Stuck at Home; Keeping myself sane

So, with a pandemic enveloping the world, and most countries enacting some form of lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19, and in even when lockdown has been lifted social distancing has become the new normal. This has meant that getting out to clubs, stores or at a friend’s house for a game or two has been limited, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play a game, there are several solo options out there and in this art we’ll explore some of those options.

The trend for solo gaming has increased this year, not because we’ve all become unsocial fiends but simply because of the global pandemic. We’ve been limited to either gaming with a very small select group of friends or family, or on our own during periods of lockdown.

Solo gaming isn’t anything new, it’s been around for a long time. In fact, I suspect most of us have already at some point partaken in solo gaming. When I was a teenager Fighting Fantasy adventure books appeared on the market and I played several of those, and I suspect many of you out there this has been how you’ve also participated in gaming solo. Yet I suspect you want to experience other options in the world of solo gaming but are unsure how to get started. Well we hope this article will give you a kick start.

This article is intended to be an introduction to the world of possibilities you can experience through solo gaming.

What is a Solo Game?

A solo game is a tabletop game which has been designed so that it’s possible to be played with by a single person. In the past most people have probably only played games which required a minimum of two players. Yet with the advent of the pandemic this year, and with lockdowns instilled in most countries there’s been a growing interest, need and desire for solo gaming.

There are some benefits to solo gaming, it’s a great way to learn the rules of a game before introducing to friends and it’s also a good to way to relax on your own. So, without the ability to meet up with friends to play a game or two, solo gaming may be your best option for the time being.

So, what is out there for solo gaming

Several manufacturers have responded to this need for solo gaming and developed some rules of existing games. For the purpose of this article I am going to concentrate mainly on free rule sets, supplemental rules and Print n Play downloads. Most of these are on on-line digital file sites such as DriveThruRPG.com, which is the first site we will take a look at.

DriveThruRPG is one of the largest of these sites and belongs to a group of online marketplaces that also include Wargame Vault and Dungeon Masters Guild. These sites sell both digital and print on demand products. There are a lot of solo supplements on this site both official and unofficial for a number of pre-existing rule sets.

Here are some of my recommendations

Alone against the Flames

This is an introductory solo adventure for ‘Call of Cthulhu’ set in the 1920’s, where you are the main character, and your choices deter mine the outcome. It’s also been designed to guide and teach you the basic rules for the main RPG in a gradual and easy manner.

Chronicles of Arax – Solo Adventure

In this game you take on the role of a hero who in the face of darkness stands up for light by undertaking missions and adventures. The core rules are free, and some adventures will cost about a dollar.

Chronicles of Blood – Solo War Game

This game is produced by the same company that produced Chronicles of Arax and is set in the same world. In this game you will take on the role of an army commander trying to take your army to glory.

Advanced Fighting Fantasy (Quick start)

This is a great set of rules, easy to use, unexperienced players will be up and running in 10 minutes, with pre-generated characters. It’s also a great set for more experienced gamers as it’s a very fast and adaptable system.

One company to check out for solo gaming is Micro RPG who produce a range of solo products that includes several free games. The Micro Chapbook RPG system is an ultra-simple RPG game that can be played either as a solo game or in a more traditional mode with several players. The Core rule book is available for around $1.99 on several sites including DriveThruRPG. I’ve played this myself during lockdown whilst stuck at home and found it to be a good enjoyable system to play.

Having had a quick look at some of the RPG offerings out there, we’ll move onto war-gaming something I much prefer. I’m interested in finding some suitable war-game and skirmish rules I can get to grips with. Now normally these games are played with 2 players and in some instances possibly more, but what’s out there for us war-gamers. Unlike board games wargaming has a whole plethora of options for us to get to grips with, in a variety of genres and historical periods.

So, I jumped on to War Game Vault to have a look at some of the games available. Just like DriveThru RPG there’s plenty of choice available to you, so here’s a few of my picks below.

