Greater Space Battles gets greaterer

At Pahoota's always fascinating Solipsist Gaming blog, he's just made available an updated version of his Greater Space Battles spaceship solo game, and the current version is super impressive!

Check it out on his downloads page HERE, and, while you're at his site, view his spaceship model-building tutorial. It makes even an impatient, shaky-handed freak like me think I can build my own ships!

Was I wrong about the LotR Card Game?

Last September, I posted that the Khazad-dum deluxe expansion for Fantasy Flight's Lord of the Rings Card Game was more of a commitment than I could bear for this product line, and I dropped my desire to buy into the game. Too rich for my blood, I thought, and I feared it wouldn't give me the solo satisfaction I required.

However, today on that very same post, the awesome Ninjadorg - for whom I have great admiration - left a comment that has me reconsidering my decision.

From Ninjadorg:

It's a shame guys, you're missing out on a beautifully developing solo game, with more theme and gameplay options with each new release. And Khazad Dum is easily the best expansion pack so far.

Yikes! Was my original assumption wrong?

I really want to hear what others have to say about this, so please - if you've played this game - comment below!

Thanks!

Rally Round the King / Warring States Test Game

To see if Rally Round the King could work for my Warring States campaign, I playtested the system this week with the cheapest of materials. The battlefield was a blanket, and the miniatures and terrain were made from paper. The most expensive element on the board was the freeloading cat that kept periodically coming by offering unsolicited advice.

"That's where you're putting your mounted skirmishers?
Really? So, you're trying to lose, is that it?"

The armies were derived from the Merchen/Chinese list in the RRtK Army List guide. Both sides received the same Basic Army and a leader in a chariot (my choice), but the remaining 200+ points of units were determined randomly as per standard rules.

The color of the paper I had printed the enemy on was a light green that reminded me of the outside of a melon, so I called the enemy the "Xiang Gua" (the muskmelons). They didn't mind.

Dice rolls decided that the Xiang Gua army was the attacker. Terrain rolls revealed a large hill, some woods, and an impassable area. A final roll determined the Xiang Gua strategy - "Penetrate Center." Troops were deployed accordingly.

The invading Xiang Gua are set up between a large hill and impassable terrain,
but, since they plan on a center attack, it helps their flanks.

Here's a quick synopsis of my first full game...

Turn 1: The Xiang Gua held their "hillside" and "woodside" flanks and sent a light screen of foot skirmishers down the center to harass my frontline levies. The attackers were easily chased off, and I then committed a body of Horse Archers to try to disable the Xiang Gua's hillside flanks.

Is a hillside assault my best course of action?

Turn 2: The Xiang Gua center cavalry charged my levies and routed the entire frontline?!? This was a devastating blow to me so early on. Though my remaining line of levies charged the Xiang Gua cavalry to rout or retire their units, my center was seriously weakened. Rather than reinforcing it, I dispatched my cavalry to attack the Xiang Gua's woodside flanks.

Seconds before the roll that wiped out my front line...
Had I played correctly? See Question 1, below.

Turn 3: The Xiang Gua's woodside cavalry defended the flank, and their reserve chariots wheeled to support the hillside flank. Meanwhile, I pushed the center, hoping to clear away the remaining Xiang Gua cavalry. Though bloodied, I was gaining ground!

Turn 4: The Xiang Gua chariots and cavalry did a much better job securing both flanks than I had expected. I tried to change up my strategy by redirecting my own cavalry, but I quickly realized this was a maneuver that was two turns too late.

Sure, I've gained more ground, but at what cost?
That body of Xiang Gua infantry remains untouched...

Turn 5: The Xiang Gua chariots chased away my Horse Archers, utterly defeating my hillside advance. My cavalry's attack on the Xiang Gua levies failed. Things were looking bleak for my defense of the homeland.

Turn 6: The Xiang Gua final assault was engaged! Their formidable body of levies pushed forward and confronted my levies while their chariots wheeled toward the center. My levies countered, but the end result was a broken body of separated units.

"You suck."

Turn 7: The Xiang Gua cavalry wheeled to join in the central battle. Though their levies failed to charge my remaining troops, their chariot units succeeded in routing my isolated soldiers. I had no choice but to blow the big horn of retreat. It was over.


Takeaways
Though I'm late to the RRtK party, I'm glad I showed up! Shaun was right about everything he had reported in his blog. The system works very well in general for solo play, but, specifically for my Warring States objectives, it really captures the flavor of that period in a neat package of streamlined mechanics. It even addressed some of the flavor of my recent considerations of Sun Bin's strategies. Additionally, it comes with campaign rules that make managing nationwide wars fluid and hassle-free. It will be difficult for another set of rules to top RRtK, but I'll keep my options open for a while longer before I commit to a campaign.

