Konflikt 1947 Beta Rules - Author's Thoughts
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Well, its taken a fair amount of sweat and tears, but we have a beta set of rules ready for public consumption. Doing something new is always a challenge, and when it comes to wargames rules, there are some accepted conventions, proven mechanics and trends of the moment - all of which will likely influence the final product. I am also well aware that its impossible to please all of the people all of the time, so I've gone out on a limb and produced a set of rules that I'll enjoy playing. I am an experienced sci-fi and historical gamer and have over 20 years military experience, so I've a solid grasp of the challenge, but that doesn't make me an expert; far from it. Key to my thinking is that wargaming is a game, playability is as important as realism, the balance is key and every gamer will have their own opinion on how far you can strecth reality or should replicate the 'real world'.
I don't like excessive charts, tables and book-keeping, but I don't mind if you do. I accept that sometimes playability will have to trump realism to maintain the flow of the game. But, with all the history of WW2 as a basis, some things are set in stone, others are so set in the national (or Hollywood) psyche that to change them would feel 'wrong'; and I don't want to be wrong.
I prefer alternate activation with a joint game turn, and a partly random activation sequence is a nice representation of the fog of war. But too much randomness removes choice and diminishes the rewards of planning and tactics. Statistics for troops have to balance ease of reference and memorising, but must portray the vast range of combatants for the period. The backstory is by necessity light, we have some thoughts, but don't want to get too stuck in a story to allow the fullest figure production opportunities.
The game is drafted, we've played it a bit, we like it. But it's not perfect and we have work to do on it. Buildings, Aircraft, Scenarios, Points Costs and Army Lists for example. Some parts are in the rules but we'll expand the army lists to make them more viable - artillery and engineering springs to mind. We could spend weeks or months testing and refining the rules, but that's time away from designing models, so we have decided to share our work early to draw on your views and opinions, all are welcome to comment.
Some of you will want a system suitable for tournaments, some of you won't. I think the rules will be tight enough for tournaments, but the points cost and army list system will probably take time to fine tune. That's also where you can help, I want feedback, I need it. I don't expect these rules to revolutionise wargaming, but together we can turn them into a playable, competitive game that gives the flavour of sci-fi combatants within a recognisable WW2 framework.
If players prefer other rules, thats also fine, if you generate statistics for games such as Gruntz, Flames of War, I Aint Been Shot Mum or any of the other great rules out there, let me know. I'm happy to share them as and where we can.
I don't like excessive charts, tables and book-keeping, but I don't mind if you do. I accept that sometimes playability will have to trump realism to maintain the flow of the game. But, with all the history of WW2 as a basis, some things are set in stone, others are so set in the national (or Hollywood) psyche that to change them would feel 'wrong'; and I don't want to be wrong.
I prefer alternate activation with a joint game turn, and a partly random activation sequence is a nice representation of the fog of war. But too much randomness removes choice and diminishes the rewards of planning and tactics. Statistics for troops have to balance ease of reference and memorising, but must portray the vast range of combatants for the period. The backstory is by necessity light, we have some thoughts, but don't want to get too stuck in a story to allow the fullest figure production opportunities.
The game is drafted, we've played it a bit, we like it. But it's not perfect and we have work to do on it. Buildings, Aircraft, Scenarios, Points Costs and Army Lists for example. Some parts are in the rules but we'll expand the army lists to make them more viable - artillery and engineering springs to mind. We could spend weeks or months testing and refining the rules, but that's time away from designing models, so we have decided to share our work early to draw on your views and opinions, all are welcome to comment.
Some of you will want a system suitable for tournaments, some of you won't. I think the rules will be tight enough for tournaments, but the points cost and army list system will probably take time to fine tune. That's also where you can help, I want feedback, I need it. I don't expect these rules to revolutionise wargaming, but together we can turn them into a playable, competitive game that gives the flavour of sci-fi combatants within a recognisable WW2 framework.
If players prefer other rules, thats also fine, if you generate statistics for games such as Gruntz, Flames of War, I Aint Been Shot Mum or any of the other great rules out there, let me know. I'm happy to share them as and where we can.
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