A Gamer's Odyssey: The making of a home made game

[@manuelkong10]

"not tooooo bad"?!?!?! YOUR PIECES ARE AWESOME....PERFECT

[@mikestrand3023]

I would be fascinated to see a video on how you made each component, from painting the blocks to type setting the OOB.

[@mikestrand3023]

Truly amazing, Jeff! You really have a great feel for the Pub Battles system. Probably no one else has logged as many hours over a Pub Battles map as I have. I am currently working with a few friends to do a battle of Leipzig scenario. I don't know that I would have your patience to complete such a high quality version. It does make one realize what a bargain the actual Pub Battles games are! The games are such a pleasure to play, are very solitaire friendly, and move so quickly, that my $/hr ratio makes them the cheapest games I own, by far. Some current design ideas for Pub Battles may interest you. I suggest using only 3 baggage trains per side, rather than one for each command. With Gettysburg: shall I advance? I have dropped baggage trains completely and instead have ruled that non-artillery units may only rally during a night turn, and that eliminated units that are recovered are placed spent. This really ups the daily casualties, but this makes sense for ACW rifled musket era weapons. The armies really feel exhausted by the end of the day! With Napoleonic era battles this may not be appropriate, and it definitely doesn't work in assymetric battles where one side is greatly out-numbered. With the regular PB rally rules, eliminated units are really rare. The charge rules that allow a greater percentage of spent units to be attacked are really the only way to get those eliminated units. I really admire the restraint you exercise in your scenario rules. PB is so simple a system that it is very tempting to add a special rule here or there. Suddenly the game bogs down and isn't any fun. My guideline for any rules deviation is, "Will it make the game more authentic and fun, and doesn't the game work fine with out it? When you are knee deep in the hoopla, all those clever special rules get forgotten or haphazardly invoked. I am not affiliated with Command Post Games, so nothing I say about rules should be construed as official in any way!

[@jeffcapuano3380]

That is an interesting way to handle rally. Artillery usage, command sequencing, and even "victory conditions" can also drive up the rate of losses. Generally PB judges victory by the destruction of the enemy: someone has to be induced to be aggressive to win. But that lets the defender off easy; sometimes its too easy to play rope-a-dope and wait for the game to end in a draw. I like to throw in some geographic victory conditions as well to induce the other side to fight for the ground they are on. And I wasn't at all restrained when coming up with my "special rules"! It took so long to assemble I had plenty of time to overcook the rules. But, after repeated playing it became clear which were useful, which were forced, and which were completely pointless. I guess that's why publishers have developers!

[@peezebeuponyou3774]

Give yourself a big pat on the back mate- you've done a great job with this.

[@WysteriaGuitar]

That was REALLY interesting - well done sir.

[@gre8132]

Looks great Jeff. Currently building my own Gettysburg game now and will do Shiloh next.

[@johnwilson6336]

I’ve seen in various places comments by would-be purchasers of a Pub Battles game who balk at the price tag. Your exercise in producing a home-made game - which includes comments on your cash expenditures and labor time - puts a new perspective on the value of a Pub Battles game. Now admittedly yours is a large version, with more components and a large map, but I expect even if cut in half your overall cost might not have dropped much. Perhaps your video may inspire some to make a purchase of their first Pub Battles game. Then perhaps they’ll see the real value of a game is it’s cost divided by the number of hours of entertainment it provides! Cheers.

[@gre8132]

There is also a set of Battalion scale rules from Command Post Games. Just got them earlier this week

[@kirksellman1999]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing with us.

[@vincentstella5131]

Very, very impressive Jeff. You did an excellent job of making a really nice PB style Wagram wargame. It's very inspiring. Ill ask the direct set of questions everyone really want to ask: Would you be interested in sharing/selling your files of everything you created for the game (The map, the labels, the OOBs, the "rules", etc.) so that I/we can make our own version of the game? I personally would be interested in paying you (a reasonable amount) to help offset your efforts. Please let me know. Either way, you did a very nice job on the game.

