Arguing when money talks: Der Soldner. A Review

[JW Boots]

Let me know when this becomes available in the U.S.  you have a Customer.

It should be available in the US via Amazon.com. A friend of mine checked it if he could order it and he could…

[mweaver]

Excellent, thanks!  I just ordered it thought the U.S. version of Amazon.  $22.73 and eligible for Prime free shipping.  Amazon claims a Monday delivery.  Not sure about that, but I hope so.

[mweaver]

My copy, ordered Friday through Amazon, did in fact just arrive.  Yay!  Just started reading it.

-Michael

[JW Boots]

My copy, ordered Friday through Amazon, did in fact just arrive.  Yay!  Just started reading it.

-Michael

Wauw, interesting. My publishers has a Print on Demand setup and it normally takes a few weeks… I was just about to reply that to your earlier message, but this is most interesting to learn. Thanks!

[jon_1066]

It looks like they are using the Amazon print on demand system.  Mine arrived within 48 hours of ordering in the UK. 

I've had a first peruse of the rules and they are making my head hurt!  It looks like one of those systems where if someone showed you it would be easy but trying to write it clearly and turn that into actions on the board is much harder to grasp.

To that end do you have any "how to play" or walk throughs of a game on the blog?  Also how do you track info between ROSES - I'm specifically thinking previous combats (casualty figures?), ongoing events and current orders. 

[JW Boots]

It looks like they are using the Amazon print on demand system.  Mine arrived within 48 hours of ordering in the UK. 

I've had a first peruse of the rules and they are making my head hurt!  It looks like one of those systems where if someone showed you it would be easy but trying to write it clearly and turn that into actions on the board is much harder to grasp.

To that end do you have any "how to play" or walk throughs of a game on the blog?  Also how do you track info between ROSES - I'm specifically thinking previous combats (casualty figures?), ongoing events and current orders.

I added examples in the text to illustrate. The Blog has many AARs, also of games played during development and testing.  I like the suggestion of doing a “how to play”, but I need to find the time. Right now I am planning to do a participation demo at the Joys of Six in Sheffield in July…

A friend of mine suggested starting a Facebook group… would that be of help?

[jon_1066]

I'm not on Facebook but if you are willing to answer questions on here that would be awesome.

I'm a bit confused by movement.  Lets take the example in the book of the 4 Reiters ordered to advance on the Spanish on page 28.  The order takes 4 minutes to be delivered and then they act on it.  They have 2 minutes left of the ROSE so do you roll a time check for the Reiters for each 100 paces covered?  eg they are advancing at the walk so roll 2D6 and if they have time left roll again 2D6 for the next 100 paces?  Or do you measure the distance to the target and roll that many 100 paces, eg its 400 paces so roll 8D6 to determine how long it will take?  If you roll 3 minutes they get 2/3 of the way there and are marked as an ongoing event?  Do they stay in formation or do you roll separately for each unit?  What is the purpose of the likelyhoods on the measuring stick?  Is that just if you want to go over the standard pace? Is that only if it is argued against? 

[JW Boots]

I'm a bit confused by movement.  Lets take the example in the book of the 4 Reiters ordered to advance on the Spanish on page 28.  The order takes 4 minutes to be delivered and then they act on it.  They have 2 minutes left of the ROSE so do you roll a time check for the Reiters for each 100 paces covered?  eg they are advancing at the walk so roll 2D6 and if they have time left roll again 2D6 for the next 100 paces?  Or do you measure the distance to the target and roll that many 100 paces, eg its 400 paces so roll 8D6 to determine how long it will take?  If you roll 3 minutes they get 2/3 of the way there and are marked as an ongoing event?  Do they stay in formation or do you roll separately for each unit?  What is the purpose of the likelyhoods on the measuring stick?  Is that just if you want to go over the standard pace? Is that only if it is argued against?
[/quote]

I am more than happy to answer any question. And any channel is OK for that. You may also reach out to me via email at: janwillemboots@gmail.com.

On the Reiters. Time checks, like argument-counterargument resolutions, have the full disputed part of a proposal in scope. In this case the Reiters moving some 200 paces. The time check is on the full 200 paces. If they pass the check they move 200 paces. If they fail they move 0 paces. You may propose they move more than 200 paces. Actually as much as you like, but this will increase the number of D6 in the time check and as a result lower the probability of passing the check, and hence moving at all.

The measuring sticks use colour gradients to emphasise this is not a game in which moves are exact. No competition-like millimetre discussions. The colours are suggestions for judging proposals that have units move more than typical. Green being what a given unit may typically move in 1 minute, and in my own experience players then often accept the proposed move distance. In fact, I find that at my club we hardly use the sticks anymore. Eyeballing working just fine for proposals and others deciding to dispute or not.

Note that in the example the initial proposal is on Philip issuing an order followed by, and including, the Reiters moving some 200 paces. The other player may also simply accept the Reiters moving after being given the order to do so, in which case they simply move.

I have kept all tests, checks, etc. as straightforwards as possible with only simple pass or fail, happens or doesn’t happen, outcomes. No partial successes, or failures, or “if this than that” sort of results. No broad spectrum of possible outcomes that, I find, are mostly hard to remember. The game is based on a proposal being made that is being checked for it to happen or not all. In case of a counter-proposal either the proposal or the counter-proposal happens in full. Note that only parts in the proposal that are being disputed are checked for it to happen or not. Those parts that are accepted happen as proposed.

[JW Boots]

how do you track info between ROSES - I'm specifically thinking previous combats (casualty figures?), ongoing events and current orders.
[/quote]

Der Söldner is designed with, ideally, a tabletop without any clutter in mind. I am not a fan of putting dice next to a unit, or chips, or whatever. But that is me and the game does allow one to do so for marking/noting/remembering anything relevant. Like for example ongoing events, orders, etc.

Note that ongoing events are marked at the start of each ROSE. At my club we do this by making a mental note, but one could use something more tangible like a token of some sort. If any proposal impacts the ongoing event as marked the token can be removed to indicate it is no longer relevant. If not than in the closing step they can be picked up one by one when each ongoing event is being resolved in turn.

On casualties. The keyword PREVIOUS COMBAT can be used to refer to that in any subsequent argument. Der Söldner focusses more on the overall effect of a combat - like fall back, flee, etc -  and less on the casualties that lead to that effect. In other words, its line of reasoning is that a unit has suffered, for example, a fall back and therefore may have lost an x-amount of casualties instead of a unit has lost an x-amount of casualties and therefore falls back. In a next combat the keyword PREVIOUS COMBAT can be used to argue that the unit is less likely to prevail because it has previously suffered a fall back which means it will have lost a certain number of men, or its morale is impacted, etc. My thinking here is that the exact number of casualties inflicted on a unit in a particular combat would not have been as exactly known as many other rules suggest. On the other hand, how a unit eventually reacts is for all to see.