Tabletop Wargames - A Designers' & Writers' Handbook

[SiamTiger]

Tabletop Wargames - A Designers & Writers Handbook by Rick Priestley and Dr. John Lambshead is a recent release at Pen & Sword, and I am happy to cover it in this review.

I stumbled over this release on my facebook feed and couldnt wait to get my hold on it. Luckily, it was gifted to my as a birthday present in late september and I read in a day. But before I overwhelm some of the readers with my enthusiasm of this book, let me first explain who wrote and what it is about.

The two authors are well known in the tabletop and wargaming community. Veterans for many years and releases, it is a cooperation of Rick Priestley and Dr. John Lambshead. Mr. Priestley created rules among others for Games Workshop Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 series, as well as historic rules for Warlord Games and the recent Sci-Fi wargames of Beyond the Gates of Antares. Dr. Lambshead wrote for Games Workshop as well and published wargaming books for Osprey. He just finished a Sci-Fi rule set as well, Dr. Who for
Warlord Games.

Pen & Sword is a publisher of historical novels and books, of which you might know releases like the Wargaming Compendium by Henry Hyde or the One-Hour Wargames by Neil Thomas. Both of which are part of my personal wargame book collection, if you have any questions regarding these.

Tabletop Wargames is only available in english, is a softcover with 160 pages and has a RRP of 14,99 GBP / 24,95 USD.

What to expect from this book?

Pen & Sword describes it as follows;

Unlike chess or backgammon, tabletop wargames have no single, accepted set of rules. Most wargamers at some point have had a go at writing their own rules and virtually all have modified commercially available sets to better suit their idea of the ideal game or to adapt favourite rules to a different historical period or setting. But many who try soon find that writing a coherent set of rules is harder than they thought, while tweaking one part of an existing set can often have unforeseen consequences for the game as a whole. Now, at last, help is at hand.

Veteran gamer and rules writer John Lambshead has teamed up with the legendary Rick Priestley, creator of Games Workshop’s phenomenally successful Warhammer system, to create this essential guide for any would-be wargame designer or tinkerer. Rick and John give excellent advice on deciding what you want from a wargame and balancing ‘realism’ (be it in a historical or a fantasy/sci-fi context) with playability. They discuss the relative merits of various mechanisms (cards, dice, tables) then discuss how to select and combine these to handle the various essential game elements of turn sequences, combat resolution, morale etc to create a rewarding and playable game that suits your tastes and requirements.

So this is no supplement to an excisting rule set nor a compact rule set like the Osprey wargaming series. This book is all about the "engine" of rules, the interlocking gear wheels of rule mechanics and "meta" layer of those. It reads like a scientific paper, covers statistics and general rules to keep in mind, but in a very appealing way.

The topics are divided into 9 chapters and spread across 160 pages. Inside Tabletop Wargames youll find the following chapters, along with an appendix of references and index;

• By Way of introduction
• A Question of Scale
• A Language of Design
• Alea iacta est
• Presenting the Game Rules
• Skirmish Games
• English as She is Writ
• Expanding the Rulebook
• Campaigns as Wargames

The authors explain important topics like rules as written vs. rules as intended and the therefore importance of wording, as well how far the consequences of switching from a single D6 to a D20 over to a 3-step-cascaded D6 mechanism go. Some of them may be no novelty to experienced wargamers, but others are quite impressive as they are explained from a different point of view, which is eye opening. For
myself, as I have written a large number of reviews of the last years, it was a very interesting read, as it confirmed some of my theories and shed light on some mechanism, that were unclear of where the rule designers wanted to go with.

As for the layout, the font size is comfortable, not to large, not to small and the book covers a lot of images of wargaming scenes along with diagrams and tables to better explain some of the topics like the effects of scale and probabilities.

Who are the readers of such a publication?

As the subheadline suggest, it is targeted at designers and writers of wargaming rules. This is something the book absolutely fullfills, but beyond that, Id suggest this book to wargaming veterans and / or those fond house rules or home-tweaking of excisting rule sets. It helps to understand the intentions and problems of rule sets, depending what you want from it. So maybe youre playing Kings of War in 15mm at your club, and beside switching - the most obvios - the scale of miniatures, you use the ranges in cm instead of inch, you want to cope with the now maybe larger battles as you have more space on the gaming table and effects of more units to the turn sequence. Reading and applying the content of this book will help you out.

