Wargames

New Compendium cover image

“My game is just as good as their game, and saner by reason of its size. Here is War, done down to rational proportions…”

Thus said HG Wells in his toy soldier wargame rulebook of 1913 when comparing his Little Wars with Real War. It eloquently sums up the appeal of wargaming: a chance to pit our wits against an opponent and in doing so see if our tactical genius could have outdone a Napoleon, a Lee or a Zhukov. And all done without a single death or injury (though admittedly several pieces of cardboard may be inconvenienced).

A quick summary of our wargames:

DRAK2: Vectis is a corps-level hex-and-counter Napoleonic wargame that simulates a fictional French invasion of England’s Isle of Wight. You can check out the progress of a playtest by viewing this slideshow. Download: $4.95 @ wargamedownloads.com and wargamevault.com, £3.50 @ lulu.com. Book: £11.95 (+ p&p) @ lulu.com.

DRAK8: Like the tide into a Breach: The Battle of Neville’s Cross is actually about a real battle! It’s a hex-and-counter medieval wargame simulating the battle that was fought in my hometown in 1346. The Scots have superior numbers, but the English have the longbow… who will prevail? Download: $5.95 @ wargamedownloads.com and wargamevault.com, £4.20 @ lulu.com. Book: £10.95 (+ p&p) @ lulu.com.

DRAK14: Mini-Game Compendium is a collection of the three mini-games that were included free with Catalogues 4, 5 and 6. While I promised they would only be available as freebies with those catalogues, it seemed a shame not to make them available for others, so they are now available as a bargain-priced compendium. The collection comprises Night of the Stuff (a solo cinematic horror game), SCRAMBLE! (a solo air defence wargame with two- and three-player options) and Santa & the Goblin War (a two-player wargame for the very fate of Christmas). All are quick-to-play hex-and-counter games with the emphasis on fun. Download: $1.00 @ wargamedownloads.com and wargamevault.com.

DRAK17: Dig-In For Victory! features extracts from the Royal Engineers’ Manual of Field Engineering 1911. Lots of useful information on making defences, building bridges, defending different types of locations and blowing things up. Invaluable if you’re designing a wargame set in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, but also with plenty of useful information that can be applied to other time periods and even to RPGs. Includes some great original plans for defensive positions. Download: Pay What You Want @ wargamevault.com

DRAK18: Mini-Game Compendium 2 is a collection of three Argor resources. The School of Axios is a location resource (featuring new spells), while both Raid on Spurhaven and Escape from the Trow are mini-scenarios followed by accompanying wargames – though the wargames can be played standalone if preferred. Download: $1.50 at wargamevault.com or wargamedownloads.com.