie their horses slightly away from the bank, while a couple of the gang-members looks after them while the other members rob the bank. Can they rob the bank, get back to their horses and leave the town without getting caught??

The bank is further down the street from where the outlaws placed their horses

The 'Forces'

Playing the same scenario, I decided to use the same forces; 2 members of the gang are watching their horses while 4 other gang members has gone for the bank. These have been recognized on their way to the bank, so the town sheriff and 2 of his deputies are alerted and also on their way to the bank. 4 citizens have armed them self, and are ready to try to stop the robbers from stealing their savings. A small Army-detachment of 2 is also located in the outskirts of the town. Once Upon a Dice in the West is not entirely based upon 'units', but on 'characters' as well. I treated the Army-detachment as a 2-man unit, and all the others as characters. The Sheriff and one of the robbers I made 'special characters' just to give them more skills and advantages in gun-fights.

The Game

The robbers were totally ruthless and very offensive when leaving the bank, shooting in all directions....

...hitting severeal of their 'welcome party', including killing the sheriff and his deputies (!)... 

...but the robbers also recived some fire as all their hits wasn't all deadly, only wounding and stunning some of their targets. They got pinned outside the bank...

...and had to run for cover. The armed townsfolk exchanged fire with the robbers and proved that rifles are still more accurate than the smaller revolvers. -Even in the hand of an unprofessional gunman.

...and finally managed to kill all the robbers from the bank.

The outlaws looking after the horses tried to flee the town as all the other robbers got killed in the shootout and the loot was not in sight for him anymore, but was not quick enough and was killed in the escape.

The Conclusion

The outcome of this skirmish was not so different from the shootout I based this scenario upon.

I had a great time with my childhood miniatures, and the game lasting only 7 turns. 

I provide the Once Upon a Dice in the West - version 3 here on my blog, so you can have a try at it as well if you'd like to. Please feel free to post your comments or experiences here if you'd like to.

Link: Once Upon a Dice in the West version 3

OMOG 19c - One Man One Gun Wild West

OMOG 19c

The Rules

I've played and reviewed the OMOG-rules earlier in this blog. Then my conclusion were that I think it is a ruleset better suited for smaller games and scenarios and for earlier periods. When Steve Snark in the OMOG-Facebook group made a quick reference sheet for the OMOG 19c (which can be found in the groups file-section), I wanted to try it out for a small scale skirmish with only a handfull of miniatures in an early era conflict.

The Scenario

I'm very found of western movies, and decided I wanted to try out these rules and reference sheet in a Wild West gunfight, which is both a small scale skirmish and early enough to avoid automatic weapons (and templates). I was inspired by the Dalton gang's robbery i Coffeyville in 1892, and made a similar scenario: An Outlaw gang had to tie their horses slightly away from the bank, while a couple of the gang-members looks after them and the other members robb the bank. Can they robb the bank, get back to their horses and leave the town without being caught??

The outlaws horses closest, and the bank is located further down the street

The 'Forces'

A unit of 2 members of the gang are watching their horses while 2 other units of 4 gang members has gone for the bank. These have been recognized on their way to the bank, so the town sheriff and 2 of his deputies are alerted and also on their way to the bank. They act as a unit. 4 citizens (in 2 units) have armed them self, and are ready to try to stop the robbers from stealing their savings. A small Army-detachment of 2 is also located in the outskirts of the town.

The Game

To terrify the staff and any curious bystanders, the robbers start shooting when leaving the bank. This alerts the sheriff, his deputies, the armed citizens and the army detachment...

The robbers are shooting in all directions when leaving the bank...

...but get surprised by the sheriff and his deputies who are on their way towards the bank.

The shootout starts and an outlaw and a deputy is immediately taken out. The rest of the outlaws runs for cover outside the bank... 

...and gets divided. One of the bankrobbers get pinned outside the bank while the others starts shooting their way towards their horses.

Only one bankrobber makes his way thru the city to the horses, closely followed by the posse.

One of the outlaw looking after the hoses tries to give cover, but are taken out by the army. One robber from the bank actually manage to get away on his horse, with the loot as well. I think the sheriff will arrange a posse for him very soon...

The conclusion

I think the OMOG rules worked a lot better for this small, early period skirmish with a handfull of miniatures. The quick reference sheet by Steve Snark made this a really fast and enjoyable game. I think the pistols have a little too short range to give it the Western cinematic feeling to it thoug. This game is best played with rifles.

I had a great time with my 40 yrs+ old miniatures from my childhood, and some background Ennio Morricone just for ambiance.