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Made in gb
Hurr! Ogryn Bone 'Ead!




United Kingdom

So, as the title says, I want to start writing some rules for a WWII inspired wargame. Very simply, I want it to have six factions, three allies and three axis, and to keep it relativly simple dice-wise (prefereably everything being done with a D6 or D3.)

The main issue is, of course, rules. I need them to be simple enough for people to be able to pick them up with minimal reading/explaining, yet complicated enough to handle everything needed for a skirmish at the very least. Because of this, as well as my inexperience with any systems other than D&D 3.5 and 40K, I'm calling on Dakka to help me out. Give me what you think makes or breaks a good system, and any other tips you might have for someone like me!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, and admins, if this is in the wrong place, feel free to move it.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/10/31 15:39:31


 
   
Made in gb
Wrathful Warlord Titan Commander





Ramsden Heath, Essex

Not what you want but go and look at other systems i.e. proper research. There are literally hundreds of Historical systems and dozens of WW2 focused sets, many of which will be freely available one line at this point.

I would suggest a great breadth of knowledge would be helpful if you haven't yet identified a process or method you want to implement beyond type of dice.

Rick Priestley actually just released a book (apparently good) on writing wargames rules.

How do you promote your Hobby? - Legoburner "I run some crappy wargaming website " 
   
Made in gb
Hurr! Ogryn Bone 'Ead!




United Kingdom

I've got some basics down, and most of the bare bones (movement, shooting, all of that,) is down for me, but it's the specials that I'm tripping up over. Also, if you could link me the book on amazon, that would be more helpful than just saying who wrote it.
   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Here is the minimum you meed to make a game work:

1. Movement
2. Melee
3. Missiles
4. Morale

If you got those covered you are good to go.

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Mekboy on Kustom Deth Kopta




I'd suggest you find a historical gaming group and see what rules they're playing with. Find out the rules they enjoy and add to their games and those they hate. that should give you a good general idea on where to start and potentially reach your target audience.

 
   
Made in us
Decrepit Dakkanaut






SoCal, USA!

@OP - you're in the right place, but right now, you are at the pre-concept stage. You need to nail down a lot more details, starting with a sense of scale (1/100 Flames of War), space (5'x3' kitchen table?) and time (2 hours?).

If you're just looking for something simple with a low barrier to entry, I'd recommend you spend your time reskinning my KOG light using 1/100 Flames of War / PSC minis & infantry bases. While many will see my recommendation as tongue in cheek (and it certainly is, to some extent), if you just want to get busy throwing dice and making "pew-pew" noises, KL will do pretty much everything that you might want in a modern-ish skirmish wargame - that is what it was specifically designed to do. And it's easy enough to add stuff onto it, if you're so inclined.

The alternative is to spend a LOT of time building something from the ground up. If that's the route you want to go, the new book by Rick Priestly isn't a bad idea. Or working your way through the Delta Vector wargame design series. However, if you're going to do this, you should simply Calvinball your way through the first few games to ensure that it plays the way you want it to. Take good notes over what you liked and didn't like, and use that to make your game.

Also, a lot of the opinions you're going to get are really more religious than anything else - a preferred dogmatic approach that is rooted more in personal belief than rigorous science. Feel free to ignore anything that doesn't work for your vision of the game!

Good luck!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/01 21:07:37


   
Made in us
Battlefield Tourist




MN (Currently in WY)

Also, if you are going to make a game, do it because you want to do it for yourself. That way you don't have to worry too much about what the rest of us say!

Support Blood and Spectacles Publishing:
https://www.patreon.com/Bloodandspectaclespublishing 
   
Made in us
Douglas Bader






My best advice: don't. Unless you can clearly state what your game is supposed to accomplish that hasn't been done by the countless WWII games that already exist you're just wasting your time. You might make a functioning set of rules, but there will be no reason for anyone to play it. Unless you're looking at this as purely a practice exercise to learn the basics of game design just play one of the existing games until you can figure out a reason for yours to exist.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/03 23:58:48


There is no such thing as a hobby without politics. "Leave politics at the door" is itself a political statement, an endorsement of the status quo and an attempt to silence dissenting voices. 
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending





Houston, TX

 Peregrine wrote:
My best advice: don't. Unless you can clearly state what your game is supposed to accomplish that hasn't been done by the countless WWII games that already exist you're just wasting your time. You might make a functioning set of rules, but there will be no reason for anyone to play it. Unless you're looking at this as purely a practice exercise to learn the basics of game design just play one of the existing games until you can figure out a reason for yours to exist.


This. No offense, but it sounds like you have very little exposure to gaming generally and haven't utilized any of the resources out there. Hook up with a historical group and try some of the myriad games out there. "WW2" is actually a very broad brush that covers a wide time period and a huge range of geography. A game based on early war tank battles will be very different than one focused on mid war naval planning, for example. Focusing on what you want to reflect is a big part of design. And, since WW2 was a real thing and has been heavily documented and analyzed, you should make yourself familiar with material. Mechanics are a whole different area and requires at least basic exposure to probability and game theory. Whole books are dedicated to the subjects!

-James
 
   
Made in us
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets






 jmurph wrote:
 Peregrine wrote:
My best advice: don't. Unless you can clearly state what your game is supposed to accomplish that hasn't been done by the countless WWII games that already exist you're just wasting your time. You might make a functioning set of rules, but there will be no reason for anyone to play it. Unless you're looking at this as purely a practice exercise to learn the basics of game design just play one of the existing games until you can figure out a reason for yours to exist.


This. No offense, but it sounds like you have very little exposure to gaming generally and haven't utilized any of the resources out there. Hook up with a historical group and try some of the myriad games out there. "WW2" is actually a very broad brush that covers a wide time period and a huge range of geography. A game based on early war tank battles will be very different than one focused on mid war naval planning, for example. Focusing on what you want to reflect is a big part of design. And, since WW2 was a real thing and has been heavily documented and analyzed, you should make yourself familiar with material. Mechanics are a whole different area and requires at least basic exposure to probability and game theory. Whole books are dedicated to the subjects!

jmurph is right about the WWII wargame genre being full of underexplored niches. The thing to figure out next is which niche your game fits into.

On the topic of mechanics, how much have you thought about realism/detail vs abstraction? Detail can bring a game to life, but it also adds complexity. Abstraction is simple but generic, and figuring out where your game should be between them is a good step to take.

40k drinking game: take a shot everytime a book references Skitarii using transports.
 
   
 
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