How to Play Wargames

1. Overview

Wargames have been aptly called "conflict simulations." Most wargames are attempting to simulate some conflict, usually a military one. For this reason, many gamers, being students of history, attempt to use military experience to play the games most effectively.

At this point, I ought to state some basic assumptions, the first being that most people will play these games to "win." This is not always the case. Many gamers simply play for the experience, to "experience" the information. But if one is to play to win, one must understand the limitations of the games.

The major limitation of the typical wargame is that it appears to be a very accurate representation of actual conflict. The problem is that the games are somewhat accurate but they do have their limitations in the realism department. What follows will be a detailed dissection of how the games work for the purpose of being able to play

them more effectively, whether it be to win the game or simply to exercise it to see what the game is capable of doing.

The most common and perhaps the simplest type of wargame to handle is the one using a hexagonal grid across which thick cardboard playing pieces (representing the military units in the battle) are moved. The basic thing a gamer has to grasp is how to move the units most efficiently, and how to position his units so as to be able to destroy the opposing player's units. Destroying the other sides armed forces is usually the object of most wargames, but not always.

Remember that there is a complete set of rules for the Drive on Metz game in the back of this book. You may want to consult those game rules as we explore the techniques of playing wargames.

In movement there are two key things you must consider. The first is the movement allowance each unit has. That is, the number of hexagons it can move each turn. The next most important element in movement is the Terrain Effects Chart. In fact, when looking at a new set of rules these are the first two things you should check. What are the range of movement allowances in the game and what does the Terrain Effects Chart look like? The Terrain Effects Chart shows the cost (in movement points) to move on various types of terrain on the map. At this point you look at the map and you can quickly see what areas your units will have an easier time going into and which areas they will more likely get bogged down in. The Terrain Effects Chart also shows the effects of terrain upon combat. Generally speaking, terrain that is more difficult to move in is also more difficult to attack in.

In most games this is represented by the unit defending while in such terrain being able to increase its defense strength by a factor of two or three or more. For example, a unit with a combat strength of four defending in good defensive terrain would have an effective defense strength of, say, eight or even 12, depending on the severity of the terrain.

At this point, without even getting into the rules too deeply, you have an idea of how capable the various units (of both sides) are of moving about the map and their chances of success in combat in the various kinds of terrain. Now, the next thing you look at is the Combat Results Table. Almost all games have these. Some games have many of them, but it's simply more of the same thing. Most Combat Results Tables are based on the idea that the more combat power you have, the better your chance of success. There are usually two broad types of Combat Results Tables: bloody and bloodless. The bloody CRT generally involves a lot of results that have units being eliminated from the game. A bloodless CRT is one in which the losing units are usually moved back ("retreated").

Now you can start reading the rules of the game. The rules will make

a lot more sense because everything else in the rules basically revolves around nuances of moving and fighting with your units.

When a game is designed, generally the first things that go into it are the map, the values on the playing pieces (combat strength and movement allowance), the Terrain Effects Chart and the Combat Results Table. As the game is developed, various bits of what I call "chrome" are added. You must now search through the rules for these other elements since they will affect, sometimes dramatically, the use of the basic game elements (terrain effects, CRT, map, counters). You don't really have to study the rules in scrupulous detail. Once you have an understanding of what is supposed to be going on in the game, you should immediately set the pieces up and have a go at it. And this can or should happen 10 or 15 minutes after you start studying the basic components (if not sooner, or later depending on the size and complexity of the game).

Most games come with two or more "set-ups." One of these is usually the historical set-up and gives the position of the units of both sides at the beginning of the battle so that you may attempt to re-create the battle yourself. It is generally a good idea to set up the basic historical situation. This will do two things for you.

First of all, it will give you a bit of historical information, which is one of the reasons why you got the game in the first place. Secondly, it will give you an opportunity to pick some interesting situations that will help you learn by playing the game.

Once you have this historical set-up, you should take one section of the map containing no more than, say, three or four units on a side and proceed to practice the movement and combat as outlined in the rules. You should take only a small section of the map containing but a few units because you are liable to make mistakes. You will undoubtedly constantly want to restart the game as you find you have made mistakes so it is better to deal with only a small number of units.

Now it's a good idea to consider the possibility of adding a few enhancements to your game components. Take, for example, the set-up locations of your units. Generally, it's a hex. In a few games, the hex is marked with a symbol showing the unit that's supposed to go there or the unit itself has the hex number printed on it (if numbered hexes are used) for that unit. If this is not the case, you might consider taking a very fine-point pen (so you can write small) and write either on the front or the back of the playing pieces the hexagon they are normally set up on or, perhaps, even marking the map. This is so that when you go through a turn or two, either in testing the game or actually playing it, you can easily go back to "go" and start again if you find that you would have done something differently.

The biggest cause of problems is overlooking some minor, but critical,

modifications in the rules that invalidate two or three turns of your playing. Typical examples are games that have a rule whereby one side is limited in its movement for the first two or three turns of the game or where, on certain turns of the game, certain units on one side or the other have a bonus or where certain terrain features change in their effectiveness. These are all chrome elements which, quite frankly, often don't have that dramatic an effect on the game itself but which, when ignored, allow the players to be creative and play "their" way, rather than the way in which the designer intended. This is something that is easier to discover if you take the game in small pieces, a chunk at a time, as it were. Keep in mind that a full-size (22-inch by 33-inch) map sheet can contain as many as 2,000 hexagons. In most games using a map of this size, the number of hexes that will be most actively played over will amount to as many as 300 or 400. For this reason it makes good sense to choose a small area with a small number of pieces to test and develop your knowledge of the game before committing yourself to moving all those playing pieces over all those hexagons.

New gamers should be made aware of the fact (before they actually learn it for themselves) that the game does not have to be played the way the designer intended it in order to be played well. While most publishers make a fetish of at least attempting to come out with well-written and complete rules for their games, these efforts often fall short (often far short) of the goal. Yet, many games with truly terrible rules continue to be popular and widely played. The reason for this is simple. The average gamer is a rather intelligent person. Once the person has immersed himself in the basic mechanics of wargames (and we just reviewed most of them) and given the average gamer's interest (not to mention actual knowledge) of historical events, you have someone who can take a game with mangled rules but good intentions and turn it into what the designer intended. The players can and do change things themselves in games and get away with it. Most games are not even played strictly according to the rules. I have seen this happen many, many times. Yet the games still play. This is less likely to happen with a computer wargame, but even here, programmers are often astounded at how gamers managed to get around the way the program was supposed to work.

Depending on which way you bend the rules, the game will play better or worse for it. A really good game is usually dependent upon one of two factors: either very high quality in design and development (good rules to begin with that are accurately and easily presented) or simply good players who are interested enough and excited enough about a particular game to make it work and work well.

Most games are purchased and played on the basis of their subject matter (more than any other characteristic). If you have an abiding interest

in the subject of a particular game, you will, without much prompting, make the game do something interesting.

2. How to Win

Now that you've got the basic stumbling blocks out of the way, we can get down to some real, nitty gritty, how-to-win advice. While the games Victory Conditions drive the game, the nuances of the game rules are what will get you where you want to go.

The first thing you'll want to do is "crack the system." Every game has certain idiosyncrasies which determine the "flow" of play. Such an idiosyncrasy would be, for example, one side having a larger number of weaker units than the other. Another example would be one side starting the battle with its units spread over a far wider area than the other. You should make a note of things like that. Next, go back and examine the Combat Results Table (CRT) again. Most CRT's employ the odds system; that is, you total up the attacking player's strength points (numerical value) and compare them to the defending player's. You divide the defender's strength points into the attacker's and get a ratio which is usually rounded off so that 1.2 to 1 would be 1 to l or 3.2 to 1 would be 3 to 1, etc.

Another common type of CRT is the differential where you simply

subtract the defender's strength points from the attacker's, in which case you get a superiority (+1, +2, +3, etc.). In most CRT's (in fact in practically all) there is a "break point," an odds column above which the attacker is favored. In odds CRT's, this is generally, but not always, the 3 to 1 column. In other words if you launch an attack where you have three times as much combat strength as a defending unit, your chances of success are good. As the odds go up (4 to 1, 5 to 1, etc.) they get better. You must examine the CRT of the particular game that you are involved in and simply note where the advantage begins. Thus, when you're playing around with a small section of the game map and units, you can see the types of attacks you are most likely to get. Again, this is involving all of the key elements of the game. In order to examine the CRT you must take into account the Terrain Effects Chart, the general types of terrain you will be encountering in playing the game as well as the combat strength and the movement ability of the units.

At this point, it is important to consider some basic laws of game playing. In most historical games, the object is to provide at least a modicum of historicity. In other words, the thing that makes most wargames different from an abstract game such as Monopoly is that they do go out of their way to pay attention to what actually happened historically. This means that since most battles were the result of one side or the other underestimating the other side's strength, there was often a disparity in the strengths and

abilities of the two armies. In other words, one side usually has a tough row to hoe. They're outnumbered. They're outclassed. They're going to have to work very hard in order to win the game. Sometimes the victory conditions in the game reflect this. The potentially losing side would be granted a "game victory" if they did not lose as badly as they did historically. But devices such as this still do not change the fact that one side is going to be constantly reacting to the activity of the superior side, and ultimately losing most of the time.

