To The Checkered

 I've determined a name for the NASCAR themed, Charioteer (THW) inspired racing game: To The Checkered.  The rules are posted here

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qxKc8XjeYc_Fz5Is1F_7SQFITewVa0PZ/view?usp=sharing

I'm very interested in any feedback, especially related to the NPC AI.  It still makes too many dumb decisions.

If you want the 3D printable files for the cars, or driver information sheet shown on the blog, please let me know.  

3D Modeling Continues

 With my relative success of the NASCAR themed game, and the ongoing Stanley Cup games, I thought I'd give making a hockey themed board game a try.  I'm still working out the details, but I'm imagining lines of players comparing offensive to defensive skills, eventually resulting in the shooting skill of a line of players being compared to the goalkeeping skill of a goalie. Of course this game would need some miniatures, so I spent the better part of my free time today designing a hockey player which would represent all but the goal keeper.  Some working images below.  I'm not particularly fond of the gloves yet.

  

Most of the model was repurposed.  The body and legs are from American Football miniatures I created for a game called Tech? No! Bowl.  It's a great 2 player game, but my normal opponent moved across the country, then I did too.  The head is from the Colonial Wargame miniature line I've been developing and highlighting here.  The padded shorts, arms, stick, and helmet were purpose built. I think the model clearly invokes a hockey player without adding too much detail.

Race Day

With the Indy 500 and the a prime-time NASCAR race, it's the perfect weekend to play a racing game.  The long weekend provided a great opportunity to stretch the game over several sessions. I played the firsts section Saturday morning before the kids got up, then Saturday evening after the kids fell asleep, and concluded Sunday morning, writing this post along the way.  

The rules are inspired by Charioteer by Two Hour Wargames, but have been drastically altered to suit something like stock car racing.  In total, I probably spent two hours playing as all six cars.  The AI I developed for the cars is tolerable, but makes too many bad decisions for it to be running loose on its own. I'll keep tweaking the rules and if I ever get them to a shareable quality, I'll post them here.

Pre-Race

A beautiful day here at the track.  Bud Busch’s engineer must have gotten something right because he aced the qualifying laps and will find himself in pole position. The rest of the field’s times were much closer with  Ronny McDonald and "Bull" Dozier separated by less than one second. 

Lap 7 of 50

The first excitement came on the 8th lap when Arnold challenged Busch in the first turn. Arnold unsuccessfully attempted a bump and run to gain the inside advantage but was blocked. Undeterred, Arnold completed the pass on the outside. McDonald saw an opening and pushed his luck on the now 2nd place Busch.   Busch blocked the pass, but in doing temporarily losing control and falling back to 3rd.  

Laps 8 through 36

The middle portion of the race saw a few minor lead changes after Bud Busch's fall from the front.  The #50, driven by E. Pluribus, has been struggling to complete passes at the back of the field despite using all his focus.  Lap 24 looked like it was going to be a critical lap, but at the last minute, all spotters directed their drivers to draft the car in front of them.  

Lap 36 of 50

Busch's #13 took serious damage early in the race, forcing him to pit early.  He returned to the field with fresh tires and rekindled optimism for lap 36.  Ronny McDonald has led the pack since Busch's fall from the front.  In the middle of the pack "Bull" Dozier's #25 bumped the #45 of  Jimmy Arnold, causing him to touch the wall and letting "Bull" push his way to the #67's bumper.  By some great luck, Arnold held off E. Pluribus's outside pass attempt despite the #50 having one of the fastest straight-line speed cars in the race.  

Lap 41 of 50

Knowing he's better in the turns "Bull" Dozier, tried an outside pass on Rob Grainger's #67, but he didn't back down.  After trading paint, Grainger holds off the pass but loses temporary loses control, before pulling his car back on the racing line.  Bud Busch takes advantage of his new tires and passes E. Pluribus in a wide turn and sets himself on the #25's bumper and gave him a nudge.  They switched lanes but Dozier was able to hold off the pass. Can anyone catch the #39?

Lap 50 of 50

The last lap!  Everyone pushed their cars to the limit.  Rob Grainger pushed his #67 and took the lead in the final straightaway.  Seeing McDonald's lead falter, "Bull" Dozier attempted to pass by bumping McDonald's bumper.  The pass was ultimately unacceptable and further damaged Dozier's already crippled car.  Busch took advantage of Dozier's weakness and passed on the inside but got himself stuck behind the now second-place #39.  E. Pluribus pulled up to the side of Dozier, traded paint for several hundred feet and ultimately surrendered.  Jimmy Arnold, with fresh tires, pushed to the outside and made an easy pass on E. Pluribus. He then pulled up alongside the battered #25.  After trading paint again, Dozier surrendered 4th place to Arnold who now had his eyes set on the red #13.  Despite his recent pitting, Arnold could not overtake Busch before running out of track.  

