Review of Solo Wargaming: A Practitioner's Guide

Over the last couple of days I have been reading David Heading's new book on Solo Wargaming, published by Pen & Sword. 

 

 

It is a fairly complete coverage of the topic and the name is well chosen. He defines solo wargaming as a practice and this seems a good way of thinking about it: a collection of practices which allow somewhat principled wargames (as opposed to simple 'imaginative play' as a younger child might do) to be played by a single player.

 

It is perhaps the most comprehensive overview of the subject. There are three volumes I know of on Solo Wargaming, only two of which I have read: one by Donald Featherstone, one by Stuart Asquith and one by Wally Simon. I am not familiar with the latter, unfortunately. The Featherstone book contains lots of great ideas, all lashed with that author's customary enthusiasm for everything to do with wargames, model soldiers and military history! However, it is not comprehensive at all, it is more a smorgasbord of ideas, and much of the tone seems appropriate for addressing a fellow enthusiast, who is looking for some ways to expand their wargaming universe. Asquith's slimmer volume is in a sense more comprehensive, but much slighter: there are far fewer ideas although somehow it forms a more cohesive whole. Most of them are largely land-focused and battle-focused.

Heading's work in a sense combines the virtues of both, with perhaps a lashing of Henry Hyde in there too: it is full of ideas, it aims to be reasonably comprehensive, it tries to reference (or at least nod towards) much of what has been done in solo wargaming, and it covers a much wider range of solo wargaming activities and techniques than anything else. I think one thing of note is the tone, or perhaps persona is a better word, of the author, which is somewhat unusual: it is firmly from the point of view of the player. This is a lot less usual than it sounds! Featherstone by contrast is all enthusiasm for the topic: for him, the love of the toy soldier and the love of military history and the wargame are what is to be conveyed, and he does it in spades. Asquith (and say Hyde, and Grant, and perhaps Quarrie) have a slightly more expert tone - they are conveying what they know, their mastery - to the 'student' reader. Heading's tone here reminds me much more of Wessencraft: it is very much one of the practitioner, talking of practices they have tried, created, considered, and now want to share in a 'problem-solving' way. I hope that conveys the style fairly.

The first chapter asks 'why wargame solo?' Various suggestions are proferred. I can't remember how it is done in Asquith's book, but it seems to start off at a more beginner level than Featherstone does, that is it seems possible that a very new gamer could pick this up, since much of the advice for 'starting solo' is pitched at someone who is 'just starting' in any case - as the author explains, this was his own experience starting out and wants to write the book which would have helped him: a very worthy aim.

 

The next chapter is about the battles: how to set them up, how the period, the historicity and the size of the battle can influence the solitaire methods to be adopted, and how to recreate generalship on both sides; particularly how to automate a general and play one side, and how to limit general's options and introduce more randomness into the 'narrative' of the game (the author is a big fan of considering games as 'narratives', especially in a solo context. There are lots and lots of ideas, varying from quite top-level conceptual stuff to some pretty detailed and specific mechanics. There are some useful ideas and tables for generating terrain too.

 

The following chapter is about solo campaiging. Although the author has been at pains to emphasize that solo campaigning is not the be-all and end-all of solo gaming, it does have so many great ideas in this bit it is quite hard to avoid that conclusion, especially if you follow the author in prizing narrative. And this is where we come back to the author as practitioner - it is actually just a great guide to setting up campaigns of every sort from high-level strategic campaigns, to the 3 musketeers running around the streets of Paris. I would guess that this variety comes from the author just having done a very wide variety of these things, which contrasts to some of the other wargames writers on campaigns, who have played a small number and variety of more specific types of campaigns. In any case, there are suggestions for all kinds of map, ladder, narrative, and roleplaying-light type campaigns. It is really worth the while of anyone interested in campaigns to read, whether solitaire or not. Some of the diplomacy suggestions I especially liked.  the subsequent chapter is closely linked: it covers personalities and logistics and finances and suchlike. It is very well done - the treatment of logistics is surprisingly detailed, almost along the lines of some of the chapters in Bruce Quarrie's Napoleon's Campaigns in Miniature, but more widely applicable to a range of periods. If you fancied doing a somewhat more detailed campaign in the medieval period, with supply trains and so on, this would be a great start.

