Monday 3 May 2010

The War Game - a Dr Who inspired campaign

I am mainly a horse and musket wargaming with collections spanning from the ECW to the WW2.  Some of my collections have been not used in a while. So I was wondering how I could get some gaming out of these periods. Well I have come up with an idea for campaign that will allow this to happen. 

Back in late 60s I saw a Dr Who series called the Ware Game in which The Doctor materialize on Earth in 1917, in the middle of a World War I battle. Or so he thinks. Taken prisoner by the Allies, he is believed to be an enemy spy. But as he escape the firing squad, the Doctor becomes suspicious that there is more going on. Soon he discovers that they aren't on Earth but on some distant planet where humans are kidnapped out of time, from times of war and tricked into believing they're still on Earth fighting. It's all part of a grand experiment conducted by the War Lord and the War Chief. As the Doctor struggles to find the truth, crossing through time zones into various wars, they are about to discover a horrible truth:

Is another one of the Doctor's race, another Time Lord, controlling these events or could it possible be .........ME.

Taken this as an inspiration, and as I am currently doing some Old School gaming, I decided to run the Sport of Campaigns from the Age of Reason rules. Nothing radical here.  When the campaign produces a battle however there are 2 key points.

Firstly depending on the nations involved I will choice the period to game.  I will choose from one of my  wargaming periods:-

English Civil War
Great Northern War
War of The Austrian Succession
Seven Years War
Amercian War of Independence
Napoleonic
American Civil War
Franco Prussian War
First World War

So far instance a Russia -Swedish clash could be the GNW. French - Prussian a Franco Prussian game. For battle in North America I could choose the ACW.  I hope you get the idea.

The second decision to be made is to choose a set of rules.  Possible options will include:-
OS = Old School

Classic Piquet and it various supplements
Piquet Field of Battle
Charge or How to play Wargames (OS)
The War Game (OS)
Don Featherstones Horse and Musket rules from the book the War Game. (OS)
Toy Tin Men. (OS)
Sharpe Practice
All the Kings Men. Newer rules with and OS feel and are free at ATKM

I will choose the rules based upon the size of engagement. So for instance a small battle with 3 or 4 units  a side could use the Charge or War Game where as for a big battle one of the Piquet sets would be better.


I will be playing the campaign solo and have deployed the armies ready to go. I am planning the game as 2 coalitions.  Prussia, Great Britain and Sweden against France, Austria and Russia. 

The first game should be ready to go in a couple of weeks.

2 comments:

Dale said...

It will be interesting seeing how you translate results from one size battle to the campaign and back to another size battle. I am skeptical that smaller battles have an effect on the larger game, but hopeful that you have some tricks up your sleeve.

Prince Lupus said...

completely mad - but brilliant.

I think we shall have to give it a try.