My Game Designs

I have been designing political-military simulation games since 1991. As far as I know, no one else has ever designed games (at least in English) on many of the subjects or situations I have chosen (e.g. the Cultural Revolution, the Algerian War, the 1848 revolutions, Latin American guerrilla wars, etc. etc.). In rough chronological order, they are:

Power Play - abstract study of a coup d'etat in an imaginary country. Not like Junta, it tries to teach some of the lessons in Edward Luttwak's great book on the subject (Coup d'etat: A Practical Handbook). 50 counters, 8.5x11 area-movement map, abstract troop and time scale, playing time 30-45 minutes. I have developed a 'seminar' version of this one for nine players as well. Designed 1991, was published in Cry Havoc! #18 (an amateur zine put out by David Tschanz, January 1997 or so) and the seminar version has appeared in Academic Gaming Review. Was available from Schutze Games (see below), 2000+ but now out of print - you could obtain a copy from me.

Civil Power - tactical study of urban disorder. Riots, raids, gang warfare, urban terrorism. 200 counters, two-part 11x17" geomorphic B+W map, troop scale individuals to mob size, 1-3 hours to play. Some 3-player scenarios. Designed 1991, published in Strategist #294 (newsletter of the Strategy Gaming Society, August 1996). Now out of print - you could obtain a copy from me.

Land of the Free - for 3 players. Radical politics in the USA during the Great Depression. 280 counters, 11x17" area-movement map of the USA, abstract troop and time scale. Designed 1994, published in full-colour DTP from the Microgame Design Group in 1995. Now out of print; you could obtain a copy from me.

Arriba Espana! - The Spanish Civil War (1936-9) in one evening. 280 counters, 11x17" area-movement map of Spain, troop scale brigade/division, time scale 2-3 months per turn. 3-4 hours to play. Some interesting twists and a lot of the politics that is missing from other games on the war: foreign attitudes and intervention are critical to winning. Designed 1994, originally published in full-colour DTP from the Microgame Design Group in 1995 and one of its perpetual top selling titles. Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in April 2004 (tin box) and 2007 (cardboard box with better components). Republished in issue #8 of World at War magazine, a Decision Games publication, November 2009.

Somalia - about the UN intervention there. Up to 5 or maybe even 6 could play, but best with 2. 100 double-sided counters, 11x17" area map of Somalia, troop scale roughly battalion size for the UN and "large group" for the Bandits. Designed 1994, currently available from Schutze Games (see below) 2000+, variant 2002 scenario available on main game page. Boxed edition with better counters available from Blue Panther Games (see below). Digital version available through Wargamedownloads.com.

Tupamaro - about the Tupamaro urban guerrillas in Uruguay, 1968-72. 2 players, 80 double-sided counters, 8.5x11" non-representational map (rather, it is a sort of 'map of attitudes' of the people of the city of Montevideo), abstract troop and time scale. Lots of different things to do, rather subtle strategies for the guerrilla player to follow. Designed 1995, published in Strategist #287 (January 1996). Revised 1997, was available from Schutze Games now out of print - republished in Simulacrum magazine #29 (2009 annual issue). You could also obtain a copy from me. VASSAL module available (see below).

Green Beret - a self-contained card game on the military situation in the Central Highlands of Vietnam in 1964-5. For two players, one of whom plays the role of the Viet Cong regional commander, and the other the ARVN. Probably the first card game on the Vietnam War. 99 B+W cards (representing the terrain fought over, the political and military units available, and various random events), one eight-page rulebook (including examples of play), and one page of charts and tables. The graphics on the cards were scanned from various sources - contemporary books and photographs, comic books, etc. Designed 1996, published by Simulations Workshop (Randy Moorehead) in June 2002. (Used to be called Go Tell the Spartans, after the Burt Lancaster war film, but I thought that was corny.) A very revised and very nice map-and-counter version of the design has been prepared, no firm publisher yet.