The next chapter includes solo gaming of sieges, naval wargames and air wargames: all somewhat neglected activities. I thought that the siege and naval stuff was good - as was the combined arms stuff.  The air stuff was 'okay', and the author makes a reasonable stab at thinking a little bit more widely than usual here, but I think there is a lot more to say about the possibilities of air wargaming. It was nice to see some ideas for a campaign based on the adventures of Biggles though! Again, I think if you were planning a siege-based or naval campaign of any sort, you could do much worse than have a flick through this for some ideas about workable approaches - that being the running theme of the book really, finding some workable approaches.

The book then concludes with some wider thoughts about subjects suitable for campaigning - including very broadly the 'moral' side - and even how we might read military history and what we can, and cannot, get out of it as wargamers.

Hopefully, I have managed to convey a lot of enthusiasm for this book - I really enjoyed it! As primarily a solo gamer myself, did I think there was much missing? As mentioned above, I thought the air-domain stuff was a layer thinner than the rest. I think more might have been said about the approach taken by the Two-Hour Wargames' crew for example, whose very playable approach to solo & co-operative wargaming might be drawn on more directly (most of the techniques they employ appear, at least in some form in the book, but not in the perhaps coherent whole THW use). I think this might be because the THW insight is that in certain periods, e.g. small unit modern warfare, the apparent behaviour of the enemy resembles something randomly/probabistically generated at least as much as something more controlled. In any case, in the small world of solo wargaming, the approach has been influential. I noted that the programmed scenario approach used by CS Grant hasn't been mentioned either.

However, these are very minor points. The book is well-written, the author has an engaging manner and it covers most of what you might want a book on solo wargaming to contain. There are clear themes that appear a few times - most often, the importance of the narrative and mechanics to sustain it - but the tone is never hectoring or carrying the implication that others are doing it wrong, or less well. Recommended to solo gamers, those who might be termed solo curious, and perhaps also gamers interested in campaigns generally would find much of interested in here.

The author writes a wargaming blog, which is well worth a read and a follow.

Lutter 1626 - Twilight of Divine Right

 Next battle up in this series of refights of battles of the Thirty Years' War is the Battle of Lutter; this was part of the Danish intervention in the war. Here an army led by the Empire's foremost general of the time, Tilly, attacks a Danish army led by its King, Christian IV.

As ever, I am using the Twilight of Divine Right ruleset, and the scenario is another one from the accompanying scenario book, Europe's Tragedy.

The Set-Up:

The armies face each other; the Danes are defending the line of the marshy stream, the Imperials are moving forward to attack (top)

The Imperial Army

The Imperial Right - infantry on the wing to try and accomodate the ground, with the stream and the woods ahead.

The Imperial Centre: its tercios ready to roll forward (again)

and the Imperial Left

The main position of the Danish Army, with the entrenched position guarding the bridge

The Danish Left and Centre-Left - a fairly standard deployment except the Danes were organized really by line as much as by wing, which makes them a bit harder to command.

The Danish Right - defended by the earthwork covering the bridge, and anchored on Lutter.

The Battle:

The Imperialists attack - the main thrust is slightly weighted towards their Right, because the stream is somewhat less of an obstacle here

The Imperial Right - mainly cavalry - moves forward to the stream around the bridge

The Imperial horseman move over the bridge, and splash somewaht more slowly through stream and marsh, manfully ignoring the incoming Danish artillery fire

The attacking Imperials splash onwards

The Danes counter-attack across the line

The Imperial Left tries to sweep away the entrenched defenders through sheer elan...

Imperial Cuirassier defeats Danish Cuirassier...at least the infantry seem to be holding fast, however

Danish Foot and Guns prove more than a match for bold (rash?) Imperial Horse on the other flank

The Danish second line gets in to support the Danish front left - this helps to push the Imperialist Right back; the Danish Foot is taking losses, but holding on

The fighting on the Danish Right spreads a bit further towards the marshes and the river - the Danes hold on

The close-range slaughter in the centre continues, but no-one is giving way just yet; note the Danish line just beginning to fold around the edges of the Imperial tercios (right)

A similar effect around the earthworks - Danish Foot deliver oblique fire at the flanks of the Imperial columns

Bloodied but unbowed, the Danes repulse the attackers around the entrenchments

Tilly's tercios push forward again - this time one of the Danish regiments in the centre does break!

