At the recent "The Weekend" convention in Lancaster PA (June 22,23,24, 1012) We had a small mini- campaign. This campaign was in the 18th Century and modeled the "war of detatchments" that armies frequently underwent. That is, a campaign were small detatchments were used to occupy points of strategic importance to try and maneuver out of position the enemy army.
As we are now in the much larger ballroom we had lavish space and we were able to manage this over five tables. Two of the tables were the "Main camp/ Base" of the two armies, one that of Saxe Burlap und Schleswig-Beerstein, and the other the "Turkish" style army of The Empire of Ikea (so called because the major export of the realm is Ottoman's, Divans, etc.
The "campaign was embraced on three other tables, each table divided in two to form six battlefields of 6 x 6 feet.
There were 10 players in the game, a Commander in chief and four subordinate commanders. The Commander in chief could form detatchments from the major "force pool" in their camp of up to 10 units (they had about 35 units each) and dispatch these under a player to "march" to the various battlefields. They could march on their own initiative as well, and move from field to field if they chose to do so.
There were six battlefields and the winner was decided by who, at the end of the game controlled more battlefields than the other. Control being the person who occupied the field's strategic points, of which there were three on each field. The battlefields were titled "Plains" "River Crossing" "Rolling Hills" "Major Town" "Minor Town" and "Back Country." In addition each player received five "Rumor and Innuendo" cards which gave them additional points (for highly colorful reasons) if they were the FIRST player to occupy the field, or other cards which made the field particularly important. An example of the first was a "Fleeing Refugees." This card applied to the "Plains" area and if you were the first player to get to that field you could, if you were the Europeans, get an additional victory point for saving them, or if you were the Turks, for massacreing them. Another card, if you got the small town, you found it was centrally located and any force from here would gain a benefit in marching to another area. There were cards which allowed you to march more quickly or frustrate enemy moves.
All of these were to give the player the idea of "being there" with forces moving on or around you, and the surprises and twists of fate inherent in such operations.
Once you got onto a field with your detatchment, if there was an enemy there, there was a small battle, and forces from other fields could march to the sound of the guns, or they could hold out and leave some forces there and march with others.
We did not bother with tracking forces on a map and assumed that the turns between battlefields were discontinuous and that the whole campaign lasted over a theoretical time of several weeks to two months. It assumed that there might be long periods where forces basically sat and did nothing (though we did not insist players sit there and do nothing.)
Also in the battle rules there is a process which gives victory points in the TACTICAL game to the side which scores crititcal unit losses on the enemy. These were allowed to carry over into the strategic game.
In the play of the game one side decided to concentrate their forces into four large groups and keep a central reserve. The other split up all forces and sent one to each battlefield. There was a generous interplay of cardswhich misdirected people and people racked up their "first there points." One battle came off fairly standard with two more or less evenly matched forces against each other. Then there was another where one much superior force came upon an inferior force, and this was a magnet for forces of both sides, and it turned quite confused, but in the end the smaller force had to give way. In a case of turn-about the same thing happend at the River crossing with one force flanking the other. There was one case where one side occupied "The Back Country" for three general turns and then moved out and then a force of the opposite moved in at the end of the turn. One guy managed to wander to no less than four battlefields, having a bash at each for a turn, then moving on.
The rules were quite simple and were a single page, both sides, and the small 50 card card deck (specially printed).
In the end, though one side controlled four of the six battlefields, the other by dint of cards for control and the critical loss in tactical action the game was a dead draw. Both battles were fought out, and a decision reached in each.
The tactical rules were "Oh God! Anything but a Six!" which were specifically designed for campaigns like this.
This is the second of the battles at "The Weekend" on a theme of an Operatic plot "The Abduction of Don DiDraino" a little known opera by Mozart. The basic story is that Shah Na-Na, the Nattering Nabob of Negativism, had become transfixed by a portrait of the young Ingenue-ruler of Saxe-Burlap und Schleswig-Beerstein, Princess Trixie, and had the famous bandit Don DiDraino kidnap her and take her to be the center-piece of his Harem in Dristanbul. The whole of Europe was outraged and a crusade was ginned up to get her back. In the first battle last year there was a grand donnybrook at the Battle of the Zazu Pitts, which saw the forces of the Princessipate eke out a minor victory. This battle follows on it. Next year there will be a new encounter which will decide the war-- if we get tired of the theme.
Those worried about the Princess need not-- remember-- this is all taking place in an Opera where good triumphs and boy gets girl, and everyone lives happily ever after.
