"The "tactics" card mechanic in mini games?" Topic

Some games allow you to play a "tactics" card during your turn that often allows you to enhance your movement or firepower. OR, it may hamper your enemys plans during their turn.

Whether actual cards being played or something similar, would you like to see this mechanic in more miniature games or should they just stick to the basics of rolling dice?

No. I think there are better ways to include "fog of war" without relying on such an artificial extreme.

Agree. I think tactic cards are a little gimmicky. Ok for a game like Commands & Colors, but not for table top miniature games which strive for realism / simulation.

I could see event cards having a place. Each player rolls 1d10, low roll pulls a card. Things like courier killed, reduce command radius by 3/4 for one turn.

Or, unit nearest, or in, woods disturbs hornet's nest, disorder.

The Avalon Hill board game used cards for combat resolution. Both sides had the same 6 cards. Refuse Right, Refuse left, recon in force, frontal assault. You compared cards against the results table to assess the outcome. Actually rather elegant.

I'm sitting next to my board wargame bookcases as I type this. This is quite common in modern board wargames. One of the best series of modern WWII wargames, the Conflict of Heroes, has them. They are called Action cards. I have never heard a grognard complain about them. I own and love the games.

A more cinematic game would be the Heroes of Normandie series, which I also own. They also use cards, which are fun when giving that Dirty Dozen flare.

I'll stop there.

table top miniature games which strive for realism / simulation.

Believe what you will, but I ain't getting stuck in that briar patch! LOL.

Depends on the context of the game.

I believe that I must agree. It depends the context of the game. I have a set for One Hour Wargames and like they way they add a bit of uncertainty to the mix, but they are not for every game.

Frankly, as soon as you put figures on the table realism and simulation go out of the window. If you want realism and simulation, you should be playing a double blind game with an umpire; then you will understand what fog of war is. Since most mini players do like to have stuff on the table (otherwise why play mini games at all) one could argue that a 'tactics' card is a good simulation of reality, because commanders were often surprised by enemy tactics.

The games I have played that utilize tactics cards tend to play like a card game with miniatures, I am not a fan of card games which makes me not a fan of tactic cards

I am with the King on this issue. No cards in miniatures.

'Tactics cards' are just one of several ways to generate surprise and the 'fog of war' in miniatures wargames. Using cards is no more or less valid a gaming abstraction than activation tests, command radii, 'PIPs,' or for that matter dice, and liking or not liking a particular game mechanic is purely a matter of personal gaming taste and preference.

No. My preference is a referee and playing double-blind. It generates plenty of fog.

pjm

Anything like IGOUGO combined with the knowledge of seeing opposing forces, as you can in any but a double blind setup, throws realism out the window. Gaming with miniatures is just fancy chess with more rules. This is why I like games such as Piquet.

That being said, I am not sure I like the idea of using cards in miniature wargames like so many board games do, because it just takes away "something" that I can't put my finger on. I think talking in terms of "realism" is just silly, but there is something disruptive to it, and when I painted for hundreds of hours I don't want my games thrown off like that.

For all those complaining about the concept of "realism" in a game, you are contradicting yourselves. First, there can never be true realism in any simulation but there is an attempt to approach realism as best you can without bogging down the rules. If you didn't care about realism you'd be playing fantasy or abstract games and not historical games. You wouldn't paint British infantry with blue jackets, would you? Game concepts such as cavalry having a different movement than infantry and canons firing at longer range than muskets are all about simulating reality. Perhaps not entirely accurate, but an approximation of the possible. Simply put, historical Wargames are not abstract but based on reality. Are they ever true simulations, no; but they attempt to approach some form of realism.

That is why I just do 6mm Sci-fi. But do like a modicum of "reality" in the rules I modified to suit us.