Programmed Wargames Scenarios
When Charles Stewart Grant completed Scenarios for Wargames he promised himself that he would not produce a similar book, at least for some time or years. He certainly did not want to end up like so many films with a second-rate sequel. The idea of Scenarios 2, Scenarios 83 or even Son of Scenarios was absolutely abhorrent to him. It was therefore with some surprise and doubt he greeted Phil Barker’s suggestion that there was scope for a Scenarios Book concerning a programmable solo commander’s opposition, pre-prepared orders and even some degree of "in battle" response. Well, a couple of letters from Phil were sufficiently pursuasive for Charles S. Grant to sit down and draft an outline and consider the possibilities. The more he played with the ideas the more interested he became. The original suggestion was for a book based on one wargame period; Grant wanted to cover all periods. The first thoughts were of a playing force and a programmed force but on reflection, could instructions for playing or programming each side be written so that they could both be played, both be programmed, or, one played and one programmed? Scenarios with much in them would inevitably mean longer scenarios and less in a book; how could they be varied, perhaps in terrain and forces, to provide a wide variation in options? All these and other factors led in turn to a list of aims or targets which the author wanted to achieve.
Aims
- To produce a number of scenarios which would enable the solo wargamer to take on a realistic, relatively unknown but responsive enemy.
- To enable the solo player to command one side against a programmed enemy or to play a game with both sides programmed.
- To enable the scenarios to be played by the conventional two or more player wargamers and be different in essence from those in the first book.
- To provide a system of forces which gave details of sides for Ancients, Horse & Musket and Modern versions of each scenario.
- To provide a selection of slightly different forces for each scenario, whatever the choice of period and yet retain the approximate balance between both sides to provide a balanced game.
- To provide a system of terrain or map selection for each scenario which, while retaining the basic terrain requirements of the setting, provided a wide variety of different maps.
- To provide a system which would enable a solo wargamer to fight an enemy whose initial dispositions, orders and responses to battlefield events were not known to the player beforhand.
- To provide a wide but realistic range of programmed deployment, orders and responses for the programmed enemy.
- To provide the option of a third force or local population which could be used in most, if not all, scenarios.
With these major aims in mind the systems which are described in the chapters which follow, were evolved. There is little that is "original" in wargaming and doubtless some of the ideas the author has used have been thought of before; nevertheless, to the best of his knowledge, quite a lot of what follows will be different or new to the reader. As a word of caution then, the author would recommen that the explanatory chapters are read carefully before the wargamer embarks on a scenario.
The scenarios themselves all into 3 categories. These are "Attack and Defence", "Confrontation" and "Mini-Campaigns".
Contents
- Title: Programmed Wargames Scenarios
- Period: Ancient to Modern
- Type: Compilation of Wargame Scenario
- Time Scale: n.a.
- Ground Scale: n.a.
- Troop Scale: units
- Author: Charles Stewart Grant
- Format: 141-page scenario book
- Language: English
- Publisher: Wargames Research Group, Goring-by-Sea, England
- Published: 1983
Chapters
- Introduction
- The Maps
- The Forces
- The Enemy
- Characters and Chance
- The Local Population – A Third Force
- The Scenario Layout
- The Scenarios
- Hill Line Defence
- Broken Ground
- Pass Clearance
- Holding Action
- The Weak Flank
- Crossing Point
- Two Sides of a River
- Fighting Through
- Island Stand
- The Alliance
- Crossroads
- Area Ambush
- Counter Ambush
- Forest Passage
- Wagon Circle
- The Bridge
- The Taxman Cometh
- A Hasty Blocking Position
- Mini-Campaigns
- The Expeditionary Force
- Reconnaissance by Strength
- End Pieces, Afterthoughts and Etceteras
- Key to Map Symbols
- The Force Lists