Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook PDF Author: Rick Priestley
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1473890098
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
Unlike chess or backgammon, tabletop wargames have no single, accepted set of rules. Most wargamers at some point have had a go at writing their own rules and virtually all have modified commercially available sets to better suit their idea of the ideal game or to adapt favourite rules to a different historical period or setting. But many who try soon find that writing a coherent set of rules is harder than they thought, while tweaking one part of an existing set can often have unforeseen consequences for the game as a whole. Now, at last, help is at hand. Veteran gamer and rules writer John Lambshead has teamed up with the legendary Rick Priestley, creator of Games Workshop’s phenomenally successful Warhammer system, to create this essential guide for any would-be wargame designer or tinkerer. Rick and John give excellent advice on deciding what you want from a wargame and balancing ‘realism’ (be it in a historical or a fantasy/sci-fi context) with playability. They discuss the relative merits of various mechanisms (cards, dice, tables) then discuss how to select and combine these to handle the various essential game elements of turn sequences, combat resolution, morale etc to create a rewarding and playable game that suits your tastes and requirements

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook PDF Author: Rick Priestley
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1473890098
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Get Book Here

Book Description
Unlike chess or backgammon, tabletop wargames have no single, accepted set of rules. Most wargamers at some point have had a go at writing their own rules and virtually all have modified commercially available sets to better suit their idea of the ideal game or to adapt favourite rules to a different historical period or setting. But many who try soon find that writing a coherent set of rules is harder than they thought, while tweaking one part of an existing set can often have unforeseen consequences for the game as a whole. Now, at last, help is at hand. Veteran gamer and rules writer John Lambshead has teamed up with the legendary Rick Priestley, creator of Games Workshop’s phenomenally successful Warhammer system, to create this essential guide for any would-be wargame designer or tinkerer. Rick and John give excellent advice on deciding what you want from a wargame and balancing ‘realism’ (be it in a historical or a fantasy/sci-fi context) with playability. They discuss the relative merits of various mechanisms (cards, dice, tables) then discuss how to select and combine these to handle the various essential game elements of turn sequences, combat resolution, morale etc to create a rewarding and playable game that suits your tastes and requirements

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook PDF Author: Rick Priestley
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 147389008X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Unlike chess or backgammon, tabletop wargames have no single, accepted set of rules. Most wargamers at some point have had a go at writing their own rules and virtually all have modified commercially available sets to better suit their idea of the ideal game or to adapt favourite rules to a different historical period or setting. But many who try soon find that writing a coherent set of rules is harder than they thought, while tweaking one part of an existing set can often have unforeseen consequences for the game as a whole. Now, at last, help is at hand. Veteran gamer and rules writer John Lambshead has teamed up with the legendary Rick Priestley, creator of Games Workshop’s phenomenally successful Warhammer system, to create this essential guide for any would-be wargame designer or tinkerer. Rick and John give excellent advice on deciding what you want from a wargame and balancing ‘realism’ (be it in a historical or a fantasy/sci-fi context) with playability. They discuss the relative merits of various mechanisms (cards, dice, tables) then discuss how to select and combine these to handle the various essential game elements of turn sequences, combat resolution, morale etc to create a rewarding and playable game that suits your tastes and requirements

Paper Time Machines

Paper Time Machines PDF Author: Maurice W. Suckling
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040100376
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
James Dunnigan’s memorable phrase serves as the first part of a title for this book, where it seeks to be applicable not just to analog wargames, but also to board games exploring non-expressly military history, that is, to political, diplomatic, social, economic, or other forms of history. Don’t board games about history, made predominantly out of (layered) paper, permit a kind of time travel powered by our imagination? Paper Time Machines: Critical Game Design and Historical Board Games is for those who consider this a largely rhetorical question; primarily for designers of historical board games, directed in its more practice-focused sections (Parts Two, Three, and Four) toward those just commencing their journeys through time and space and engaged in learning how to deconstruct and to construct paper time machines. More experienced designers may find something here for them, too, perhaps to refresh themselves or as an aid to instruction to mentees in whatever capacity. But it is also intended for practitioners of all levels of experience to find value in the surrounding historical contexts and theoretical debates pertinent to the creation of and the thinking around the making of historical board games (Parts One and Five). In addition, it is intended that the book might redirect some of the attention of the field of game studies, so preoccupied with digital games, toward this hitherto generally much neglected area of research. Key Features: Guides new designers through the process of historical board game design Encapsulates the observations and insights of numerous notable designers Deeply researched chapters on the history and current trajectory of the hobby Chapters on selected critical perspectives on the hobby

Meaningful Game Design

Meaningful Game Design PDF Author: Devon Allcoat
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000982599
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This book provides readers with the tools and methods with which to create effective tabletop games. It covers the design and development process thoroughly, guiding readers through the necessary mechanics, messages, and motivations of games that must be understood in order to build successful tabletop games, including serious educational games for teaching or training. Through a range of learning activities and methodologies, readers will develop an understanding of games and an appreciation for the creating and testing of game play whilst critically exploring the relationship between games, motivation, and learning. It includes chapters on design methodology, narrative, accessibility, playtesting, and more. This book will be of great interest to students of game design and serious game design courses. It will also appeal to designers, educators, and hobbyists interested in designing and developing their own tabletop games, educational or otherwise.