Questions
Can anyone help me with two issues that came up during play, but were not addressed in the rules or on the THW Yahoo site?

1. I always thought a 6 was an automatic fail on a Reaction Test in THW games, but there was no mention of that on the melee or missile test charts, nor is it noted at all within the respective sections of the rules. During Turn 2, I rolled 6,6 for my levies' reactions to the Xiang Gua cavalry charging attack, and their modified Rep at the time was 6. I ruled it was a 0d6 pass and they routed, radically changing the game for me. Did I make the right call?
2. When a unit fires a missile attack at the flank of another missile unit, can the target return fire? The target would not have line of sight at the time of the attack on it. There are rules for when a unit is charged to the flank or rear (it takes a special reaction test, pg. 41), but there's nothing about missile attacks. I ruled that the targeted unit could not return fire, despite the 2d6 reaction chart result.

Thanks!

Chinese Army Paper Counters for Rally Round the King

The first rule set I'm going to test out for my Warring States Project is THW's Rally Round the King because the vast majority of solo players have highly recommended it to me. Upon first reading the rules for RRtK, I can see why - lots of cool elements here!

Though the setting of RRtK is a fantasy world, many nations are based on historical armies, and the region called "Merchen" fits the profile of a Chinese Warring States army perfectly! I just needed an actual army! So, I made Ancient Chinese army paper counters consistent with the appropriate sizes of bases for 15 mm figures.

Infantry is 40 mm x 20 mm, cavalry is 40 mm x 30 mm, and chariots are 30 mm x 40 mm.

The images are by Ben Harvey from Junior General.

Regardless of the direction the images are facing, the front of each counter is the side opposite the name.

The number on each counter is the number of figures meant to be mounted on each unit as dictated by the RRtK Merchen army. That value is used in RRtK to determine things like outnumbering. The number of soldiers depicted in the images I used is ignored, like in the case of these dudes:

The plan is to print out two copies of the army on different colored paper, cut them out, and give RRtK a test drive this week!

I placed what ought to be enough counters on a single sheet of paper to provide for an entire RRtK army of this nation, wheteher a player wants to build the army himself or roll half of it up randomly as per the rules.

And, there's a general in a chariot, too!

Ultimately, I did not opt for "top down" images for the counters because I really liked Ben Harvey's work as it was. Sure, I could have used a number of top down pics per counter instead of needing to type an actual number - and I DID try that, even on green backgrounds - but I really liked these the best.

If you want a copy of the counter sheet, e-mail me and I will send you the PDF.

10-ish Rounds: The Superman Revenge Squad

In one of the earliest versions of Heroclix, each player made a 200-point team, and the game lasted for only 10 rounds (10 turns each). After 5 rounds, if one player was down by 50% of his starting point total, the game ended and that player lost.

With the way that Heroclix has evolved in the past decade, such a format wouldn't work. However, I did start to wonder what the impact of a 10-round limit would have on my own solo wargaming rules for Heroclix, so I decided to give it a try.

I only needed the 10-round limit, not the 50% rule as I already had a "rout" rule that addresses the same mechanic. I also didn't need to use the totality of the solo rules I had developed, just the following:

Roll 2d6 before the beginning of each force’s turn. Using the die with the higher value (or either in the case of doubles), consult the Deployment Orders chart to determine how the friendly force will be used. Add +1 to the value for each friendly character on the battlefield with Leadership as a standard or special power currently showing on the dial (to a maximum of +3).

The 300-point teams:

The Superman Revenge Squad

Livewire (75), Toyman (50), Lex Luthor (50), Parasite (125)

Metropolis Heroes

Supergirl (100), Superman (150), Steel (50)

The Battlefield: "The Farm" Map (an attack on Smallville!)

SRS Turn 1: 5,2 Frontline Firepower

Parasite and Livewire move toward the farmhouse. Toyman gives Lex a lift to the crops.

MH Turn 1: 4,1 Frontline Finesse

Steel takes to the farmhouse roof, Supergirl makes a Hypersonic ranged attack against Livewire's 18 defense and hits! Superman follows with his own Hypersonic attack on Livewire and she takes more damage.

SRS Turn 2: 6,2 Unrestricted Operations

Toyman pushes and brings Lex to Livewire.

