Table of Contents

This blog discusses mechanics, tools, and procedures used in miniature wargaming, and how they influence or drive game design. Each blog entry requires quite some research and analysis, and the aim is to get one piece out every month.

I occasionally alter or add to a specific blog entry, when I encounter some additional info elsewhere, or when there occurs some follow-up discussions on this blog or other forums.

Rolling Dice

• Buckets of Dice - What is the average number of successes when rolling multiple dice? It also allows you to download a spreadsheet to compute the outcomes for "buckets of dice" yourself.
• Opposed Die Rolls  - Shifting polyhedral dice up and down by die type to resolve tests, and comparing them to each other.
• Scoring at least one success - What are the probabilities of scoring at least one success when rolling multiple dice?
• D20 = 21 - D20? - Using the complement of a die can make the analysis of die procedures easier.
• Situational vs inherent die roll modifiers - different types of die modiers discussed
• What's the probability xD6 beats yD6?  
• 1 hit for 10 damage, or 10 hits for 1 damage each? - An analysis of how many shots it takes to sink a target.
• Maximum value rolled on a handful of dice  
• How many units can I activate? Rolling successive activation rolls until the roll is failed and the turn switches to the opponent.
• A Reroll, or a Modifier? A discussion regarding applying rerolls to dice, or applying modifiers, when rolling vs a target number.
  

Playing on a grid

• Square Grids - How to count diagonal movement on a square grid?
• Square Grids (2) - The difference between a measurement procedure and a counting procedure when dealing with square grids.
• Some thoughts on using irregular grids 
• Triangular Grids

Firing Mechanics

• Range Bands, or Random Ranges? - Distance modifiers are really the same thing as randomizing your fire ranges.
• Cards and Cannon - How to lay out the firing path of a cannon using playing cards? 
• Deviating Templates - How to compute probabilities using a scatter die and artillery die?

Card Drawing

• Drawing cards from a  deck - How to compute the probabilities that one draws 2 red cards in a row, relevant for card-drawing activation mechanics?

Turn Sequence

• Some thoughts on the turn sequence -Various ways of looking at how structure the game turn.
• Putting units or actions in the outer loop - looking at an action-based turn sequence vs a unit-based turn sequence

Specific gaming systems

• An analysis of combat resolution in Rommel.

Other 

• Last turn in the game. How long should a scenario last, and a mechanic that allows players to influence the end of the game.
• Airborne Landings - How to deploy airborne troops on the tabletop
• Weather in Wargames - A small discussion on how to include weather effects in your games. 
• Hidden troop movement - using waypoints or dummy units for hidden troop movement. 
• Hidden troop movement 2: using animals as dummy markers
  
• Flanks in games. Do we need to define flanks using geometry, or based on actions of the troops involved?
  
• I know he's a good general, but is he lucky? Rerolling dice in games, and using a "Lucky General" token.
• Representing Unit Damage and Status - How to use tokens and figure poses to indicate the changing status of a unit.