How to Play Wargames
How to Play Wargames All of the above has assumed that you would be playing a manual (paper) wargame. The same techniques apply to computer wargames, with a few variations and modifications.
The Differences
Computer wargames have a number of notable differences from their paper predecessors. The principal differences are:
Easier Rules- The rules of the computer game are embedded in the program itself. There is still a lot to be learned, as the computer wargame is like any other computer program and you still have to learn what pushing each button will do. More and more computer wargames have their documentation embedded in the program. Once you learn what key (or icon) brings up the "Help" information, you can dispense with the printed instructions altogether. There is a great deal of variation in how easy to use computer wargames are. But the trend over the last ten years has been to get easier, and the computer wargames have always been easier to learn than their paper equivalents.
Faster Startup- The bane of paper wargames has always been the tedious process of laying out the map and setting up the playing pieces before you could even begin play. A major advantage of computer wargames is that, in most cases, the "playing pieces" are already where they should be in order to start the game. Those games that allow "free setup" are still a problem, as you then have to use the keyboard or mouse to place the units. In general, the technology in computer wargames is making this setup problem easier with each passing year.
Hidden Information- A major advantage of computer wargames is that you can easily experience the "hidden information" aspect of military campaigns. It's not for nothing that spies are shot in wartime. Secrecy is often a matter of life and death and the ability of the computer to keep you in the dark most of the time accurately recreates this aspect of warfare. On the down side, this makes pre-play analysis of the game more difficult than is the case with manual games.
Saving the Game- Next to the hassle of setting up the game, manual wargames are also wretched when you want to put aside a game to finish later. The map is a large object and all those playing pieces can be easily displaced. Computers suffer no such problems. Press the right key and your game in progress is saved to a disk. You can take it up again whenever you want.
Superclerk-A computer is very good at computing, and keeping track of things. Manual wargames always suffered when burdened with too much record keeping. Yet data, and calculation, is what makes a wargame different from chess and capable of recreating history. Computers can excel in this department, and often do.
The Little Picture- One major advantage of paper wargames is that you can see everything. The map is big, but it's all there in front of you. Computers only have that little screen, which is often seen (literally) as a "window" looking at a larger map. You have to scroll around the larger map, although many computer wargames have the option of popping up a "strategic map" which shows key features of the entire playing area. As computer displays become capable of higher resolution (which is cheaper to achieve than larger displays) this becomes less of a problem. But the paper games still have an edge.
Black Box Syndrome- Another advantage of paper games is that you know why things are happening a certain way in the game. All the rules and probability tables are right there in front of you. Yes, it takes a lot of effort to wade through all that detail, but you do end up with a good idea of how the inner workings of the game function. A popular benefit of this is the opportunity to change the games rules and probability tables. Many players do this, and that's how gamers eventually turn into game designers. Computer wargames show you very little of how it does its thing. The computer program just does it, leaving you sometimes muttering about mysterious "black boxes." Naturally, you can't change the program either. This inaccessibility puts off a lot of gamers who started out on manual wargames. But increasingly, new wargamers have only seen computer wargames. Some of these new gamers still admit to loss when they realize how much more enjoyable the game would be if they knew what was going on inside it and could make their own changes. Computer wargame designers have become aware of this and increasingly, computer wargames have options to modify its procedures and also let the player know what's going on inside the black box.
Paper Clones and Silicon Masterpieces- The earliest (and some of the current) computer wargames were basically clones (often quite literally) of manual wargames. Over the years, more and more computer wargames have concentrated more on the computers strengths and less on trying to clone a paper wargame. There are more and more Silicon Masterpieces being produced as computer wargames find more ways to take advantage of the computers unique properties. Paper wargames are different, in some ways superior and don't clone well.
Dancing Around the AI
Most computer wargames are essentially solitaire games, with the computer playing the other side. Artificial Intelligence (AI) routines are used to provide the commuter with playing smarts. These AI routines have gotten increasingly powerful over the years, although you will still encounter games with brain damaged AI. On average, though, AI routines are still a cut or two below what the average human player is capable of. In general, the AI routines take a very calculated approach to playing the game. This is understandable, as a computer is designed for calculation. AI routines usually have problems with strategy and are not as quick to catch on to changes in the big picture. This said, there are two things you have to watch out for. First, some AI systems cheat. It's a dirty little secret of computer game design that some games will take a short cut and let themselves know all about your situation while keeping much of their situation hidden from your view. Often the player suspects this is the case and often the net effect is to simply make the computer a more formidable opponent. Many players, however, are irked at this. Secondly, the AI often uses a random approach to selecting its next move. This is an easy way to make the AI opponent appear more formidable. Actually, if the AI is not all that predictable, it IS more formidable. So, when you think the computer opponent out thought you, it actually just out guessed you. Unpredictability has always been a considered a very human trait, so it shouldn't be surprising that the computer would adapt that trait and use it on you.
AI Variations
One of the biggest areas of new technology in computer wargames has been the introduction of more powerful Artificial Intelligence. You often have a number of choices in a game with regard to AI. In games that have achieved very powerful AI (that is, a human can't beat it), you are given the choice of a less capable AI routine to play against. Some games also offer you the option of different AI "personalities" to play against. Typically, you will be offered AI opponents who are "Crafty," "Cautious," "Daring," "Calculating," "Reckless," "Idiots" or "Completely Deranged." Something for everyone.
Modem Play- In the late 1980s, the ownership of modems (allowing computers to communicate with each other via the telephone) by PC users reached a critical mass. Millions of regular modem users began to wonder why they couldn't play their computer wargames with other gamers via modems. Publishers quickly responded and soon, several wargames were being published annually that supported modem play. At this time, its almost mandatory that a computer wargame have "modem capability." Use of the modem in suitably programmed wargames is simple. Both gamers load the same game and put the game in "modem play" mode,
one player enters the other gamers phone number, calls that players via his modem, the two computers connect and both players can play each other. Some of the nationwide computer services allow such gamers to save (most of) the long distance charges by calling the services local number to play other gamers worldwide. Players can play other gamers again, with all the advantages of computer wargames.
There are several variations in modem play. The simplest is to take a modem play game and simply run a cable between the modems of two computers in the same room. Another, older, variation is to allow players to transmit their moves as a file, The other player uses this file to see what the other player has done, and then responds by creating a file of his moves to transmit back. Sort of like playing chess by mail. In that vein, many players are using electronic bulletin board systems or networks like GEnie to play games on line.
Note that the earliest computer wargames could be played by two players, but this required the players to take turns sitting down at one computer. This never caught on. Players want their own computer. Another aspect of human nature that was not discovered until PCs came along.
The Spectator Sport- Computer wargames with AI playing both sides become wargame simulators and, for the gamers, a spectator sport. In the beginning, computers weren't powerful enough to allow more than one side to be computer controlled (and usually only one side, you had no choice of which side to play). Then, as machines increased in power, it was possible to put in code that supported both sides. At that point it was no great leap to realize that you could let the computer play itself. This has become more popular and it's basically an extension of the original paper wargames being used as a means of analysis. Computer wargames that have a lot of options and scenarios enable users to mix and match options and let the computer play it out. Ironically, this is what the military (professional) wargamers have been doing for decades. Now you can buy very similar software for fifty dollars or so. That's several million dollars less than the government pays. But then, the government buys only a few copies, not tens of thousands.
How
to Get into Gaming Painlessly
The
Technical Terms of Wargaming