All right, let's review the steps that we have taken so far to turn this mysterious jumble of numbers, hexagonal shapes, colors and charts into something recognizable.

One: We have examined the playing pieces, Terrain Effects Chart, map, Combat Results Table and Victory Conditions for patterns of information.

Two: After examining these, we have gone through the rules to find whatever modifiers there are to these patterns.

Three: We have set up and examined the game situation, usually using the historical set-up, and have studied this if only for the historical information it reveals.

Four: We have taken a small section of this historical set-up and begun moving the units around, having combats and generally getting a feel for the game.

Five: We have taken the Combat Results Table and analyzed it for the point where it favors the attacker over the defender.

You now have the tools to begin cracking just about any game. Some games will involve a lot more work than others, but these are the basic techniques. Now, to use them.

3. How to Win with the Losing Side

Assume you are the superior player in a game; that is, you are the one with most things in your favor (number of units, strength of units, positions, etc.). You have two options: Have a lot of fun being aggressive and outrageously innovative and take a chance on losing the game or be cautious and have a pretty-much assured, albeit dull, victory. If you are the inferior player, you have only one choice: Dig in, use your head and have an interesting game. You are at a disadvantage.

You can't afford to make mistakes and you will be faced with one challenge after another. This explains why many players prefer the defending side since with the superior side it is too easy to get lazy, become adventurous and feel foolish for losing a game that should have been an assured victory. On the other hand, simply

settling down into a dull, predictable pattern in which you grind the other fellow into defeat is no fun either. The inferior side in any game is generally more exciting. Besides that, you already have an excuse for losing and you feel a lot better if you happen to win.

What Kind of Wargamer Are You?

Once you have comprehended the basic principles of any game, it is time to decide which kind of gamer you are. Put somewhat crudely, you are either going to play to win or to play to learn history. Always keep in mind that what constitutes victory in a historical situation is somewhat vaguer than what is presented so clearly in the game.

If you're going to play the game primarily to experience history, I refer you to the section of this book on "why play" which explores in some detail what bits of history to look for in a game. Since the game is a game, you will find your "historical experience" considerably enhanced by a use of many of the techniques found in this section. For this reason, the first thing I discussed was how to basically analyze a game. Much of the rest of this section consists of analysis and tricks of the trade.

The Play Cycle

Once you have learned the game, your next step is to discover the "play cycle pattern" of the game. Every game, because of its unique combination of elements, has a certain dynamic about its play. This dynamic manifests itself in a pattern of how most games played will go.

For example, take a game in which one side (like the Americans in the Battle of the Bulge) is considerably weaker than their attacking opponents (in this case, the Germans). As the game progresses, however, the weaker defending side continually receives far more reinforcements than the attacking side. This usually means that the attacking side must win early if it is to win at all, before the defender's inexorably growing strength makes a stalemate quite likely and defeat of the attacker quite possible.

In some games, the play cycle pattern is quite obvious. In many games, though, it is a bit more complex. By this I mean that one side may have an advantage in one section of the game map while being at a disadvantage in another. Even more likely is a situation in which one side has a potential advantage which can be realized only by making the correct preliminary maneuvers before beginning the battle.

Even more subtle are those games in which one side's advantage is not immediately obvious, but is buried under layers of special rules and conditions of the game. Again, this type of advantage can be uncovered and put to use only after careful analysis of the game. Remember that this play cycle is an important bit of historical insight you don't normally get out of a history book. It's another example of how a game will show you historical information that can only be obtained from a wargame.

The easiest and most straightforward way to find out what the play cycle pattern is, is to simply sit down and play the game solitaire a few times. If not the whole game, then at least the same sequence of turns over and over again. The opening turns of a game are usually quite dramatic and these can be profitably played two or three times.

It's very important to analyze a game through solitaire play. For one thing, you can concentrate. It's just you and the game. There are also psychological elements. There's no pressure on you to win, although, let's face it, you can still lose playing against yourself. But if nobody's there to see it when you screw up, you learn from your mistakes without suffering the ridicule of others (unless you enjoy dwelling on your defeats in public). You also don't waste another players time, as your inept moves provide no challenge at all for your opponent.

A Necessary Talent

Although the play cycle pattern's the sum total of all the things that are going on in the game and how they manifest themselves as a pattern, there are, even in the simplest games, a tremendous number of things going on at once. As a gamer, you are able to handle this multitude of elements in your head at the same time primarily because you are one of those rare people who have the interest, aptitude and mental agility to handle all of the elements going on at the same time. It's much like somebody's talent for playing a musical instrument. He doesn't consciously command his eyes, ears, fingers, lips  whatever  to do all of the coordinated things that must be done to produce a musical sound. The musician simply does it. Wargamers bring to the games a similar aptitude.

What we are talking about here is examining the various detailed actions that go into the play of the game, simultaneously and then sorting out the really useful information.

People who cannot play the games (as well as many who can, but have not bothered to try it yet) are totally overwhelmed when first confronted with a wargame. Many people overcome this initial state of shock by applying their historical knowledge, which makes a lot of sense since this is one of the key reasons why many people get into the games in the first place. This historical approach often leads to some interesting game results. Invariably, the actions of the historical commanders were not necessarily the most efficient, but at least repeating history gets you into playing the game.

4. Strategy and Tactics of Play

In wargames as in real life, strategy is largely dictated by the available tactics. If tactics are what you do in detail, strategy is what you do with your total resources. If your tactics are such that your forces are much more effective in rough and wooded terrain, then your strategy will dictate that you need far fewer forces to hold the wooded terrain and, if perchance, you have specialized units that are more effective than the enemy in attacking in rough and wooded terrain, then much of your operations would take place on that kind of ground. That's a fairly blatant example of how strategy is dictated by the tactical abilities of your units. In wargames, tactics are also affected by certain mechanical elements common to most games. The chief among these is the hexagon grid itself.

As you can see from looking at the Drive on Metz game (and it's a good idea to refer to the game map while reading this section), there's a best way and a worst way to defend on a hexagon grid. The best way is to have an empty hex between each unit, have your defending units in a straight line along the grain of the hex. The "grain" of the hex grid is a straight row of hexes (the hexes stacked on top of each other like barrels).

The worst defense is one in which there is a unit in every hex along the grain of the hex. This prevents you from covering a very wide area, usually makes it easier for your units to be surrounded and also ties down a large number of your forces. The next worst defense is defending against the grain since this allows the attacker to bring a minimum of three units to bear against each of your defending units. When you're defending against the grain you also have the option of having a non straight line since you will again have no more than three attacking units against each one of your defending units. This can actually be an advantage in that, in almost any situation, you won't be able to avail yourself of a straight line because of the way the terrain shows up in irregular patterns across the map. That hill you must defend or river crossing that must be held always seems to be in an awkward position. Thus, the straight line is the unnatural situation.

Another type of defense which is not really a defense at all is the one in which you have two empty hexes between each unit. This is actually not a defense but a screen since the loss of one unit or even the movement of one unit one hex in the wrong direction opens up your line and allows your enemy to penetrate into your rear area and easily surround your units. A situation such as this assumes one of four things. One, you don't have sufficient forces to cover the front, in which case there's not much you can do about it. Second, you do have sufficient force to cover the front, but you prefer to have a strong reserve (in which case you know what you're hex tactics doing); and if the enemy does break through, you will presumably know what to do with your superior reserve. Third, you've just made a stupid, terrible mistake and are about to lose the game because you left two empty hexes between each defending unit. Four, you took a calculated risk that one particular part of the front would not be threatened and left this area thinly held. If you calculated correctly, you can recover from this, if not, go back to third item.

Another one of the standard items of hexagon games is the ability of the attacker to advance into the defeated defender's vacated hex. This is usually known as "advance after combat" and is an exception to the general rule that units may not move during the part of the game turn where they conduct combat operations.

All is not as simple as it seems. Remember, in most games you cannot move once adjacent to an enemy unit. On the face of it, that vacated hex is a new possession of the victorious attacker, but it can be a poisoned gift if, on either side of it, are additional defending units. Therefore, you must observe a couple of very important rules when making your decision as to whether or not your attacking units should advance, There are basically three reasons why you would want to advance. First, this would normally pin down additional defending units. You may wish to do this even at the risk of losing the advancing unit. Second, as a corollary of the first reason, you may wish to set up a defending unit for elimination by surrounding it with flank attacks and then destroying the unit just surrounded (and thus unable to retreat)

Surround Attacks

The third reason is for you to be in favorable terrain. This is often the case in situations in which you are fighting over possession of a town or another key terrain feature. Since, in many games, you are forced to have combat if you are in an enemy unit's Zone of Control (one of the units adjacent hexagons, which limit the movement of enemy units entering it), by your taking the favorable terrain, the enemy will then be forced to attack you at unfavorable odds.

Again, the only big risk in advancing after combat is that the advancing unit would put itself in a position to be surrounded and destroyed in the next turn. This risk must be weighed against the potential advantages.