Lock N Load Tactical Core Rules

Lock n load is a squad level game with an innovative game play mechanic, historical scope which is suitable for both new players and veterans. It’s a hex based board/War game covering WWII and modern combat at the tactical level, with counters representing individual squads, vehicles and support weapons. A lot info and resources can be found on their own website (https://store.lnlpublishing.com/)

Relic World Expeditions

Seek out ancient treasures and battle your enemies in Relic World Expeditions, but beware, secret traps and fierce monsters await within the ruins of an ancient alien civilisations. Build a warband of treasure hunters, pirates, corporate armies, spies and more from the vast Relic World Universe. Then battle against other players or play in solo mode.

The Adventurer

This is a journal writing game for a solo player. As you play the game, you’ll be creating a world and populating it with people, creatures, traditions and myths simply by writing about your characters adventures. All you’ll need to play the game is a set of the rules, a pend and pad, along with a traditional set of playing cards.

https://jameschip.itch.io/the-adventurer

Two Hour Wargames (https://www.twohourwargames.com/chainreaction.html) publish two sets of rules for free which can be played solo or with several players. The first is Chain reaction focuses on fighting with firearms covering historical periods and beyond, whilst the second set they produce Sword Play covers gaming with swords, spells and shields. These are a both good robust sets of rules and there’ s plenty of supplementary products to purchase to go alongside the core rules.

Several publishers have released free solo rules for existing rules sets they produce; this includes Mantic Games who announced recently a free supplement for download allowing you to play The Walking Dead in solo mode. Osprey were another publisher who has also released free solo supplements for download that includes Frostgrave, Last Days, Zona Alpha and Burrows and Badgers (https://ospreypublishing.com/blog/8_games_solo_players/).

Print N Play board games is the next stop on our introductory look at solo gaming. What is Print n Play I hear you ask well, “Print and Play” games have made game collecting a lot more affordable and have put hundreds of titles right at the fingertips of gamers. Print and Play are games that can be downloaded, with printable game pieces, and are often free.

Zombie in my Pocket  (http://funmines.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/zimp.pdf)

Zombie in my Pocket is a print-and-play game solo game. The game fits in your pocket, and the modular board combined with the development cards make it a different game every time.

9-Bit Dungeon (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/277427/9-bit-dungeon)

9-Bit Dungeon is a 9 Card Print and Play Rogue like Solo Game, with a randomly generated dungeon with over 1500 possible layouts, retro artwork, four increasingly difficult levels, random enemies and events, and shops full of upgrades.

Board Game Geek website has a plethora of free solo games to download, print and play. So it’s worth heading over there and signing up as a member, which is free (https://boardgamegeek.com/). The site is an on-line board gaming resource and community, there’s plenty on the site to keep you busy. The site includes reviews, ratings, images, play-aids, translations and session reports from players around the world, well as forums for discussing everything board game related.

There’s plenty of options available on the internet to get your teeth into without having to spend a great deal of money, with plenty of freebies as well. So, there’s no stopping you from getting a game in or two whilst stuck at home in lockdown, or whilst we’re having to implement social distancing rules. While we may not be able to meet up with friends to play a game there’s no reason why we can’t get some hobby time in by playing a solo version of a game you already play or downloading a new solo game. As they say where there’s a will there’s a way.

Personally, I’ve been going old school and searching for out of print games on sites such as Scribd and Drive Through RPG. I recently discovered an old OOP magazine for the Fighting Fantasy world called Warlock, which back in the day was the main source for FF and in many issues a solo adventure was included. You’ll find several issues on Scribd, for any more you’ll have to scour the internet. So, until we’re able to meet with our gaming groups and friends, solo gaming may be the way forward and could a great way to learn a new rules set and stop you going bored.

I’ve already prepped 60 minis to paint, and made a start on some of them including a piece of terrain. A good batch of the minis will be 15mm vehicles for both Flames of War and Team Yankee. The reason for this is I can paint those really fast, and should hopefully get a large chunk done by December 2nd.

So what have I prepped so far. To begin with I’ve prepped and started some late WW2 Germans, as this will pretty much finish of the plastic German infantry I have built. I can then put the Bolt Action Germans to one side after this and concentrate on the US infantry.

