A Tentative return to the Wargames Table?

Changes to Social Distancing rules in England come into effect today that means that for some of us, tabletop wargaming with friends can resume. Don't get too excited though, there are still restrictions in place that will limit the number of players that can gather at any one time. 

I say it in my video and I'll repeat it here, these changes only apply to England and if you live in other parts of the UK you will need to check what the rules are where you live. Still, for many of us its a welcome step towards a return to gaming as usual. How long this lasts, or what changes may come into effect down the line, depend on national infection rates, health advice and of course politics! 

If you enjoyed this video please leave a comment either here or on my YouTube channel, and please consider subscribing so you don't miss out on any of my silly little videos. You can always unsubscribe later if I get on your wick! 😉  

Next week the Quarantined Wargamer will be on a lighter note when I discuss my top ten impulse buying disasters! In the meantime, keep safe everyone and keep rolling high! 

Swearing at the Games Table

When if ever is it appropriate to swear around the games table? In the latest episode of The Quarantined Wargamer, I discuss this controversial subject with the minimal use of expletives! The use of swear words depends on the setting in which it is used, who is listening and the context or intention of the language. Our reaction to certain words is much about emotional conditioning at an early age as it is about societal rules of correct behaviour. I try to explain this conditioning, recognise when it can be broken and suggest some alternatives. 

As usual, I'm always interested in your views, so please leave your comments below - preferably without the use of foul language! Alternatively, you can join the conversation on my YouTube Channel and of course, I would ask that you consider subscribing so you don't miss any of my short videos. It's free, there are no adverts to get in the way, and you can always turn me off if you think I'm talking rubbish! 

While you Paint

The latest episode of The Quarantined Wargamer was released on Friday and in it, I discuss a few of the possibilities for doubling productivity while we paint. Why brush in silence when you could be doing so much more? 

In all likelihood, you already listen to music or podcasts while you paint, but some people don't. I've even spoken to a few people that say they paint in silence, and that seems like a terrible waste of possibility. I discuss just a few ideas but maybe you have some others. Please share your thoughts and views either in the comments below or on my YouTube Channel. 

I hope you enjoy the video and, as always I hope you are keeping well. Stay safe folks! 

Donnybrook via Zoom

Yesterday something incredible happened...Ray put on a game! Actually, he put in a really good game and what is more amazing, he used the Donnybrook rules!! Still your beating heart, I know, we're all in shock as well. Seriously though, he ran a really good game last night with four Rejects dialling in via Zoom to join the action. The game lasted a little over an hour, was exciting and produced a cliffhanger type ending where victory could have gone to either side. Gripping stuff and we've arm-twisted him into running another game sometime soon. No doubt Ray will post something a little more detailed on his blog in due course but I wanted to share a couple of pictures I took during the game. 

Our Umpire for the game, veritable Master of Ceremonies, and all-round good chap, Ray.

A quickly grabbed shot of the game on my Laptop Screen. The picture quality wasn't too bad and Ray was able to move his camera around a little if we needed a better view. 

I won't give away the ending - I'll let Ray give you the details on his blog, but it was a cracking game and very enjoyable. Zoom worked really well, the sound and picture quality was fine and the usual banter ensued throughout the game. The only thing missing was Posties egg mayonnaise sandwiches, at half time! 

Shootout at Akarah Oasis - Socially Distanced What a Tanker

Over the weekend I did a YouTube video that mentioned a planned game of What a Tanker to take place over the interweb for members of the Rejects. Well, that game took place yesterday and I have to report it was a huge success. Four members of the group took part and I umpire the game and did all the dice rolling and necessary admin to make the game work even though all the participants were dialling in from various locations. I've just posted a new video that shows a little of what we did, but here are some more pictures of the game and a summary of the rules changes I implemented to make the game work while socially distanced. 

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In order to run this game, and make it work, I needed to make a few changes to the rules. The aim was to reduce the amount of dice rolling required...primarily because I would be doing it all, and there was already a lot to do. Most of the changes worked well although having completed the game there are a couple of things that need refinement and I'll discuss these below. First off though here's a picture of the setup in my Operations Room.

The rules changes I made:

• Fixed Command Dice - Rather than rolling for command dice at the start of each turn I gave each tank a fixed set of command dice. This reduced the amount of dice I needed to roll each turn and sped up play. So each tank had command dice for Drive, Aquire, Aim and Shoot and two wildcard dice*. 
• Always loaded - Rather than use a command dice for reloading I decided that all tanks would reload automatically. That freed up one dice to be converted to a Wildcard dice. 
• Always Buttoned - This just simplified the tank Dashboard for remote players. 
• No Damage - I ignore the damage chart entirely, just taking damage as either Temporary (ie repairable) or Permanent. Again a simplification for remote players and the umpire alike. 
• *TwoWildcard Dice - These enabled players to boost specific command dice when needed, either for more movement, to acquire targets or improve aim. I also allowed players to opt to use both wildcard dice to reload and fire a second time in a turn. This gave plenty of tactical options for players to think about. 

