Chris Kemp’s Not Quite Mechanised
Free .pdf copy of the guidelines for personal use.
DESIGNER’S NOTES
These rules are intended for divisional level battles fought at the same level of detail as a unit history. To achieve the pace needed to fight a whole battle day in one 2 or 3 hour evening some compromises had to be made:
All combats had to be reduced to one operation. They had to be lumped together in the largest groups possible rather than splitting them down into fine detail. The number of steps taken to resolve combat, and the number of individual die rolls had to be reduced. Tables of factors modifying die rolls had to be eliminated entirely.
The key to the speed of the game is the use of the COMBAT SEQUENCE and the WINNING THE FIREFIGHT TABLE. Ammunition is collected from each side and a volley of dice is rolled. The casualties are quickly handed out and the game moves on. If players are allowed to linger over the die rolling, then the game will slow down. All dice from both players must be rolled quickly as soon as they are handed over or picked up. There must be absolutely no waiting to see “what I have to beat”.
The second key to speed is limiting the forces that each player controls. No one should have more than a Division to control. If you want to model two Divisions attacking, then you need three players; two Divisional Commanders and a Corps Commander to control the Corps assets such as artillery and engineers.
In our playtest campaigns we used the concept of a “PLUMPIRE” or player-umpire to command the regiments and brigades. This allows the Divisional Commander to be fed limited information. This goes a long way towards presenting the player with the sort of problems that a proper General would face.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted, in no particular order, to the following:
Paddy Griffith for getting the whole thing rolling at Moore Park.
Bob Cordery, Graham Evans, Graham Hockley, John Hopper, Tom Mouat, Phil Steele, Chris Willey Will Whyler, and many others for advice during play testing, and providing toy tanks. Ian Russell-Lowell and the Grimsby Wargames Club for the idea of putting bases on tanks.
Wargames Development and the Conference of Wargamers.
Tim Gow for introducing me to lots of tiny dice (see also his excellent MEGABLITZ).
Suzanne for liking “Concrete Sniffing” Holidays.
The following wargames rules have all inspired parts of NQM in some way or other.
SANDSKRIEG by JOHN SANDERSON
BATTLE by CHARLES GRANT
ARMY CORPS RULES by PADDY GRIFFITH
STONK by JIM WALLMAN
BARBAROSSA 25 by FRANK CHADWICK
PRELUDE TO WAR by BOB CORDERY