The Imperials have pierced the Danish first line, but the Danes are exploring the gap between the Imperial Centre and its Left (right)

The Imperialist Left attacks again: the troops in the defences hold on, but one of the regiments on the far right breaks this time!

Fighting continues on the Danish Left - the leading Imperial regiment goes down in its turn! (left)

One of the Imperialist cavalry forces has been pushed right back to the bridge, but the far force (top-right) seems to have nearly created an exploitable gap

Ferocious fighting continues unabated in the centre

The Imperial Left has turned the Danish first line, pushing back an isolated Dutch cavalry unit (right)

The fighting in the centre and on the Danish Left continues unabated: heavy casualties on both sides, but little movement

But one more assault seems to have created some forward momentum...

The Imperial artillery and Horse defeat the Danish regiment that had been moving forward over the stream - the Imperial Horse has been brutally mauled however in its various failed attacks

But the situation is not so good on the Danish Right - can the outnumbered Danish defenders hold on?

Despite their huge losses, the Imperial tercios maybe on the verge of a breakthrough in the centre

An Imperial Flanking force arrives on the Danish Right!! Surely this flank cannot hold much longer?

and indeed it does not! The remaining Dutch Cuirassiers cannot outface 6-1 sides, being outflanked

And suddenly it is all over -despite their fight in the centre and the upper-hand on the left, too many Danish units have now quite the field or been destroyed, and the army can take no more!

The Danish Right flees

as does its centre and left.

Position at the end of the battle.

Game Notes: 

More good gaming fun. The Danes did rather well I thought, despite a note great deployment and command structure. Rather than any tactical advantage, the Imperials eventually just triumphed through greater strength and the arrival of the flanking force. The fighting in the centre showed the equilibrium that can be reached between the stronger impetus of larger columns and the effect of the Danish enfilading fire. Essentially the large Imperial tercios just outlasted the Danish Foot. The only point to note from the scenario is that I wasn't quite clear how aware the Danish should be of Tilly's off-table flank attack (and thus how much the Danish player should be 'allowed' to pre-deploy troops to defend against it. I don't think it made much difference in this game, the Danes were still capable of  holding on on the right between the built-up area and the entrenchments. 

I am getting more familiar with the rules I think. It was always pretty quick, but once the tactical modifiers and the conditions which trigger actions become more internalized, it does become pretty intuitive. The only thing that is quite fiddly is the set-up and the recording of unit attributes are only somewhat reducible (there are a lot of options).

Figures by Baccus 6mm, buildings are a mix of Leven, Battlescale and Irregular, I think!

Stadtlohn 1623 - Twilight of Divine Right

Next in this series of refights of the battles of the Thirty Years' War comes the 1623 Battle of Stadtlohn. This battle was the last of the initial 'German Protestant Revolt' phase of the war - which should give you some idea of who won in real life, without reading linked Wikipedia entry...anyway, a Protestant Army under Christian of Brunswick was being pursued by the Imperial Army under Count Tilly. This battle is somewhat unusual, as being a game of two parts but on the same board - the Protestant rearguard's battle, and later the main body's battle, as the army's baggage is evacuated.

As usual for these battles, I am using the Twilight of Divine Right rules and the scenario from the accompanying volume, Europe's Tragedy.

The Set-Up:

The Protestant Army deployed, with the rear guard to the right and the main body based on the high ground to the left

The main body

Another view; the baggage to the left

And the rear guard defending the village and crossing over the stream

Another view

The Battle:

Tilly's troops arrive

And go straight into the attack - the Protestant infantry defend vigorously, causing serious casualties as the Imperialist's try to splosh forward through the stream

The Protestant Cavalry fight just as fiercely, routing the leading Imperialist Cuirassier regiment!

Getting his troops back in hand, Tilly launches another attack - this time it takes the village, and gets a foothold on the stream below it (bottom-right)

The Protestant Rear-guard brings up its reserves to re-occupy the briefly vacated village

More Imperialist troops arrive, to add fresh impetus and ferocity to the assault

The reinforcing Imperial cavalry tip the balance in the fighting above the village (top)...

