“History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.”
— Johan Huizinga
With some key considerations to bear in mind I started thinking how to abstract the
battle’s historical elements into familiar game forms to simulate
the engagement: a board representing the terrain; pieces for military
units; and dice, with relevant rules, to adjudicate attack success. I
made some general assumptions to make the experience easier for
players to understand and enjoy. To do this, however, requires a
large degree of abstraction that, with some framing for participants,
can help immerse them in commanding forces in the historical battle.
My whiteboard notes on the battle.
Sources
I have a basic understanding of the Battle of Great Bridge, having lived in Culpeper some 20 years and seen (and read) material about the Culpeper Minutemen. But in designing a streamlined game about it, I needed to ask some questions to adapt the history into a game framework. Most pertain to nearly any battle one seeks to simulate. What did the terrain and troop deployment look like? (Useful for determining the board arrangement.) What forces were involved and how did they compare proportionately in size, number, and capabilities? (Necessary in figuring how many unit pieces to include and ruling how they move and attack.) What ranges and accuracy did Revolutionary war muskets and rifled muskets have? (At the battle the Culpeper Minutemen sent flanking fire into the British from beyond musket range because, as essentially frontier fighters, they used more accurate rifled muskets.)