For myself, I am neither a designer nor rule writer, it is still a very stimulating read. With my work on this wargaming blog (and portals in the past), writting reviews and consulting wargaming projects, this books will improve my future work in both fields. And for this I am most grateful, as in the past this experiences, impressions and assumptions, could only limited be discussed due to NDAs, the lack of interest and / or consumer view of fellow wargamers. And for the last part, you cant reproach somebody - most people are absolutely happy with driving a car, without the need to know how it works. Why should this be different in (war)games.

Conclusion

If you are interested in wargame design, the mechanics of wargames and development, there is currently no other book, that covers this topic as specific and extensive as this. Youll find some articles on some of the contents online, on blogs and boards, but a bit of statistic knowledge and having played a few games is no where near the experience the authors share between the two of them. They know what they are talking about, they made their experience with good and bad choices, are part of the "industry" for decades and dont just make assumptions. These are theses and they are verified, by experience, by samples or by explanation.

At 15 GBP it is very reasonable priced and makes a really interesting addition to your wargaming book collection. If you just started gaming or just care about a set of rules or two, this might not be a publication for you. But otherwise, I can only recommend Tabletop Wargames - A Designers & Writers Handbook to experienced and open minded wargamers, who write their own house rules and / or want to enhance their eye for new releases of rules.

Link: Pen and Sword

[shandy]

Oh man, I was as excited as you were for the book, however when I read it I went from disbelieve to angry to sad... Awful book in my opinion.

It did inspire me to make a silly joke though...

[SiamTiger]

Care to share what did upset you about the book?

[shandy]

I can certainly try... but there's a danger it will become a rant 

Basically, there is really a lot that rankles me about the book, but I guess it can all be brought down to one thing: conservativism. Paired with the very normative tone, for me it seems like it would take one specific approach and tell everyone that this is the way to do it. And this approach, of course, is the 'big business' model (as in Games Workshop or Warlord Games).

My joke about the age of Sigmoid was about this: they argue that weapons ranges have to be shortened because companies want to sell assets that would not be found on a skirmish battlefield. That's rather cynical. Not that there aren't reasons for shortening weapons ranges - I did it in my home-brewed sci-fi rules - but selling models... this makes only sense if you work for a company that produces those models, otherwise you wouldn't have to care.

Their advice is always: Do it the way you will sell the most copies, and this means don't innovate. If you want to sell your rules, use "tried and trusted mechanisms" because you might "risk [...] putting off players of a more conservative disposition" or publishers that "are somewhat suspicious of the new, fearing that it will limit the potential customer base" (all quotes from p. 44).

If you compare the book with a volume on board games design - such as the Kobold Guide to Board Game Design - designing wargames looks like an almost reactionary venture. If you play any modern board games at all, you know how contemporary game designers continously push the limits of their medium (for example with cooperative mechanics or the 'legacy' format) - and they are hugely successful doing this!

And I don't believe the wargaming community is really this conservative: As a look at the contemporary market in wargaming rulebooks show, wargames design is much more diverse and innovative than using "tried and trusted mechanisms". And, contrary to what Priestley and Lambshead may want us to believe, designers like Alex Buchel, Dan Mersey, Richard Clarke or Sam Mustafa do sell their rules. Granted, they don't do it in the volume GW does, but who wants to be a rules writing drone for GW or Warlord anyway?

There's lots of other stuff in there that annoys me: the casual dismissal of air and naval wargaming as a niche phenomenon which won't sell you rules (as if X-Wing never happened), the notion that games dependant on cards are not wargames (Richard Borg and Sam Mustafa might disagree there), the dismissal of gender neutral language (Dan Mersey uses this without him having troubles selling rules) etc.

The image of wargames design Priestley and Lambshead present is one of a conservative and timid enterprise, where you always have to look over your shoulders to make sure you won't put off a single potential customer. It's never about implementing and communicating your vision of the game.

[Momotaro]

Thanks for the great review SiamTiger, and thanks for your thoughts Shandy.  I shall certainly be asking for the book for Christmas, the Kobold one too!

Good to hear that there's a chapter on simple statistics - it's not that hard and too many games designers know nothing about it, occasionally to the detriment of your game.

You raise some very good points Shandy - thanks for those too.  I agree with many of them.  The comment about games with cards not being tabletop wargames took me by surprise - as a design goal it has its merits, but as an absolute rule?  Nah.