Final Results

1st Place #67 Rob Grainger - 2nd Place #39 Ronny McDonald - 3rd Place #13 Bud Busch - 4th Place #45 Jimmy Arnold - 5th Place #25 "Bull" Dozier - 6th Place #50 E. Pluribus.

Possible Changes to Rules

Increase likelihood of incurring wear points.  Not enough pitstops.

Rework AI logic for Bump & Run.  As written it happens too much.

Cap Focus Expenditures at final value +3.  

Reduce passing in Random Events Table.  

Army Sand

Army Sand is the governmental force for the conflict in which Army Red will be inserting itself.  Army Sand is comprised of two infantry columns each with two units of regulars, a unit of reserve infantry and a field artillery detachment.  The cavalry column is comprised two units of lancer cavalry.  Army Sand's desert climate does not readily provide the fodder and grain required to keep significant cavalry forces in the field so they rely on massed conscripted infantry.  Their cavalry mostly provide scouting and intelligence gathering allowing the slower combined infantry and artillery columns to engage the enemy.  The infantry's regulars have generally competent unit level officers, but each column acts independently of each other on campaign making organized campaigns and combined operations difficult.  

I still need to determine how the rebels will be uniformed/trained.  I'd really like to have a cavalry heavy force, focusing on mounted infantry and utilizing Gatling guns in flying columns, but it doesn't fit with Army Sand's geography.  I would also like to design better European mid/late 19th Century terrain which would allow me to field a Prussian style army in its home country.  It just looks odd to have dark blue uniforms and pickelhaubes in the desert.   

Fortifiying the Plan

 My last post indicated that Army Red would likely be seeing action in a desert campaign.  I have designed fortified walls to augment the buildings I had previously designed.  Some images showing all types of wall are below. 

I have built a corner tower, corners, straight sections, and wide city gates.  I believe I have succeeded in representing a desert fortified wall without adding so much detail that it limits its use to a specific historical setting.  These walls may fit from antiquity through the late 19th Century.  I may add a second story section to the city gates and an inside corner, but what I have is a good start.  Below is a sample 8x8 grid with my desert buildings.

The wall pieces can also be arranged using the corner tower and 3 corners to build a small fortress/outpost as seen below.  

I'll keep working on the terrain to include some sources of light cover like forests/vineyards and water features as well as developing a backstory for Army Red and its currently undeveloped opponent.

Desert Buildings

In keeping with my simplistic unit design, I knocked out some desert buildings.  They're pretty modular to accommodate different purposes/designs.  I think I should be able to adjust them to Mediterranean style by adding tile roof to each building.  I plan on extending the range to include wall segments that will have ramparts large enough to for the artillery and infantry to occupy.  I will also probably need to make rocky outcroppings and fields/vineyards/orchards to serve as suitable cover/concealment.

I guess this means that the campaign for Army Red will be set in a desert location.  I'm thinking that the first campaign could involve Army Red intervening in a civil war/succession crisis in a desert nation.  I assume that means valuable trade resources and/or strategic ports are at stake.  Perhaps Army Red's perennial adversary Army Blue will join to support the local opponent to Army Red's ally.    

 

Red Expeditionary Force

I've been daydreaming about getting the Colonial Portable Wargame onto the table for over a year at this point, but haven't gotten around to it.  I might attempt a virtual version on my computer using the 3D modeling software I designed all of my models with, Google Sketchup.  My laptop takes up much less space, is easier to get going in short notice, and I can leave a game up without my risk of my toddler daughter becoming interested in the game and "playing a few turns herself."  

Regardless of which medium the games get played in, I will need at least two armies, terrain, and a campaign backstory/narrative.  In my previous attempt at historical wargaming, I opted for imagi-nations and think I will likely do the same for Colonials.  This allows me to not worry about the minutia of the uniforms, historical army composition, or ensuring my games are historically appropriate.  An added bonus of doing Colonials as imagi-nations is getting to avoid the negative connotations/implications of the actual history.  

I'll go back and add backstory later, but the first army (Army Red) is inspired by the mid/late 19th Century British and Roman Republican armies.  Both forces featured a core of well trained and disciplined infantry and artillery, but were relatively weaker in cavalry and skirmish/light infantry branches compared to their rivals.  They also both relied on local forces to augment their core forces which fits well as an expeditionary force. Below is the force Red will bring on campaign.  The cavalry force comprises of a squadron of lancers, a squadron of dragoons, and a field artillery detachment.  The infantry force is a unit of light infantry (front), two units of regular line infantry and an elite unit of guard infantry.  Also accompanying the expeditionary force is a centralized field artillery detachment and two support/teamster units.  

Along the way they will pick up local reinforcements of local skirmishers, cavalry, and possibly Red military advisors will even be able to train up some locals into competent artillerists or drill the local militia into a regular infantry force.