Table at the start of a wargame
Scenic boards side A
I have made 21 scenic squares from 2” thick hardboard. Each board is numbered 1 to 21 on the side. The boards are painted green, then roads and rivers painted on them. Seven of those boards have hills, which are made from pollyfilla. Because of the hills these seven boards can only be used on one side.
Scenic boards side B
The five hill boards, numbered 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 21.
They consist of 3 oblong hills, 2 ridges and 2 passes.
There are seven river sections, numbered 9,10,11,12,13,14 and 15.
There are 3 straight sections with roads, 2 straight sections and 2 bends
There are nine blank sections, numbered 7,8,13,14,15.17.18,19 and 20
These are used for buildings and towns
There are four straight road sections, numbered 10.11.12.16 and 20
There are four T junctions, numbered 8,9,18 and 19
There are two curved road sections, numbered 16 and 17
There is one cross roads, numbered 7
This is the only board used on every single wargame
It is always used with the city, which has four town sections.
Comments on scenic boards
All of these scenic boards were made before we set up a single wargame, so the different types required were guess work. The exception if 21, when I found that I needed more than two oblong hill sections.
Given that it was all guess work, I was really pleased to find that they work remarkably well. I have never had a campaign map which I could not recreate using these scenic boards.
Some have been used more than others. I hardly ever use the two curved road boards, numbered 16 and 17. But the reverse sides, straight road on 16 and blank on 17, are both used all of the time.
The sections most in demand are the blanks. I often have to adjust the first draft of the campaign map when I find I do not have sufficient blanks.
Next time I will cover the scenery required to make up each scenic block.
These are used for buildings and towns
There are four straight road sections, numbered 10.11.12.16 and 20
There are four T junctions, numbered 8,9,18 and 19
There are two curved road sections, numbered 16 and 17
There is one cross roads, numbered 7
This is the only board used on every single wargame
It is always used with the city, which has four town sections.
Comments on scenic boards
All of these scenic boards were made before we set up a single wargame, so the different types required were guess work. The exception if 21, when I found that I needed more than two oblong hill sections.
Given that it was all guess work, I was really pleased to find that they work remarkably well. I have never had a campaign map which I could not recreate using these scenic boards.
Some have been used more than others. I hardly ever use the two curved road boards, numbered 16 and 17. But the reverse sides, straight road on 16 and blank on 17, are both used all of the time.
The sections most in demand are the blanks. I often have to adjust the first draft of the campaign map when I find I do not have sufficient blanks.
Next time I will cover the scenery required to make up each scenic block.
Another really interesting post, thoroughly enjoying your thought process behind your games, really fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeleteHi Donnie
DeleteThanks for your comment
Glad t hat you ar e finding it interesting
regards
Paul
Being 6x6 foot must give you a bit of depth when deploying the armies.
ReplyDeleteHi Peter
ReplyDeleteEach of my corps needs one square to deploy
Each army has three corps
When two armies meet on the campaign map they are must keep one square between them
Therefore on the wargames table the top three squares are for one army
The bottom three squares are for the second army
The three squares in the centre is where the battle/wargames is fought
regards
Paul
The numbering system is a smart touch, since it must make rebuilding a campaign map layout much quicker than starting from scratch each time. I also liked that board 7, the crossroads, is the one piece used in every game, always paired with the city sections. The note that the blank boards are most in demand rings true, since towns and buildings tend to shape a battle more than another hill. You can get the file I mentioned here: download Gacha Nebula APK
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining the design so clearly, and I look forward to the scenery follow-up.
Hi Ryan
DeleteI have used the same numbering system for many years, in fact the square cards are used so often that I had to redraw them at least twice as they faded from handling. They not only make it easy to transfer from the map to the table, but they also make map making much easier.
You are quite right that the terrain shapes the battle. I start the map with the road, and possibly river. Cities or towns are always in the centre of the 9 table grid. Villages, farms and inns are plotted with a blank square inbetween. I then add hills and woods. Every square has one piece of scenery, to name as one of the game objectives. The result is a busy looking table, but with clear lines of open spaces to move the three army corps. It has produced 531 individual and different battlefields for the campaign so far, and with the minimum of effort.
regards
Paul