MH Turn 2: 5,2 Frontline Firepower

Steel pushes and charges Livewire, KO'ing her before she can use her Regeneration next turn.

SCORE: MH 75, SRS 0

SRS Turn 3: 6,4 Unrestricted Operations

Parasite moves behind a tractor and Outwits Superman's Hypersonic Speed. Lex attacks Steel, damaging him.

MH Turn 3: 4,1 Frontline Finesse

Supergirl fails to hit Parasite with a boulder, but Superman's heat vision attack succeeds. Steel Outwits Parasite's Power Drain special power.

SRS Turn 4: 6,1 Unrestricted Operations

Toyman's Giant Size pounds Steel with a Critical Hit, KO'ing him! Parasite gets his Power Drain back and he uses it to steal away Superman's Hypersonic Speed! Parasite pushes and speeds up to the roof to attack Supergirl, but he fails to hit her.

SCORE: MH 75, SRS 50

MH Turn 4: 6,6 Unrestricted Operations

Feeling confident, the heroes clear their action tokens and do nothing.

SRS Turn 5: 5,5 Frontline Firepower

Parasite uses Power Drain on Supergirl's Hypersonic Speed (Superman is out of range now), and then the villains clear their action tokens and cross their evil fingers.

MH Turn 5: 5,1 Frontline Firepower

Superman's Hypersonic attack on Parasite KO's him. Supergirl gets her Hypersonic Speed back and zips over to flatten Toyman. Only Lex remains on the villain's side.

SCORE: MH 250, SRS 50

And, ironically, I ended the game here, after exactly 5 rounds.

Perhaps the teams I chose weren't the right ones for this sort of test. Heroes with Hypersonic Speed dominate most battlefields. I suppose I expected more from Livewire and never anticipated that she'd get hit hard so very early in the game.

Also, without using my solo rules for reinforcements and rescues, there could be no real surprises. Had those rules (based on getting doubles when rolling Deployment Orders), Steel would have been rescued during Round 4, and the Superman Revenge Squad would have gotten a reinforcement during Round 5. As it was by Round 3, it was pretty clear that the villains would need a miracle to win. That was the biggest downer for me: I'm a solo player -- I NEED SURPRISES!

I still see some potential here. I must revisit this 10-round limit again...

Mythic & Mouse Guard Podcast

At his "1 Player Podcast," solo player Albert H. recently tried out the Mythic Game Master Emulator for the first time. He recorded his impressions and posted it all to his site. The result is a podcast that's a great primer for anyone who has not tried Mythic yet but is curious!

Additionally, Albert posted the text of his Mouse Guard actual play. It's a cool look at Mythic's application on a roleplaying game that differs from the traditional D&D-style session.

The direct link to the Mythic review podcast is HERE.

The Mouse Guard AP is HERE.

I haven't actually listened to many podcasts and I really liked Albert's style. So, if there are more podcasts out there, please let me know.

The Future of Mytherian Heroic Fantasy

With the increasing interest in the recent release of the new edition of the solo-friendly RPG Mytherian Heroic Fantasy, author Erik Goodwyn had this to write about the system's future:

So apparently DnD is planning to release YET ANOTHER edition. Hey, if you want a great game that doesn't overhaul every 3 years, costing you $200...Mytherian hasn't changed it's basic format in 12 years (that's because it works!). And it keeps getting better.

Later this year we will be releasing Mytherian Expanded Realms: Volume 1 with a full 3 new Adventure settings, each infinitely replayable, and 10 new hero classes.  This will be the first of 4 new volumes of expanded realms!

Stay tuned, gang...

Very cool!

Arcadia, a new solo blog to follow

Miles B. has just kicked off a solo wargaming blog to record the developments of his wartorn fictional land of Arcadia.

With its roots in the Battlelore system and its dynamic play drawn from Miles' own innovative designs, Arcadia is looking rather inspirational and definitely entertaining - and it just started!

Arcadia is HERE. Be sure to read the posts from the beginning.

GO FOLLOW!

Pondering Sun Bin's Qu

For my Warring States Project, I'm not planning to recreate history. I am, however, certainly going to steal from it! (I'm also going to steal these awesome figures from the person who created them once I find out where he lives.)

In between researching miniatures options and potential rule sets, I've been perusing Sun Bin's account of the organization of infantry during the period.

Apparently, the basic building block of mass formations was the "Qu" or 曲. A Qu consisted of 200 infantry organized in a squarish rank and file of either 40 men abreast and 5 deep or 20 men abreast and 10 deep. The constituent element of the Qu was a five-man squad of two swordsmen, two dagger-axe men, and an archer, one behind the other.

