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Conventions, Clubs, and Events / GMT West Weekend (18-21 Apr 2024 - Hanford, CA)
« Last post by rickbill on April 13, 2024, 11:50:09 AM »42
The Modern World / Re: How To Decide Which Countries Are Playable
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 13, 2024, 09:51:59 AM »Isn't India kind of in the same position? Obviously they are in PACCOM, but it's hard to see them deploying outside of that other than CENTCOM. They have the forces, but I didn't think they had the kind of logistics to deploy outside of their immediate neck of the woods.
That's probably true, but they also have a MUCH bigger geo footprint than Turkey or Egypt, plus they're nuclear.
Just bc I was curious, I went a looked up some info on their overseas deployments
They do have a few bases outside their country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_military_bases_of_India
but most are listening/surveillance types
They've also got about 4500 troops deployed in Africa on various missions in support of the UN, plus another 1500 or so in the MidEast
So it seems like they can definitely do some brigade-level deployments, but could they ramp up to a sustained div-level one? Maybe?
Like Japan, I think I'd be willing to be convinced either way.
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The Modern World / Re: How To Decide Which Countries Are Playable
« Last post by GaryMc on April 13, 2024, 09:14:32 AM »Isn't India kind of in the same position? Obviously they are in PACCOM, but it's hard to see them deploying outside of that other than CENTCOM. They have the forces, but I didn't think they had the kind of logistics to deploy outside of their immediate neck of the woods.
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The Modern World / Re: How To Decide Which Countries Are Playable
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 13, 2024, 08:48:38 AM »I'm not convinced Japan belongs on the list, but willing to be convinced
The main reason Turkey is on the list is b/c it happens to straddle 2 COCOM lines - EUCOM/CENTCOM
But interestingly, that same status is not applied to Egypt
In neither case, though, do I think they should actually be "great powers" just through the accident of fortuitous geography
The main reason Turkey is on the list is b/c it happens to straddle 2 COCOM lines - EUCOM/CENTCOM
But interestingly, that same status is not applied to Egypt
In neither case, though, do I think they should actually be "great powers" just through the accident of fortuitous geography
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The Modern World / How To Decide Which Countries Are Playable
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 13, 2024, 08:45:13 AM »Interesting thoughts here from Clint Warren-Davey on how to decide whether or not a certain country should be "playable" at the scale of the game
https://twitter.com/Clint_Davey1/status/1779069500559905210
So that you don't have to click thru to the tweet, here's the text from it
https://twitter.com/Clint_Davey1/status/1779069500559905210
So that you don't have to click thru to the tweet, here's the text from it
Quote
I find the US military organisation of "Combatant Commands" extremely useful when thinking about geopolitics.
The US divides it's military between 6 geographical commands, leaving aside space, cyber and special forces.
Now, from the Congress of Vienna in 1814 to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, there were numerous ways of categorising "great powers" - a real, legal term in international law. Great powers in 1814-1914 generally included Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Russia and Britain. From 1918 onwards things get a bit contested. For example, is France still a great power after Dien Bien Phu? Is Russia still a great power after 1989? Is Japan a great power today, in 2024?
In today's world, I would define a great power as this: a country that could deploy and sustain at least a Division in 2 or more regions on the US military Combatant Command map.
Think about it. The Division is still the smallest unit which can affect strategic level outcomes. For a point of comparison- my own country, Australia, can deploy the equivalent of a single Division if we have to, and probably just in our own region (Asia-Pacific). We are a regional power, not a great power.
A country which can deploy and sustain a Division in, say the Middle East (USCENTCOM) and Europe (USEUCOM) is undoubtedly a great power. Russia fits this description.
By this definition, I would classify the following counties as great powers in the 2020s:
USA
Russia
China
France
India
Turkey
Japan
There are a few that might surprise you on this list. France is one. I know the French have debates about whether they are still a great power or not. But, France is the only European country which could deploy a Division to Europe, Africa or the Asia-Pacific if it really had to. For example, France maintains 5-7000 troops and a naval squadron in the South Pacific, in its former colonies. It has the ability to deploy and sustain a Division-sized force in this theatre. Germany couldn't. I don't even think the UK could.