There's nothing inherently wrong with running a games company as a business, although taken to its limits (power creep, rules bloat and models that fill the table) it becomes easy to ruin your game.

May I suggest Phil Sabin's "Simulating War", which goes into real depth, even down to initiative, IGO-UGO vs alternating activations as a simulation mechanic, and hex vs squares.  He consigns tabletop minis games to the bin early on as not being able to support fog of war.  That's simply not true, but it's still an excellent book, with many sample games that show you how to bring different aspects of a conflict to the fore.

I spent a happy decade simulating plate tectonics on computers, and many of the simplifications made by wargames are also used in scientific simulations.  Always good to read another take on the subject!

[SiamTiger]

Thanks shandy, that you took the time to elaborate. I can understand, what's bugging you, but to be honest, I never took their advice in the book as absolute. In life in general, you will find a lot of things, that you are not supposed to do (mostly for your own safety). But if you know what you are doing, you might extend one limit or a few more, and the same goes with the advice in this book in my opinion.

But you have to set up a certain direction to get you going, and limit those ways to not endanger the risk of wandering off.

[shandy]

Thanks for the great review SiamTiger, and thanks for your thoughts Shandy.  I shall certainly be asking for the book for Christmas, the Kobold one too!

[...]

May I suggest Phil Sabin's "Simulating War", which goes into real depth, even down to initiative, IGO-UGO vs alternating activations as a simulation mechanic, and hex vs squares.

Don't get over-excited about the Kobold book, it's not very systematic as it consists of short pieces by individual designers. There are some thought-provoking ideas in there though.

I've got the Sabin volume, but didn't have time to read it yet. But now it got bumped up to the top of my reading pile!

There's another book that might be of interest to the discussion: Zones of Control. Perspectives on Wargaming, published this year by MIT press: https://mitpress.mit.edu/zones-control
It's rather pricey but does sound quite comprehensive and fascinating; I'll get it for Christmas!

SiamTiger: Sure, there is no reason to follow the advice they give, and you are right, there is interesting stuff in there (such as the chapter on statistics you mention). Still, I had the feeling I learned more and also got much more inspiration listening to Richard Clarke or Sam Mustafa talk about games design on the Meeples&Miniatures podcast... In the end, it's a matter of taste I guess 

And also thanks for the review, I didn't want to come across as snotty, as one who is addicted to buying books I always appreciate it if people take the time to write book reviews!

[Elbows]

Well, it all sounds a bit disappointing.  I was about to jump on the book myself (I love making games).  If it's more aimed at sales and profit/etc. I'm far less inclined to pick it up.  It's a hobby interest of mine - more concerned with good/fun/ingenuity than with money-making.

[SiamTiger]

I don't see the point of being aimed at sales and profits, it's focussed on things that work (from their pov). The biggest problem of many "new" projects is, they try to re-invent the wheel and are obsessed with doing things differently. And when these projects fail, they blame the audience for not being open minded or flexible.
So if you recommend to not stray away as far from the basic route or to keep a certain line, to enhance the chance of acceptance / success, I wouldn't call that being about sales, I'd call that reasonable.

Let's take a look at those fantasy worlds, most of them feel a lot like tolkien, some more, some less, but you still have a basic common ground. Now let's go for some fantasy world were the orcs and dwarfs are friends, elves are drung little, greedy creatures and goblins would be 6 ft tall and handsome. That would irritate many people, wouldn't it?

[shandy]

[...] elves are drung little, greedy creatures [...]

Reminds me of Terry Pratchett's elves...

I think that worldbuilding is one thing and rules mechanics are another. The book is concerned with rules mechanics, and as you say they advocate not straying from the trodden path. And I agree, it will perhaps make it easier to sell. But then again, perhaps not, as wargamers are not as averse to innovation as the book suggests - the huge success of e.g. SAGA, which adapts resource management mechanics from EuroGame boardgames, for me is a sign that innovative design is appreciated by the wargaming community.

Anyway, I have no intention to make money with rules, my only interest is in creating something that implements my vision of starship combat or ACW riverine actions or whatever catches my fancy at the moment.

Not that there is something wrong with making money selling rules, after all I want to buy new ones  However I won't buy the thirty-second rehash of a boring IGO-UGO system, I prefer something that brings a new aspect to the table. But this is a matter of taste and, as Henry Hyde always says, wargaming is a broad church and there's space for everything.