One-hour Ancient and Medieval Skirmish Wargames

One-hour Ancient and Medieval Skirmish Wargames PDF Author: John Lambshead
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1036110273
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
John Lambshead’s highly popular One-hour Skirmish Wargames was designed for fights in the gunpowder era but now he is transporting the action back to the age of swords and sandals, of legionaries, hoplites and war elephants. These stand-alone rules (you don’t need the first book) follow the same principles that made the original popular: streamlined game mechanics that are quick to learn and fast to play, allowing the players to concentrate on making tactical decisions and having fun rather than constantly having to look up and decipher over-complicated rules. Card-driven like the original, no dice are required. Although deceptively simple, the rules capture plenty of period flavour and allow for everything from slingers to chariots and stampeding elephants. There are sample force lists, a points system for building any force across this whole period and a couple of sample scenarios. The author explains his design choices and the logic behind the rules to make it easier for players to tweak them to suit their tastes and their specific armies or sub-period. He describes them as a toolkit, not a set of hard-and-fast tournament rules, and adaptation and customization of the rules is encouraged. Fast and furious fun is the order of the day.

Zones of Control

Zones of Control PDF Author: Pat Harrigan
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 026233495X
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 845

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Book Description
A look at wargaming’s past, present, and future—from digital games to tabletop games—and its use in entertainment, education, and military planning. With examples from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Harpoon, Warhammer 40,000, and more! Games with military themes date back to antiquity, and yet they are curiously neglected in much of the academic and trade literature on games and game history. This volume fills that gap, providing a diverse set of perspectives on wargaming’s past, present, and future. In Zones of Control, contributors consider wargames played for entertainment, education, and military planning, in terms of design, critical analysis, and historical contexts. They consider both digital and especially tabletop games, most of which cover specific historical conflicts or are grounded in recognizable real-world geopolitics. Game designers and players will find the historical and critical contexts often missing from design and hobby literature; military analysts will find connections to game design and the humanities; and academics will find documentation and critique of a sophisticated body of cultural work in which the complexity of military conflict is represented in ludic systems and procedures. Each section begins with a long anchoring chapter by an established authority, which is followed by a variety of shorter pieces both analytic and anecdotal. Topics include the history of playing at war; operations research and systems design; wargaming and military history; wargaming’s ethics and politics; gaming irregular and non-kinetic warfare; and wargames as artistic practice.

Wargaming Campaigns

Wargaming Campaigns PDF Author: Henry Hyde
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1473855942
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 530

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Book Description
Most miniature wargames take the form of simulating a single battle with the opponents either winning or losing and that's that until the next game. Such games can be a fun test of tactical skill but it can be even more rewarding if they form part of a wider campaign. In a campaign, the players commanding the forces have to make the decisions at the strategic level that determine the context of any battles that occur. The outcome of these battles will, in turn, have strategic consequences for the ongoing campaign. Although campaigns can be very rewarding, many wargamers are deterred by the need to produce maps and devise mechanisms for strategic movement, Intelligence, logistics, recruiting reinforcements, keeping track of casualties etc. Henry Hyde's excellent book greatly eases this task with masses of sound advice, concrete suggestions and even a full set of campaign rules useful for any period up to AD 1900. Whatever historical or fantasy setting you prefer, Henry shows that even simple campaigns can add extra fun to your gaming.

One-hour Skirmish Wargames

One-hour Skirmish Wargames PDF Author: John Lambshead
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526700077
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
Many wargamers enjoy the challenge of skirmish games where, instead of the strategy of vast armies portrayed by traditional wargames, the focus is on the tactics of a small unit. However, skirmish rules are often so complex that it can take hours of rolling dice, consulting tables and recording data to recreate what would in reality be a fast and furious firefight lasting just minutes. Now these new rules make it possible to recapture the speed and intensity of these actions where every man, and every second, counts. The basic rules are supported by sections which give special rules and scenarios to capture the flavor of a range of different periods, from Napoleonic to Modern Warfare and beyond with Sci-Fi. From the 95th Rifles scouting for Wellington, Western gunfights and WWI trench raids, through WW2 parachute assaults or Special Forces strikes in Afghanistan, or even Space Marines storming a space station, Squad Firefights elegantly simple system allows you to focus on proper tactical decisions rather than rolling buckets of dice or calculating masses of modifiers.

A Wargamer's Guide to the Early Roman Empire

A Wargamer's Guide to the Early Roman Empire PDF Author: Daniel Mersey
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473850266
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 185

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Book Description
The Roman army of the early empire is one of the most instantly recognizable armies and enjoys a reputation for excellence. This and their many famous campaigns against a wide range of colorful foes makes this one of the most popular periods for wargamers. Covering the period from 27BC to AD284, Daniel Mersey gives a wargamers perspective of the many conflicts and offers advice on how to recreate these on the gaming table. Advice is given on factors to consider when choosing an appropriate set of commercially available rules, or devising your own, to best suit the scale and style of battle you want and capture the flavor of the period. The relevant ranges of figures and terrain pieces and buildings are also reviewed. Analysis of the forces involved, organization, tactics and strategies will help with building your armies and there are interesting scenarios included. Whether this is a new period for you, or you are looking to refresh your existing interest in the period, this handy guide is sure to hold much if interest.

Language Use, Education, and Professional Contexts

Language Use, Education, and Professional Contexts PDF Author: Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030960951
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
This present book addresses language and its diverse forms in an array of professional and practical contexts. Besides discussing the intricacies of specialized settings such as legal, medical, technical or corporate, the collection also focuses on the role of education in relation to professional contexts ranging from challenges in professional university teaching and translation didactics to business environment requirements.