Resources

If you have any resources – rules, toolkits, books, board games etc. – which you have found useful for solo wargaming I would be delighted to hear from you so that I can add it to the list below. Email me with your ideas at:  solowargamer@hotmail.com

Rulesets & Toolkits:

• Two Hour Wargames. Jim from the Yahoo discussion group says: “I would highly recommend the Two Hour Wargames rules. They are designed to be played head to head, same side against the rules, or solo. I have played a number of them, all solo, and had a great deal of fun with them all. The rules range from Ancients up to SF. They also have an active Yahoo group with over 3000 members.” You can find the main website here – http://www.angelfire.com/az3/twohourwargames/index.html

• Piquet. A core ruleset with period specific supplements, Piquet uses a card-based system to reflect “fog of war” and chance, and as such is recommended by several solo wargamers. Bill from the Yahoo group writes: “A great set of rules in my opinion… My friend and I use it for our SYW games… I have had a couple of solo games and found it very good at making the choices for you. I would urge you all to try it, if you get the chance.”  Piquet is available here: http://www.piquet.com/

• Mythic. An RPG generating toolkit which can be adapted to the player’s requirements. Often cited by solo gamers as a good resource for campaign and battlefield scenarios. The review on RPGnet adds: “Mythic is a game that is fun, quick, simple, customizable, modular, requires any number of players (or one player “Solo”), on-the-fly adventure generator, and allows you to turn any other RPG system into a supplement. I would recommend this to the novice and to the experienced role-player.” You can find Mythic online here: http://www.mythic.wordpr.com/page14/page14.html

• De Bellis Solitarius. A simple add-on which enables the DBA ancient/medieval ruleset to be used by a solo player: http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/variants/vardbs.html

• Programmed DBA Leaders. Another DBA utility which allows for programmed leaders in DBA campaigns: http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/variants/varprogrammedleaders.html

Books and Periodicals:

• Lone Warrior, quarterly journal of the Solo Wargamers Association, is highly recommended. To subscribe, email lonewarrior@kc.rr.com, or write directly to Rich Barbuto, 1707 Ridge Road, Leavenworth, KS66048, United States.

• Guide To Solo Wargaming by Stuart Asquith, Argus Books 1988. A useful paperback introduction to solo wargaming, it includes a number of useful solo gaming ideas and scenarios ranging from skirmish level actions to full blown battles and campaigns. A revised edition has been published by Caliver Press and is available from their website – www.caliverbooks.com.

• Programmed Wargames Scenarios by Charles Grant, WRG 1983. Published by the Wargames Research Group, it contains eighteen battle scenarios and two mini-campaigns, all designed for the solo player against a “programmed” opponent. Army lists for the scenarios are provided for Ancient, Horse and Musket, and Modern eras.

• Setting Up A Wargames Campaign by Tony Bath, WRG 1986 (3rd Edition). One of the classics of wargaming literature, this provides a sound introduction to the logistics of setting up your wargames campaign. Many of the ideas can be readily adapted to solo gaming.

• Solo Wargaming by Donald Featherstone, Kayle and Ward 1973, edited and republished by John Curry, 2009. The original solo wargames classic, now reproduced in a new edition by John Curry. Full of good ideas and (inevitably) a fair bit of dated material, this is a must for any solo wargamer’s bookshelf. Available here: http://johncurryevents.co.uk/

Online:

• Solo War Game Yahoo Group. An excellent online discussion forum dealing with all manner of solo wargaming matters. Currently has over 1200 members. You can find the group here: http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/SoloWarGame/

• Free Wargames Rules website. Not specifically for the solo wargamer, this highly recommended website nonetheless represents a fantastic resource, listing a huge number of free rulesets to download and use for inspiration: http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/