Thus, in the 40x5 variation, there would be two rows of 40 swordsmen in front, two rows of 40 dagger-axe men in the middle, and one row of 40 archers in back.

I suppose the 20x10 variation would be similar, only doubling the number of rows and halving their lengths. In that way, there would be two rows of 20 archers who could alternately fire volleys at the enemy, a well-known Warring States tactic.

So, if I ultimately do not purchase miniatures and opt for a more abstract representation of troops on the battlefield, could I utilize Sun Bin's 20x10 Qu in "tile" fashion?

Then, rather than needing a rule set that tracks the deaths of individual soldiers, perhaps what I need are rules that address the cohesiveness of organized infantry in massive battle. For example, after how much clashing does a particular Qu deteriorate into a Bo (100 men), whether from soldiers' deaths or the scattering of men?

Another question would be how many Qu do I want for an entire army's overall formation? A small version of a Warring States "Square Formation" might require 20 Qu arranged 5x4 - that's 4,000 soldiers.

Can I really hope to capture the flavor and strategy of all of this in a solo game?

Lots to think about...

My solo Heroclix rules WILL work with Star Trek: Tactics

The latest previews for Wizkids' Star Trek: Tactics Heroclix game make it pretty obvious that my Solo Wargaming Rules for Heroclix will work just fine with this new product.

The revealed specs on these ships are identical to any found in Marvel or DC Heroclix. As such, my basic solo rules will be completely compatible. However, since Star Trek: Tactics will only feature 20+ ships, I'd leave out the rules for Deployment Roll doubles (Combat Events).

For those of you considering getting this set for the ship models to use with another system, note two things. First, standard clix bases have a diameter of about 1.5 inches, so, as these pics go, the ships seem to be about 2 inches or so in length. Second, I write "seem" because these images are NOT the actual sculpts; rather, they're digital renditions of the "digital sculpting" to come. The actual final models may not be perfectly identical.

I'm not a Trek fan, so I'll be passing on these, but I hope they give true fans memorable battles when they release in the near future...

A new edition of Mytherian Heroic Fantasy is available

Mytherian Heroic Fantasy has been updated!

From author Erik Goodwyn:

Greetings to the Solo Nexus gang!  I am writing to update you on new happenings in the Mytherian world.  A new edition is now available. This is a new, updated, comprehensive tome--for the same price as the old Mytherian Heroic Fantasy:  Rules of Play, Perils and Treasures, now we have combined with the Adventure Setting:  Goblin Skullkeeps of Rendaria.  Also, new class skills, treasures, updates and spells are included.  All this hardbound for the same price as the older version!  

It is also available in PDF format as well for those who prefer digital formats. With this new version, with updated artwork as well, all you need to play is fantasy miniatures and dice--that's all.  And as always, Mytherian is highly playable solo, either playing a single hero or creating a party of adventurers for endless tabletop gaming.

Get the new edition in print HERE or as a PDF HERE.

Warring States Tabletop Wargame Project

For 2011, my dream project is just that right now - a dream. Can anyone assist?

Objective:
Run a solo wargame campaign of mass combat in a fictional setting inspired by China's Warring States Period; I would have near-complete control over one nation's forces while the rules would determine virtually everything else about the opposing nations.

Rules:
I want the rules to emphasize breezy playability over painstaking complexity, but what should I do?

• Use an existing solo-ish ruleset that directly or indirectly addresses the period?
• Use an existing non-solo ruleset that can be adapted to solo/the period?
• Invent my own rules drawing inspiration from some of the Seven Military Classics of China? (Too lofty? But I'm so tempted...)

The Miniatures/Terrain:
I have none. Worse than that, I have limitations.

• I've never painted minis. Preliminary evidence suggests that I would be awful at it.
• A good deal of my 2012 discretionary funds will be going to new Heroclix sets.
• Seems there aren't that many toy soldier options out there for this period.
• I live in an apartment in NYC. A "true" wargames table just wouldn't fit in here.

I've been casually surfing the web for the last two months with all of the above in the back of my mind. Shaun's Wargaming with Miniatures has been an excellent resource for considering a host of possibilities, and Shaun's tests of different ancients systems are absolutely brilliant.

I've no deadline for any of this and plan on making this a prolonged project, allowing for bumps in the road and all that.

Any and all suggestions are most appreciated! Comment here or e-mail me any time!

Thanks in advance!


(Oh, and today is this blog's 1st birthday! Awwww...)