World of Tanks Wargame Rules

I've spent the weekend designing the core rules, lists and tank stats and am now ready to playtest my ideas over the next few days. I'm really pleased with the rules as they stand. I've layered in some extra detail which I don't think will slow down the game play too much. My objective was to keep the wargame version fast and furious and I think this does it. 

I've many more ideas to introduce a First Person mode where I am the player operating a single vehicle in a team against a randomised opponent. This would incorporate the features such as development paths, upgrades, crew training and gaining experience with my own garage. Again I'm not going to make this too involved and keep it pretty simple for now.

Great fun and I'm really enjoying watching all the stuff on YouTube to give me inspiration.

World of Tanks Miniature Wargaming and Old School WWII Skirmishes

I've been looking at some of the YouTube videos dealing with the World of Tanks on-line game. I've never played it myself but I've watched my son play and I must admit, I love to watch the YouTube videos and all the tank stats being narrated. Personally I'm hooked on tanks and love reading books and watching documentaries on the subject. 

The game got me thinking about whether this could be adapted to a wargame using actual models. Yes I know it's not realistic with teams of vehicles from every nation ranged in un-historical match-ups but it looks a lot of fun and a way to get all your armour onto the table. I think I'll start looking at adapting the WWII Rules and layer some more detail to differentiate the key tank parameters of mobility, protection and firepower. Special rules could deal with upgrades. Scenario generators and map design seem to be central features. Lots to consider, however, I don't want to get too bogged down in detail and keep it relatively light touch.

Second discovery was the scenario in Charles Grant's Battle book the Action at Twin Farms which looks like a great skirmish game to get me back into this type of gaming. Great pictures of Airfix Germans and Russian having at it. Quite inspiring.

Federation Future History Adaptation

I have resurrected the project I started earlier this year to develop a Future War adaptation of these rules to the Blake's Seven BBC TV Series universe of the Federation. The game is pitched at the squad / platoon level of small combat team skirmishes. 

I've a list for a Federation Strike Force which is composed of troopers and Mutoids. These are humans that have undergone a special conditioning to make them absolutely obedient to their handlers and part of the conditioning involves the removal of all memory of their past lives. They function as pilots, technicians, bodyguards and shock troopers. 

I still need to draft some rebel forces and a few of the opponents the Federation faced in expanding its sphere of control during the series programs. I've watched all the First Series and have now started on the second. Personally I was less interested in the program once Blake was lost but still enjoyed the Avon character which I think is brilliant. A great show which should give some interesting scenarios if I trawl through the more convertible programs. Straightforward Federation v Rebel encounters with location specifics such as bases, industrial plants, tunnel networks etc. should provide the bulk and I might try to create some tables to determine random scenario setups which incorporate the series quirks and idiosyncrasies. 

Cold War 1985-90 (and Other Modern Conflicts)

I recently became interested in extending my development of Cold War armies for the Modern Ruleset to incorporate some of the weapons introduced in the last stages of this conflict. I was particularly keen to start to design some rules to simulate the introduction of reactive armour, drone surveillance and cluster munitions. 

I've begun researching these in more detail and will roll forward my earlier army lists for 1970-85 to this later period which will include the M1 Tank and T-80 in the national TOEs. UK, US and Soviet forces should suffice for now. 

On other Modern conflict ideas, I came across an old S&T game write up of the Soviet invasion of Norway in the 1980s which might be an interesting staged campaign involving potential conflicts with Scandinavian forces. The Swedish Army of the 1980s was on my to-do list and the overall setting is appealing involving the intervention of US Marines, British Paras and Dutch forces in the assistance of Leopard equipped Norwegian units.

The Angolan Civil War and maybe the Ogaden War are sub-projects which I'm thinking of looking into in parallel with these other related Cold War topics. 

On the alternative history front I've seen some intriguing posts on a Very British Civil War genre but one set in a more contemporary context. I'm thinking of generating some 1980/90s lists which would have Chieftans and Challenger tanks as the mainstay of the armies with intervention from foreign brigades. 

That's quite a lot to get on with and I've got plenty of research and reading to do. To support this I recently started using the Scribd App on my Nexus 10 which gives me access to loads of Osprey and Military History titles in PDF format for reading as an e-book. This is a rich resource that is a mixed blessing as I keep stumbling over new ideas to develop further!   

Feudal Technocracy Rules Development

I have now managed to get most of this new setting drafted. I decided to use the Modern rules as the basis for the design, and not the Medieval rules, as I didn't want a massed battles feel to this setting. I was aiming for the level of large skirmishes / small pitched battles. The modern rules, with a considered make-over, does the trick in this respect.

