tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post552916711369249257..comments2024-03-27T15:59:11.066+00:00Comments on Prometheus in Aspic: The Grand Tactical Game - Clever but Not UsefulMSFoyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-61608279102578047402010-10-13T11:30:00.619+01:002010-10-13T11:30:00.619+01:00Thanks very much, Lee.
I find the blog very usefu...Thanks very much, Lee.<br /><br />I find the blog very useful indeed - apart from insights I get from other people, it forces me to sort out a jumble of ideas (a head full of mince) into something coherent enough to write down. We could debate the level of coherence, maybe, but you know what I mean!<br /><br />TonyMSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-64744765118112768502010-10-13T10:49:27.258+01:002010-10-13T10:49:27.258+01:00A joy to read your blog Tony, very well written an...A joy to read your blog Tony, very well written and a nice touch of humour. Thanks.<br /><br />Lee.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13181989906410822069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-4071589557453719882010-10-11T15:35:22.565+01:002010-10-11T15:35:22.565+01:00Ross - supplementary response to the bit in your c...Ross - supplementary response to the bit in your comment about multi-player games, just because I remembered something.<br /><br />Years ago I ran and umpired a series of Napoleonic campaigns. On one occasion, there was a contact on the map, I gave estimates of strengths to the commanders, and they agreed to fight. They turned up for the usual evening of battle plus supper, but the French commander took one look at the battlefield and announced that he was going to withdraw from the field and fall back on his Winter quarters.<br /><br />All kinds of shock greeted this, although it was a perfectly reasonable action to take, given the circumstances. We then decided that campaign battles had a lot of advantages from the point of view of commonsense and continuity, but that making them the subject of a social evening might occasionally cause problems.<br /><br />As I recall, that particular campaign ended with that withdrawal, and one of the generals declined to take part in the next one. I think the incident itself was not significant - amusing in retrospect, though. What is probably more significant is the fact that none of us had ever realised that it might happen!<br /><br />TonyMSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-68808668257158229042010-10-11T14:28:37.990+01:002010-10-11T14:28:37.990+01:00I have a nice vision of Napoleon committing his re...I have a nice vision of Napoleon committing his reserve cavalry too early, because Murat's wife is coming to collect him at 11pm and they'll both be upset if he hasn't had anything to do!<br /><br />Deploying reserves as blinds, or even as off-table blinds, is maybe one way of reminding the commander that they are not to be just mixed in with his advance guard.<br /><br />One of the few real advantages of solo gaming is that you can do all sorts of unappealing things without upsetting anyone.<br /><br />TonyMSFoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14470241067504971068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7111053985478999734.post-22577217020936951142010-10-11T12:46:32.075+01:002010-10-11T12:46:32.075+01:00Several subjects which have been on my mind of lat...Several subjects which have been on my mind of late: rules that add effort and bother for little result and command control. C&C rules seem to focus on the higher commander though and the rare disobedience examples, the discussion these days rarely seems to touch much on the great pressure on officers to obey orders regardless of consequences or (perversely) the ability of commander on the spot to take make limited reactions to threats not included in his orders. The Grant rules did both by using the out-moded idea of issuing orders and role playing the result while Shako builds in both aspects fairly well. I think activation rolls can manage it if they aren't taken to extremes. <br /><br />But you touch on another matter which has so far been very resistant to my efforts to bring it to heel. <br /><br />As you point out most troops spent most of a day of battle standing about doing nothing yet most wargame figures spend most of a game moving or fighting. Now admittedly it would be boring in a multi-player game to have a command which does nothing all day but that is another aspect. <br /><br />If we take a battle like Waterloo, most of the troops were within a half hour's march of the enemy yet obviously they were not all launched in motion at the same time and it wasn't because they failed a command activation roll. Too many troops get in the way and add nothing and reserves are good. In small battles it works out ok and in big battles with brigades or even divisions being a single stand it can be abstracted out ok as in Volley & Bayonet but in between, how to convince gamers to leave troops back, knowing that they can commit them later and actually get them to where they need to be and engaged before the end of the game and include some tactical flavour without having troops fly across the table with no chance at all for the other side to react. It needs the ability to cross the table in fraction of the expected number of game moves and fairly quick combat resolution as well as some sort of command limitations. The closest I came was allowing very long moves with complex reaction rules which resulted in a very confusing game. Perhaps extensive training of players might have helped....<br />In the mean time I focus on small wars.<br /><br />Good stuff and more grist for the though mill.<br />-RossRoss Mac rmacfa@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04053555991679802013noreply@blogger.com