For the umpire (me in this instance) there were several changes that needed to be incorporated aside from the rules discussed above.

• The Umpire Rolls - All dice rolling was handled by me. I used a dice tray and rolled the relevant dice in the tray, in view of the camera, so players could see what was happening. 
• Removing Damage - When a tank took Temporary or Permanent damage I removed the relevant number of command dice, starting with the fixed dice, leaving the wildcards to last (so that temporary damage could be repaired if the player wanted to make that choice). I would roll a d4 dice to decide which command dice was effected. Again all rolls were done in view of the camera so players knew I wasn't cheating! 
• Initiative rolls were also handled by me to randomise the turn. I think next time I'll try to find a better way to do this, just to speed up this bit of the game. 
• Movement -  Each player would describe the direction of movement, or desired destination, and I measured and moved the tank for them. 
• Frikin Lasers! - I used a laser pointer to check lines of sight. This worked well for remote players who couldn't get down to eye level to check for themselves. However...
• Moveable POV - I placed the video camera (my phone) on a tripod overlooking the table but I regularly took it off to get close up shots of the table or the Tank Dashboards. All players could at any time ask for such a closeup if they needed it and I think this helped a lot with the remote aspect of the game. 

We used Zoom (a web app primarily used to facilitate meetings) to gather together. Meetings are usually limited to 45 minutes (unless you subscribe) but we were able to reenter the meeting multiple times and keep things ticking along for a couple of hours, during which we got two games done.

Participants were able to focus on either a split-screen like this, to see everyone or just a single screen like the tabletop. Feedback from the guys suggested the quality of the video feed was a bit variable but as already indicated I was able to bring the camera in when they needed more clarity or a close-up view of the table. Overall I think Zoom worked well for a small group like this, but I think it would have been more challenging if we had had more players. Having said that, additional participants need not have been playing, they could just join in with the banter and follow the game.

All in all, I think this worked very well and I can see us trying out other games like this in the coming weeks, especially if we find ourselves socially distanced for many months.

More from The Quarantined Wargamer

So a few weeks ago - back when all the brown stuff started hitting the fan here in the UK - I decided to revive my old YouTube Channel and started making some videos under the sobriquet The Quarantined Wargamer. Its been an interesting experience and I have been learning from video to video how to make a better job of my humble output. I'm no internet celebrity, and I'm no wargaming guru (far from it) but I am trying to make something that is interesting to listen to and maybe fun to watch...only time and viewing stats will tell! 

I won't be investing huge sums of money in the production of these little videos, but I have bought a few items which, combined with technology I already own, are slowly improving the quality of the rubbish I'm producing! A new collar microphone arrived today and that will hopefully solve the sound quality issues I have had. I've also invested in a really simple video editor so I can trim and insert multiple videos into a single edit. Not rocket science, and not (yet) top-quality production, but this is a learning curve and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. 

I hope you found that interesting, or at least amusing to watch. The very concept of this old geezer trying to get to grips with YouTube has proved endlessly funny to my daughter. What she doesn't realise is that I abandoned any pretence of normality or decorum years ago and I have no plans to change my ways any time soon! 

Needless to say, if you feel the urge to Subscribe to my channel that would be greatly appreciated (thanks to those that already have) and if you have any comments or suggestions please let me know either here or via the comments on youtube itself. 

Until next time, stay safe folks. 

The Quarantined Wargamer

Let me start this short update by saying that I hope all my readers are healthy and following the guidance of their respective governments - this readership has always been international in nature - and for many of us that means quarantine, curfew or lockdown. So I decided that I would try something different in the coming weeks and alongside the normal articles I post here, I have revived my old YouTube channel to post short videos about wargaming during the quarantine. 

My videos will be intentionally short, 10 to 15 minutes maximum, and will cover the usual eclectic range of subjects that normally feature here on my blog. So I'll talk about projects I have undertaken; offer advice when I feel I have something to offer; show games I'm working on, and maybe even some book reviews. This is a very ad-hoc affair so I'm using very basic equipment and much of what I'll be doing will be with unscripted dialogue...so don't expect a top professional package! 

This little side project is as much to keep me occupied as it is to keep you entertained in these days of the enforced lock-in. Regular readers will know that in the 'before times' I was often out and about at the weekend, either visiting museums with my wife or playing games in the shed-o-war with Posties Rejects. That's all come to a rapid shuddering halt and like everyone else in the country, I'm adjusting to the new reality. I'm lucky in some respects because I have always found it easy to keep myself occupied...my hobby slash to-do list has always been longer than the available time to do it in... I short, I was built for self-isolation! 

However, it is also very clear that many people out there, including many friends in the wargaming community, will struggle with isolation over the coming weeks. Club nights have been stopped and wargames show's have been cancelled and it would be very easy for loneliness and depression to overwhelm some of us in the coming weeks. I think that our community, that has long embraced social media, is ideally placed to weather the storm, and my little videos are (I hope) part of that solution. 

Stay well folks.