Next I’ve prepped a few minis from Lord of the Rings, as I’ve neglected this project for awhile, so I plan to paint up some orcs and a couple of characters to get back into the swing of the project, which I hope to finish next year.

My Burrows and Badgers minis have all been prepped apart from the Panda mini from the Bushido range I have. This will complete this small project for the time being. I plan to return to this project to build another war band around the Panda in the new year.

SPQR and Mortal Gods project needs some attention, so I’m painting up some of the personalities for those two games. Which includes two Celt chieftains, a Roman officer/hero and a couple of Greek heroes on horse back.

Finally I’ve prepped a random range of historical, sci-fi and fantasy minis for various random rule sets I play.

#LockdownLeisureLeague

Loke Battlemats

In a previous issue of Irregular we reviewed the Big Book of Battle Mats for RPG encounters, no we have on our desk the Giant Book, and if you thought the Big Book was great then you’ll be impressed with the Giant book.

Its A3 size book with 62 pages of full colour glossy maps that have been beautifully designed. As usual there is a plethora of different locations within the book that can be used for numerous encounters. It’s 1-inch grid based, that makes it very easy to use for a number of games, not just RPG. We have used it in my house for several games of A Song of Blades and Heroes, which for those who don’t know is a great little skirmish game.

There are wilderness locations, caverns, building interiors, town layouts dungeon layouts in the book, which means there’s plenty of scope for a wide variety of uses in your game. The book is wire bound which means it’ll lie flat , it’s also laminated which means its wipe clean and can be used with any non-permanent felt tip pen so you can draw all over them. The great feature is it’s light and easy to carrywhich makes it a very portable product. We take the big book which is A4 in size on holiday with us so we can play out some encounters if the weather isn’t great.

I really like these products, and the Giant Book is exceptional. It’s great when you don’t have time to set up a gaming table, you can place this down open up to any page and you’ve got a great location to skirmish over. You could also run a quick and dirty RPG game using this product, by selecting various mats and playing through them creating an adventure as you go.

To go alongside this, we have the Dungeon Decorations.

Dungeon Decorations

Loke Battlemats

This is a pack of 100+ reusable static clings for use on any laminated surface, which makes them ideal for use in the battle mat books. These decals can add some scenic elements to your mat and game. It allows you to quickly furnish a location or add some interesting elements for you adventurers to deal with.

There are five sheets of decals that includes additional walls, stairs, furniture, doors, traps and treasure. This is another great product for travelling with, it allows you to add terrain without the bulk of MDF or plastic pieces. It’s an easily transportable product with a plethora of options to furnish a dungeon or add some great elements to a room or building interior.

I would like to see another set produced that focuses of exterior locations, such battlefields, camp sites and market stalls. This is an easy to use set, the decals peel off both the page and laminated surface. They very well illustrated with plenty of bright colour. There is plenty of variety of items for use in the pack and will be a useful addition for any GM or player.

I don’t think they’re exclusively an RPG accessory as we’ve used them in conjunction with the Book of Battle Mats for skirmish games, as well as RPGs. My niece used both products to create a simple dungeon for myself and a friend to play through, whilst she DMed the game. Which was her first game as a DM, she said she wouldn’t have tried to DM a game before because she didn’t think she could, but this gave her the confidence to create an adventure by herself.

She has since used both the book and the Dungeon Decorations several times to set and create some skirmish scenarios. She really likes the fun of sticking down all the decals and creating a narrative to game around.

Myself I liked the fact that I can quickly set up a game with these two products with much effort when time is of the essence. I can take this to the club or pub and grab a quick skirmish game with friends, and we can easily change locations without any effort. Both are great products that any hobbyist should consider picking up, especially GM/DM’s.

I was sent home in late March from work due to the lockdown in the UK and was furloughed, so with nothing to do I decided to catch up on some miniature painting.

I normally managed to squeeze an evening in the week for painting and an afternoon during the weekend. This gives me a few good hours painting each week to slowly plough through the grey army or should I say armies.