To recap, my Feudal Technocracy variant presents a futuristic setting based on the Dr Who episodes Androids of Tara and shows a feudal society modeled on a technology enabled High Middle Ages culture. The setting is within the "Kingdom" where the forces of Count Grendel of Gracht vie with the legitimate Royalist Faction of the Crown Regent Reynart.

The humans are descended from a lost colony whose culture is emerging from the collapse of civilisation following a long and protracted war with the indigenous race for planetary control. The ruling class is a scientific elite possessed of superior intelligence and genetically augmented physiology. This was obtained from the discoveries of the alien precursors. 

I've developed some army lists. These are the troop types:

- Mounted knights. These represent the elite caste and are equipped with power blades, power armour and force shields making them virtually invulnerable to conventional attack.

- Bolter crossbows. These are the mainstay of the armies. Regular troops issued with light armour and trained to operate bolter crossbows which generate an energy bolt missile.

- Power polearms. These are issued to the supporting melee regulars, the men-at-arms, who perform both a shock role and protect the missile troops from enemy cavalry.

- Iron-knights. These are robotic powered automatons used to supplement human units. 

- Feudal cavalry. Armed with mounted Bolters.

- Militia. Levies armed with un-powered weapons. Cannon fodder.

With the use of the Leaders Rules I've developed for most of the other variants this should give a good small action style game. I might even draft in Tom Baker as a personality figure!

More Developments

While on holiday in Amsterdam I've gone through my notebook where I jot down all my ideas for rules developments, projects, games etc. I've managed to pull a few ideas out which I'm hoping to develop over the next few days while I'm still off on annual leave.

1. Fictional Game set in 1850. I was intrigued by a post I saw a few months ago which pitted an Austro-Hungarian force vs a Russian Army in a 1850 setting. Both armies looked great and I thought this would be a nice confrontation to use using the Nineteenth Century Rules, which are the least of my gamed rule sets from the Thomas Collection. I'm keen to expand the lists to British, French, Turkish and Prussian armies and see what a European War c1850 would look like based on the armies at the time. I'm assuming a Crimean style but in a European context.

2. Conquistador Campaign Simulation. I'm a great fan of the SPI game Conquistador and would love to use it in combination with a Miniatures campaign. I'm going to explore how I can set up some campaign scenarios and link this with the map and counters.

3. Angolan War 1975-91. I'd like to convert this to the Thomas Modern Rules and devise lists for the Cuban, UNITA and South African Forces. Looks like an interesting setting with varied terrain and forces. Another Cold War simulation.

4. Feudal Technocracy. I was considering developing a futuristic setting based on the Dr Who episodes Androids of Tara where a Feudal technocratic society was portrayed equipped with bolter crossbows and power blades. Looked great and I thought I could adapt the Medieval Rules just like the 18th Century rules for my Lace Wars conversion.

Other ideas include:

- Roman technological adaptation. Rome with technology vs the barbarians. I've seen a few literary interpretations of this genre and a blog was carrying pictures of games involving powered chariots and winged flyers which looked exciting.

- Renaissance Warhammer Fantasy adaptation to the Thomas P&S Rules. I played a lot of Dark Omen a computer game set in this world back in the 90s and a conversion to miniatures using the Fantasy and P&S Rules would be fun to do.

- Sharpe Practice. I'm still devoted to the Thomas Skirmish rules which I've used extensively and always thoroughly enjoyed. A conversion of the good points in the Sharpe Practice Rules to these Rules to develop a Napoleonic sub-set looks an interesting project. I'm keen to game some skirmish style encounters but in doing so retain a lot of Napoleonic chrome and period specific features.

Conclusion of American War of Independence Game

I completed my AWI game to a satisfactory conclusion with a convincing American victory over the British attackers. The American General Stokes held a solid defensive line which repelled the British under General Hupton. They were trying to secure control of the North Turnpike at Ridley Junction and push further North to meet up with further British forces landed in a recent maritime deployment.

The battle itself was played using the solo rules which again worked very nicely. The game also gave me a great opportunity to try out a series of my special rules I've developed for the period and I've used this experience to make some modifications and improvements which should deliver better results.

Overall, the British forces were of excellent quality but not in enough quantity to make a concentrated assault and with some favorable American die rolls early on, which eliminated two of these crucial units, the British were always faced with an uphill struggle. They did finally retire in good order to the south of Ridley Junction, to await reinforcements from the North.

Great game, my first in ages.   

American War of Independence Game: Battle of Ridley Junction

I'm in the process of playing an encounter battle just now using my solo rules and applying all the special rules I've developed for the period. 

I've already had some interesting results with an ambush of a British line battalion by American Frontiersmen who managed to cause a morale test from their fire using the officer sniping special rule. This combined with the additional morale test for units in column resulting in the loss of two stands!

I'm also looking at completing some of my Fantasy and Sci-Fi adaptations and develop the World War 2 rules for each of the sub-periods and specific theatres of operation.