Kriegsspiel - All the kings horses and all the kings men

[Dave Pumphouse]

Hello all you lovely people!

For those in the know, towards the end of last year i got playing my first kriegsspiel 'The Battle of Mincio River' and while thoroughly enjoyable (i have kept a little video diary on youtube for how its going - shameless plug i know), unfortunatly the game has stalled a little and there has been along the way drop outs from the frustration of how the game slowly progresses. To scratch that itch of a hobby that i have got to enjoy over the last few months i have decided to create my own and am opening it up to people who may be interested.

I have taken time in researching and developing some broadset rules over the last couple of months and after a few drafts and re-writes i believe i am near the end of finalising a homebrew rulset for this very much 'homebrew' style game. The effort being to develop something that isnt overly complicated like some rules out there, doesnt necessarily take long to play (a big criticism of some players and observors alike) and well, generally accessible and enjoyable for all skill levels.

I present to you therefore a game i am calling 'All The Kings Horses and All The Kings Men'. Where i have designed a relatively scaled board on TTS of approx 5miles x 3miles of the battle of Colchester (more commonly known to those who have heard of it as the siege of Colchester), a battle within the 2nd English Civil war in 1648, where the game explores the options given to commanders at the time. By piecing together variuos snippets of information for a battle often left in the footnotes of history i have come together with a fairly accurate order of battle and opening sequence... the rest as they say can be explored in the game.

8 Players (4 each side)... 3 have expressed an interest already. 5000 - 6000 Men per side. Play by email system with me being the umpire and a discord channel open if required. I'm thinking 10 - 15mins in game time per day (purely so people arent waiting for weeks to hear anything back from units etc and to keep people engaged) and a little video blog of AAR's posted from time to time.

If anybody is interested and if you would like to try your hand at something different or know anobody that might be interested let me know. Screenshot of the board below. Otherwise any other comments and/or advice welcome.

*UPDATE - 5/8 Seats confirmed* 3 Interested

Royalists

Earl of Norwich (cmdr) - Taken
Lord Capell - Interested
Sir Charles Lucas - Taken
Sir George Lisle - Interested

Parliamentarians

Lord-General Thomas Fairfax (cmdr) - Taken
Sir Thomas Honywood - Taken
Col John Barkstead - Taken
Col Gourdon -

Happy Gaming!   

[bob48]

 

Looks good.

[LetsPlayHistory]

I might be interested. The last Kriegsspiel I have attended was a Fulda Gap game based on Thin Red Line, a bit too complex for a single umpire and sadly two NATO players dropped. It was a very special experience commanding my Brigade, though. Loved the fog of war.

Not sure, if a 15 minute turn schedule fits the command structures of the time, but I am sure you have thought about that.

Best,
Jan

[Dave Pumphouse]

I might be interested. The last Kriegsspiel I have attended was a Fulda Gap game based on Thin Red Line, a bit too complex for a single umpire and sadly two NATO players dropped. It was a very special experience commanding my Brigade, though. Loved the fog of war.

Not sure, if a 15 minute turn schedule fits the command structures of the time, but I am sure you have thought about that.

Best,
Jan

My Mincio River game i was a french corps commander with 4 division commanders under me, each division between 2 and 6 brigades under them and each day was 2mins in game time. People i think just got frustrated that it wasnt moving quick enough so i have tried to find a pace that feels right. The pace of play could be changed if that suits people as the objective is merely to have a bit of fun with it as a 'my first krieggspiel' type of thing...

Thank you for the interest though and i can certainly pencil you in!

[bayonetbrant]

when were you looking at trying this?

[LetsPlayHistory]

My Mincio River game i was a french corps commander with 4 division commanders under me, each division between 2 and 6 brigades under them and each day was 2mins in game time. People i think just got frustrated that it wasnt moving quick enough so i have tried to find a pace that feels right. The pace of play could be changed if that suits people as the objective is merely to have a bit of fun with it as a 'my first krieggspiel' type of thing...

Thank you for the interest though and i can certainly pencil you in!

Huh, what would a corps or even division commander reasonably be able to do within two minutes I wonder? I mean sure, there were probably commanders sending out order after order, but that might have been the not so efficient ones, I guess. I think, turns representing a variable amount of time between 30 minutes to a few hours would fit much more on that command level, giving players a few days to give their orders. I bet Jim could share some wisdoms from previous Kriegsspiel interations he has done.

[Advocator (Scott)]

Same question as Brant, when are you looking to do this? I'd likely be interested in giving it a go to see how it compares to Jim's games.

[Dave Pumphouse]

My Mincio River game i was a french corps commander with 4 division commanders under me, each division between 2 and 6 brigades under them and each day was 2mins in game time. People i think just got frustrated that it wasnt moving quick enough so i have tried to find a pace that feels right. The pace of play could be changed if that suits people as the objective is merely to have a bit of fun with it as a 'my first krieggspiel' type of thing...

Thank you for the interest though and i can certainly pencil you in!

Huh, what would a corps or even division commander reasonably be able to do within two minutes I wonder? I mean sure, there were probably commanders sending out order after order, but that might have been the not so efficient ones, I guess. I think, turns representing a variable amount of time between 30 minutes to a few hours would fit much more on that command level, giving players a few days to give their orders. I bet Jim could share some wisdoms from previous Kriegsspiel interations he has done.

Perhaps then, a speed of 10mins a day on alternative days (leaving off days for orders to be written and sent to the umpire) so a fortnight of play would be just over an hour of battle time.

[Dave Pumphouse]

To answer both bayonetbrant and Advocator it'll look to start when seats are filled.

[Advocator (Scott)]

Fair enough answer. Well, if there's room, add me to the list of people willing to give it a go.

[Dave Pumphouse]

Fair enough answer. Well, if there's room, add me to the list of people willing to give it a go.

Welcome aboard

[thecommandtent]

Would this all be over email or would we need to be available for live play?

[Dave Pumphouse]

Would this all be over email or would we need to be available for live play?

Over Email

[thecommandtent]

Would this all be over email or would we need to be available for live play?

Over Email

Count me as interested but knowing I have no idea what I'm doing 

[Dave Pumphouse]

[/quote]

Count me as interested but knowing I have no idea what I'm doing 
[/quote]

Modest as always CT! Dont let Jim forget HE on infantry is double shock on your next game of CoC btw!