In Her Majesty’s Name, And Now for Something Completely Different

[Sendak]

Greets,

I received a parcel today containing In Her Majesty’s Name; Heroes, Villains, and Fiends; and Sleeping Dragon, Rising Sun. Top notch products stem to stern.  Kudos to Craig and to Charles.

I must confess my imagination was given a work out when I read the discussions, the blogs, and the reviews. Having the books in hand has confirmed my anticipation, and my appreciation for high quality writing.

Victorian Science Fiction is not a commonly presented genre in my bailiwick. Even so several game shops have expressed interest in my offer to demo games on their premises.

I am putting together an initial Q&A sheet for players when they attend the demos.

What other demonstration “kit” will I need to assist in promoting the game?

I shall be grateful for your advice in regards to
1. promoting IHMN game play
2. your “lessons learned” about demonstrating / playing IHMN

Best,

Sendak

[Tehet]

Hi Sendak

If this is of use…

I’ve had some experience of running IHMN demo games for a while and have been perfecting the art of adapting a version that is both fun and quick to play. I’ve found that to be vital, especially for younger players. It does not change the rules in any way except as below and I have found it a great introduction to playing larger and more complex games…

I would suggest the following

Your equipment

1)   Use 2’ x 2’ Boards with enough terrain pieces to break LOS but not to hinder movement too much.
2)   Use Demi-Companies; Restrict them to 100 points (About 3-4 figures per player)
3)   Have simple printed measuring sticks (9” fits on an A4 sheet)
4)   Create simple Company rosters to save having to check rulebooks.
5)   Plenty of 10 sided Dice. 1 Big 6-sided Dice to mark Turns (See below)
6)   Dice bowls. I use plastic plant pot bases from garden centres and put felt in them.

The Rules (with very slight modifications)

1)   Use Scenario-based games rather than straight fights.
2)   Maximum of 6 Turns (hence the Turn Dice)
3)   Turn 1. Running, Shooting and use of Mystical Powers prohibited.

Advantages

A single game is very fast, around 30 minutes or less.

The amount of equipment required is reduced, thus easy to transport.

Using 2’ x 2’ boards reduces the amount of room needed to run a game.

It allows great variety of both battlegrounds, as tiles can be bought or dressed to represent any ground from urban cobblestone to jungle fauna.

It allows a great variety of companies, and makes it cheaper to add more, since you only need a few figures for each one.

You can scale it up simply by adding another board or series of boards. At shows you could for example have say three scenarios on three different boards…such as a snow covered field, the centre of a palace or even a cricket ground (being very English here!). The same also applies to companies. For example I have three 100 point cards for each of most of my companies, so I can simply add a card for a larger game.

You will find some photos of our efforts in some of my other posts here, but if you can handle Microsoft Powerpoint 2010, I will happily forward you over the fastplay scenarios and some examples of Demi-Company Play Sheets.

I hope that helps…

[Craig]

Tehet is probably the most experienced IHMN demonstrator in the world, so all of his advice is good 

[Sendak]

Hello Tehet,

I deeply appreciate your insights and time tested method.

More than 'useful', I'd say highly polished.

Yes please, to a PowerPoint. So kind of you to offer.

Very grateful,

Sendak

[Sendak]

Hello Craig,

Thank you kindly.

Your rules In Her Majesty's Name and the excellent supporting source books have so much fun to offer gamers.

I know the friendly sort with which I hang will appreciate the new worlds about to be unleashed from steamy jungle to the East Docks of London. Little do they know these worlds are made in their imagination.

Regards,
Sendak