The infantry fight around and in the village re-intensifies...

Numbers tell, and the battered but victorious Imperial infantry (foreground) hold on to their foothold on this bank...

As their Protestant opponents run and disperse

And then the village is cleared too, with the rearguard destroyed or in disarray...but they have done their job, delaying and inflicting casualties on the Imperialist advance guard

The Interlude:

The Imperial forces get moving down the road and around the village...

The Protestants are managing to get some of their baggage away...

...like so...

The Battle (second part)

The Imperial troops have now formed up ready for their assault on the main position; the Protestants have by now been able to evacuate about half their baggage

Another angle

The Imperials being their mass assault

There are clashes all along the line

The Protestant right flank under pressure, as the big Imperial tercios push through the opposing cavalry

Elsewhere on the hill though, the Protestant troops are holding their own

The Protestant reserve cavalry gets ready to charge to try and restore the situation

There is a lot of fierce fighting on the hill - an Imperial Cuirassier regiment is broken in the hail of fire

So far so good, but note the heavy casualties in the ranks of the Protestant infantry regiment in the foreground

The Imperials make another heave forward...and are stopped again on the Protestant Right (foreground)

But the Imperialists seem to have broken through in the centre!

The charge of the Protestant Horse goes in on the Protestant Right...

...but is swatted away!

The Protestant Left is assailed again, coming under immense presure

However, once again the Protestant infantry holds on magnificently, and the leading Imperialist tercio is cut down! However, on the near side, one of the Protestant infantry regiments has broken

The Protestant gunners have abandoned their pieces, but the Protestant infantry is still fighting very hard

And a decent portion of the baggage has been evacauted! Can the Protestants hold on just a bit longer?

The fighting on the hill continues with undiminshed ferocity, but it is clear that the Protestants are slowly losing ground - the counter-attack on the far-side has failed!

The Protestant Cavalry by the stream is holding off the tercios' advance here

The Imperialists push on, although yet another cavalry regiment has been routed at the far edge of the hill

And another large tercio is eliminated on the other flank! Plus the right-hand edge of the hill has been re-secured...can the Protestants do this?

The Protestant Horse goes in again (foreground)

But is beaten back

One last heave by the Imperialists on the hill...and two Protestant regiments break, unable to stand it any longer!

The last Protestant Foot clings on to the hill by their fingernails..

And then, it is all over - the remaining Protestant troops flee for the bridges

Tilly is left master of the field, and his troops are glad of the remaining Protestant baggage to plunder!

 

Game Notes:

A game that ended up closer than I thought it might: the Protestant infantry on the hill did fight very hard, but in the end, numbers told and eventually the break-throughs did come. The Protestants have to hold on for quite a well to win the 'moral' victory of the baggage evacuation, never mind the full victory conditions of holding off the Imperialists. I think the main thing that might have been done better was a more economical use of troops on the far (i.e. Protestant Left) flank, which might have freed up a couple more Horse regiments for more gainful employment. But it would probably not have made that much difference.

The scenario is structured in quite an unusual way, with the rear guard action and then the main action. Because these troops do not move fast, then it might be quite dull in a two-player game to play through the full movement of the Imperialists from the right to the left of the board. Now, it does give the Protestant player the option I suppose of fighting a more open battle, but if that doesn't happen, then the Protestant player isn't going to be doing very much for a while, except hoping to roll well to see if another baggage element can escape. As a solo player, this didn't matter (I could work out what was going to happen using VLB prinicples) but it might matter somewhat in a club game.

As for the action itself, it mostly seemed reasonable and plausible. There do appear to be some routes to optimizing one's formations, i.e. to get the right combination of attacking in depth (to get all those nice support modifiers) but not allowing troops to appear on one's immediate flank (to avoid all those nasty units to the flank and rear penalties). Plus there are some hidden things in cavalry combat, about when exactly to move into 'charge range', so to speak. But in any case, all good fun, and if there is somewhat limited scope for genius tactics (but not no scope, far from it), then that seems a fair reflection of the period's constraints.

Figures as ever by Baccus 6mm.