TWO HOUR WARGAMES (REVIEW)

For this post I was lucky that a colleague made for this blog a small review about the solo game system that Two Hour Wargames has been developing for more than 10 years, so I left you with Slorm.

THW is the name of a games publisher focused on solo wargames that are solved in just under two hours (hence its name Two Hour Wargames). Its variety of settings ranges from wwII to planetary battles with spaceships.

All the settings have in common the game system, whereby each miniature has a Reputation value that would be its Quality to resolve the game actions, an Armor value and special rules (never more than three). Actions are resolved by rolling 2d6 against that Reputation value ranging from 3 to 6, and that 1 success or 2 successes can be successful, causing a relative success or a total success.

The treasure that this game represents is not based so much on its game system, but on its solo game system, managing to give life not only to the enemies, but to the allies themselves who will react to opposing actions, being able to find that you are going to carry out a charge and in the end, it is you alone who as a hero is facing the enemy, because your allies were left behind too afraid to fight.

The combat system is fast and direct, facilitating that the games are fast, and that two games are never the same, as it has a powerful scenario generator, in which not only the scene is randomized, but the race, profession and quality of enemy or allied troops.

The games are normally played on a 90x90 table, and can be even smaller; in which a random number of about 3 PEFs (Possible Enemy Forces) are deployed that will be revealed as the player's troops approach them. But the randomness does not end there, but it is possible that due to different rolls new PEFs are generated that could change the course of the battle at any moment.

This game system is more than 10 years old, and has been improved and outlined by its author Ed Teixeira during this time, until it became the treasure that it is today. In addition, there are two free versions of the game "Swordplay" (fantasy skirmish version) and "Chain Reaction" (version for firearms-focused skirmishes) with which you can test the game without spending any money. These free rules can be downloaded from their own website by clicking HERE.

So we find a reputed game system for solo miniatures wargames, now we only have to choose which setting we want to play, since there is a wide range of possibilities:

Fight in WWII

Explore fantasy worlds

A complete Dungeon Crawler 

Survive a zombie Apocalipsis 

Or a PostApocaliptic world

Live Pulp adventures

Fight the jungle in Vietnam

Fight napoleonic wars...

...or french-indian wars

fight like a gladiator

or survive in the wild west

and the SciFi range deserves a special mention, this collection is called 5150 and there are more than 20 different rulesets that cover the entire range from playing with a single space soldier to battles between fleets of ships (with the ENTIRE range that exists between those scales), also creating a range of cyberpunk style with sordid stories in a Blade Runner´s style.

If you are interested in this game system, I recommend that you visit the blog El Rincon de Slorm, specialized in these rulesets, showing battle reports, reviews and development of this system.

RANGERS OF SHADOW DEEP REVIEW

Well let's start by making a little clarification: Rangers of Shadow Deep is not a new game ... it is a game that came out a couple of years ago and is also an "evolution" (more or less) of another previous game, Frostgrave, which shares many similarities (author, game system ...)

It is based on skirmish battles between a few miniatures on small tables, moving away from the idea that many people has of miniature wargames with huge tables covered with armies with hundreds of figures painted...

With this game we can play at the kitchen table with a few miniatures, which makes it very affordable for anyone who starts in the hobby.

(imagen de Chicago skirmish wargames)

Ok ... why then do we review a game that is not exactly new? Well, let's say that because it can contribute a lot to the world of miniature wargames.



The game has a fairly simple game system, basically you roll a die, add your skill or characteristic and see if you pass the difficulty that you have to overcome... Easy.

It is a very simple system, based on action system of two actions per turn in which you can move, shoot, open locks or any type of action ...



The system itself does not have much to be said either because it is a fairly basic system... But don't see it as a drawback, in fact perhaps that is another of its advantages: it is a very easy game get playing.



In addition, the fact of this simplicity makes it a very useful resource to introduce the children to the world of role-playing and fantasy games.

The setting, without going into much more depth, well, it is a generic fantasy setting in which there is a fantasy kingdom that is being attacked by (generic) evil and that our heroes (the rangers) must defend ...



Something that we have already seen in 1000 games of wargames, RPG, strategy, video games ... nothing new, right?



So, my friends, let's recap what we are doing here ...



You may be wondering why we make a review of a game that is not new, has a fairly simple and not innovative system, whose setting is a quite generic and common ...



Well, this game is one of the few that can be considered that it is really made to be played alone or cooperatively and it is the closer look to role-playing games made by a wargame.



What is usually the problem of most games that we know so far is that the other games are basically designed to face against another opponent, where you put your units here, I put mine there and let's beat the crap ou... huh ... sorry ... I didn't mean that... I meant that the usual games are designed to fight symmetrically forces against other player / s, perhaps with some light story or background plot, but little more ...



And that's where this game stands out above any other of its genre.



We really are facing the closest thing to a role-playing game with miniatures.

In this game, the player or players play on the same side fighting against the enemy (evil) that is governed by some sort of rules or artificial intelligence that makes the enemy autonomous, and not only that, but the game is developed through stories, one shot games or long campaigns in which you are specified in each game how the table should be arranged, where the heroes deploy, where the enemies are, which are the victory conditions, possible random events, the story that underlies the game ... and the story behind each game is not a mere excuse but is a real plot itself, making each game completely different from the previous one, and in the campaigns it acts as a common thread creating an authentic story.



If to this richness in the stories that make the game so interesting and that when a game ends, what you really want to do is play another one, we add that the characters you play with advance through experience points, as if it were a role-playing game, there comes a time when your characters improve and you see them "grow", the time comes when "they are yours" ... it is not a miniature that you move across a board and fight until you die...



You are playing with a character with whom you may already have been playing several games... I have to admit that in some games I have even ran away from combat seeing that my ranger could be killed, when playing a normal game I would have fought to the end because it's just one more miniature ...

If you've ever played dungeon and dragons, the lord of the rings, stormbringer, runequest, or any fantasy RPG ... I have good news to tell you: this is definitely your game.

On a board with miniatures and scenery you will have the same sensations (with obvious limitations) as playing role-playing games with your friends and what is more important and I will stress it again since it is not something very common in miniature games nowadays it is the possibility of playing solo or cooperatively with friends without any problem and having a totally satisfactory experience.



In case you were missing some kind of incentive, the game is available in digital version (pdf) at a fairly affordable price, including in the core rules, the setting and a good number of games (including a campaign).



It also has a growing number of supplements that, although they do not extend the game system (it does not need it either), have a lot of interesting games to play.

You are still here?

You haven't decided yet, have you?


Another factor to take into account about this game is that it is having quite a lot of acceptance among gamers, which has resulted in a fairly active community that is generating quite a few games made by themselves (offered to the rest of the community).

And it is that in addition to being making games, home rules or modifications it has a quite interesting aspect that is that of the versions or reskins ...



Since the strength of this game lies in the simplicity of its rule set (which, I repeat, is a VERY positive factor) and in the stories it tells, there are several fans of this game who are adapting the system of game and stories to other settings ...



There are already several versions: one of The Lord of the Rings, another of Star Wars, currently there is another one in process adapting it to a Victorian Gothic setting and one I am doing myself ... which is to set the Rangers of Shadow Deep in a World War II  setting with a supernatural touch (as in Acthung Cthulhu, Konflikt 47, Weird Wars, Secrets of the Third Reich ...)



I hope this article has helped you to decide to give this game a try, it will not disappoint you.



And I wil keep you informed on how this version of World War II for the Rangers of Shadow Deep progresses.