Simulating smoke in Horse and Musket wargames. Waste of time?

[fred]

Great as a marker.

I used to play a rules set (GaPa) for WSS that had the battlefield overall get smokier as the fighting got more intense.  So after a certain number of units fired in the same turn, the range for visibility and, hence, command, reduced.  That was simple, effective, and kind of elegant.

That sounds good - so total smoke is what matters, nothing more

As to players treating it as handy cover - I think if movement through smoke is somewhat randomised, then you can't really use it as a modern smoke screen. Which raises the question of how 20th Century forces moved through deliberate smoke screens without getting lost?

[Moriarty]

Junior officers. The default position of any u it commanded by a junior officer is to be lost. As such, junior officers and smoke screens cancel each other out. Simples.

[jon_1066]

They generally tried not to.  It was used as a screen to prevent aimed fire from an area, not to advance through.

[FierceKitty]

Before WRG completely disappeared up its own alimentary canal, they appear to have noticed that considering such effects as part of PIP dice or activation rolls got in practice the same results for far less trouble.

[fred]

Which does come back to results driven design, rather than input driven design!

[vtsaogames]

While the idea appeals, the execution doesn’t. Looks nice on the table, and I’m going to use smoke to indicate those units that have fired, but don’t plan on adding complication for its effects...

That's where I'm at. Looks good in photos, makes clear who already fired this turn. Anything else is too much, IMHO.

[JW Boots]

Allow me to approach this from a different direction.

Playability is of the utmost importance when designing wargame rules. Be this a whole ruleset, house rules, or whatever. Simplifying, abstractions, etc., are just some of the things we can do. However, there is a risk. We can go too far.

The question then becomes how does one know that one has gone too far?

I tend to use a simple check: do or don’t the rules prevent/prohibit things that happened from happening? In other words, if there is evidence, as there seems to be, that smoke had an impact on outcomes, then rules should at least not prevent or prohibit this…

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Great as a marker.

I used to play a rules set (GaPa) for WSS that had the battlefield overall get smokier as the fighting got more intense.  So after a certain number of units fired in the same turn, the range for visibility and, hence, command, reduced.  That was simple, effective, and kind of elegant.

That sounds very interesting indeed. Should be pretty easy to implement too in other rules sets.

My very first ACW game, I think we played Bull Run to Gettysburg, the rules had a bit about smoke. It was pretty simple too; when ever a unit in line fires two turns in a row without moving, they built up smoke and further shooting got a negative modifier (not only due to sight, but also because it's unpleasant to stand in a powder smoke cloud). IIRC the cloud didn't stay in place once the unit moved, but dissipated. Never seen that done in other rules sets though, but well worth considering. Maybe something to put into Thirty Years War games....

[juergen c. olk]

we did it once ,rolled wind direction ,then moved it for two turns at 6 inches a turn,,,got to bogged down.

[Phil Robinson]

Unnecessary faff IMHO. If you fire and need 4+ and roll anything but perhaps there was too much smoke about, effect of sorted.

[Moriarty]

Unnecessary faff IMHO. If you fire and need 4+ and roll anything but perhaps there was too much smoke about, effect of sorted.

And your dishonest opinion? :-)

[jon_1066]

Humble not honest, like Uriah Heap.

[Patrice]

As others have said, I often use smoke as markers to indicate who has fired, but nothing more (and effects would probably not be so noticeable in skirmishes).

What I sometimes do, but it's another matter, is cotton fog on rivers and streams, blocking view at the beginning of a game, that evaporates when a weather die, rolled every game turn, rolls a sun.

[FifteensAway]

What the grognard said (Phil Robinson).  I also like Patrice's die roll idea.  Fog is very common along coastlines and some rivers but it almost always rises and dissipates as the day wears on.  And this was used in many battles over the years, using that fog as cover.  Consider that idea pinched.

But overall, keep it all as simple as possible.  Playability stomps on and pounds into the ground realism every time.  At least so if the primary goal is to have fun.  I let appropriate figures painted in historical uniforms and as historical as possible (but playable first) terrain take care of the realism.  After that, the focus is on a fun game - which means easy to learn and fast to play for me.

[Kuropatkin]

"Which raises the question of how 20th Century forces moved through deliberate smoke screens without getting lost?"

As an armor company commander at the National Training Center back in the 1980s, I took my company twice through a smoke screen.

The first time was at night while my company was still in company column while executing an approach march to an enemy position. I got off my tank and ground guided my company through the smoke. No one go lost, but it took time and we were following a road.

The second time was during the daylight with my company deployed in platoon Vs online. By the time we cleared the smoke, my company was scatter and it took 10 minutes to get the company reorganized to continue the movement.

Having participated in several major reenactments with black powder muskets and training with smoke as an armor commander, the latter is significantly denser and not a good example of the battlefield we are discussing. Maintaining ordered formations (line, column) in the Big Battalion's period is easier, especially infantry with the ability to go shoulder to shoulder. Relative position between units can get little off, but it will be mainly direction that get skewed. Speed is not generally affected and slow enough that officers/soldiers can keep position.

Cavalry would have a bit more of a challenge, given the greater distance between troopers, long formations, greater movement speed, etc. Eylau is a good example.

Generally smoke IMHO isn't that big of an issue on the battlefield at this time.