The defender will also get opportunities occasionally to advance after combat if the attacker gets an unfavorable result and must himself either retreat (or be destroyed). Normally, the defending unit will not advance after such a favorable combat. In the first place, since the defender is going to move next anyway, there's  no advantage to be gained by advancing in order to pin enemy units, although there are exceptions. There could be a situation in which the defending unit is already immobilized by enemy units all around it and, in its own turn, would not be able to move anyway. In a case such as this, your "lost battalion" might as well do all the damage it can since its days are numbered. In general, the only reason for the defending unit advancing after combat is to disrupt the attacking side's operations. But again, you must weigh the possible loss of that unit against any possible advantage. When dealing with combat operations on the hex grid, you will quickly discover that when playing another person, the intrinsic instinct for self-preservation rapidly asserts itself in the form of an unbreakable line of your units facing an unbreakable line of your opponent's units. Victory, then, usually boils down to how best to break the line.

I should point out that this is a classic problem for game designers. Granted, there are many situations that are basically lines of opposing troops staring at, and sparing with, one another, unable to do much damage. But what makes historical wargames so interesting is that most battles did have a winner (war, being a game without rules, does not lend itself to draw-type situations). These victories were usually the result of any number of factors that, if the designer can incorporate them successfully into the game, will make for a rich and varied situation.

Some of these factors had to do with the way the armies were set up at the beginning of the battle. Others pertained to restrictions (often self-imposed) placed on one side or the other with regard to moving or using their combat forces. Other odd but interesting effects come from the historical victory conditions which often have nothing to do with logic, but are nonetheless critical because at the time, they seemed like the right things to do. For example, in the Drive on Metz game, the Americans would have been much better served by trying to get around Metz from the north instead of from the south. At the time, going around from the south seemed a great idea, but, with the advantages of hindsight, we can see that the Germans north of Metz were weaker than we assumed.

History provides a never-ending procession of examples such as this. Without such odd and illogical behavior, history would be dull indeed, and there wouldn't be much need for games such as ours.

All right, but let us assume logic does prevail and you're faced with a line of units. You've got to crack it. If there isn't any flank you can get around and assuming it has to be a frontal assault, pay close attention to the following points on how to do it.

First of all, you must be the superior player. That is, you must have more strength on the map than the other player. First you must calculate the maximum of combat strength you can bring to bear in any one hex. This means analyzing your units and, if you have stacking of units (more than one unit on a hex) in the game, you must take that into account to see how strong a "shock" force you can come up with. Then you must calculate the maximum defensive strength of the various enemy positions. What you are trying to achieve is good combat odds, normally 3 to 1 or better, so that you can at least push back defending enemy units, What you are going to try to do is compromise the defender's entire position by taking key defensive positions away from him. As this is done, you will force the defender to do one of two things: either retreat his entire line, which will be costly since you will have already pinned down (moved adjacent to) some of his units, thus forcing him to sacrifice the pinned units in order to retreat the others; or, if he decides to stay where he is, you will create a bulge in his line that you will eventually surround and destroy. This is much like a siege in that it's going to require a lot of carefully planned attacking. It will also require a bit of luck since, if the defender is on the ball, he is going to see what's coming and form his own shock force for the purpose of taking yours on.

You now begin to see that technical expertise will take you only so far. A lot of it is psychological. Much of it depends on the other player making a mistake or something as simple as putting one unit in the wrong hex, putting it in a position that looks OK at first, but on further analysis is not OK at all. In this respect, playing the games is much like playing chess. There are tremendous similarities and the last time we checked, more than 98 percent of wargamers had played chess. To be successful with wargames, you've got to plan, look ahead and be lucky.

All of this advice also works when playing solitaire. It's an amazing experience to take advantage of, and be tripped up by, your own mistakes on both sides. Kind of makes you humble.

5. For the Defense

In the Blue & Gray game system (and in almost all game systems having advance-after combat and Zones-of-Control) there is a basic defensive doctrine which should be followed with virtually religious zeal. It is: the defensive line should be as straight as possible, running with the "grain" of the hex pattern, and there should be one vacant hex between each defensive position.

Optimum Defensive Line

The advantages of such an arrangement are these:

1. No unit can be surrounded when a part of such a defense (niether in the Enemy Movement Phase nor by advance after combat).

2. There are only two hexes from which any position in such a line may be attacked.

3. The line is the most economical use of units consistent with good defensive coverage.

4. If an Enemy unit succeeds in advancing into one of the positions in the line, it is realtively easy to counterattack such an exposed unit and regain the line (there is also a good chance that the advanced Enemy unit can be surrounded and destroyed).

The Least Desirable Defense

The least desirable defense is one in which there are two vacant hexes between each defensive position in the line. This type of line allows the units to be easily surrounded (by three or more attackers) and destroyed. Such a posiiton is easily shattered and difficult to retake.

The Second Least Desirable Defense

It is also not desirable to defend in a "packed" line, I.e., one in which all of the defending units are adjacent to each other. This wastes units, and, more importantly, allows the attacker to make front-to-flank attacks (see main text).

Defending Against the Grain

When defending on a line situation against the grain of the hexagon grid, the units should be positioned in a manner similar to the optimum defense, i.e., with a single hex between each. Because of the geometry of the hex grid, the attacker will be able to attack any particular unit from three hexes.

As an alternative to a simple straight line against the grain, the Player may wish to "refuse" the flanks of every other unit, making these forward positions the strongest unit or stack of units. This makes the line strongest in the areas where the Enemy can be the strongest (i.e., the only hexes against which three attacking groups can bear are those containing the strongest defending units).

Players should note that these defensive formations are idealized and do not take into account local terrain variations which may force upon the Player less orthodox defensive deployments.

6. The Importance of Quality of Play

We have discussed some of the basic elements in playing wargames. Ultimately, however, it is the quality of play which will determine who will win. Look at it this way. Two players of equally high skill in tactics, technique and analysis will play a dull game the outcome of which will largely be determined by the intrinsic bias of the game for one side or the other. This rarely happens. In chess there is often reference to "dull" games in which both players did what was expected. In wargames the situation is far more ripe for innovation and surprises.

It is relatively simple for a player to develop a good (even superior) tactical skill at games. What is more difficult is acquiring superior technique and analysis ability.

Technique is a grab bag of skills involving the evaluation of the elements of the game and the options thus available. Take, for example, our Drive on Metz. The German player has considerable variety in his forces. He has strong units, he has weak units, He has fast units, he has slow units. Because Drive on Metz is a simple game, there are none of the what we call "special" units with unique abilities. However, most games do have such units.  In Drive on Metz, for example, there could be artillery units which could project their combat strength over three or four hexes.

The German player, in order to maximize his chances for success, must mentally (or on paper) draw up a list of his units ranked in order of their abilities. The easiest way to do this is to simply multiply the unit's attack value by its movement value. The resulting number would be the unit's total value. Line up all the units on the list by value. You now have what amounts to a list of your best and your worst units. Naturally enough, your best unit will be a relatively strong one that is very fast. On the other hand, units that are relatively strong and slow are also useful, but different.

The German player must then analyze the terrain that he must defend. This can also be done by dividing his front into sectors, say blocks of hexes, four or five long and three or four deep. Assign each type of hexagon a value according to its defensibility. An open or clear-terrain hex would get a value of 1. A fortified hex would get a value of say 3 or 4, And the woods and town hexes would get something in between. Thus, each sector would come up with a number indicating its relative defensibility. This defensibility is almost as good as having additional units since any unit that is placed in there is multiplied in its defense value, At this point the player can then proceed to evaluate what the enemy forces can do, rank the enemy forces and, in effect, think like the enemy. This is probably one of the key elements of good chess play, looking at the game from the other player's point of view.

Once new players realize the value of this the quality of their play increases enormously. While these techniques will improve your skill at using the games, don't forget the opportunity to just sit down and start playing the game. Most gamers do this quite a lot. While the games lend themselves to some very interesting analysis, it's also entertaining and educational to just, as chess players put it, "push wood."

Analysis With A Little Life In It

One thing you will notice is that the analysis of wargames is not the dry, systematic, mathematical (which, admittedly, some people get off on) analysis that you have in chess or other abstract games. Rather, you're analyzing a real historical situation. Because the games demand such realism and accuracy in their historical information, players get the feeling that they are participating in a study of human events, which is exactly what they are doing. This makes the analytical work more palatable.

So you study the hell out of the game. In a tactical sense, this is a pretty good approach. It still doesn't mean you're going to do very well unless you show some ability at analysis. By analysis I mean, what you can do with all of this in the game itself. For example, so what if you outnumber the other fellow two to one? If he's holding the mountains that you have to get into, this might actually be putting you at a disadvantage. Analysis means determining what type of specific tactical situations will arise in the game and what is your optimal reaction to these situations. Your tactical skill and your techniques are merely the tools that you apply on the basis of your analysis. Many gamers go back to historical accounts of the battle their gaming. They often find good analysis there, and its often by the original participants. If nothing else, you get an idea of what not to do.