[@jeffcapuano3380]

Happy to share. I think this zip file contains all of the bits I used. Funny how easy it is to lose track of that kind of stuff. drive.google.com/file/d/1P8gGYOXhJghpDcXBqycRwJJ0NDqCDZfa/view?usp=sharing

[@vincentstella5131]

@@jeffcapuano3380 Thank you so very much for the files and for replying so quickly. Given the fact the two people gave my request a thumbs up even before I saw your reply means that there are definitely others besides myself who are also very eager to produce their own copies of your game as well. You are now the author of a wargame! Congrats and again, thank you very much for your help.

[@smellypixles7687]

Really nice to see this come to fruition. I’m currently working with your files thinking I could make one for myself. Since I have the same cut off saw you used to make the blocks and I have access to a laser printer for the labels so I think the project might within reach for me....just have to find the time. Admire your dedication!

[@TheDiomedef16]

You have made fantastic game, it is totally unique and looks superb. The time, effort and money spent, was well worth it.

[@gull2112]

Jeff, Marshall is coming out with Pub Battles 3,0 which is cleaned up and streamlined. He has come up with a use of Baggage Trains that makes for players creating their own Victory Objectives. At first I was like, " what the wha?" Then I read the rule and it is totally cool. Very simple, yet you have to play a game or two to appreciate the depth. I told him about this amazing video of yours, and gave him the link.

[@manuelkong10]

I said, "That's OUT!" too with pub battle prices

[@palibrae]

Bravo! Your initiative and zeal are to be commended. You've earned a promotion. Just don't let your troops get bogged down fighting for the railroad station... :)

[@deathguarddavegoogley2022]

I salute you. A Herculean effort. So what’s next? Leipzig :)

[@PHLewis1956ye1q9]

Thanks so much for this video, Jeff. I think the game looks superb. I'm really getting the itch to do something similar but probably not using the Pub Battles mechanics as I don't own any of the games. I think the map looks and works fine the way it is but I wonder if having it printed on some parchment colored stock would have given you something closer to what you had in mind. For your next project--and I certainly hope there will be one--perhaps a battle like Eylau would be worth a try. Well done, sir, and congratulations.

[@jeffcapuano3380]

I think the cost would kill it; I can't print it myself so I have to have it done "professionally", and they only offer so many options...

[@nsquidc]

@@jeffcapuano3380 I've printed on canvas at artscow.com with reasonable prices when they have a sale. (I did it for a canvas version of Baptism at Bull Run.) 36 x 48'' is around $50, and less if you get it during one of the 25% off sales.

[@daveryan2148]

Awesome job! Looks like it came out great.

[@terry7907]

Incredibly impressive work! I definitely would have walked, and I am retired!

[@jean-philippeboivin8604]

I plan to do the same thing but with the French and Russian armies at the start of the Russian campaign. (Probably an overambitious project but I want to at least give it a try.) I found the order of battle for both sides but I still have some problems making a Pub Battles version of the OOB: (1) I don't know if a division is elite or militia, (2) the Russians have their cavalry in brigades and (3) their divisions are also not the same size as the French. Does anyone have any advice for research or for organizing the Russian army ?

[@chucklitka2503]

I really enjoyed your video and your game looks great. I really like the visual appeal of this Kriegsspiel type of game. How hard do you think it would it be to play a variety of battles with generic blocks? Five colors of blocks; black, white, red, blue, and gray would be all you would likely need. If one wanted to, one could designate blocks as infantry, cavalry, and artillery blocks. One side of the block could be painted white, and on this side one could write the id number and draw the unit type -- no need to make stickers. Each battle would use an order of battle roster that would list what unit the numbered block corresponded to. Using a system like this, all one would have to do is create a map and come up with any special rules to fight a whole range of battles from this era. I could see how it would add a modest potential for confusion, and perhaps have a little less eye appeal, but given the relative simplicity of the game, I wonder if the trade offs would be worth the freedom it would give one to design and play a lot more battles, and on whatever scale you wanted to play them at. (I see that they do sell blank blocks in red and blue, and suggest using blank white stickers that can be peeled off and replaced as necessary. Still a bit pricey, but easy.)

[@jeffcapuano3380]

I dig the details myself, but I think I see what you're after. My challenge is always maps; I'm terrible at drawing. Hollandspiele has a game they call "Table Battles" that is a bit like what you're suggesting: plain blocks, cards, dice and no maps. You might be moving towards a kind of hybrid of that...

