"The Northern Monkey Puzzle" Topic

(Because he so wants to discuss it.)

Would you expect a bare bones rule book--black and white, short, simple and to the point with perhaps necessary illustrations but no art--to be a big seller in game shops and widely discussed in the hobby press?

My guess is no. They never really have been, though some which are close to that, like TSATF, have been hobby standards for decades. I think the closest we're going to get to that are some of the Osprey rules which have pertinent color illustrations supplemented by irrelevant art Osprey has already paid for.

Bonus question: what rules which are NOT hot glossy and colored have you gone on using for years?

Guns of Liberty
Using the QRSs for other periods with Fire and Fury
Original Died for Glory out of the Courier
TSRs Cavaliers and Roundheads

Would you expect a bare bones rule book--black and white, short, simple and to the point with perhaps necessary illustrations but no art--to be a big seller in game shops and widely discussed in the hobby press?

Yes – pretty much all WRG / DBx rules were bare bones but were widely discussed and seem to have been widely played.

Bonus question: what rules which are NOT hot glossy and colored have you gone on using for years?

WRG 1925-1950
Horse, Foot & Guns

I think lack of illustrations could hurt sales.
BUT.
I still think you could deliver pictures more efficiently via a web site which was effectively an add on to the rules. Perhaps with a discussion forum.

Having said that, I really like the ring bound plastic coated pages of impetus.

King of the battlefield. No fancy illustrations, though there are diagrams.
Little on-line support.

Still playing after decades. A great game that scales up well from smaller games to multi-player refights.

Mw?
Fantasy/Ancients: HOTT/DBX and "Sparta's Wars."
Horse & Musket: The Simpson "Age of Reason" rules, Maybe Oman's "Day of Battle, Revisited" Charge! False Against Steady Troops, Charge for Dummies, Phil Barker's "Napoleonic Rules, Birmingham Style." On to Richmond, Gettysburg for the Fifth Grade.
Colonial: TSATF.

Which is not to say there haven't been some very nice recent products, especially in the Osprey rules.

My fantasy is a ring binder filled with two-page rules. Getting closer.

ShockForce (illustrated to clarify a point, but no sexy glossies), Meka-Tac (this one's free).

Would you expect a bare bones rule book--black and white, short, simple and to the point with perhaps necessary illustrations but no art--to be a big seller in game shops and widely discussed in the hobby press?

No, not without a weird temporary cultural obsession on the scale of pet rocks, Hoola Hoops, Slinkies, fidget spinners, or Sun Tzu's Art of War.

Bonus question: what rules which are NOT hot glossy and colored have you gone on using for years?

In addition to some mentioned already (DBA, HOTT, Guns of Liberty), I can add a few to the list:

General Quarters (both 1 and 2)
Ship of the Line (original version of Wooden Ships & Iron Men)

I also see some played locally by others that still come out of the closet now and then:

Pig Wars
TSATF
Gush's "green book" Renaissance rules
1644

I want to make an honorable mention of Volley & Bayonet. I don't actually play that game currently, but I keep thinking about digging it out and making a half-house-rule Frankenstien Monster out of it. I think the problems I had with it can be fixed, and I've still never experienced a system that worked so well to simulate the pace and commander's perspective of multi-day horse & musket battle.

My fantasy is a ring binder filled with two-page rules. Getting closer.

Mine is to have all the rules I play in PDF format. Also getting closer.

- Ix

Little Wars – been playing it on and off since 1974…

Mike

None. I own and have played TSATF, Fire and Fury and 1644 but all have been supplanted by Black Powder.

Still thinking about this, and it occurred to me that I didn't list any of David Manley's rather sparsely decorated text-heavy publications:

Action Stations
Fire When Ready
Form Line of Battle
Iron and Fire

I admit I don't play any of these often, but they are all permanent additions to my library of games, that I will play again whenever the opportunity arises. He's also produced lots of other rules that I *intend* to play someday, just haven't gotten around to it… one problem with niche periods is finishing the project enough to get it on the table.

- Ix