I like most in the hobby probably have too much squirreled away in cupboards and boxes, we all kind know or at least we tell ourselves we know how much we have, but I suspect thinking we know and actually knowing are two different things.

I was aware I had quite a lot of miniatures, but I wasn’t really sure how much I had. The problem is that like most hobbyists they’re hidden away in boxes, out of sight out of mind. I didn’t really pay attention to how much I had until lockdown.

Now if you’re sat there thinking why lockdown, well that’s because my productivity in painting miniatures increased dramatically. I had the spare time to plough through a tone of miniatures between March 23^rd and July 31^st I managed to get roughly 180 miniatures painted, which also included some terrain built and painted. That’s generally a lot more than I’d probably paint in a year, I’d be happy to go through half that in a year.

I placed all the painted miniatures together for a photo shoot, and it dawned on me that even though I’d painted a colossus amount on miniatures I’d hardly put a dent into the grey army. That’s when I realized I had way too much stashed away in boxes.

This prompted me to actually get all my unpainted miniatures out and see how much I actually had. I took out all the wargaming miniatures, it was far too many. I was never going to get all those painted, and all the miniatures in the board games I had. I realized this was ridiculous situation, so I started going through what I had and making some hard decisions about what I should keep and which ones I should get rid of.

This also helped me to hone down which projects I wanted to continue and which ones I should stop. It also allowed to narrow down which systems, periods and games I wanted to actually play and paint minis for. There’s no point keeping stuff if you’re never likely to ever get around to painting or playing with it. They’re just gathering dust and taking up valuable real estate in my hobby room, so a cull was/is planned.

First, I looked at all the moderns I have, which consists of Chinese PLA, US Special Forces, some Russians and PMC’s. I backed the Empress Miniatures kickstarter to get the PLA, so I have quite a lot of them, but I don’t really need that many. I could probably get away with about 12 for most of the games I’ll be playing. So that was one chunk to sell, next I looked at all the metal miniatures I had, and a lot were random fantasy minis. I picked out the few choice ones I liked and will cull the rest, I don’t really play a lot of fantasy and most of the games I do play are ones like Frostgrave that don’t require a high model count.

The one area I haven’t culled yet are my 40K minis, now I don’t have a lot, the small amount of Space Marines I have are painted bar a couple. I also have a small amount of Tyranids that are painted apart from one brood lord. I do have a rather large collection of Eldar which are unpainted, but I’m not ready to cull any until I’ve tried the latest version of the rules. If I like the new rules, then I’ll keep what I have if not I’ll cull them down, so I have just enough to play Kill Team.

Likewise, I decided to cut down on my Age of Sigmar miniatures, I don’t play AoS so there’s no point in keeping them. I only play Warcry and occasionally Shadespire/Underworlds, which I have a few warbands for. I will paint these up, but I won’t be purchasing any more in the future. I’ll do the same with Blood Bowl, I have a couple of teams waiting to be painted so I’ll get those finished and I may buy one other team, along with the new rules when they’re released.

My Flames of War armies are nearly finished, the Germans are complete. I managed to get the Germans all painted during Lockdown, so I just have the US to finish. I’ve added some new units to the US which will need building and painting, but that project will be complete once that’s done.

Bolt Action is the sticking point, I have quite a lot that’s unpainted and some that also need building. I currently have enough infantry for the US army, likewise I have enough vehicles for my German force, and enough infantry for my SAS. I just need to pick up a tank for the Americans and a couple of attack jeeps for the Brits. My Chinese need more troops, but I’m not in any rush to get those yet, as I’ll try and finish the US infantry first.

Whilst going through this process I begun to realize that as hobbyist we probably have a problem with hoarding, yet don’t hoard any where else in our lives, well I don’t. I don’t buy randomly with other items, yet I do with hobby stuff. I’ll see a miniature and think ooo that looks nice and before I even thought about whether I need it or not I’ve bought the bloody thing. So, going forward I plan to be more conscious about what items I purchase for my hobby. This should be helped by narrowing down which games I plan to play, because if a miniature can’t be used in any of the games, I play then there’s no need to purchase it.

