The Beginning of the End of the PBEM Campaign

It is with some regret that I have decided to run down the long running 1813 PBEM campaign.   

I started the campaign in September 2009, and have run it nonstop since then.   It has provided us with almost every wargame we fought over the past six years.

However recently I have found it increasingly difficult to keep up my enthusiasm and interest.   The battles have become ever similar, particularly the smaller one v one corps.

There are six mini campaigns in progress at the same time.   Recently there seem to be either no battles at all, or too many.   Ideally there would be two battles to wargame.   One on the table and the second waiting to be fought.   But when there are four or five it becomes necessary to pause the campaign until we can clear the backlog of wargames.

Then there is the ongoing difficulty of replacing commanders.   With twelve command posts someone always seems to be leaving and needing replacement.   Over the years there have been 84 players taking part, some for considerably longer than others.   A small number have remained for more than a year.   A larger number have left before their first phase was completed.   Most have taken part for one or two campaign phases – about 6 months.

I have been considering either reorganising the campaign, or just end it and create a new one.   Recently we have had a backlog of battles to wargame, and I find myself not really wanting to recommence the campaign now that the backlog is cleared.

I will do so, and I will complete the current campaign phases.  But I will not replace them once they have ended.

This will give me the opportunity to design a new campaign whilst running down the current one.  I am not sure how the new campaign will look.   The current one is very well suited to producing the type of battles Jan and I like to wargame.   So the new campaign will retain those characteristics.   But it will definitely be a solo campaign.   At least to start.

So for me it is very much the end of an era.   I am grateful to all of those who have contributed to the campaign over the years, and I hope that they enjoyed it as much as I did.