Shining Path - for two players. About the Sendero Luminoso guerrillas in Peru, 1980-now. A sort of systemic development of Tupamaro, but with a geographic treatment. 280 counters, 11x17" area-movement map of Peru, abstract troop and time scale. Because there are only about 2 1/2 pages of rules, there's also a short article on the historical growth and development of this uerrilla movement. Designed 1996, was under contract to be published in Gamefix magazine (now defunct), published in B+W in Strategist #306 (Sept 1997) and in full-colour DTP by the Microgame Co-op in April, 1998. Now out of print - you could obtain a copy from me. VASSAL module available (see below).

Red Guard - about the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in Red China, 1966-69. For 2-6 players, 192 counters, 36 tiles, abstract troop and time scale. Different factions of the Chinese Communist Party fight and subvert their way to the top. Don't go too far or the whole country will collapse into chaos. Original map-and-counter version designed 1996, was under contract to be published in Gamefix magazine, completely different mapless version published in November 2002, in full colour and with diecut counters, by Schutze Games (see below). Digital print and play version also available through Wargamedownloads.com.

1848 - about the popular revolts of that year in Europe. For 2-4 players, 200 counters, 11x17 area-movement map of Europe, abstract troop and time scale. Designed 1997, no one seemed really interested in this and I wasn't bowled over by how it played, but you could obtain a copy from me.

Freikorps - The Soviets win the Battle of Warsaw in August 1920, an occupied Poland collapses into civil war, and an overly enthusiastic Lenin gives the order to keep going for Berlin. The Red player is in command of four different forces (Soviet Red Army, Konarmiya, Polish Red Army, and Spartacists) and has only 10 weeks to change the course of world history before the bad weather comes and the Soviet Union can no longer support their armies in the field. The White Player is in charge of Entente (British, French and American), German Freikorps (various private armies made up of demobilized Wehrmacht veterans, including the 10-division Reichswehr), and Polish National Army forces (led by Marshal Pilsudski, of course). If the Whites are on the ropes, some anti-Bolshevik Volunteer Legions from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Italy will also show up. 280 counters (divisions and brigades), 11x17" hex map of the area between Berlin and Warsaw at about 15 miles/hex, 8 pages of rules, the usual charts and tables. Lots of mayhem and chaos and chromy bits (armored trains, naval units, tactical doctrines, offensive surges, the Royal Tank Division, etc.). Designed 1998, released by the Microgame Design Group in February 1999. Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in July 2004 (tin box) and 2007 (cardboard box with better components).

Pusan Perimeter - a 1999 overhaul of a game I designed in high school (1982). Simple treatment of the early phase of the Korean War; pretty straightforward military game. 120 double-sided counters, 11x17" hex map, division/regiment level with some battalions, 2-3 hours to play. Currently available from Schutze Games. Digital print and play version also available through Wargamedownloads.com.

Battle for China - Basically an adaptation of the Arriba Espana system, done for the various wars in China that were fought from 1937 to 1949. The subject is the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-41. One 11x17" area movement map (about 150 miles to the inch) and 280 counters. The time scale is 3 months per turn, so it's possible to get through 4 years of war over half of China in a long evening. The troop scale is division/corps for the Japanese, and corps/army for the Chinese. The game is 2-3 players, with one player controlling both the Nationalist and Communist Chinese, but easily (and perhaps preferably) playable with three. Designed 1999, released in October 1999 by the Microgame Design Group, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the People's Republic! Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in June 2004 (tin box) and in 2007 (cardboard box with better components). Along with Arriba Espana, was chosen by reader feedback in late 2006 to be re-re-published in Strategy & Tactics magazine, came out in issue #259 (October 2009).

More Battle For China: I worked on this expansion kit simultaneously with Battle for China. The kit has two 8.5x11" half-maps (one of Manchuria, one of the approaches to India and Indo-China) and 140 more counters which allow play of the game from 1942-45, and 1946-49. There are Allied counters for both the CBI campaign and possible landings in China in preparation for the invasion of the Japanese Home Islands (as all sides expected to happen before the atomic bomb was dropped) and Soviet counters abounding. Finally, of course there is the 1945-49 Civil War as the Nationalists and Communists face off. Since this amounts to three different games, there is a second rules folder to allow for the changing nature and considerations of each war. Hardcore players could probably fight the whole twelve years of conflict (42 turns) in a weekend. Originally published by the Microgame Design Group, now out of print. Now available as a free download on Boardgamegeek here.