[@chucklitka2503]

@@jeffcapuano3380 Thanks for replying. The "Table Battles" games are certainly more affordable, but lack the visual appeal of the Kriegsspiel type of games, which I value. Old maps add so much to the visual appeal of this type of game that making one by hand would be very hard, indeed. However, if one wasn't interested in fighting historical battles, but just in playing a game, I suspect that many old topographical maps could be found and printed out to fight battles across. I find game design very interesting -- and have tried my hand at it occasionally just for fun.

[@jeffcapuano3380]

@@chucklitka2503 And chances are you can find a historical battle for just about any nice topo map you discover.

[@Deli1321]

How did you make the table for the units markers?

[@gre8132]

Jeff, can I get your template for the labels? The blank one

[@jeffcapuano3380]

drive.google.com/file/d/1qpNOqa7TnuSYoic8BOZGNarAKee2FWea/view?usp=sharing

[@gre8132]

Thank you

[@Myke...]

where do you get the actual info on corp/division make up of order of battle? I find majority of my search is the same old stuff, despite trying different wording.

[@jeffcapuano3380]

Probably the same "same old stuff" as you've found! I suppose if this had been more than an amateur fascination I would have kept better track of "sources". I was reading a lot on the period at the time, so some of it came from books but I'm sure I used the Nafziger material as well. Too long ago now...

[@nsquidc]

Where did you find the reference map? Your work looks fantastic!

[@jeffcapuano3380]

The internet! The first step was suggested by a link in a post on another video about wagram. That map section was close, but I just started digging around for more. That took me to Wikimedia Commons and a whole lot of spelunking...

[@Liopot68]

How did you figure out how to scale the map and the blocks?

[@jeffcapuano3380]

It wasn't difficult. Since Pub Battles is the model, I used the scale and block size for that system. After that it was only a matter of re-scaling the source maps.

[@nikosv.]

It was really fascinating what you make. But I would like to ask a small favour from you. As I am really in to these game I would really want that map. Could you please contact with me to talk about that?

[@jeffcapuano3380]

Here's a link to a download with all of the files I used to put this together, including the map: drive.google.com/file/d/1P8gGYOXhJghpDcXBqycRwJJ0NDqCDZfa/view?usp=sharing

[@wsclulin]

If I could ask you who you used to make your map; I've got a prototype game brewing and I'm in need of a "map maker", thanks. Steve

[@jeffcapuano3380]

I printed the map @ www.posterprintfactory.com. I "made" it myself with the internet and a lot of effort...

[@wsclulin]

@@jeffcapuano3380 I bet...thanks for the link!

[@Deli1321]

Where did you get the map?

[@SoloBattles]

Well, Jeff. Command Post Games has tapped me to do their Second Bull Run scenario to go with their First Bull Run Scenario. Playtesting is almost done. Your videos have inspired me to take the plunge and get into Videography. It was always a big unknown scary thing in my mind. Now its fun. Here is my most recent video of my playtest effort: kzbin.info/www/bejne/anTCnpmbgNaSfNU

[@smat2899]

Nice work. How do you get ancient map ?

[@jeffcapuano3380]

The internet! Actually, someone commented on a video about another Wagram game that the map for that game was lacking and there were period (almost) maps readily available. I followed up on that idea when I turned to this project.

[@VS-gq2mv]

Jeff, what size wooden dowel is that?

[@jeffcapuano3380]

3/8 inch by 36 inch rectangular poplar

[@manuelkong10]

While your were at it, you could Greatly improve the rules

[@hunnicut5401]

What font did you use?

[@jeffcapuano3380]

Bodonio.

[@manuelkong10]

I have NO Idea Why you're criticizing your map!?!?!? "I'd like a better map"....MAN, you must be spoiled, cause That map is Great

[@kondor99999]

We really need more divisional level Napoleonic wargames and less unmanageable battalion-level monsters that take weeks to finish. I doubt that even a corps commander (much less an army-level leader) would be worrying about tiny tactical details like when exactly to form square, line or column. At the divisional level, these details can be abstracted away so you can focus on more important issues. I really enjoy all the various Zucker designs for this reason. They’re clean, simple and produce accurate results. Meanwhile, for ~25 years La Bataille was unable to even get the basics right (units would engage in close combat for literally an entire battle without a decisive result). Napoleonics as a whole really needs a big dose of Design for Effect, and a lot less tactical chrome.