Didi’s Wargaming Rules or how to get beaten by a 6 year old

In the spirit of Steven’s Rules 1971 – Wargaming Rules for a Seven Year Old, Brett Simpson has shared his experience of introducing his six year old daughter to wargaming. Apparently Brett took a beating.


The rules

I introduced my little girl to wargaming today. Her nickname is Didi — so “Didi’s Rules”. I purchased two packets of toy soldiers from the $2 Shop and away we went.

Didi1 - 4 dollar investment - two bags of toy soldiers
Didi1 – 4 dollar investment – two bags of toy soldiers

Two bags of soldiers. Three marbles for range attacks. Two dice for melee. A 12” stick for movement.

The rules were:

  • The armies were deployed about four feet apart.
  • Deployment is simultaneous, but the youngest player acts first.
  • Troops can move up to 12-inches per turn.
  • Three shots are allowed per turn and may be fired all at once or individually.
  • Shots are fired by rolling marble(s) at your opponent’s troops. The player must sit behind his troops, and roll the marble(s) from their troop’s front. Any enemy troops knocked down are removed from play.
  • Enemies in physical contact must melee. Fights are broken up into individual attacks. Highest die roll wins. The losing figure is removed from play.
  • Once you have completed your movement and/or fire/melee actions, your opponent has their turn. Back and forth it goes.
  • The game ends after a certain number of troops are removed from one side (we fought to the bitter end in our game).
  • One stand-alone figure was allocated commander. If he is eliminated, the owning player misses a turn.

Battle report

Troops were deployed in groups of three. I chose a wide front.

Didi2 - Green force deployed wide
Didi2 – Green force deployed wide

My opponent chose a different strategy.

Didi3 - Tan force concentrated
Didi3 – Tan force concentrated

Close combat: The light die (tan soldier) wins the fight on my right flank.

Didi4 - Close combat
Didi4 – Close combat

My last lonely soldier about to meet his doom after charging forward!

Didi5 - Last stand of green force
Didi5 – Last stand of green force

Conclusions

Great fun, with the rules not to be taken too seriously (my little girl’s soldiers had long legs, and seemed to get more mileage out of the measuring stick than mine did, and she often fired from sitting to the side or in front of her troops!).

Interestingly, she remembered them after only having played them once and taught them to her brother when he got home from kindergarten.

Happy gaming!
Brett.

3 thoughts on “Didi’s Wargaming Rules or how to get beaten by a 6 year old”

  1. Fun! Playing tabletop games with little kids is great because it’s all about having fun for them. Of course you must tweak and simplify the rules here and there for them to enjoy them. My best gaming partners are my little nephews 😉

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  2. I got my grandson into gaming at the age of 5 (his age, not mine) with rules like these. He went to his first Historicon at 7 and has been an active gamer ever since. he now puts on games at conventions, is a fantastic painter, has his own gaming blog and is hell-on-earth with his dice!. Build the hobby!

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  3. Great battle report and fantastic simple rules. I love the marble throwing which adds concrete excitement to the abstraction of dice throwing. As soon as my son can count, we’ll get into this! Thank you for sharing!
    Best,
    Samuel

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