"Turf War - how to game it?" Topic

I can see part of the issue being how to identify where the boundaries fall. Signs in storefront windows describing membership in the Neighborhood Benevolent Protective Association, gang-sign graffitti, colors, members in "uniform" standing on street corners, a "friendly word" from someone trying to keep an innocent party from getting tangled up in the struggle.

Well, if it's a gangster city, you might model the blocks with cards (or tiles or Monopoly deeds, I suppose), each with categories: requiring a certain amount of 'muscle' needed to keep the locals afraid, raising a certain amount of 'dough' from a variety of rackets, needing a certain amount of 'payola' to keep the cops and politicians from being too nosey, and generating a certain amount of 'class' that makes the owner look good.

Each player recruits foot soldiers, promotes some to capos, and assigns them to blocks -- never enough to go around, of course, and you always have to worry about some other player bribing them. Extra cash is funneled into bribes, FBI investigations, civic marketing, building classier joints, upgrading weaponry, showing off the gun moll for more class, hiring hitmen and accountants, and so on. This all goes into acquiring/retaining blocks and improving combat odds/modifiers/etc.

Then, it's a resource gathering and allocation dilemma for all players.

I see this as similar to the old concept, in boardgaming, of "zones of control", wherein each side's forces try to ensure that they can hold onto territory they deem important.

A hex map, or grid map might be useful for such gaming, and you have the option of them just controlling the turf they currently occupy, or you can extend that perhaps one hex or grid square away from where the units/forces/gangs are located, to try to influence, and respond to others that may "intrude" on their territory.

If using the one grid square/hex ZOC, you can force enemy units to halt to be identified, and/or engaged, once they enter your ZOCs, should you so choose. Of course, if desired, when encountering a stronger force, you can choose to not engage, and/or withdraw/retreat as well, though doing so will cost you morale, or "street-cred" points, while your opponent(s) gain them.

After that, it's just an allocation of resources, and trying to figure out where your opponents are weak, and where you might want to attack, in order to gain power.

You could try adapting Vendetta from DVG
Rules are at this link

Blood Feud New York is a cool boardgame which could have some of it's elements adapted for the makro-management of a miniatures game.

I included such rules as part of "Mad Dogs With Guns" (Available from Wargamevault: link)

Sure, it's meant for Prohibition-era gangsters, but you could probably update it for moderns. (probably not much change needed…)

Some researchers in LA did a study last year (i think) showing that most gang shootings occur at the halfway points between two gangs center-of-mass, whether s stoop, a block, etc. Cops now use this info to predict yhe best places to patrol.

Capncarp – boundaries are usually some easily definable feature – a road, river or some such, even a fence on an industrial area or park. Sometimes even a post code. And gang members KNOW where these are. I once queried an exclusion area as a postcode, and the probation officer said he WILL know where that limit is, even without a map attached to the licence.

Innocents do get caught up – everyday Members of the public don't know the boundaries. They may be wearing the wrong thing, or just happen to look a bit like someone in a rival gang.