With limited time, I set up scenario 20: Fighting Retreat from One Hour Wargames on a 6 x 6 grid to be played using The Portable Wargame rules, with Developing The Portable Wargame on hand to clarify any questions that arose. Forces were generated per OHW.
This was a chance to test my brain's reaction to 4-figures in a line representing a battalion in game terms.
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| Game 1, Tiger on a hill. |
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| Game 2. Turn 2. The GIs arrive in force. |
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| End of Game 2. The Germans are outnumbered 4 to 2 (there's an infantry unit to the left of the hill) and concede. |
I had time to play the scenario twice - good thing as I made more than a few mistakes the first time through. Given the small size of the German force, I ignored the breaking point rules, and decided it would be 50% of the unit count. Both games went to the GIs, but I had a better plan for the Germans in the second game - using the infantry to hold the fords and delay the US advance - and they took it 10 turns before I declared it over for them.
Although very enjoyable, a few things felt "wrong" to me for my intended scale - primarily the shooting distances. So, as it was, I just began to think of them as "units" about half of the time, possibly companies, but definitely not smaller, and battalions the other half.
Nothing wrong with that, mind. However, that wasn't my objective. I think the shooting ranges are what throw me. They seem more suitable to a company per square, to my brain at least. I'm not at all sure about reality. Generally speaking and in this game!
Tweaking The Portable Wargame is certainly a possibility. I have since stumbled upon Hexes and Miniatures and there are many ideas there to borrow as well. Perhaps its the "basing" of the units that didn't work? The other possibility is that perhaps a battalion per unit, up to a division per side, is not the best option, and maybe going with a company per unit is.
However, with the space available to me, I think at best I could field an infantry regiment with support in this manner. In any case, more testing to do for sure.
Unrelated to anything above, my little boy was home sick yesterday. He was bored - an amazing feat given all the toys he has. In an effort to alleviate the pain of screen-free time, I lent him some of my unpainted figures and .
Here he is entertaining himself with some Britain's guns and some match sticks for firing. There were no objectives, no concerns about scale incompatibilities, nothing but fun, which is really what it's all about anyway.
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| Little wars. |
Yup.
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