The World Turned Upside Down - Real Time Wargames.

Wargames Rules Historical | Real Time Wargames

 

I have to admit that before a certain alert popped into my Wargames Vault account about a ruleset from Real Time Wargames, I'd never heard of them before, which I'm surprised at considering the range or different rules they have to offer covering a wide range of themes and eras from Dark Ages, Wars of the Roses, most Horse and Musket periods, right through to World War One.

It was back in July that I availed myself of a copy of 'The World Turned Upside Down' (TWTUD), which is a complete set of rules for tabletop gaming the AWI in 10mm, whilst also including a campaign system for those tabletop games, and being a map based game in its own right, with the capability to resolve map generated actions with the roll of some dice.

As regular followers of the blog will know, I am an inveterate 'adapter, adopter and improver' of most rule sets I use for my games and I thought I would illustrate some of the ideas I've had for using this product, not as it is, but rather taking what I like about it and tailoring it to my own purposes, whilst perhaps bringing this set of rules and the others that Real Times Wargames have to offer to those like me who hadn't come across them before.

The description of the rules is:

American War of Independence Battlefield Rules & Campaign System
The War for the American Colonies is a fascinating mix of political and military interaction. The strategy of the war is randomised by the orders the British receive each fall, such as Cut-Off New England, Southern Expedition, Occupy coastal locations etc. Thus the frustration of a constantly changing strategic policy with ever fewer troops and a rising French intervention makes for a very challenging campaign system. It is not easy for the Americans either as they have to commit a lot of their operational activity raising troops, collecting supplies and trying to rid themselves of their more incompetent generals. The battlefield rules have a battlefield generator system depending upon where the battle is fought and has a novel non-tape measure means of showing movement to the key battlefield locations.

Contents: There is a 57 page Game Handbook with full Battlefield and Campaign rules. There are Two A3 (or 4 A4) colour maps, 2 A4 pages of Campaign & Battlefield game counters, 3 A4 of battlefield Fate Cards, A4 Operational Chart, A4 Victory Points Chart, 2 x A4 Army Strength Charts and 2 x A4 Playsheets.

The Campaign Map included in TWTUD

There is a system for fighting entertaining one-off battles.

SCALES & BASING

• Ground Scale: Tactical 1” = 25 yards; Grand Scale 1” = 100 yards
• Time Scale: Tactical 1 Turn = 10-15 minutes; Grand Scale 1 Turn = 20-30 minutes
• Table Size: 7 x 5 ft.
• Figure/Base ratio: Figures per base according to pocket. In the rules using 10 mm figures bases have 4 infantry, 3 cavalry or 1 gun and 2-4 crew per base. Tactical Game Ratio is approx. 1:4 to 1:6; Grand Scale Ratio is approx. 1:15 to 1:25.
• Game Length: 3 hours

So TWTUD is a campaign system that also includes a set of rules designed for use with 10mm figures, which is about 18mm too small for my collection, and so was top of my list for changing, once I was familiar with how the system linked up what was happening on the tabletop to what was happening on the map.

The other aspect that struck me, was that this is a paper based system, using counters, a map, and a series of charts to record other aspects of play, something I was keen to avoid if possible, much preferring a digital option with which the state of play could be easily recorded, and thus saving on space taken up with the game and its components, and no chance of parts going missing.

So for me there was obviously a bit of work to do to make what otherwise looked to me to be a very clever system to generate the narrative behind the tabletop encounters it would create, and something I was keen to try out with the necessary tweaks I needed to incorporate.

Of course if none of the issues I've highlighted are a problem for you, then you might really want to check this campaign system out, as is.

CyberBoard

So, the first thing I set about doing was transferring all the hardcopy maps and charts into my digital platform of choice, good old Cyberboard, which is a bit dated these days compared with some more whizzy platforms around today, but for a chap like me, who remembers life before computers and the internet, is a really simple system for transferring stuff like this to my computer, and a very handy campaign tool for the tabletop wargamer.

My Cyberboard version of TWTUD set up for play.

After a bit of cutting and pasting, as well as coming up with some counter graphics I preferred to those included in the rules, I ended up with a screen as seen above, with everything needed to monitor play included in one view.

My altered version of the original map, to include Halifax,
here showing the deployment of the various forces for Fall 1775.

I've since amended the original map by including Halifax - Nova Scotia, to allow the British player the option of withdrawing there from Boston at the close of 1775 to await the reinforcements from England in preparation for a more powerful redeployment in and around New York in the Spring of 1776.

Counter art for my Cyberboard module, with a selection of commanders, a British troop counter, this example worth 500 men and a one strength Fort marker.

With my map and graphics sorted out, I turned my attention to the rules and more precisely the bits I needed to change to better fit my figure collection and the games I wanted to generate with my preferred tabletop rules.

The campaign system will be a familiar one to anyone into boardgames of the AWI with armies created under commanders who are able to move groups of soldiers around the map, dropping off garrisons and bringing the enemy to battle. Alongside these basic mechanics are tables for how to raise militia and continentals for the Americans, reinforcement drafts for the British, and a sort of political framework that governs British strategy and French intervention, according to what stage of the war you are at and how well it is going for either side.

The troop counters carry a number that equates to hundreds of men, and Commanders have a command ability number from 2 to 5 that reflects their ability versus another, the larger the number the better, but also shows how many troops in thousands they can move in an army, thus requiring several commanders grouped together to move a large army in the tens of thousands.

Around this simple system, Commanders and armies will need supplies, the opportunity to build forts and drop off small numbers of troops (500 men) to garrison key positions in their area of operations. The system allows for these forces to be easily translated into tabletop armies when required, and once the combat is over to easily apply any tabletop losses to those counters representing the force on the map.

