Shrapnel Games Blog

As the war in Iraq progressed from its initial military campaign to the ongoing guerilla war, the topic of trying to simulate current events in game form has been thrown around amongst gamers I know. The problem has always been what’s the best way to represent the situation, yet manage to keep it playable? Ideas have been tossed around over greasy pizzas, in cars on the way to local game shops, and via email, all with no real results. The perfect system eluded us.

Until now. Recently I was playing Avalon Hill’s We The People, and that’s when it hit me…this is how you do the Iraq conflict!

If you are not familiar with We The People, it’s a card-driven game (CDG) by Mark Herman on the American Revolution. Not familiar with CDGs? CDGs, instead of a traditional IGOUGO sequence of play, revolve around the idea of playing cards to move, fight, et cetera. That said, they do not play like the Commands and Colors system, which is also driven by cards. Typically in a CDG (of which there are many) you play cards to activate leaders and their respective troop stacks, play events, and influence area control. Obviously, every game system tweaks what the cards can and cannot do, but most keep the general elements.

I was playing the independent-minded colonists in our game. The colonists have several advantages over the British, such as the ability to influence political control anyplace on the map. For the British, control is spread from existing areas of control. The colonists have more leaders, which in turn allows them to convert British markers at a more numerous rate than what the British can do in a given turn. The colonies also have the advantage of being able to sustain a steady rate of reinforcements throughout the war, while the British see their reinforcements peak, and then drop as the years go on.

British advantages run along the lines of better leaders, and initially many more troops. Troop quality, represented by a bonus in combat, is also present, but is negated permanently through the use of a particular event card. The British can often win battles, but have a hard time winning the hearts and minds.

Victory is determined by the number of colonies controlled, with the American player needing nine colonies to win. The end date of the game is random, dictated by event cards. The earliest end date allows for about six or seven turns of play though, allowing plenty of time for the players to have an impact on the game.

In our game I managed a colonial victory with nine colonies. The British had pretty much the south locked up, with both Carolinas dens of redcoats, along with Virginia and Maryland. Georgia did not fall, only because on the very first turn of the game I was able to secure the French alliance and landed French troops in Savannah. Due to the fact that the system favors the defender in combat (unlimited stacking, but leaders can only carry five strength points with them on the march), I did little with the French except build them up. That did have the effect of forcing the British player to keep a sizable force bottling them up, or risk having the French rampage through the south.

The north was completely dominated by my troops. Early on I marched Washington against Howe in a fairly even battle. Securing victory, the British retreated towards Canada, but fell victim to winter attrition. The next year I launched another attack on his forces, supported by the French navy, and wiped the Brits out. From that point on the only ports the Brits could reinforce from were in the south. I was given free reign to occupy the north, while the Brits had to spread themselves thin, and slowly progress north.

When you look at all the elements in We The People—especially the political control system, random game end—it could all easily work with a game on Iraq. You could even increase the number of players from two, to three or four: Coalition player, Sunni and Shi’ite, al-Qaeda, and Iran. Like the British in We The People, the Coalition would be better at combat, but have a tougher time spreading influence. Perhaps, unlike We The People, political control could be converted by the Iraqi side at a whim, instead of needing a leader. Event cards could portray typical current events, and instead of a random war end card perhaps a point track that when filled up forces the Coalition player to cut and run (of course you could still have instant lose cards, such as the ‘Hillary Wins!’ event card).

So, what do you think? Could the system work?

Origins Changes Name, Adds Clowns

Saw this post today. Origins is changing its name from the Origins International Game Expo to the Origins Game Fair, and adding a “fair element” for walk-in visitors to check out for a buck. While that may mean clowns, pony rides, and ferris wheels, I’m thinking that the sight of overweight fifty-year old men dressed up like Captain Kirk would be enough entertainment for most folks.

What’s interesting is it sounds like for that dollar you can also check out the vendor area and a games demo area.

GAMA will be adding a fair element to the show that will include food vendors and dozens of game demo areas where visitors will be able to learn new games from around the world in an easy and fun setting. Entrance to this part of the Origins Game Fair will be only $1.00, and the huge exhibit hall, with over 200 vendors of games, will be included in that price.

“Nothing is going away from the show everyone knows and loves,” Gallela said. “The additional demo spaces will be an invitation to the general public to join enthusiasts in their love of games.”

Will the general public be drawn to check out the show, even at the rock-bottom price of one dollar? I also wonder how good security will be in terms of those folks who are just walk-ins to the “fair”, sneaking into other areas of the con that everyone else is forking over sixty bucks for. I know here in Atlanta the last Dragoncon I went to I was rather irked at the number of people walking around the con that had just came in off the streets. Now, this was a while back, so maybe things have changed, but about the only place that they checked for a con ID badge was when entering the dealer’s room (although I think we were asked for our ID when signing up for tournament games), which seemed a little stupid since that’s the main place at the con where you’re spending money.