Similarly, countries like Iran do not make the cut as great powers. Despite its large military and grand ambitions, Iran is limited to intervening in the Middle East, within the jurisdiction of USCENTCOM. Iran, by my definition, is a regional power.
So, what do you guys think of this definition? It's not just an observation about geopolitics, its a key consideration in my next wargame design where I want players primarily commanding great powers.
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Pre-Gunpowder / Re: HISPANIA wargame on Gamefound
« Last post by DracoIdeas on April 13, 2024, 06:59:53 AM »aaaaaaand, we've got an interview with the designer coming soon, too!
Yes!!
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Intel Dump / Re: Whats on Your Table?
« Last post by JudgeDredd on April 12, 2024, 10:40:54 AM »It has intrigued me - I have to say.Also - with Mr President, I think it was all the reading that put me off.
There IS a lot to it, but, it's REALLY well organized. It walks you through everything; that's how I was able to set up. There were some issues I had in that it doesn't really show you what a lot of the counters look like, so I spent a good amount of time pouring over all the counter sheets to find what I needed, but eventually it worked. And in a way, that's actually a good thing, to get you familiar with all the counters in the game.
The game has a very precise turn sequence and in each phase, you do certain actions. It's a huge game, but each part that makes it up overall is relatively bite-sized, if that makes sense.
I'm especially impressed that there's no politics per the current interpretation of the word - in other words, there's no Democrats, no Republicans, no Libertarians, no Green Party, none of that. Just "your party" and the "opposition party." A deft avoidance of what might have been a rather sticky point, though a lot of people gave this game it's share of crud over the years, which I won't get into.
It's definitely a learning curve, but the story this will tell seems to me to be phenomenal. It's a solid design and Gene really spent a lot of his effort and sweat to make it work, all the while with an eye of making it approachable enough without sacrificing detailed play. A tough balance to attempt. We'll see how it plays out; I only just got back to town late last night and now I have ISS Vanguard all in and a few other Kickstarters all freakin' arriving tomorrow, lol.
I do love that the manuals hold your hand through the process. But you really need to have a love of this type of thing (political game, Presidential simulator) to get enjoyment out of it.
I've seen lots of positive stuff regarding it, but then I saw a 5 minute video of some guy saying he just can't do it - and he looked dejected AF.
Can I ask what size table you can "get away with"? I have a 35" x 50" area with 60" if absolutely necessary
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Intel Dump / Re: The PODCAST now known as "Mentioned in Dispatches" !
« Last post by bayonetbrant on April 12, 2024, 09:44:53 AM »Mentioned in Dispatches Season 12 Ep 10 ~ Commercial Wargames for the Pros
In preparation for Connections Online next week, we’re joined by a pair of wargame practitioners: Kevin Williamson, and Mitch Reed, both up in the DC area.
Mitch is well-known to the hobby world as the lead sled-dog of the No Dice No Glory team, but he’s also on his third different professional wargaming gig, after an extended military career. Kevin’s hobby background is more digital than tabletop, but it’s serving him well in his current wargames-in-military-education role.
https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/s12e11/
In preparation for Connections Online next week, we’re joined by a pair of wargame practitioners: Kevin Williamson, and Mitch Reed, both up in the DC area.
Mitch is well-known to the hobby world as the lead sled-dog of the No Dice No Glory team, but he’s also on his third different professional wargaming gig, after an extended military career. Kevin’s hobby background is more digital than tabletop, but it’s serving him well in his current wargames-in-military-education role.
https://www.armchairdragoons.com/podcast/s12e11/
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Intel Dump / Re: Wargame Design Studio News Thread + Latest Sale Titles
« Last post by rahamy on April 12, 2024, 09:37:23 AM »2024 Quarter One Review & News
New post up with all sorts of good information packed in. Not only reviewing what has happened, but new information as well!
https://wargameds.com/blogs/news/2024-quarter-one-update
New post up with all sorts of good information packed in. Not only reviewing what has happened, but new information as well!
https://wargameds.com/blogs/news/2024-quarter-one-update