It’s been quite a cathartic experience going through all my hobby bits and bobs and really forcing myself to make decisions on which items I’ll actually paint and use. It was also great for forcing me to make decisions regarding which games and rules I’ll actually play, this should also help me to focus more on those games, rather than flitting from one thing to another and never really getting to grips with anything. I should also have going forward fewer if any half-finished projects, I’m hoping this will help me to actually finish some of the projects I’ve started.

I’ve been looking around for an alternative setting for a Gangs of Rome campaign, and I didn’t want to set it in Rome. I’ve been thinking about setting it in Britannia for a while, and did initially consider Londinium, but this felt a bit obvious.

This prompted me to go more rural, and I wanted to set a campaign that was localish to where I live. Now the most obvious locations near me would be York or Chester, but yet again I decided these locations were still too large. Then it dawned on me, a few years back I did a desktop survey of Derby or as the Romans called it Derventio.

The plot for the campaign will around the lead and silver industry, the gangs have been sent north from Londinium to try and take control of the lead and silver industry. Not only are there gangs from Londinium but also from Eboracum (York) and Deva Victrix (Chester) all trying to gain control of the lead and silver.

It was originally a Roman military location bit a small town grew up around it, probably because of the lead mines in the Peak District not that far away. The idea was that gangs had moved into the area, which would include Aquae Arnemetiae (Buxton) , Castrafeld (Chesterfield) and Melandra/Ardotalia (Glossop).

Aquae Arnemetiae was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. The settlement was based around its natural warm springs. Today it is the town of Buxton, Derbyshire in England.

Castrafeld was a Roman Fort along with two vici nearby the Roman military site. This would have been the equivalent of a small rural town.

Melandra/Ardotalia is a Roman fort in Gamesley, near Glossop, there was also a Mansio or posting station nearby, along with a large vicus or local town sized settlement. Several of the local farmsteads were owned by veterans who had completed their length of service.

Derventio

Established in the latter part of the first century by the Romans, the military role of this vital river-crossing was diminished as a prosperous small town emerged.

Derventio was occupied for 40 years as a military location until around 120AD. To put this in context, the Emperor Hadrian visited Britannia in AD120 and ordered his wall to be built. Though Britannia always had a large garrison, focus now changed to industrial production. Derby produced pottery and had access to the lead mining to the north in the Peak District, later it became a centre for metalworking. This continued for the next 200 years.

Scenario suggestion – Steal the Silver

Description: The shipment of silver is being transported from the mine to the local warehouse before being sent on to Londinium. Players are allowed 100 coins of fighters and Denarii for this scenario.

Location: On the outskirts of the Vicus, the building will a combination of workshops, round houses and simple Roman buildings. There will be carts and scattered stalls in the area.

The Silver Convoy: This is made up one cart, with a driver and labourer, which is guarded by 2-3 guards.

Deployment: Players deploy their gang members on opposite edges, the silver cart is placed in the centre.

Mob Justice: The mob will become active once the gangs attack the cart, they will come to the aid of the silver workers. They will move straight into rage state with no dice rolling required.

Gang Mission: The gangs are determined to steal the silver as this will aid them when they try to setup a protection racket on the silver merchants at a later date.

Winning: The gang that manages to steal the cart and take it off they’re own table edge wins the game.

Loosing: If the gangs are beaten back by a combination of the silver workers and the mob, then they loose and limp off in disgrace.

This scenario should be played out in 7 turns.

Other scenarios could include attacks on a local villa, bribing officials, attacking a rival gang hideout or rampaging through a small settlement causing fear and destruction.

let us welcome you again to our latest issue of Irregular Magazine, Issue 13 Volume 2 for Autumn 2020!

As we usually do, we begin with a review of the recent News in gaming, followed by a look again our editor’s ongoing saga of the battle against his grey hoard – and how lockdown and furlough has affected his views on his grey hoard, as well as making great progress!

