Event Game Repertoire

 “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”

— Aeschylus

German troops await a charge from
U.S. Marines at Belleau Wood.

We had a great time earlier this month attending the Call to Arms tabletop gaming convention in Williamsburg, VA. It’s a small event as cons go, but it’s a busy, friendly, and welcome weekend getaway. (And we bookended the convention with some time at our favorite sites at Colonial Williamsburg.) My son and I ran a Skirmish Kids game, “A Slice of Belleau Wood,” and I ran a D6 System Pulp Egypt roleplaying game scenario for a fantastic group of players. As we were packing, my son paged through one of the stand-up sign folios I use to promote my games at the table while I’m setting up and during play. I create a one-page promo with title, illustration, and description for each game. After a con I forget about them, leaving them in the folio until the next time. As my son paged through and recalled past games, I realized I have a fairly solid repertoire of historical and fantasy/sci-fi miniatures games I’m ready to run for events (and I’m not even touching all the roleplaying game scenarios I’ve hosted over the years).

We drove home, excited about the fun weekend and the friends we saw and made, happy with a few purchases from dealers, and exhilarated at winning a raffle prize (two Tenfold Dungeon sets from Gale Force 9). During the drive home my son talked about the next convention we might attend and what kind of new event he’d want me to prepare and run. And my weary mind, tired from a full weekend of gaming and history sight-seeing, started reviewing some of those games I’d run in years past, wondering if I could run them again in their ready-to-go format. They’re handy standards to pull out when I need something but don’t want to paint up an entirely new force and prep new terrain.

The author (left) runn a Star Wars
RPG session at a convention.

I’ve been attending conventions most of my gaming life. At first I ran games for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game as a fan, later as a representative of West End Games. After the company folded I continued running roleplaying games at conventions within driving distance. I took a break for a few years, then returned to some new regional conventions to indulge my growing interest in miniature wargames. I’ve learned a lot over the years running public events. I’ve always worked to introduce newcomers and kids to gaming, easy with a popular game centered around Star Wars, a bit more challenging with historical subjects.

So when I reviewed my years of miniature wargaming events, I noticed an emphasis on easier rules systems and subjects that might engage players or promote some of my game-publishing projects, notably Panzer Kids and more recently Skirmish Kids. That said, my game repertoire includes a good balance of my own rules and those from other designers:

Panzer Kids: I created a host of scenarios to promote Panzer Kids, most designed to introduce the basics of the rules — and a few more advanced optional rules for a deeper play experience — to kids and wargaming newcomers. Desert Skirmish consists of a brief demonstration to teach the rules, centering on a few tanks on each side battling over a small North African village. Italians in the Desert expands the concept, with different tanks, into a larger engagement with some objectives. Beyond the teaching games I’ve designed a few larger spectacles. Vichy’s Last Charge pits American tanks against Vichy forces in an Operation Torch scenario, using the 6mm micro-scale rules to fit more tanks on the table. Charge at Tel el Aqqaqir sends British tanks against a German defensive line in the opening moves of the second Battle of el Alamein in an action reminiscent of the Charge of the Light Brigade (though bold players can succeed on the British side). Last Stand at Deuxpontville depicts a massive engagement during the Normandy breakout between American and German tanks trying to gain control of two bridges near a village. I’ve run these with varying degrees of success depending on the number of participants and their engagement levels.

Skirmish Kids: My most recent miniature wargaming publication focuses on easy skirmish games in which each figure represents one soldier (as opposed to rules with bases consisting of squads). At Call to Arms this year we ran A Slice of Belleau Wood representing a small perspective of the battle, with U.S. Marines charging over open ground against German machine gun positions. But the rules also allow for a number of scenarios, historical or otherwise, using a handful of figures on each side. Ambush Those Clankers capitalizes on our love of Star Wars and pits a unit of clones against Separatist battle droids on sentry duty. Years ago I ran a few Star Wars themed skirmish games using some earlier experimental rules as well as a session of Valley of the Ape, both kid-friendly and using unpainted 54mm plastic figures, so I don’t worry if kids drop them or otherwise mishandle the minis. While Valley of the Ape still stands up as a fun kids tabletop game, Skirmish Kids is now my go-to rules set for these kinds of battles.

Gridded Naval Wargames: I’m fond of Bob Cordery’s Gridded Naval Wargames rules. They’re relatively easy, intuitive, and adaptable to various periods of powered, armored naval combat. I’ve acquired a collection of 1:1200 and 1:2400 scale miniatures for various periods and engagements that interest both me and my son; those provide components for a number of naval wargames I’ve run at conventions. For players interested in American Civil War ironclads I’ve run Ironclads at Mott’s Bluff, a kind of free-for-all riverine engagement; I have the ships to recreate the Battle of Hampton Roads and Battle of Drewry’s bluff but have not yet run them publicly. I also prepared some ships to satisfy my son’s interest in the Russo-Japanese War, though these haven’t seen action at a convention yet. My interest in World War II inspired me to create two scenarios, Sink the Graf Spee! and South Pacific Patrol (featuring American PT boats). The game system remains easy enough that kids and newcomers can quickly grasp the core concepts and move on to exploring the deeper nuances of tactics.