A Japanese-language edition of both Battle For China and the expansion kit was the issue game in #42 of Japanese Command magazine (Jan-Feb 2002). One 16x24" main map, two 16x12" extension maps, 400 diecut backprinted counters.

Also, Fiery Dragon released "Battle for China Deluxe" in 2009, in limited numbers (>125 copies). This game integrated both the basic game and expansion kit, and a few rules changes I had been considering for some time.

Battle of Seattle: A mini-game inspired by the anti-WTO riots in Seattle November 30 - December 3, 1999. Sort of a hybrid of my Civil Power game and Joe Miranda's LA Lawless, this one has 96 counters, an 11x17" area map of downtown Seattle, and the usual 3-4 pages of rules and charts. It came together very quickly and I think you'll like it, that is if you like this sort of thing. Designed early 2000, was published in the March 2000 issue of Strategist, and available here for free: http://www.islandnet.com/~ltmurnau/text/gamescen.htm. You might also see this pop up on some radical sebsites; I don't mind this particular title being copylefted on me.

Algeria: On the 1954-62 French colonial struggle, this game uses a development of the Shining Path game system, with some extra chops and changes to mirror the new situation. The FLN (rebel) player has a variety of cadres, fronts and guerrilla infantry companies to use in Algeria to wear down the French political will to hang on to this troublesome possession. Meanwhile, the French player has a largely useless conscript regular army, unreliable local forces, and a limited number of effective intervention forces to defeat the rebels. Lots of chromy bits like coups d'etat, the OAS, helicopters, pacification, and Jean-Paul Sartre. 280 counters, 11 x 17" area movement map, the usual rules and charts. Designed in 2000, released through the Microgame Design Group in December 2001. Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in December 2005. Digital print and play version also available through Drivethrurpg.com. VASSAL module available (see below).

War Plan Crimson: This game covers a hypothetical invasion of Canada by the United States in the late 1930s. Two 8.5x11" maps, 280 counters, the usual rules and tables. It uses a development of my Freikorps game system, with some extra chops and changes to mirror the lower-scale situation. Ground, time and troop scales are 5 km/hex, 2 days/turn and battalion/brigade respectively. The Commonwealth player has a variety of Permanent Force, British Expeditionary Force, Militia and Volunteer (farmers with shotguns) units to defend the areas around Halifax, the most important ice-free port on Canada's east coast, and Montreal, another vital port and the chokepoint for all traffic moving in or out of central Canada. The US player (controlling Regular Army, National Guard, and Marine Corps units) is strong initially but he doesn't have much depth and little time to secure these two vital areas. The framework for the action in this game is taken from an actual estimate of the situation completed by American Army officers and considered by the US Department of War in 1935. Chromy bits include poison gas, experimental mechanized brigades with variable effects, and the usual wacky random events. Alex Cox has a copy, ask me why! Designed 2000, published by Microgame Design Group in December 2001. Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in 2006.

Operation Whirlwind: a historical game on street battles between Hungarian rebels and Soviet invaders in November 1956. Area movement map of downtown Budapest, 140 backprinted counters, 8 hours per turn, roughly company to regiment scale. A tense contest. Optional forces include Special Forces teams and the 101st Airborne Division, jumping into battle! My entry in the 2002 Microgame Design Contest (where it won first prize, yippee), published by Microgame Design Group in August 2002. Republished by Fiery Dragon Productions in 2007.