Between two really skillful players, it is the analyses by the two players which will cause most of the excitement. Often both players will correctly analyze the situations in a general sense. Where they may differ is how they apply the tactics or techniques to implementing their analysis. This makes for very exciting play. For example, one player may have determined that in order to win a game of Waterloo he must attack certain British units during a specific turn of the game with a certain force. This force can either be all ground forces or it can employ a large amount of his artillery. How much of his artillery he can spare will largely be determined by what he is doing during the entire battle that turn. Thus, while the player has good tactics for using the artillery and good technique analyzing where it will usually be most needed, there is still enough room left in any wargaming situation to go one way or the other. There are so many hundreds of unconscious decisions being made when any one of these situations is being analyzed, that it is a truly creative act when one player comes up with an analysis of the particular turn of the game that is demonstrably superior to another player's analysis.

While I understand these techniques and have used them to one extent or another, I am not the greatest practitioner in the world. My knack is for designing the games, not playing them. When I do play, I get distracted by my habitual tendency to try and figure out how the game was put together and then to try and come up with better ways to do it. Meanwhile, my opponent is usually just playing the game. Many times I've been on the receiving end of much better users of these playing techniques and I find it much more pleasurable to watch two other players knock each other's brains out in a creative contest of wargaming tactics, technique and analysis.

7. Wargaming Technique

Wargaming techniques are methods that are generally applicable to any type of game. They are just more applicable to wargames because wargames have more things going on in them. There are more elements to apply technique to.

As described above, one of your basic techniques is analyzing your units. Once you have analyzed them you then have a second technique known as effective deployments.

Because most wargames have playing pieces are deployed on a hexagonal grid, the positioning of these forces helps determine the forces effectiveness. For example, your lighter and slower units are generally garbage and are best put in the front line where they can absorb the enemy's initial blow. Your weak but fast units are often best deployed on flanks where they can rush about or at least slow down any enemy attempt to surround you. Your strong but slow units are generally best deployed right behind your weak front line unit so as to move up and stop any attempt at pushing into your position. Your strong and fast units are best used as your general reserve to be kept in the middle of your position so that they can rapidly be shifted anywhere either to defend a key area or to exploit a successful attack. Range fire units (units such as artillery or archers, etc. that can "fire" their combat power over two or more hexes) are usually deployed to make maximum use of their ability to project their combat power over a wide area. Thus, missile units can reinforce non-missile units. Needless to say, when you're analyzing a unit's effectiveness a missile unit becomes important far beyond its basic combat and movement ability.

For any other specialized unit, the same applies. For example, some games have leader units which are necessary to get the combat units to move, fight or do just about anything. These units must be deployed so as to enable you to do what you want to do. Put them in the wrong place and you're going to be high and dry when it comes to getting things moving.

Note that the above advice on using various types of units also applies to chess, and has been the accepted wisdom in military circles for several thousand years.

Just to sit down and attempt to develop different (and one would hope better) deployments for a particular game is an interesting exercise which many players indulge in. This type of activity often leads to interesting surprises, as when the player who has done his homework unveils a new and more effective deployment on an unsuspecting opponent.

Many players prefer to tinker with the game in this manner rather than actually play it. Tinkering is a low-hassle, mentally stimulating, take-things-as-they-come activity. Playing the game tends to be a bit more intensive even if you're only playing against yourself. Most gamers tend to be people who like to tinker with things and games are eminently "tinkerable."

8. Tempo and Shaping

Either player in the game has the option of speeding up the level of events. In most games each player takes his turn moving and attacking, and one player taking an inordinate amount of time doing so still does not deny the fact that one player can unilaterally increase the activity level of the game by doing more moving of the units and in particular by engaging in more combat since this forces the other player to respond.

It is inherently easier to increase the tempo of some games. These are games that have relatively bloodless Combat Results Tables. This means that the risk to an attacker is considerably less than in a game in which each combat produces some loss for somebody. You can still increase the tempo in a game with a deadly CRT. It simply takes more skill to do it without automatically losing too often.

Once you increase the tempo you gain an immediate advantage. First of all, the other player (assuming you have somewhat equal skills) doesn't know what's going on. He can only assume that you're up to something. If you're smart, you will be up to something and not just raising a little hell. As the tempo of play increases, as more attacks are made, as more units in contact move to and fro, the tactical situation is constantly changing.

At any given time you must, if you are on the ball, be aware of the tactical possibilities of all of your units. Who is in danger, who has opportunities sitting in front of him, where the opportunities or potential opportunities happen to be. As you increase the tempo of play you are changing all of this rapidly from turn to turn. What you are doing here to a large extent falls into the area of gaining a psychological advantage.

This is no different from any other human conflict situation. In fact, let's not confine it to humans, let's take animals in general. There's always some sort of pecking order instantly established in animal groups. One animal or the other will soon gain some sort of advantage. This can often work to the "advantaged" side's disadvantage. Some players, for example, allow themselves to assume the role of the "lesser player" and thus lull the "superior" player into a false sense of superiority until such time as the "lesser" player lowers the boom.

When Not To Follow The Script

Many players also have an overly slavish approach to what happened historically. If one side, for instance, was the defender historically, they assume that in playing the game on that event they must adopt a defensive attitude. Quite often this is just the opposite of what is the best for them in that situation. Again, a perfect example is any Waterloo game (there are many). In that situation, the Battle of Waterloo in June, 1815, the French were indeed attacking the British. But the British were not at that much of a disadvantage. They were capable of counterattacking and counterattack they originally did. In the game you can benefit by being even more aggressive than the British originally were. This is especially true if you are playing a sloppy French commander. I have seen many players become victims of their own overly literal reading of the historical accounts. If faced with an inept Napoleon, take advantage of the situation.

Shaping Your Play

Shaping is a technique in which you use things such as tempo, psychological advantage, tactics, technique and analysis to put the enemy in a position you want him in. This is a legitimate technique whether you are on the offense or the defense. What it comes down to is everything you do in the game is done with a specific objective in mind. You don't advance in a certain direction, you don't retreat in a certain direction unless this fits in with the plan you have devised. Many people are afraid of planning. They simply react, and this gives the other player an enormous advantage. Unless the other player is also reacting, which then produces a muddled and confused game quite similar to many historical battles fought with similar reactive attitudes by the original commanders.

To react without planning is to let the other player shape your game. When you get two players who are reacting it becomes a very interesting and unpredictable game, and many people prefer to play it this way. There is nothing wrong with that. However, if you want to obtain more control over the game and do things in a more systematic manner, you must come up with a plan, with objectives.

The most obvious objectives are fulfilling the games victory conditions in the game. Yet a plan consists of more than saying, "Well, these are the victory conditions and this is how I'm going to do it." You must work things out

in more detail. For example, in the Drive on Metz, the German player must determine which unit he is going to put where to defend what. Up in the north by Thionville he has to worry about the Americans putting a main thrust where there are so few German units. Thus, he must make some of his more mobile units available to be sent north very quickly. In the center, where the Germans are probably most vulnerable, they do have the advantage of terrain and fortification. But the fortifications, once lost, are almost impossible to retake. So particular care must be taken with regard to what is put in the center to hold these key areas.

Developing the ability to do this, to shape, takes time. All I am pointing out here is that the opportunity exists. Many players will find that they do not care to do that much work to play a game. However, I think most players would benefit from at least giving it a try because they would probably find, at the very least, a simpler version of some of the techniques I'm talking about here, which they can regularly apply without any perceived additional expenditure of energy. The object of all of this is not to turn the games into a lot of drudgery, but simply to point out things which players will probably eventually stumble upon themselves anyway. Many of the techniques we are talking about actually make the games more enjoyable. You feel less "lost" and you feel more in command of the situation (no pun intended.)

Special Problems with Multi-player Games

Most of the techniques dealt with above are applicable primarily to two-player games as well as the individual player activities of multi-player games. However, multi-player games do have a dynamic of their own which is not found in two-player games. When you get three or more people involved there is the possibility of coalition. Additionally, funny things happen in people's heads as they comprehend the fact that they are dealing with not one person but two or more. This usually has some interesting and rather predictable results.

For example, in the early 1970s I did a game for Avalon Hill called the Origins of World War II. This game was a multi-player game in which players assumed the roles of the various powers in Europe. Although the players were told that they had to stop Germany if they wanted to prevent World War II, each player had his own specific victory condition and invariably everybody would look out for himself and Germany would walk into all the adjacent countries and would usually end up winning the game anyway.

In Dungeons and Dragons and most other role-playing games a similar situation exists. It is understood, and it is often made explicit, that the players will gain more individually as well as a group if they cooperate with one another. Invariably, players will be more interested in looking out for their own personal gain at the expense of any possible

cooperation or planning ahead with other members of the team. I can offer no pat solutions to this. It seems to be an intrinsic element in human nature. People like to "do it themselves." This is one of the chief attractions of a role-playing game in which you are playing a role. In fact, the games might more appropriately be called role-building games.