With the new version of Blood Bowl being announced by Games Workshop, we have a look back at where Blood Bowl has come from.

We have a fantastic range of books reviews in this issue, starting, with a look at the Big Book of Battlemats (Vol 2) for the dungeonmaster looking for some visual impact and minimum effort. Also for RPG fans, we have a look at Does Love Forgive? a scenario for the Call of Cthulhu RPG, which is designed for just a single Player and to be run by their Keeper.

Staying with RPGs, we also have a review of The Klingon Empire release from Mophidius for the Star Trek Adventures game – a must for any Star Trek and RPG fan!

We also look at Operation Colossus, a detailed examination of the first airbourne raid of WW2 and Tiger Battalion 507, which collects together accounts from the crewmen and workshop companies bringing a brutal and honest insight into the operations of a Tiger tank battallion, also in WW2.

In addition, we have a review of The French at Waterloo, the first of two volumes featuring the first-hand accounts of those who fought on the French side. This is compliemented by a review of The Light Devision in the Penninsual War, which looks at the actions of their predecessors from the perspective of modern riflemen.

We also have a review of On Operations with C Squadron SAS, which is a firsthand account of SAS teams’ operation in Africa in the 1980s, a period of chaotic upheveal and proxy wars on the continent. In addition, we also look at With the SAS Across the Rhine, which is an account of SAS operations in an earlier, but no less fascinating, time.

Looking at a much less well known period of history, our Editor first reviews Cousins of Anarchy, looking at the period of Stephen and Matilda’s civial work in the 12th centry, followed by Rebellion Against Henry III, which looks at the battles with the rebel Barons and This Disinherited against Henry III in the late 13th century. This period doesn’t often get much attention, and these books could be very interesting if you want to know more about this pivotal but little-known period of English history!

Jason also has a look at some of the multi-volume Cold War Series, 1945-1991, from Pen and Sword Publishing. Picked out of this facinating series, he particularly looks at volumes on the the Suez Crisis 1956, the Korean War Chinese Invasion and the Korean War Imjin River, althogh the whole series is much, much larger!

In a non-historical vein, we also have a review of The History of Toy Soldiers. Pretty much an essential read if you love your toy soldiers and especially if you have in interest in the collecting side of toy soldiers.

As usual, we also like to look at the future of gaming as it comes to us, and the rise of eSports cannot really be ignored any longer! We look at some of the reasons why it is on the rise as well as trends and changes in eSports that look at how it is changing today and looking at what the scene could look like in the future.

With the global pandemic situation being what it is, many of us are missing the opportunity to go to gaming convensions, meeting up with friends and playing games new and old. Our Editor has writen up his experiences of the UKGE virtual weekend which was something of a replacement for these activities, based on what was possible.

But, our Editor has not been idle sitting at home! He also takes a look at tabletop wargaming in the Dark Ages and how you can go about getting started, examining what choices you have are in terms of miniatures, rules and terrain; as well as providing us with a fascinating description of Roman Derby, which is not only a fascinating general read, but may be of use if you like Roman skirmish games such as Gangs of Rome and want to set them in this area!

Staying in the areas of Derby, Jason has alos looked at what it woudl take to develop a local ECW campaign in the area around north Derbyshire and south Yorkshire, which is complemented by an unboxing of A Call to Arms’ rather lovely 1/72 scale Parliament Infantry.

Finally, we conclude with a look at a press release from Kwalee gaming that says 1 in 10 gamers would rather their was was destroyed than their game save data, and what that means to gamers.

Time to get reading – go on, download your copy now!

I picked up the Apocalyptic Scooby Gang from Hasslefree at Salute a few years back and it’s been sat gathering dust for awhile. So I finally made the decision to get some paint on the miniatures.

I used a picture from the Scooby Doo cartoons as a reference for getting the colours as correct as I could with the paints I had. I also didn’t want them looking too clean either, as these were supposed to be in a zombie infested world.

Overall I’m happy with the outcome, and they’ll stated up and used in Walking Dead  and other post apocalypse games.