Dragon Rampant: Years ago, in the waning days of the Google Plus social media platform, I arranged a trade for a horde of 54mm plastic painted Lord of the Rings miniatures. The larger size makes a striking visual impression on the game table. I crafted some terrain — rock formations and a Rohirrim structure inspired by The Two Towers — and devised two scenarios: Rohirrim Patrol, a basic fight between horsemen and orcs; and Hungry Orcs! raiding a farmstead (complete with livestock). I should design another scenario, but I’m limited by my figures: three squadrons of horsemen, three units of orcs, a unit of orc scouts, and a unit of warg riders.

Wings of Glory: As part of my examinations of the morality and utility of using wargames for learning I designed The Game that Will Live in Infamy, which I’ve discussed before. I’ve run it twice at conventions. It’s essentially a small slice of the second attack wave at Pearl Harbor focusing on the assault against the USS California (with the USS Nevada trying to escape for good measure). Being such an infamous episode in history the game inspires some reflection on the sacrifices made and the ramifications of the surprise attack on the course of the war, reinforced by some player handouts that provide context for the action on the tabletop.

Surveying the games I’ve run at past conventions, I come out with 15 distinct events. Some I’ve hosted more than once. And then there are a host of games I’d like to run, some ready to go, others requiring a bit more preparation.

Potential Games

My collection of wargaming toys includes materials for a host of scenarios I play for myself which I could easily prepare for public events.

Battle of Great Bridge: I’m in the process of finalizing a demo board for the Battle of Great Bridge, Dec. 9, 1775, which featured the Culpeper Minutemen. The demonstration game uses easy rules for a short play time, but is meant to allow participants to gain a quick, first-hand feel for the engagement. I’m running demos on Saturday, Oct. 25, in the location where the minutemen mustered 250 years ago as part of a commemoration of the event. After that, the game goes into my active repertoire (though I’ll admit it’s a short and one-sided affair, the British having had faulty intelligence and no room to maneuver).

Various Portable Wargame Scenarios: I admire Bob Cordery’s Portable Wagame rules almost as much as I like his Gridded Naval Wargames. Combined with various collections of miniatures I have — and a host of Peter’s Paperboys figures I can print and assemble as needed — I have tabletop forces for a variety of battles on a gridded field. In the past I’ve gamed out confrontations between Romans and Germanic tribes around the time of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest (a pandemic project I’ve covered before). I’ve used the rules for a host of other periods in which I dabble: American War of Independence engagements, like my favorite Battle of Ridgefield; American Civil War fights; battles with my small collection of Napoleonic figures; and, of course, various actions from World War II with various 15mm Flames of War figures I’ve acquired over the years.

Viking Raiders: I’ve recently become enamored of Viking-age skirmish games after seeing news of a game event featured at a Sutton Hoo. I ordered a bundle from Bad Squiddo Games’ shieldmaidens line because the figures seem so unique and I found a deal at a local game store for a band of Saxon warriors. Combined with the free Ravenfeast rules (an excellent introduction to gaming in this period) or my own Skirmish Kids rules it might make for an interesting game demo. (In the past the local winery has hosted an annual mead and Viking festival, so that might prove an interesting venue for public games.)

More Wings of Glory: Over the years I’ve gradually amassed a small collection of choice aircraft for the Wings of Glory game (beyond those required for A Game which Will Live in Infamy). I probably have enough planes to run small games centered on the Battle of Britain, Midway, the Flying Tigers, the air battle over Germany, and the Raid on the Forth.

Star Wars: As a lifelong Star Wars fan I have plenty of gaming resources for running tabletop battles. I have a decent collection of vessels for both the X-wing Miniatures Game and Star Wars: Armada. My old 25mm West End Games figures manage to field a few forces for Star Wars themed battles, which I’ve done in the past modifying Daniel Mersey’s The Men Who Would Be Kings rules (when I’m not using them for Skirmish Kids games). And although it’s not Star Wars, (though quite similar to the X-wing game) I also have enough ships for Star Trek: Attack Wing to run several scenarios involving various factions.

Goodness knows I have a host of periods/genres I enjoy, even have a few toys for, that I haven’t yet painted or crafted into a scenario. If only I had more gaming friends and venues willing to host games, historical or otherwise....

An Invitation to Play

If you’re interested in inviting me to run a game at your event, school, museum, library, or other institution, drop me a line at schweig (at) att (dot) net. In the past I’ve run game events at a local museum and the local public library, in addition to various conventions and game days. The repertoire above serves as a ready-to-go menu, but I’ve also crafted custom games for certain events (such as the Battle of Great Bridge demo game I mentioned earlier). Some are just for fun, others I can present around a talk providing more insight into historical events, as one has to do at least a little research when designing a game set in the real world, past, present, or future.

I have learned for more educationally minded presentations to take a three-part approach: first introduce the historical context and game rules; then engage participants in playing the game; and finally taking some time to discuss the game and history afterwards, including players’ experiences/feelings, how well the historical event transposes to the abstracted game format, and further reflection on the implications of the event.

Dr. Jeremiah McCall — who uses games for education in his high school history courses — advocates this three-part approach when using games for learning. He calls it “The Cycle of Gameplay and Analysis,” and created a useful diagram to illustrate the concept. All three elements remain essential, even in casual games for fun. A host can vary the time spent on each one as circumstances allow, but they’re all necessary to get the most out of the game experience. It’s inspired me in my recent approaches to public games, especially when used in conjunction with a talk or event linked to a historical theme. As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t often spend much time reflecting on our experiences given our hectic world, but without reflection, we rarely learn meaningful lessons.

“We do not stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing!”

– Benjamin Franklin