You are building a role and by playing it out you give it substance. Cooperating with somebody else somewhat diminishes the individual in a game such as this. It is a bit more blatantly obvious in role-playing games, but it is an element present in any multiplayer game. People cooperate only briefly and only to confront and solve immediate problems. This gives multi-player games a great deal of flexibility. They can go on and on because no one person is going to gain a long-lasting advantage. It's more of a problem in role-playing games in which you are not really playing against the other players, but while this attitude exasperates the dungeon masters (or "game masters," who are running the game), the players don't seem to mind that much and take their licks like the heroes they are trying to be.

9. The Technical Terms Used in Wargaming

Many special words or meanings of words have been developed to assist in the play of wargames. Very few of these terms are completely unique to wargaming and many of them are borrowed from scientific and military usages. The following list gives the more common terms you will encounter in playing historical simulation games.

• Abstraction. Key concept in wargames whereby complex procedures in an historical event are much simplified in a wargame of the same event. This usually works, sometimes it doesn't.
• Advance (after Combat). Usually, the attacker's unit moving into the space formerly occupied by the defending unit (which was forced to retreat). Sometimes an advance allows the successful unit to move more than one space.
• Administrative units. Game counters that represent non-combat units that are still vital to the play of the game. Supply, headquarters (to control other units) and engineer (to build and maintain things) units are typical of this type.
• Adventure game. What some wargames are called, and what some games that are not quite wargames actually are. Adventure games are similar to Role Playing Games, especially those on computers, that involve one person (the player) solving puzzles and fighting opponents on an adventure. Often the military aspect is quite detailed.
• Air attack. Aircraft attacking something. Often called "ground attack," as it is often aircraft attacking ground units. "Surface attack" sometimes used to describe air units attacking ships.
• Air Missions. Games that deal with air power in detail often have to cope with the many different things aircraft can do. Typical missions are Anti-Air (or "air superiority" or CAP-Combat Air Patrol), Surface Strike (or "ground attack"), Air Transport, and Ferry missions.
• Air Units and Combat. Playing pieces are often used to represent aircraft units. Because the typical game is only two dimensional, the player must keep clear in his mind that although the air units are being placed on the same playing surface as the ground units, they are not operating on the same level. Because of the special symbols used on the air units (usually they depict the silhouette of an aircraft) it is not too difficult to get used to this potentially confusing graphic situation. In addition to air units attacking one another you also have ground units which have as one of their functions the ability to attack air units and in effect defend friendly units on the ground.
• Airlift. In addition to specialized units capable of combat in the air, there are often units capable of transporting ground units by air. The ability of these units is often referred to as the airlift capacity and usually denotes a specific number of units that can be moved in a given game turn or period of time. The airlift capacity sometimes is expressed in terms of airlift points which are often equivalent to the transported units' combat strength or stacking points.
• Air Range. This is normally the number of spaces on the map that air units may move in their turn. Since air units are moving above the ground and not on it, they usually ignore all terrain restrictions and generally have much higher movement allowances than ground units.
• Airborne, Airlanding and Airmobile Units. An airborne unit is normally considered one dropped by parachute. These units undergo a chance of being destroyed or otherwise incapacitated because of the dangerous techniques they use in getting on the ground. Airlanding units are units that are landed normally on  an airfield in or very close to enemy territory. An airmobile unit is a unit that is landed by helicopter.
• Ammunition. This is normally represented in the game, when it is distinctly represented at all, as an item of supply without which units cannot attack. The amount of ammunition you have is sometimes represented by ammunition points, each point representing the ability of, say, one unit to make one attack. This basic approach can become much more elaborate. Often, simpler ammunition rules simply provide a probability that you are out of ammunition.
• Armored Unit. A unit in which all of the forces are using armored fighting vehicles is considered an armored unit.
• Assets. A purely military terms, referring to all combat and combat support units as well as supplies and the like a commander has at his disposal. The term has entered the vocabulary of wargamers. It's usually the other way around, as wargamers do not generally use a lot of strictly military jargon.
• Attack. One unit (or a group of units) attacking a single defending enemy unit (or group of units). The player doing the attacking is referred to as the attacker.
• Attrition. This term represents gradual loss of a unit's strength, rather than complete loss, which is often what happens in many board games. In the case of individual units, this is represented by one of three methods. One technique is to have a number of playing pieces representing each unit, with each of the different playing pieces for the same unit differing only in the combat strength value printed on them. Another method is to place another playing piece with only a number printed on it underneath the piece representing the combat unit, the numbered playing piece representing the current combat value. As the combat unit loses strength, a numbered playing piece of lesser value is placed under it. A third method is to have a roster printed on a separate sheet of paper. Each unit would have next to it a row of boxes, each box representing one strength point. As the unit suffered attrition, the boxes would be checked off in order to show a lower strength. Computer games have a substantial advantage in that they can keep a very precise record of losses without burdening the player. Sometimes attrition is applied to one side's entire force in which case (normally during an "attrition phase" in the game turn) a Probability Table is consulted to determine how many units from an entire army will be removed from the game to represent attrition. This type of attrition usually represents the losses caused by sickness, starvation or disease.
• Blast Radius and Strength. This is generally a circular area represented by the number of hexagons from the hexagon of impact in which the bomb or shell hit. Also applies to just about any explosion (grenades, mines and so on). The blast strength is the numerical rating of the effect of the explosion and this declines as one gets farther away from the impact hexagon of the explosion.
• Breakdown. Often units can be broken down into two or more smaller units. Usually, the total strength of the two or more smaller units does not equal the combined strength of the original larger unit (because the sum is greater than the parts). A larger unit is usually broken down in order to cover a larger area. The term "breakdown" is less frequently used to describe a unit or equipment that doesn't work (the more common meaning outside of wargames).
• Case. This is a numbered (sometimes lettered) paragraph that states or explains a specific game rule. They are usually numbered, although sometimes letter are used. See Drive on Metz rules for examples.
• Casualties. Historically, this term refers to the dead, wounded and missing resulting from a battle. Casualties in a game, however, normally represent more than the actual personnel losses and include the functional breakdown of military units as effective combat forces due to dead, wounded and missing troops as well as equipment losses and damage. It is for this reason that often the losing unit in a battle is removed from a game. Historically, as little as 30 percent of a combat unit's personnel being killed, wounded or captured is often sufficient to render that unit totally ineffective as a combat force. Casualties may also result from attrition and friction.
• Character. In Role Playing Games (RPGs) each player (four to six is the most common number) represents a different person (some non, or semi-human like dwarves, elves and the like). Each person has different characteristics (speed, strength, intelligence, etc.). Some computer games, and wargames, use similar individual characteristics.
• Close Assault. A term used in tactical games indicating hand-to-hand fighting-type attacks made by infantry or infantry and combat engineers-the modern equivalent of "going after them with the bayonet." Note that there is actually very little hand-to-hand combat, although it is more common for troops to actually see who they are shooting.
• Conflict Simulation. The more technically correct term for what we commonly refer to as wargames. Wargames are actually only one subgroup of the much broader group of games which in theory includes all situations involving struggle between two or more opposing forces. A conflict simulation attempts to produce a playable but essentially mathematical model of such situations.
• Combat. This occurs when two or more opposing units interact with a result that produces losses, retreats or other changes in the status of the opposing units. These actions usually take place during a combat phase which is a distinct part of the game turn. As most games put it, "Combat occurs between adjacent opposing units. The units of the Phasing Player are used to attack and the units of the non-Phasing Player defend, regardless of the overall strategic situation."
• Combat Strength. A numerical rating of the unit's ability to attack and defend. This rating is expressed in terms of combat strength points. In some games a unit has one combat strength value to be used both for attacking and defending. In other games the units have two combat strengths, an attack strength for attacking and a defense strength for defending. These strengths are calculated on the basis of the raw fire-power of the units and modified by qualitative factors such as training, leadership, organizational effectiveness and experience. Calculating these combat strengths is one of the more interesting aspects of game research and design.
• Combat Results Table (CRT). A Probability Table that shows the possible results of all combats allowed within a particular game. The greater the ratio of attacker to defender strength, the higher the chance of success. Because so many things can go wrong during the combat itself, a die or other random-number generator is used to determine the actual result. These tables are usually calculated based on what information is available on actual historical losses.
• Combat Results. Once the die is rolled and the CRT consulted, the actual results of the combat will be quite specific. Given below is a list of some of the more frequently used combat results and their meaning:

  Ae (Attacking Units Eliminated). All of the participating attacking units are destroyed (removed from play). This result is common when a very unfavorable attack is being made, one that has a high probability of the attacker being effectively wiped out.
  Ar (Attacking Units Retreat). All of the participating attacking units must retreat one or more hexes. One of the more common results. Attacking is more difficult than defending and attackers frequently are thrown back.
  Ad (Attacking Units Disrupted). All of the participating units are disrupted. This usually means that all of the affected units are pinned in the hex they are in or otherwise prevented from attacking or performing any action when they would normally be capable of. This is a variation on Ar (Attacking Units Retreat).
  A1, A2, A3, etc. (Attacking units lose indicated number of steps or strength points). One or all of the participating attacking units are reduced by the number indicated (or retreated the indicated number of hexes). Another variation on Ar (Attacking Units Retreat).
  Aex (Attacker Exchange). The attacker loses participating  units whose face value is at least equal to the face value of the defending force. Sometimes this is expressed as AEx, meaning that the attacker loses participating units equal to at least one half of the face value of the defending force. This result demonstrates the common outcome of an attack: it succeeds but with heavy loss to the attacker.
  Ex (Exchange). The weaker force is destroyed and the stronger force must lose participating units, the value of which is at least equal to the value of the weaker force. This result is very common and, obviously, penalizes the weaker force, whether it would be the attacker or defender. A variation on this has the stronger force taking losses only if they have a unit or units to lose that do not exceed the value of the defending units lost. If the only attacking units eligible for loss are stronger than the defending units, the attacker takes no losses in this type of exchange.
  Eg (Engaged). The forces involved in this combat remain locked together, sometimes with further combat mandatory, etc. This is a more common outcome than most "gamers" would prefer but is typical of many 20th century battles where two sides remain locked together in combat for long periods.
  Cn (Contact). The forces involved have discovered each other,  which means that in game systems using dummy or concealment counters, the two sides involved in the contact result are now revealed.
  Ca (Counterattack). The defending force usually must make an immediate attack against the attacking force. This particular option is used to depict the lethality of a units situation once it has successfully penetrated into an enemy line.
  Pk (Panicked). The affected force (can be either attacker or defender) is panicked and usually suffers a result that will hinder its effectiveness either by "freezing" them (cannot move or attack) or by forcing them to wander off when their turn to move next comes around. Commonly found in tactical level games.
  Rt (Routed). The affected forces execute a headlong retreat,  a variation on the effects of panic, disruption, etc. A Rout effect often has a similar panic effect on other friendly units encountered as the unit flees to the rear. Usually only found in tactical level games.
  De (Defending Units Eliminated). Identical to all of the results given to the attacker such as Ae, Ar, etc.

There are many more results and combinations of results possible in wargames. The ones listed above are the most commonly found, but even in that short list you can see how easily one may come up with variations.

• Combat Supply. A unit having a specific amount of supply enabling it to attack or defend normally. This is the ammunition and fuel-type supply for combat as opposed to food and other types of noncombat supply.
• Combat Unit. A class of game units distinguished by their ability to engage in combat (usually able to move and operate independently also). These are the "fighting" units as opposed to the "administrative" units.
• Command Control. A rule whereby units "in" command control may function normally while those "out" of command control have their ability to move and/or have combat impaired to various degrees. This represents a loss of the commander's ability to communicate with and control his units.
• Command Radius. The number of hexes from a leader unit that other units may be influenced by the leader unit.
• Communications, Line of. A line of connected hexes, free of enemy interference, that can be traced from the "supplied" unit to the source of supply. The supply line along which supplies are transported.
• Consolidate. Combining two or more smaller units into one larger one. This is often done in such a way that the strength of the larger unit is greater than the sum strength of the smaller units. This represents the greater organizational strength of the larger unit.
• Continuous Line. An unbroken line of friendly units (or Zones of Control). Often a necessary rule to represent the need for a "front line."
• Continuous Turn. A concept whereby one side can continue to move and fight until they run out of success (or luck, usually both at the same time).
• Controlled Hex. A hex upon which a unit is exercising an effective Zone of Control. Usually any adjacent hex, but may also include hexes farther out, or not all adjacent hexes.
• Counter. Another term often used for the playing pieces in the game.
• Covering Terrain. Terrain which provides concealment from enemy observation and/or protection from enemy fire. Usually found in tactical level games.
• Dead Pile (or Dead Box). Refers to the common practice of obtaining reinforcement or replacement from among a pile of units that have already been destroyed (the "dead".) Macabre, but pragmatic.
• Defender. The player (the units belonging to that player) who is the object of an attack. Generally this is the non-phasing player (the player that is not moving).
• Defense Strength. The numerical rating of the ability of a unit to defend itself against enemy attack strength. Expressed in terms of defense-strength points.
• Demoralization. A condition encountered by an army (or individual units) when it has taken very heavy losses. The usual result is a loss of effectiveness that is expressed in terms of reduced ability to move or have combat. The exact details vary much with each game using such a rule. When a unit has reached the point where it is demoralized it is said to have reached its demoralization level ("threshold"). For an army this is measured in terms of strength points or units lost.
• Depot Unit. A specialized military unit (either mobile or stationary) that does little more than provide supply for other units. Loss of these units reduces the owning sides ability to move and fight.
• Direct Fire. Usually found in tactical level games. The fire of weapons that have a flat trajectory. What they see is what they can try to hit.
• Display. A chart on which markers or playing pieces may be placed for the purpose of keeping track of information vital to the play of the game.
• Disrupted. In some games, there is a combat effect that, in effect, "stuns" the affected unit for one or more turns. The unit counter in question is either flipped over or has another marker placed on it to indicate the disrupted state. Disruption usually lowers movement and combat ability and sometimes the Zone of Control effect.
• Diversionary Attack. Usually found in games where all friendly units adjacent to enemy units must attack. The purpose of the "diversionary" attacks is to distract enemy strength so that the more important attacks have a better chance of succeeding. See entry for "Soak-off."
• Dummy Unit. A playing piece (usually with printing on both sides) that looks like a real unit on one side but that is really a deception that is only discovered when it is too late.
• ECM. Electronic Countermeasures. Using electronic devices to disrupt enemy electronics (radar, radio and other sensors and communications devices).
• Elevation. In tactical level games, the map often represents different heights (hills, buildings, etc.). There are often quite complex rules to deal with blocked lines of sight.
• Enemy. The opposing player and his units. Common term in game rules.
• Engineer Unit. The primary function of such units in games is to either construct fortifications or assist in their destruction or otherwise assist in getting through enemy defenses. Also used to construct things in general (bridges, bases, roads, etc).
• Entry Cost. The movement-point cost to enter a particular type of hex.
• Exit Cost. The movement-point cost to leave a particular type of hex. Either the cost is paid to enter a hex or leave it in a particular game.
• Facing. The direction a unit is facing, expressed in terms of which hex side a particular side of the playing piece is facing. Important in tactical level games where "front" and "flank" are vital.
• Fire Strength. The numerical rating of the missile-firing (a unit that can attack units that are not adjacent) ability of a unit. For example, guided missile unit, longbow, etc.
• Force. A term used to refer to a group of friendly or enemy units.
• First Player. The player who takes action first in the sequence of play.
• Flight simulator. A computer wargame from the perspective of the pilot of a combat aircraft. A joystick or the keyboard is used to control the aircraft as what a pilot can see from the cockpit appears on the screen. Vehicle and ship simulators are similar, except the player is inside a tank or ship.
• Formations. The manner in which units are laid out on the map. A column formation has all units advancing in a line one behind another. A line formation has all units lined up facing the enemy units. There are many other variations. Most often used in tactical games.
• Fort (or fortification). A location printed on the map (or represented by a counter) that indicates a defensive emplacement that will increase the defensive power of the units using it.
• Free Deployment. An initial placement of units that allows the player to position the units any way he wishes (as opposed to strict historical placement of units).
• Friction. In some games, units are allowed to keep moving beyond their normal movement allowance. The catch is that when you push a unit like this, "friction" sets in. The effects of friction are similar to the damage caused by attrition, combat and/or disruption. In actuality, friction is what happens normally when things begin to break down from use.

Driving a car for 100,000 miles causes a certain amount of "friction." If you drive the car 100,000 miles in one trip, you're going to have some more "friction." Same with military affairs, although more common. There is always some friction in military operations, and often there's a whole lot.

