FoGR - a new player's perspective

[highlandbevan]

I'm hoping that this post will generate discussion about promoting FoGR.

FoGR is a great game to play, the more I play the more I enjoy it. I got started by watching a game at the Central London Wargamers, it played fast, looked and felt like a renaissance game. I had to tie in what I saw to being put off FoG by a couple of years of being told 'it's complex' 'it's slow' 'we'll never play it'. So I've never played Fog AM. But the reviews of FOG R by Madaxeman were enough to convience me I should look - and now that I should play it.

I played a couple of test games against myself to get to grips with how things work. Then I ran a game at the club - a refight of Chalgrove. I thought it went OK, but there were complaints about the speed and getting to grips with how the rules represented tactics. So I've stopped trying to give tactical advice and just let players do what they want (yes, turn left. then march forwards. then.. oh whoops, the enemy have smashed you in the flank). We've played 3 TYW games of Tercios vs Battalions, gradually adding more troop types and complexity (terrain). Last one was 3 batteries, 5 tercios and 6 Cavalry vs 3 batteries, 9 infantry battalions and 4 cavalry. Played to an exciting finish in 4 hours, would have been quicker if the players weren't trying to be clever and outmanouvre each other. So it's not slow.

The rulebook is a dream for referring to as an umpire, quick flick gets you to the right section, easily find the rule during a heated debate. I know all the combat factors for the armies we play, so I don't have to look them up, and death rolls and cohesion tests easy look at the dice and read result. This is after 4 real games, so it's quick to learn.

I like the FOG concept, it's good to have well published rules on the shelves of bookstores, next to the Ospreys, prime position for pulling in more wargamers.

There are a few things that I think put potential players off:

The rulebook covers everything you need, and it's very clear - I've never had to ask on the forum how something works or for clarification. However, it is not clear on first reading that most of the rulebook isn't needed for any specific battle, it covers any eventuality. This only becomes clear when you play or read a battle. Also, it is great for reference, but it is not as convenient to read through trying to follow how a turn in the battle works. If you pull it off the shelf, you're quite likely to put it back. This could be addressed by a full example turn in order in the rulebook, or even a full example battle; An 'introductory' book, including one or two blow by blow accounts of battles and perhaps a simplified set of rules covering only what's needed for the armies in the reports; A podcast linked from the FOGR websites, going through a battle with commentary.

The 'QRS'. Actually, it is a very effective summary sheet, including all the tables needed to play any army against any army under the rules. But when you're looking up factors for the two armies you have on the table, you have to wade through everything else to find them, and the sheer size of it puts off my club. I tried to put together a shorter version just for the two armies we have, but was finding that would also be very long. One club member suggested a QRS per unit type, which I'm going to try, and I think that this might be a solution.

Getting FoGR played:

As you might have gathered, I think that once gamers have started, they will keep on playing FoGR. The difficulty is getting over the 'difficult and complex' perception which is communicated by the comprehensiveness. This can happen by getting more players to join in with our games... at clubs, participations at shows, and so on. It can also happen virtually through writeups of games (including the dice rolls and modifers step by step), podcasts.

Many rules now also promote themselves by having a reduced/simplified version of the rules available free. This could be done for a couple of the most popular matchups - e.g. ECW Royalist vs Parliamentarian and Italian Wars French vs Spanish. A GW style boxed set with these simplified rules and a couple of armies would be even better.

Hopefully more ideas will follow - it's a great set of game rules and a great period to wargame.