Friday 8 June 2012

The Fortunes of War

As chance is an important element in wargames dice are basic pieces of equipment. This hasn't stopped many people disliking dice or looking for alternatives - there is a whole slew of articles on this topic in Wargamer's Newsletter and this has to be my favourite, by Meredith Cozling from WN 128 in November 1972.

For those who imagine the more patrician end of the old wargaming spectrum wearing smoking jackets, brandishing cigars, using copies of Charge! printed on vellum and bound in calf skin, and fighting their battles on a billiard table in Deauville, a roulette wheel would seem to be the obvious accessory. And wouldn't take any time to use. Not at all.



5 comments:

camsell59 said...

Splendid. Though for those of us Up North perhaps an an air-powered bingo ball selector might be more in keeping.

Vintage Wargaming said...

With a pigeon racing clock to time the moves

MSFoy said...

Timing the moves - if morale throws are done with a roulette wheel, you might need a calendar.

Very gentlemanly - lots of time to make a pot of tea while the wheel is spinning. Or nip out to the pub.

AlFront said...

What a delight! Just goes to show how gloriously mad we are as a (toy soldier) species. Arf arf!

Chris said...

Perfect for my next big battle. I've been looking for ways to drag out the game mechanics aspects for days.