• Game Assistance Program (GAP). As PCs (and even programmable calculators) became available in the 1970s, wargamers developed programs that would automate the more cumbersome elements of manual wargames. GAPs never caught on as commercial products, but many were created and used.
• Game Map. The playing surface, usually covered by a hexagon (or other type) grid to regulate movement and position of units. In most games this is actually a map, similar in many respects to any other kind of map.
• General Supply. The type of supply that simply allows a unit to continue to exist. Often "attack supply" is required in addition to launch an attack. There are many variations on how supply is handled.
• Grain. The direction in which the straight rows of hexagons appear to run parallel to one another or the edges of the map. "Short grain" means that the grain runs across the narrow portion of the map. "Long grain" means it runs across the long portion of the map. Most maps are short grain because it is easier to attack "with the grain" and the defender in most games needs all the help he can get.
• Grognard. Not a technical term as such, but a term you'll hear in wargaming. It refers to experienced (and, these days, often middle aged) wargamers. The term was originally used as a nickname for members of Napoleons Old Guard. The term is French and means, literally, "grumbler." It reflects the attitude of the veteran troops who knew what was really going on but couldn't do much about it. So they grumbled, and so do most wargame grognards.
• Ground Support. The use of tactical aircraft (bombing, etc.) to assist friendly ground units. In most games, this is treated as just another form of artillery (indirect fire).
• Headquarters. Usually a unit that has no combat value itself but whose loss would decrease the capabilities of your combat units. These penalties usually take the form of an inability to move some combat units or to decrease their combat strength (especially when the "headquarters" unit actually represents a logistics --supply-- unit).
• Hex. A single hexagon in a hexagonal grid.
• Hex Side. One of the six sides of the hexagon. Sometimes rivers, ridge lines, fortifications or some other feature run along the hexside. This means the gamer must pay attention to the differences in types of hexsides as well as different hexes.
• Hex Number. In many games, a four-digit number that describes the row the hex is in (first two digits) and the hex in that row (second two digits). It is printed in the hex. It was developed by Arnold Hendricks (while he was working for wargame publisher SPI in the early 1970s) and later released to the public domain for any game publisher who wanted to use it (many do). A variant of the older letter-number hex identification system.
• Holding Area. A box printed on the map for holding units that are not being used in the game (but will be, for one purpose or another).
• Indirect Fire. Fire of a unit that cannot be seen by the defender (a mortar, as opposed to a rifle).
• Initiative. As in real life, this is the ability of one side to act first. Usually each side has a probability of moving first (or second, if that is preferable) and this probability often changes with success and failure on the battlefield. An initiative rule often gets quite complex, as one would expect from as complex an item as initiative.
• Interdict. Fire that interferes with enemy units' movement or supply, usually accomplished by air support or artillery indirect fire.
• Isolation. A unit is cut off from supply or command control. Usually this occurs when enemy units of zones of control prevent a unit from tracing a line of hexes back to a supply or command source.
• Leaders. While wargames allow the player to take the place of the original commander, in some situations the actual location of the commander (or his subordinates) was vital and this is represented by playing pieces representing the leaders. These "units" usually have no combat capability themselves, but rather possess the ability to increase the effectiveness of real combat units. Typical effects of leader units is to increase the movement or combat capability and to rally units that have been disrupted.
• Line of Sight. The path of unobstructed vision between two hexagons on a game map. Rules for this feature are often quite complex, but basically all you want to do is figure out whether any hex containing an obstacle (trees, buildings, etc.) is in the way.
• Maneuvers. In some games, there are certain prescribed sets of movements which a unit may or must perform in a certain way. For instance, in an air game, an aircraft might have to go from one altitude and heading to another to perform a Split S maneuver, or a naval game might require that ships "follow the leader" when turning in line.
• Mechanized Unit. A military unit, usually a combat unit, which is completely motorized-that is, all men and equipment are in a vehicle of some sort (armored or unarmored).
• Melee Combat. Hand-to-hand combat, with the sword, spear, shield, knife.
• Miniatures. A form of wargaming (the earliest, in fact) where the playing pieces are lead figurines and the playing area a three dimensional model of the battlefield. These games are almost always tactical level.
• Morale. This is the troops state of mind, or how willing they are to push on in the face of the stresses and horrors of warfare. In games that use morale rules, combat and strenuous non-combat operations (forced marches, lack of supply, etc.) will lower morale and, ultimately, the ability of units to function at peak level. Usually a victory or rest or the presence of a powerful leader will restore morale.
• Movement Allowance. The numerical expression of a unit's ability to move, expressed in terms of movement points, with one movement point enabling a unit to enter a "clear terrain" hex on the average game map. Most other types of hexes usually require more than one movement point (or, sometimes, less).
• Operations Points. A variable number of "points," some of which are needed for any action in a game. Only a few games use Operations Points, and these are usually those that have Continuous Turns.
• Opponent. The other player or, as you get into the game, all of the forces of the "other side."
• Opportunity fire. In tactical games, this is a unit that is ordered to fire only if enemy troops enter a certain area. Accurately represents a common technique in actual warfare.
• Order of Appearance. Lists when new units enter the game, and where.
• Order of Battle. The make-up of a player's forces in terms of types of units and the number of each type available.
• Order of Battle Sheets. A printed form with the game units displayed along with boxes to check off the declining strength of the units as they suffer combat (or non-combat) losses.
• Organic. In military usage, a weapon or unit that is normally assigned to a unit. In other words, a standard part of that unit.
• Overrun. An attack of such overwhelming force that the defending unit is destroyed so quickly that the attacking unit is able to continue movement with only minor interruption. An important rule in games in which each side must first move all its units and then attack. A recent example of this was seen in the 1991 Gulf War, where U.S. units advancing into Kuwait generally rolled over defending Iraqi units.
• Owning Player. The player to whom something (a unit, a section of the game map) belongs.
• Party. Not exactly a social event. This term refers to the group of characters that operate together in a Role Playing Game (RPG). Each character often has very different capabilities which, in theory, should compliment each other.
• Phasing Player. The player whose phase it is at that particular point in the game. This is an important distinction because some sequences of play have the two (or more) players trading back and forth the "active" role.
• Plot. A written-down record of what one player's forces are going to do in a turn of a game using simultaneous movement. It's not as tedious as it sounds as such games have fewer than a dozen units per side and simple movements. This approach is common in many computer wargames.
• Point. The basic unit of measure for describing the quantity represented in the movement allowance, combat strength and any other value used in most games-for example: movement point, combat-strength point, etc.
• Point and (click or drag). Used in computer wargames when the mouse is used to activate (click) or move (drag) things on the screen. If you have a computer mouse, you know what this means.
• Production Center. A unit or installation printed on a map that is used to produce new units or supply, etc.
• Protection Strength. The defense strength terrain adds to any unit in a hex with that type of terrain. Also used for more complex defense-strength situations. For example, a tank would have one defense strength against cannon fire and a different protection strength against missiles.
• Rail Capacity. The capacity per game turn of the player's rail network to move units and/or provide supply by rail. Measured in rail-capacity points. Railroads have been the primary means of moving military supply (and often the units themselves) over land during the last 150 years. Railroads continue to be of vital military importance.
• Random Events. Many historical situations have a host of minor (and not so minor) tangential events that can influence the main operations to one degree or another. Sometimes these are political or economic events back home, or lethal diseases or severe weather encountered during campaigning. Sometimes these random events are included in a game simply to spice it up.
• Range Allowance. The number of hexes (in any direction) that an air unit (or the fire of an artillery or missile unit) may project its power.
• Range Attentuation. The effects of range on a missile weapon. Archers, artillery and even aircraft are less lethal the farther away their target is. Rules for Range Attenuation take care of this.
• Reinforcement. A unit which does not start the game on the map but enters later. These units are kept track of with a reinforcement schedule and/or a reinforcement track (a display upon which the reinforcement units may be placed).
• Replacements. Similar to reinforcements, except these are not new units but are used to revive existing units; they are expressed in terms of replacement points. Each destroyed or depleted unit could be revived with a certain amount of replacement points. Historically, units suffer only 20-50 percent losses before losing their combat capability. Such units can, and usually are, revived with replacements and time away from the battle for rest and training.
• Retreat Priority. A ranked listing of hex types or hex conditions into which a unit should retreat when called upon to do so as a result of combat.
• Road Movement Rate. Usually the number of road hexes a unit may move on for each single movement point expended. This is the (usually) sole exception to the standard of one movement point being expended to enter the easiest-to-enter terrain.
• Role-playing Game (RPG). A type of conflict simulation in which the player does not command two or more "units." Instead the player controls only one "unit" or "character" which has more detailed characteristics than units in multi-unit games. The players often play their character against an assortment of enemies and obstacles controlled by a nonplaying "gamesmaster." The most popular role-playing games are based on fantasy backgrounds, although since RPGs were developed in the mid-1970s, there have been several published that deal with strictly military subjects.
• Rolling Up a Character. A term used in role-playing games, it refers to the process whereby a player, using dice and Probability Tables, determines the levels of his character's various powers and abilities.
• Scale. The size of each hexagon and the real time represented by each game turn. The size of the hexagon is measured from side to side and varies from a few meters upwards to many light years (in science fiction games). Three different scales for games are used for land (and to a lesser extent naval and air) games:
  • Tactical- This often referred to as the "tactical" level. This includes everything from individual men equaling one playing piece (and each turn representing seconds) up to groups of men numbering 30-50, hexes of a few hundred meters across and turns representing as much as an hour or so. This is the level where the player is controlling small ground units (platoons down to individual vehicles and troops), individual ships or aircraft.
  • Operational- The next level covers everything up to the point where "tactics" (the precise maneuver of units) become less important than "strategy" (the allocation of resources on a broad scale). A player would control units representing battalions up to divisions, or groups of ships or aircraft.
  • Strategic- The "strategic" level generally involves hexes representing dozens or hundreds of kilometers and time scales representing weeks or months. At this scale, the player is controlling several armies and often entire nations (including their economies and politics).
• Scenario. A complete description of the event (battle) to be simulated in the game. Often, a number of scenarios are represented in a single game. Some are historical, allowing the player to deal with only portions of the battle or campaign, while others are "what if" or hypothetical situations. The scenario will detail the units to be used, where they are to be placed or when they will arrive as reinforcements. Finally, the victory conditions and any scenario specific rules are given.
• Sequence of Play. One of the more important parts of the game. The Sequence of play details (in strict list format) which player is to do what and when during each game turn. The game turn is the basic time unit in a game. The parts of a game turn have a strict hierarchy which generally follows this order:
  • Game turn
  • Player turn
  • Phase
  • Segment
  • Step

In some games (usually strategic level), game turns are combined into repeatable sets to allow for functions that take place every so many turns. For example, in a game with monthly turns, every three months (or every year) certain production events may take place. This group of game turns would be called a game cycle. In some cases both players perform a function during some part of the game turn. In this case the activity would be called "joint" (as in joint player turn, etc.). In some games this whole procedure gets rather involved, which is why so much organization is needed.

