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GameTalk - Mano-a-Mano

Started by Jack Nastyface, November 03, 2014, 04:25:39 PM

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Jack Nastyface

Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

Barthheart

Ambush! is my favourite single man game. Plays really well, gives a great story and is solo. I wish there were more single man games made... that work this well.  :coolsmiley: O0

Shameless plug: we need 3 more soldiers to play in our Ambush! play by forum game.  :)

Staggerwing

Quote from: Barthheart on November 03, 2014, 07:39:00 PM
Ambush! is my favourite single man game. Plays really well, gives a great story and is solo. I wish there were more single man games made... that work this well.  :coolsmiley: O0

Shameless plug: we need 3 more soldiers to play in our Ambush! play by forum game.  :)

How does it work- do I need to own the game? Where can I find a copy of the rules?
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

bayonetbrant

The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Barthheart

Quote from: Staggerwing on November 03, 2014, 07:50:53 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on November 03, 2014, 07:39:00 PM
Ambush! is my favourite single man game. Plays really well, gives a great story and is solo. I wish there were more single man games made... that work this well.  :coolsmiley: O0

Shameless plug: we need 3 more soldiers to play in our Ambush! play by forum game.  :)

How does it work- do I need to own the game? Where can I find a copy of the rules?

You don't need the game or rules, but you can find the rules here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/66683/ambush-rules-errata-included

You will be controlling one trooper. There will be specific victory conditions that your squad is trying to accomplish.

Staggerwing

I'm definitely interested. I'll drop in on the game thread.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Jack Nastyface

Man-to-man gaming is a topic very near and dear to my heart.  While some may like the grand sweeping majesty of strategic or operational wargaming and the vicarious feelings of victory that come from winning an entire war or battle, I've always liked my gamed combat to be on the individual scale where a single bullet, sword stroke or shield rush spells the difference between victory or defeat.  In retrospect, this may the be the result of imprinting from my earliest gaming experiences with games like Melee and Boot Hill.  Some of my favorites (not including RPG's) over the years have included: Melee, Gunslinger, Snapshot, Sniper (TSR version), Swashbuckler, the space version of Swashbuckler, Car Wars (I guess), and the rules for napoleonic man-to-man skirmish fighting in the Peninsula from "The Dragon" magazine (somewhere around issue 39 ish).




Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

bayonetbrant

Quote from: Jack Nastyface on November 06, 2014, 12:15:27 AMand the rules for napoleonic man-to-man skirmish fighting in the Peninsula from "The Dragon" magazine (somewhere around issue 39 ish).

starts on page 50 here

http://annarchive.com/files/Drmg041.pdf
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Jack Nastyface

Hey Brant...thanks for the link, but I still got that issue in HARDCOPY in my "games" box, baby...
Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

bayonetbrant

yeah, but everyone else doesn't!
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

Jack Nastyface

So to continue with this idea of man-to-man games...
I am noticing that over the past couple of years,  MANY gaming companies are developing new content (rules, modules or scenarios, minis, etc) for this scale.  For example:  Bolt Action (WWII), Force-on-Force (modern), Ronin (Samurai), Lion Rampant (medieval), most all of the Ganesha rules, most of the 2 Hour Wargame rules, etc.


IMHO, I think this is happening for the following reasons, but of course I'd like to hear everyone else's perspective:

       
  • painting lots of figures for big armies is too much work
  • the growing popularity of first-person shooter games for the PC and consoles has shifted our collective wargaming focus towards individual combat
  • man-to-man combat tends to create exciting gaming moments or "stories"
  • campaigns on this scale are easy to manage, and allow for rpg-like aspects of party or character building (new party members, skill upgrades, new weapons or equipment, money, etc).
What say anyone else?

Now, the problem is, how to divide five Afghans from three mules and have two Englishmen left over.

Barthheart

I agree with those 4 reasons. They are why I enjoy games like Ambush and B-17. You can easily get attached to single soldiers... far easier than and entire army.