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Greetings Designers,

Many of us are working on various wargame designs. One of the biggest challenges I face is adding Scenarios to my games. I have a "go to" list of about 15 different scenarios I use all the time, and wanted some tips for writing better scenarios.

I feel that the basic "anatomy" of a scenario is the following:

1. Name and blurb
2. Deployment of forces/Force selection
3. Special terrain/rules
4. Win conditions
5. Time length

Is there some key element I am missing? What helps you put together a good scenario?

I've never written down proper and good scenarios...but we always accidentally invite them on the fly, and subsequently forget to write them down or take notes.

I think a part of it comes from analyzing the elements of your game and trying to give scenarios which work with the mechanics of the game - most laps of the track in a turn limit would be stale in a game like 40k, where the winner will be the fastest vehicle, but in a game where you can balance speed and control, you get a much more interesting game, EG. Gaslands.

I guess what I'm saying is that not every scenario works for a game, even if it is possible to play it!

I'm currently focusing on board games more than on tabletop games, so I've not a lot more to offer right now!