"What's a Small Battle?" Topic

As with "big battle" probably a better discussion, or several polls. When you hear or say "small battle" do you mean
(1) It doesn't involve a lot of castings?
(2) The castings don't represent many people? Or
(3) The board was very small?
And my own answers for each:
(1) No more than 250 figures per side.
(2) Brigade to short division.
(3) Board smaller than 4x6.

And again, in my mind you'd probably need two of three to qualify. How about you?

It is when the number of maneuver is less than 24.

<15 rounds
<5 decisions per player per turn

Given different scales & rule sets, this is difficult to define.

So, I use rules that don't have 'Turns' – card based. Does a 6mm gamer only get to field the same number of figures as a 28mm gamer? This impacts table size too.Time depends on how fast *you* play – sometimes I push it, others I'm more leisurely. The same game can be wildly different.

Figure scale is irrelevant IMO. It's an arbitrary assignation.

So, as usual, any definition will only have meaning for the person defining it.

For me, two to four players, less than 200 figs total

But this is how I learn, ochoin. I had not associated "small" with "fast" but you and eto do, so it's something I have to consider in future. TimePortal there has a perfectly reasonable answer to my notion of "small" but one I hadn't considered at all.

"any definition will only have meaning for the person defining it."

You are clearly assuming that those of us reading your last sentence understand the words in it to mean pretty much what you mean--that is, a shared definition of each word.There are obviously difficulties, and more so with each level of abstraction, but if there is no shared meaning, how do we communicate?

Being a matter of opinion , best you can get is consensus.
To me, non roll player probably could go 250 miniatures or less.

Sorry, Robert, you wrote something????

(1) 6-12 maneuver elements per player 50-10 castings

(2) 5-10 per figure.

(3) 3x4, 3x3, 4x4

For me there's too many variables, including how long the game is expected to last. At a rough guesstimate:

1. Manoeuvre elements are a company or smaller.

2. Highest command level is regiment/brigade equivalent.

3. Table is <= 24'sq/2m^2.

4. Expected play time <6 hours.

But all the above are variable, and are guidelines, not rules.

Two to six players with a 50 to 200 28mm figures. Playing surface about 6ft x 9ft. 15mm on a 6ft x 4ft.

Small game, something with less stuff, space or people than you normally game.

Small battle, depends on the period. I know it when I see it.

Martin, you took the words right out of my, er, finger.

+1

- Table smaller than 6*4, so typically 4*4.
- Maneuver elements less than 20 (=single figures or elements)
- Units have only one base.

So small battle games like DBA and small skirmish games like Gangs of Rome, Mortheim, Necromunda are small games.

Skirmish games with bigger tables and more figures like Chain of Command, Boltaction or 40k are not small games. Saga is IMO the smallest game, that is not a small game.

Small Battle.

When you go round to your neighbours to complain about their barking dogs and they tell you that one has died.

One less neurotic barking dog. (Bearing in mind that dogs reflect their keepers' temperaments.)

Decebalus, I would see a difference between small game and small battle. I agree with what you said and you used good examples.

I see small battles as using a rules set (game) that can be used to fight a battle 2-8 units per side or 20+ units per side. Johnny Reb for example from the scenario book. Front Royal 4-5 units per side, East of Chancellorsville 34-36 per side. Or Flames of War 500 points, small, 1500 points , big.

Skirmish Games are something different.

I play RPG's: sometimes battles are 1:1, sometimes the four players face off against 20+ enemies, employing careful tactics, and win. For miniatures games (28mm 'scale'), I tend to avoid skirmish battles (<50 figures), in favor of larger conflicts (generally 300 – 1,000+ figures, total). I have, on rare occasions, played more skirmish-type games, but they were a hybrid of RPG and miniatures games, by design, played out with either nice 2D terrain tiles, or with full 3D terrain pieces, but these are rare.

Sorry, long-winded way of saying I rarely play "small" games. Cheers!

Like with the Big Battle poll, I would have to say:
4) Mindset. If the players think it is a small battle, then so it is.

The other variables really define small game more than small battle per se.

In the AWI, ALL of the important battles would have been considered "small battles" in Europe.
Would Cowpens even be a footnote in Europe?