• Soak-off. Also called a Diversionary Attack. Making unfavorable attacks adjacent to an enemy unit you have concentrated maximum force for a critical attack. In order to attack the one enemy unit you really have to get, it is often necessary to also make attacks on enemy units adjacent to the one you are after. This is most common when the game stipulates that all adjacent enemy units must be attacked each turn. This is a wargaming technique with a close analogy in history, where it is known as the "secondary attack" and serves the same purpose of distracting the enemy from your more important, or "primary" attack.
• Stack. A group of friendly units (including, where appropriate, markers) placed in the same hex. The number that can occupy the same hex is limited by the game rules.
• Stacking Points. Another form of stacking, in which a numerical value (the stacking value) is used to determine how many units can be placed in a hex. Each side (or each hex) is then allowed so many stacking points per hex. In this way units of differing size (some may be five to 10 times larger than others) may be accurately represented.
• Standard Game. Most games have a standard game (scenario) which presents the basic historical situation. The units are set up as they originally began the battle or campaign and none of the usual optional rules that are added later to allow players to explore the various historical possibilities in the battle are used. The standard game is sometimes called the basic or introductory game. Players who are more knowledgeable about the historical event being simulated will often skip the standard game and get right into the more advanced versions.
• Strategic Movement. In some games units may move much more than they would be normally allowed by restricting their movement to friendly controlled hexes. This represents the ability of an army to use their transportation capability to it's maximum potential, mainly because they don't have to be constantly ready to encounter and fight enemy units.
• Strength Step. In most games an adverse combat result will either move the affected unit out of its position or destroy it. In some more complex games, instead of the unit being destroyed it merely loses a portion of its strength. In a case such as this, a units strength is usually expressed in terms of strength steps. When the affected unit takes a step loss a new counter with the same identification but lower combat strengths (and sometimes movement strengths) is substituted. When using such a rule, each unit has normally two, three or more steps.
• Supply. These are the consumable items used by a unit during movement and combat (ammunition, food, fuel, etc.). A unit that has supply is said to be "in supply" while a unit that is not being supplied is "out of supply."
• Supply Line. This is another term for line of communications (see communications, line of).
• Supply Unit. This is a source of supply that can itself move. The primary function of such a unit is to provide supply for fighting units in the field. Units such as this can normally defend but not attack.
• Target Acquisition. This denotes that a target for long-range fire is in sight and capable of being fired upon.
• Target Hex. This is a term used in tactical games to designate the hex occupied by a unit that is going to be attacked, often by nonadjacent attacking units. The target hex may not be occupied, but the player may want to block enemy supply lines, create a temporary Zone of Control or destroy a map feature (bridge, road, air field, etc.).
• Task. One of a list of specific actions that a unit may perform during a game turn. Any action that is not on the list of permissible tasks may not be performed.
• Task Allowance. Certain tasks which a unit may perform during a game turn require different amounts of effort. Units are given a numerical rating expressed in task points. Each task is also given a task point price that a unit must spend in order to execute it. For example, a unit may have a task point allocation of 20 points. To move one hex may require only one task point. To entrench the unit where it is may require 10 task points, while attacking another unit may expend all 20 task points.
• Terrain. The game map may look like a normal map in many cases, but in all cases it is actually a collection of hexagon-shaped cells, each hexagon containing a precise type of terrain. Each hex has a dominant physical characteristic which has a precise effect; upon movement and/or combat of the units entering it. These kinds of terrain are more specific in tactical games and more general in strategic games. For example, in a tactical game you would have hexes representing woods, swamp, sand or clear (open) areas. Operational level games (10-50 kilometers per hex) would have rough terrain and forest and mixed (rough ground and forest) terrain. Strategic games (50 plus kilometers per hex) would have two or three kinds of rough terrain and impassable terrain, etc. Rivers and streams usually run along the hexsides to make it unambiguous as to which side of the river a unit is on.
• Terrain Effects Chart. This is an important element of any game, which shows the effect on movement and combat for units entering the different types of terrain in the game. Movement is usually affected by a variable number of movement points required to enter the different kinds of terrain. Combat is usually affected through increasing difficulty for the attacker attacking the defender in more favorable (for the defender) terrain. That is, the defender might be able to double his strength in certain types of terrain or even triple or quadruple it or, conversely, he might simply be able to shift on the Combat Results Table from a 3 to 1 to a 2 to 1.
• Unit. A common term (along with the term "counter") for a playing piece that represents a military organization. Military units on the ground come in the following sizes:
  • Single soldier
  • Fireteam of three to six men
  • Squad of eight to 16 men (there are usually two fire teams per squad)
  • Platoon of 30 to 60 men (three squads)
  • Company of three or four platoons (100 to 300 men)
  • Battalion of three or four companies (400 to 1,200 men)
  • Regiment or brigade of three or four battalions (1,200 to 5,000 men). The main difference between a regiment and a brigade is that a brigade is often a bit larger than a regiment and capable of operating independently, while a regiment is normally part of a division.
  • Division. Three or four regiments or brigades comprise a division (6,000 to 20,000 men)
  • Corps. Two to four or more divisions are a corps of 20,000 to 70,000 men).
  • Army. Two or more corps constitute an army (50,000 to 250,000 men).
  • Army Group. Two or more armies are an army group.

The aforementioned types of units have been in common usage since about 1800. Before that, the terms battalion, brigade and army were most prevalent. The term battalion came out of the term battle which was a group (varying from a few hundred to a few thousand) that could be controlled by one man and long called a "battle." In pre-gunpowder days, the Romans had a very flexible unit organization in which units they called cohorts were very much the equivalent of modern-day battalions. A group of cohorts made up a legion which was remarkably similar to a modern-day division. All of the individual military organizations will show up at one time or another in a game. The non land environment unit counters will either represent individual planes or ships or small groups of same.

• Turn Radius. The amount of space required to turn a ship or aircraft (and sometimes armored vehicle in detailed land games) around.
• Unit Designation. The identity of the unit, usually a historical designation. An important part of the historical component of a wargame.
• Victory Conditions. Victory is often a fairly vague thing in military history and one of the more important parts of a game are specific victory conditions to determine who has won. These usually consist of specific values to such things as the destruction of enemy units, the possession of terrain features, etc.
• Victory Level. Even when one has achieved victory, all victories are not equal. Certain levels of victory have been established through the years. These levels are, in ascending order, draw, marginal victory, substantial victory, decisive victory, overwhelming victory.
• Weather. Often depicted in games, particularly with regard to its effect on movement. Games that cover more than one season in a region with severe winters often have to show the effects of weather. Tactical level games often show the effects of fog and rain (limits visibility) and mud (limits mobility).

• Zone of Control (ZOC). Another one of the basic rules in gaming. Zone of Control represents the six hexes surrounding a unit that the unit controls. This allows some units to spread out as they would to cover more territory while concentrating others for a crucial attack. Zones of Control represent everything from the physical presence of parts of the unit in that hex to the ability of the unit itself to cover those controlled hexes with fire or to shift its weight in that direction should an enemy unit approach. Zones of Control may have many different effects on movement and combat to reflect the variables in the Zone of Control's usage for a particular game. The most common effects on movement of a Zone of Control are:
  • Locking; units must stop immediately upon entering an enemy-controlled hex and may leave only as a result of combat (either the enemy unit is destroyed or the friendly unit is attacked and forced back).
  • Rigid (often called "Locking" ZOC); units must stop upon entering an enemy-controlled hex and may leave only at the beginning of a movement phase (usually it is not permissible to move directly from one enemy Zone of Control to another).
  • Elastic (often called "Fluid" ZOC); units may enter and leave Zones
  • of Control by paying movement point costs just as they would for entering different kinds of terrain.
  • Open; Zones of Control have no effect on movement.

The various effects of Zones of Control on combat are as follows:

• Active; this requires every unit in a Zone of Control to attack enemy units adjacent to them during a combat phase.
• Inactive; Units do not have to attack.

There are also effects upon supply and the ability to retreat as a result of combat.

• An interdicting Zone of Control prohibits the line of hexes for retreat or supply from being traced through all enemy-controlled hexes, even if a friendly unit is occupying that hex.
• A suppressive Zone of Control prohibits the passage of supply or retreating units through a Zone of Control hex unless that hex is occupied by a friendly unit.
• Permissive Zone of Control does not affect the path of supply or retreat in any way.

For example, a blocking, active, interdicting Zone of Control is the most restrictive kind. Units must stop upon entering, may not leave except as a result of combat and must attack any enemy units that are in their Zone of Control. In addition, units may not retreat into one of these hexes if forced to as a result of combat and  may not trace any supply through them. On the other hand, a unit with an open, inactive, permissive Zone of Control in effect has no Zone of Control.