"A bit of solo dabbling about - Battle Command & I Ain't" Topic

…Been Shot Mum

"Set up and played a couple of 'lonely pint' games over weekend for purposes of rule refreshing and plain old fun because (thankfully) this is how I still see myself and wargaming …"

Sgt Steiner's Wargaming Blog

link

Armand

Looks good. Have you got any way to introduce a variable to one of the sides so that you're not fully aware of what both sides are planning?
When I did a few WW2 solo games, I used markers for one of the sides. These are little cards with numbers on the side facing down, representing platoon models in the "opposition's" box. I mixed them up a bit with some blank markers so I didn't know what I was facing until I could "spot" them. Then I could play as the "opposition", even giving company orders for advances etc without knowing precisely what troops I was moving until we made contact. Or didn't! It worked quite well and retained the element of surprise without compromising the "opposition's" fighting ability.

Cacadores, did you have a mechanism to prevent 'silly' deployments – tanks in the forest, AT artillery or infantry exposed out in the open etc? To keep with the board theme, in Napoleon's it could be artillery facing a wood etc.

Cheers,
John

Erzherzog Johann
"did you have a mechanism to prevent 'silly' deployments"

For Napoleonics the cards could represent brigade or divisional commanders. Once spotted, the various models can deploy anywhere in command radius. But I prefer using a card per unit; if heavy artillery is spotted in an impassable wood it counts as a mistaken sighting and the piece with its limber is moved to behind the wood, nearest the "opposition's" end of the table. Of course, not knowing what you're deploying initially just makes you either more cautious at the start, with a necessity to keep a reserve near your decisive point in case you're defending your strong point with blanks…. or more aggressive: slamming your forces into the enemy knowing one is a ghost brigade.

I think it works best when you do it with both sides: with at least one side moving forces (ie cards) on from the side of the table. Beforehand, divide each side's forces into say, three sensible brigades or divisions with their corresponding pile of cards plus blank cards, plus another whole blank division. Then mix around the four piles before the game so you don't know which division is which until they get near. The cards are for the first few moves so you're involuntarily locked into whatever attack or deployment orders have been given, not knowing exactly what your attacking or what's coming for you until it's too late!

In my wargames prior to a big (annual) Battle I make a detailed map of the area… then I use dice so that each unit advances towards the enemy usually in columns… cavalry is much faster than infantry and artillery the slowest (the one that doesn't have horses with cannon transport)… that normally makes the first encounters between cavalry units occur but not always… there are light infantry units (there are light, medium and novice) that usually arrive before the rest. In this way with a schedule in mind I know at what time of the battle (early in the morning) each unit is arriving and their position in the table before de Battle…

Armand

Hi

What I sometimes do for solo games is draw up 2 or 3 variations of deployment for defender (weak left, weak right etc) then dice to see which is used.