Vom Kriege Napoleonic Tabletop Wargaming

 I've developed a scaled down version of Age of Eagles for use with the Programmed Wargame Scenarios (C.S Grant). This version uses a ground scale of 1 inch = 60 yards and 15 minutes to a turn. Differences to Age of Eagles are given below with a revised QRS .

Version 4.0 is a major update of the rules to reflect learnings from recent play-throughs. Some of these changes will be tested in the next solo battle. In summary, the changes include: Command Points: More refined calculation of command points for leaders that reflects command size and leader quality. This provides a better simulation of command differences for each nationality. Command Orders: Addition of command orders that constrain the actions of units in that command. This improves solo play and penalises frequent changing of each sides battle plan. Open Order: Change in designation of skirmish formation to open order. Open order now automatically applies to units in built-up areas. Disorder: Introduction of unit disorder to improve simulate the temporary effects of combat and terrain. Disorder reduces a units effectiveness and requires the focus of the command leader to remove disorder. Major Objectives: Major objectives now count for 20 points rather than 10 points. This bett...

In the quest for simple, easy to use and fast playing rules, I've avoided written orders. I also mainly play solo and written rules feel like they are unnecessary. However, after many solo games with my rules I think that there is a case to be made for written orders. The pre-planning that appeared to be an important aspect of most battles is missing, and there is a temptation to instantly respond to changing battlefield situations as if each commander had omniscient knowledge of the battlefield positions. The other trigger for considering written orders came when I started to look at how to incorporate a programmed opponent when playing solo. It became apparent that an AI system would work much better with an overall battle plan. A typical army commander would set orders at the start of a battle for each division or brigade under his command. Changes in orders could be made but the fog of war and the vagaries of delivering and interpretting orders could often result in unintended ...

The new command identifiers and hit markers have been used in the latest AAR for the Battle of Brienne 1814 . The photo below shows the use of coloured beads to identify 2 cavalry commands (yellow and orange). The red beads are hit markers. The brass washers are bonus command points allocated from a higher order leader.

I've now added the coloured beads to the command identifier tiles. This means that commands can be identified by either a letter or a bead colour.

I have replaced the magnetic markers used to identifier units in the same command with coloured beads. The beads are placed on the same pin that hit markers are placed on.

The journey to discover the perfect set of rules and modular terrain setup continued with the Friedland scenario . Having reverted back to the terrain cloth over the 3D modular EVA foam boards, I'm really happy with the change. The hex grid on the cloth is not visible to the untried eye, but is adequate to enable units to be properly located and moved on the table. The game identified a few more tweaks to the rules as situations arose that had not been encountered in previous games. 1. One of the commands broke after 3 of its' units routed off the table. Potentially, the leader could have rolled a flag to remove a hit from himself, and stopped the route of the whole command. This wouldn't have been in the complete spirit of the intention of the rule. An adjustment to the rules has now been made so that hits incurred as a result of unit losses can't be removed. 2. The number of command points per leader doesn't feel right. I've now simplified this so that ...

I've updated the command chit and unit markers to make them less obvious on the tabletop and more reusable across different battles. Firstly, each command is now identified by a letter (A-Z). The command chit is represented by a scrabble tile with a sticker on it as shown in the photo below. Each unit within the command has a magnetic marker (green) with the command letter on it. The command leader also has a magnetic marker (brown) representing its command value. The magnetic markers were made from magnetic sheet with a printed label stuck on top and the markers cut out with a cutting blade. Each command stand has a small length of metal (part of a staple actually) which is glued to the base. It's not very obvious but is enough to ensure the magnetic markers don't slide off the stand when it is moved.

The latest Polotsk scenario delivered a few more learnings in relation to the rules. The command rules again proved their robustness in provding a realistic representation of napoleonic battles. However, a couple of refinements were made to the rules. An open order formation was introduced for units in towns and difficult terrain. This seems more realistic than assuming units were unformed. Units in towns are now always in open order which makes placement of stands easier and better models the way combat works in built-up areas. The biggest change was to remove the reduction of a units battle die by the number of hits it has taken. This is a big change but it also reverts back to the C&C origins of the system. While reducing a units battle dice by the hits it has taken appeared to be a realistic approach, it resulted in some rather odd situations where units had no battle dice to roll where it would be assumed that they would. The new rule means that encounters play out fa...

A key aspect of these rules were inspired by the writings of Clausewitz, in particular his descriptions of the effect of friction in war. This concept of friction is a major foundation of these rules and the main reason I have used the title ‘Vom Kriege’ for the rules.

After a number of test games with the rule system, it has become clear that the alternate command initiative mechanism works better than I had expected for solo wargames. Effectively this mechanism allows each side to activate a group of units, usually a brigade, and conduct any actions allowed by the roll of command dice. This often results in an action/reaction sequence throughout a turn, which could not be foreseen at the start of the turn. In addition, the limitations of command dice add to the uncertainty.

After the first test run of the rules, it was clear that a better system of recording hits on units was needed. The use of markers beside units worked ok but ther is always a danger of the markers getting separated from the unit. I came up with a rather neat solution after spotting a pack of small red beads in a Spotlight Store. There are about 100 beads in a pack for $3. Next I bought a pack of brass pins. The pins were then pushed through the styrene base of a stand and then the pin cut to the right length with tin snips. The end result can be seen in the photos below. The first photo has stands with 3 hits, 1 hit and 0 hits. One stand is on it's side so you can see the head of the pin in the base. It forms a very sturdy and relatively unseen post for the beads to be slid on and off. The pins will be painted brown so they blend in even more.

Command is an important aspect of these rules. The latest version of the rules has incorporated some new features. The first is the use of Command Cards which are shuffled at the start of each turn and are used to define the order of initiative for the Leaders present on the battlefield.