"The Wargaming Pentathalon" Topic

Imagine that you have been charged with organizing the first miniature wargaming penthathalon. Which five events would you include?

using the ratios of figures to real men

1:1 games (Skirmish) a scenario that is baically a street fight

1:5/10 (platoon) a scenario where a platoo or so attacks a squad (farm house fight)

1:20/50 Company/Battalion a town or Hill attack scenario with a company(+) defends the objective and a Battalion attacks

1:50/100 Brigade Battles with a Division or Corps per side, Portions of a major battle

Greater than 1:100 Army a major Battle like Wagram, Borodino or Waterloo.

The idea being the events show different levels of command with the resulting differences in types of troops or tactics that can be used

I like Saber's suggestions. I'll go a bit more practical:

*Speed paint a 20 figure unit.

*Set up a gaming table using only components found in your living room.

*Write a scenario from scratch.. in 5 minutes.

*Assemble a 1/72 tank model with no instructions.

*Sneak a science fiction or fantasy figure into a historical army without anyone noticing.

Alternative options:

*Correctly build a tank for Striker (first attempt, no calculators)

*Correctly calculate the points value for a Battle Tech homebrew design (first attempt, no calculators)

*Explain first edition AD&D initiative for a fight involving surprised characters, missile fire and spell casting in melee.
Maximum of 3 minutes, your audience will be 12 year olds.

*Derive the correct dice modifiers for a moving tank firing at a moving target in ASL. 1 minute max and no counting on your fingers.

*Correctly interpret and apply the old FiveCore "Displacement" rule (just to take a stab at myself :-) )

1. Fastest doghouseing
2. most petty argument
3. Largest consumption of alcoholic beverages while balancing a 12 figure unit of dragoons on your head.
4. Fastest 4 mile run while painting orcs
5. Olympic fencing with a unit of Macedoniaan pikemen.

Ancients
Horse and Musket
World War 2
Naval
Sci-fi or fantasy

Keep the rules simple, so that the events reward historical understanding instead of manipulating screwball rules.

@Weasel,
That's an awesome list!

P.

In a selected set of genres/milieu:

Single Figure v Figure duel (fencing)
Sniper Round Robin* (shooting)
Opposed River Ford (swimming)
(Mechanized) Cavalry Charge (riding)
Four Corners** (cross-country)

* This is a scenario we play where teams have hidden random assassination targets from other teams.

** This is a scenario we play where teams race to be the first to have a figure pass through each of the four corners of the board in order. It turns a 3'x3' board into a 12'x1' strip (kind of). (If you put a very very obstructing terrain bit in the middle of the board, this scenario makes a nice surrogate for a pursuit scenario – Team A has to make all four corners in order to get away from Team B.)

I like Winston's idea

You could use the One Hour Wargame Rules but they might be a little too simple

1) Dice blaming
2) Rules criticizing
3) Price moaning
4) History pedantry
5) General quirkiness (can be combined with snark as needed)

Just some fun ideas.

Push ups
sit ups
deep knee bends
jumping jacks
run
Alternate event: pull/chin ups

or

general knowledge history quiz
vehicle recognition
Ancient/medieval
Horse and musket
modern/near future
alternative events: Fantasy, SciFi

or

complain
whine
moan
grump
snivel
Alternate events: smile and wave, welcoming, good sport

or

Breakfast
2nd Breakfast
Lunch
Tea
Dinner

Just some fun ideas.

Push ups
sit ups
deep knee bends
jumping jacks
run
Alternate event: pull/chin ups

or

general knowledge history quiz
vehicle recognition
Ancient/medieval
Horse and musket
modern/near future
alternative events: Fantasy, SciFi

or

complain
whine
moan
grump
snivel
Alternate events: smile and wave, welcoming, good sport

or

Breakfast
2nd Breakfast
Lunch
Tea
Dinner
Alternate events: Supper, late night snack

Ah, so "events", and not ordeals, e.g.:

1. trying to pre-register on-line using a fatally flawed registration system;
2. trying to list games you plan to run as a GM, as above;
3. suffering ordeals of unloading and setup at a poorly chosen venue (especially if they have union rules to "assist you"), most likely in the rain, with no convenient and safe drop off area near the gaming rooms, and more than likely charging you for parking as well at the location;
4. suffering through the horrors of the check-in/badge line, which is horrendously understaffed and over attended;
5. paying a fortune for a cold, damp, moldy, musty room, and an even worse mattress, at the five-star priced "hotel"/convention dive; or alternatively, the stuffy, hot, humid, loud, poorly air conditioned and so stifling gaming areas;

Yes, there's more. Let's make it a double-pentathlon.

6. not getting the table space you signed up for, and your game(s) being placed in the worst possible location in the gaming hall;
7. having your game bounced in time, and/or even day by the organizers who know better than you what you want, and when you are available to run it;
8. being shoved into a tight space, with little ability to move freely about the periphery of your tables, in order to play the game;
9. getting gamers to show up and say they want to play in your game, but immediately question your scenario design and starting placement – refusing to play as things are, and you need them for play balance to run the game with others;
10. getting sick after the convention, due: to contact with others carrying various illnesses they pass along to you, a poor ventilation system at the venue which might have helped, being over-tired from staying up late for several days prior to the event to get prepared, long hours acting as the GM during the weekend, poor hydration and eating due to the long hours spent at the convention, etc., etc..

Bonus horror:

11. not being able to play in other games you are interested in, due to scheduling conflicts with your games, and/or to no slots being available for you, since it looks like a great one, with superb miniatures and terrain, decent rules, and a GM that knows what he's doing.

What, no afternoon snack?

The horror!

I like "Convention survival" as a contest discipline :-)

Add "overpriced barely hot food" to the list.