One Hour Wargames : More Machine Age Changes

Most of the changes from this post  and this post on this subject still apply in one form or another, but there are new additions that have lead me to a game I find even more enjoyable.

An Unfortunate Oversight - elongated to 2' x 4'. Units are on 3" wide bases. Each infantry base is a company. 1" = 50 yards approximately.

Activation:

• Each leader figure on a side rolls xd6 to see how many units in their command may be activated that turn
• A poor leader rolls 2d6 and takes the lower
• An average leader rolls 1d6
• An above average leader rolls 2d6 and keeps the higher
• Leaders activate for free.
• Assault units activate for free.
• Units already engaged in close combat from a previous turn activate for free.

 

A sturmpatrol assaults the Italian unit holding the town.

Assault Units:

• Always count as in cover (take 1/2 damage)
• +2 in close combat
• May attempt to self-rally to remove morale result failures.  Counts as activation.
  

Infantry Close Combat:

• Requires a Guts Check prior to rolling to move. If succeeds may roll movement. If fails, unit may not advance and counts as having activated.
• Otherwise, use the modifications from the linked posts above.
  

Movement:

• Infantry, Leaders on foot, MG/Heavy Infantry - 1d6"/2d6"
• Assault units 1d6"+2" / 2d6" 
  
• Field Guns  1d3"/1d6"
• Cavalry  1d6" + 3"/ 2d6"+ 6"

The first number is for rough ground (almost everything), the second is for roads, flat solid ground etc.

Leaders :

On their activation, a leader figure may move and one of the following:

• Before or after moving, choose a unit within 6" recover 1d3 points
• Before or after moving, attempt to rally a unit with a morale failure marker
• Instead of moving, call in off table artillery on a target within 12"
  

Rallying:

Leader rolls 2d6 and if less than the damage taken by the unit, remove one morale failure. Poor leaders -1 to the roll, Avg leader +/- 0, Above Average +1 to the roll.

Meanwhile on the Austrian right, the battalion there effects a river crossing. It is slow and some of the units were more hampered than others.

 

Hit Point / Strength Point / Cohesion Points Recovery

• A unit that does not move, shoot, or engage in close combat may automatically regain 1 point.
• A unit that withdraws (increases the distance between it and the nearest enemy) automatically regains 2 points.

Shoot out across the river in support of the sturmpatrol assault.

Morale Results Test:

Every time a unit takes damage, they take a Morale Results Test.

Roll 2d6, if less than damage taken, fails

1st fail - no penalty, just a marker
2nd fail - May not advance towards enemy, attacks are 1/2 damage
3rd fail - routed

 

Guts Check:

Performed as Morale Results Test with no Morale Results Test failure rules applied. Taken before charging, going over the top, etc.

 

The situation at the end of turn 15. I decided the Italians could not withstand much more, but the Austrians had suffered on their left (the battalion that tried to take the village suffered high numbers of casualties). I ruled it a minor victory for the Austrians.

Recently, having read this post over on Blood and Spectacles  about wargame design, and then reading back through various linked post, I realized that what I enjoyed most in Contemptible Little Armies and in Trench Hammer was the way leader figures mattered.

I determined I wanted to focus my WWI rules around Morale primarily, and its relation to the other Ms (Movement, Melee, Morale, Missiles).

Neil Thomas explicitly notes that hit points for a unit represent morale, as well as casualties, so their recovery had to play some role in this. I wanted to find a way to reflect the leader's impact in some way ( a la Contemptible Little Armies), but also allow units some opportunity to manage their own morale (a la Trench Hammer). 

I settled on splitting the loss of morale from the effects of that loss. The former could be managed by the company commander on down. The latter would require a combination of both the company leadership and assistance from the battalion HQ to keep the unit on the battlefield. 

Does this reflect anything in real life? No idea.

The game pictured played out 15 turns in an hour with over half of the units remaining on the table, as is proper I think. Rather than finishing the game with one or two units total left on the table, they were able to stave off morale loss in different ways.

The leaders had a lot to do putting out fires and I enjoyed the decisions between rolling to remove a morale failure or removing hits on a unit. Logically there are times where one always makes more sense than the other, but there were often times where it felt like a gamble and I struggled to make the "right" decision.

Other changes I added this time around were simply to increase friction in a way that I find leads to an enjoyable narrative and solo gaming experience - activation pips, test to charge, the variable movement rate, that kind of thing.

These points of friction make a more dynamic and interesting game in my opinion,while still maintaining the underlying beauty of the One Hour Wargames Machine Age rules.

p.s yes, I re-based AGAIN. I decided I like the multi-figure bases best for the majority of my WWI gaming. I easily see them as companies, and have followed Hordes in the Trenches basing suggestions for number of figures per base (doubled in width due to figure size). If I decide to do individually based figures, I'll do it in 28mm or maybe 1/72.