"Mini Review of Light Bobs AWI Rules" Topic

GamesPoet Jun 18, 2021 · Edited
Having played in a recent game of 40mm AWI using Hold The Line rules, and then a couple games of Light Bobs, decided to re-read the latter set of rules. They're relatively brief in length, and I'm already done half of the 50 pages which aren't really chocked full with words, but instead an easy read with diagrams included along the way. Going to finish up the rest today, then have a test of the combat system, and introduce a nephew or two to the game as well.

Light Bobs is a set of rules for battalion level play, so sections of a battlefield or small battle situations. They could easily scale up to full battle play, although not really a one man one figure rules set, and never intended to be. I enjoy the overall quickness of play, how the rules seem to feel with my limited knowledge of AWI combat, and really like the neat feature of the volley back and forth that can occur when units are firing at each other in close range.

Unit sizes are based on having quality of troop as the main factor for number of figures. The unit sizes are 4 (elite), 6 (veteran), 8 (average), 12 (poor), and a player only needs 4 to 6 units of 4 to 12 figures each, so this gives a low entry point for those wanting to give a go to these rules for the first time. Plus the concept of having less figures in a unit equaling the higher quality of troops that they are, this is nicely integrated into how the units perform in the game both from a moving, firing, melee, and morale perspective as well.

These rules work very well with 40mm, 25/28mm, or even 20mm, and maybe 15mm. The rules could work with bases that have multiple figures, counting them as stands instead of figures. I've got 40mm that are being moved along again, and basing these up singly. The game can easily accommodate the Lion Rampant 3-2-1 basing system, too.

Forgot how easy to learn these are, and looking forward to having it get me back to painting more Amer. Rev. War.

My Reply

Greenknight4 in a few seconds
Thank you both for such kind and in depth comments. I would point out that though units (called companies) are raised in amounts based on their morale grade (elite = 4) they can then be restructured with other like companies for different strengths. For example if one was lucky enough to have two elite companies he would have 8 figures. These could be deployed as one company of 8 or even 4 companies of 2. This flexibility lets players try historical scenarios and try to match game companies strengths to historical strengths.

Chrisparkergames.com

Original Post can be found at tinyurl.com/5ar57387

Thanks for the review. The rules sound fun.

I was thinking the same thing myself.

I concur with that assessment.

Eric

I would point out that though units (called companies) are raised in amounts based on their morale grade (elite = 4) they can then be restructured with other like companies for different strengths. For example if one was lucky enough to have two elite companies he would have 8 figures. These could be deployed as one company of 8 or even 4 companies of 2. This flexibility lets players try historical scenarios and try to match game companies strengths to historical strengths.

"Plus the concept of having less figures in a unit equaling the higher quality of troops that they are, this is nicely integrated into how the units perform in the game both from a moving, firing, melee, and morale perspective as well."
I played this once at a convention. This seems like an extremely gimmicky function, with little historical justification.
If anything, the British practice of having very large elite units (light infantry, grenadiers and Guards) would argue against it.
It might make for a more "balanced" game, but history doesn't justify it.

Some old school gamers will consider it gimmicky, some won't. The ones that won't will recognize how this fits into the broader picture of the rules set, perhaps even get creative and form their battalion out of all elite companies, if they prefer. And greenknight's comment is also another good take on the situation as well.

Also, one's vision of historical justification might not be entirely accurate anyway, for who's to say a game unit is going to perform on a table top exactly how it did on a real battlefield? We can get approximations, similarities, and such, and these will help our minds feel good. Yet more than that, and we're probably asking for more than what a game can realistically provide.

I realize there will always be critics, and that's ok. At the same time, coming up with a good way to work with it can be a wonderful way to have a good time. Plus, I wouldn't let this one item ruin my sense of fun on the table top, because a lot of table top gaming is in the mind anyway, me included.

Sometimes I get lost in the minutiae, too. As an example … there's a historical justification for why the word school contains an "h", and isn't spelled with a "k" … because the Greek root of the word is spelled with a chi and not a kappa. But I digress.

I'd give them a try, but no one around here uses them, nor have they shown up on the local convention circuit.

A copy can at the moment be purchased on sale for $8 USD via greenknight's site linked in the original post.

I bought the first edition. It was so poorly written and edited that it was indecipherable. Not sure I want to throw good money after bad

Huh? I've only found there to be one rule item that was not the easiest, and a conversation with the designer solved that. The rest was fine.

#79thPA is somewhat right about it being difficult to get through. I hired an editor in England to do a rewrite of Light Bobs and Day of Battle to help organize them and make it more fluid. These are labeled v1 as there are no real rules changes. What changes there were were highlighted in blue and I made those changes available as a free download to previous owners.

I haven't run either of those games recently due to Covid of course and my focus on my WWII game D-Day to Berlin. Neither LB or DoB ever caught on enough to have other gamers pick up the baton if you will and run them.

This happens to the majority of the unprofessional authors (like myself) out there.