One of my revised order of battle tables to help randomise the selection of British units to participate in a tabletop game generated by the map moves in TWTUD. The player rolls dice to select units up to the number they are permitted 12 to 18, by rolling on this table, and the others for different factions, dropping excess units, with their choice as to which they will keep.

I wanted to generate actions that would see the weaker side fielding twelve units, not including artillery, in their force, to face an equal or stronger force of anywhere between twelve to eighteen units, the magic 3:2 combination or numbers in between, with the potential to change that to a 2:1 arrangement for games seeing prepared defences involved. The difference between the two forces generated would be by a combination of command abilities of opposing commanders and troop numbers, but up to the maximum ratio difference defined.

Once I have determined how many, and of what types of units are in the order of battle, I have precise unit profiles created for one of my rule sets 'Over the Hills', with American units illustrated here. These profiles will also inform my unit definitions when using my other preferred rules, 'Carnage & Glory'.

As for artillery, TWTUD already has a system for generating the number of guns by type in any given force, and that was similarly converted to my own preferences to fit my new 'Order of Battle' generator.

Advance to Contact determines what sort of tabletop encounter will occur, and this illustration shows my adaptation of the system in TWTUD.

Alongside the force generator, TWTUD has an interesting Advance to Contact system that takes into account the willingness of both sides to offer battle and in what sort of terrain, whilst enabling different types of tabletop battle scenarios to be created, ranging from Ambush, Set-Piece Battle, Meeting-Engagement, Prepared Defence, Coastal Landing and River Crossing. TWTUD has its own system of recreating these different scenarios to fit with the tabletop rules they include with the campaign system, but again I have adapted these types to my own requirements, as illustrated above.

My Cyberboard module makes use of the ideas of Steven Thomas and Peter from Grid Based Wargames, to enable me to construct a table for any given encounter on the map.
Terrain Cards - Random terrain placement for pick up wargames - Steven's Balagan
Grid based wargaming - but not always: ECW Campaign Cards and Terrain Cards
The example on the green table is from Cyberboard, where I have shown a random table created for my 9' x 5' wargames table.

For my tabletop layout I have shamelessly adopted the ideas of Steven Thomas and Peter from Grid Based Wargames and their clever ideas around using terrain squares to randomly create table layouts, but again adapting the system to my own requirements and creating a Cyberboard module, which allows me to randomly select the terrain squares which are numbered 1 to 4 on their reverse side, with a roll of a D4 determining their orientation, before they are turned over to reveal the position of any terrain areas.

As explained in the preamble to this post, TWTUD is a game in its own right with all encounters generated being capable of resolution with a D6, allowing for a very flexible choice in which encounters to game on the table, whilst also allowing me to test my Cyberboard module, which I've been doing during my little trip away from the painting desk.

I'm also hoping to test the campaign game with Steve M. when the opportunity presents to get an idea of player to player interaction with the system versus doing things solo as at present, and also gauging how many, and what sort of encounters each 'Season' of play will likely generate as the war progresses

My solo test of my Cyberboard TWTUD module for the Fall of 1775, this screen capture from the game, with highlights to show what occurred in the moves I made with each force. The areas marked with stars in New York State are those required to be controlled by Howe if he is to score VPs against the British Strategic requirements set by London.

In my solo test game, the British generated 15 Activation Points (AP's) versus 17 for the Americans, with Washington's force before Boston equally distributed to all roads leading to the town to complete a siege against it. In just three moves of play, Burgoyne's force at sea landed in Quebec, providing reinforcements for Carleton to force march and drive Montgomery out of Montreal, with a force of some 8,000 British and German troops, versus the 3,000 American Continentals and Militia.

The resulting Advance to Contact test would have seen a Set Piece Battle, but instead resulted in a small skirmish between Sullivan's rearguard and Riedesel's advance guard with 100 Militia lost as the Americans wisely pulled back, continuing their retreat down Lake Champlain in their subsequent move.

A section of the British Strategic Policy showing it set for 1775-76, but subject to change throughout the game, reflecting the chaotic management of the war by Lord Germain and the King, together with the total absence of security in Government at this time with the American rebels often knowing what was afoot as soon as or before Howe and his commanders. The VP's are crucial in a game system where matters are likely only to become more problematic as the war continues.

Meanwhile Howe decided it was time to leave Boston to land in force before New York, destroying the Militia garrison of 500 men and their hastily raised 1-stregth Fortification, to take control of the city, that leaves the British in control of one of the key areas in New York State they need to sever New England away from the rest of the Colonies, which is British Strategy in 1775-76. 

However all this activity in the first three moves of Fall 1775, plus some necessary supply-foraging expeditions has left the British with just 4 AP's remaining and the Americans, still to play their third turn, sitting on 10 AP's. 

The interesting aspect of this first seasons play is that because the Americans scored more AP's they will have the last move when winter sets in, allowing Washington to plan a winter offensive against any vulnerable British garrisons left to hold the key areas in New York, so the British will have to be very careful in how they spend their remaining AP's, no doubt setting up garrisons and appropriate defences, or settle for taking the hit in VP's and staying secure in Montreal and New York City to await their reinforcements in 1776.

Anyway, I hope this look at TWTUD might whet some appetites for those interested in campaign systems to generate their games. I'm very much focussed at the moment on collection building as recent posts will illustrate, and then I have some historic scenario-games planned to roll the collection out with going forward, but alongside those plans would very much like to use TWTUD to generate more narrative led games that I think TWTUD has to offer.

In the mean time, I'm indulging myself exploring some sites from the Hundred Years War, before getting back to the painting desk, so as always, more anon.

JJ