Category: Rapier Offensive

Martin Rapier has created a simple set of rules to allow a group of players to play operational level games. His rules are embedded within the context of Operation Uranus (19 Nov 1942). I’ve abstracted his rules so I can then apply them to different settings, and tweaked them a bit as I did so. I call the result “Rapier Offensive”.


What Wargaming Rules to use for the Operational Level of War?

What Wargaming Rules are really for the Operational Level of Warfare

I’ve tried Megablitz a few times but I wondered what other wargaming rules there are to use for Operational Warfare in WW2. I quickly found there are a lot of game systems that claim to be large scale rules. But you have to careful in this space as many rules that claim to be Operational are actually Tactical. Others are Operational-Tactical and a fourth group are what I call Operational-Map-And-Tactical. These groupings are from my categorisation scheme using my criteria for what makes a set of wargaming rules operational level – both found later in this post.

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23 Sep 2017 | Categories: Hurrah Stalino, KISS Rommel, Megablitz, Operational, PanzerGruppe, Rapier Offensive, World War II | 17 comments

2015 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

Megalomaniac

One of the things that really impresses me about Paul Ward of Matakishi’s Tea House is his focus. He chooses a new project, plans the project, does the project, finishes it, and moves on.

I’m a bit more scatter gun myself despite the fact that at work I encourage teams to limit work in progress. I start with a focus and get a lot done but then often wander off on a tangent when something else comes up that sparks my interest. I let myself do that because this is my hobby, not my job. A hobby shouldn’t really

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27 Jan 2015 | Categories: Albuera, Ancient Warfare, Biblical, Big Base DBA, Big Bases, Carlist Wars, Cold War Commander, Crossfire, Crossfire Scenarios, Eastern Front, Eighty Years War, Fall of Rome, France in WW2, Gunpowder Warfare, Hurrah Stalino, Industrial Warfare, Italian Campaign, Italian Wars, Kharkov 1941-43, Liberators, Medieval Warfare, Megablitz, New World DBA, NZ in WW2, Operational, Peninsular War, Rapier Offensive, Rif Wars, Rise of Rome, Spanish Civil War, Stalingrad 1942-43, Thirty Years War, Volley and Bayonet, Wargaming, World War II | 8 comments

Wargaming Rules for WW2

There are lots of wargaming rules for World War 2. These are the ones I play: Crossfire, Megablitz, Rapier Offensive and Engle Matrix Games. One day I might write up my thoughts on the competitors, of which there are many.

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27 Apr 2013 | Categories: Blitzkrieg Commander, Crossfire, Engle Matrix Games, Hurrah Stalino, IABSM, Megablitz, Operational, Rapid Fire, Rapier Offensive, Two Hour Wargames, World War II | 3 comments

What I like in a campaign / multi-player game

My first ventures in campaigns were two large, 12-14 player, Ancient/Medieval DBM Campaigns. One was called Europe 1100 AD and the other Europe 1455 AD. The mechanics were fairly simple being based on DBA campaigns but I quickly found problems and the campaigns petered out when people lost interest. I now favour even snappier campaign rules and less people.

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18 Oct 2008 | Categories: Ancient Warfare, Campaign, DBA, Engle Matrix Games, Gunpowder Warfare, HOTT, Industrial Warfare, Medieval Warfare, Modern Warfare, Operational, Rapier Offensive | Leave a comment

Battle of the Ebro – A Rapier Offensive Scenario

I keep getting inspired by Martin Rapier and in particular his ideas on operational level games. Most recently what captured me was his article “The Battle of the Ebro, July 1938: A Spanish Civil War Megablitz Scenario” (Rapier, 2007). I’m not too interested in Megablitz but I am into the Spanish Civil War and this seemed like a good opportunity to try out Martin’s own rules which I’ve summarised previously on my Rapier Offensive page.

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16 Apr 2008 | Categories: Operational, Rapier Offensive, Spain, Spanish Civil War | Leave a comment

Rapier Offensive – A Multiplayer Operational Game

Martin Rapier has created a simple set of rules to allow a group of players to play operational level games. His rules are embedded within the context of Operation Uranus (19 Nov 1942). I’ve abstracted his rules so I can then apply them to different settings (and tweaked them a bit as I did so).

These rules are ideal for a typical offensive where the attackers have three to one odds against the defenders – something that is not possible in most rule systems. One of the beauties of this system is that it is a cooperative effort more

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23 Oct 2006 | Categories: Operational, Rapier Offensive, Spanish Civil War, World War I, World War II | 2 comments