Autumn Mist: a historical game on the Battle of the Bulge. I was getting a reputation that I only design games on obscure topics and battles. But there is an unwritten rule that every game designer has to do a Bulge game, so this one is mine. I am indebted to Jim Stahler for the essence of the Mission Matrix idea from his variant article for Blitzkrieg in the General volume 18, number 6 (March-April 1982). Though I've modified it, I've been waiting 20 years to stick this idea in a game design of mine. 11x17" hex map of the Ardennes at 5 km per hex, division scale, 2 days/turn, 280 counters. Designed 2002, was to have come out through Microgame Design Group but eventually published by Fiery Dragon Productions in May 2004 (tin box) and 2007 (cardboard box with better components).

Paranoid Delusions: In the game, each player adopts simultaneously two roles: the Paranoid, who represents a lone conspiracy nut; and the Enemy, who represents a network of real or unreal groups hiding a nefarious secret. Each Paranoid must struggle with his own weakening grasp on sanity to reveal the Groups, Methods and Goals used by the other players' Enemies. Meanwhile, the Enemies do their best to mislead the Paranoids, betray their competing plotters to them, or just drive them insane (for purposes of entertainment only, though some people do take their games much too seriously). There are two ways to win the game, and part of a winning strategy is attacking yourself! 160 1" counters, no map, no scale. This game was one of the (two) entries in the 2006 Microgame Design Contest. Available for free download at: http://www.islandnet.com/~ltmurnau/text/gamescen.htm. Reprinted in reduced format in Simulacrum #30.

Balkan Gambit: The Allied invasions of the Balkans that weren�t. One of the great what-ifs of World War 2 in the Mediterranean theatre, at least to Hitler and the German High Command, was the possibility of an Allied invasion of Greece and/or Yugoslavia. The Allies knew the Germans perceived such invasions as a credible threat and created several strategic deception plans, leading the Germans to move or keep critical troop formations in northern Italy and the Balkans when they would have been much more useful somewhere else. Four scenarios for 1943, 1944, 1945, and a hypothetical 1950 Soviet invasion of Yugoslavia. Uses the Autumn Mist system of formation activations and the combat matrix, at a larger scale: 1 week/turn; 30 km/hex; division/brigade; 17x30" map and 280 counters. Many "chrome" rules to cover the fragmented human, political and physical terrain of the area. Designed 2005-06, started as a mega-variant to Joe Miranda's Balkans 1941 game, due to come out from Fiery Dragon in 2012.

Konarmiya: The prequel to Freikorps. This covers the summer of 1920, uses the same system and map scale as Freikorps, and the maps match so you can play one big struggle for North East Central Europe. More map (22x17" and runs from Warsaw to Kiev) and fewer counters (192). Features the Polish Legion, Polish National Army, Konarmiya of course, volunteer Hungarians, Lithuanians, and Ukranians, Pilsudski, Trotsky, and the usual mayhem and chaos. Designed 2007, published in summer 2008 by Fiery Dragon.

Greek Civil War: Only game yet designed on the 1947-49 civil war, which was actually the third and final act of a conflict that began in 1941. One of the few times a Communist-inspired insurgency was beaten by a Western government. Uses a hybrid of the Algeria and Shining Path systems: the situation combined aspects of the war in Peru, in that it was an internal struggle between two sides with limited material resources, and Algeria, in that the Rebel player had an external sanctuary. Some additions to the game include government political interference in how the Army is deployed and supplied, refugees, Yugoslavian and American support, and the Rebel player has the option of switching his forces to conventional warfare mode if he is confident (or desperate) enough to engage the Army in set-piece battles. Designed 2008, to be published by Fiery Dragon in 2012.

Virtualia: Another iteration of the Tupamaro- Shining Path- Algeria- Greek Civil War system, this takes place in a thinly-fictionalized post-Chavez Venezuela, the city of Maracas to be exact. A game for 3-5 players on urban counterinsurgency. Most intricate yet of the games in this system; many more metrics, menus of kinetic and non-violent methods. 11x17 abstract map, 280 counters. Designed summer 2008, works but as yet unpublished, developing a VASSAL module that will allow real-time play over the Internet. Write me if you know somthing about this and are interested.

Summer Lightning: Another iteration of the Autumn Mist system, this time covering the Poland 1939 campaign. I think the system shows well the historical German superiority in command and control and yet is flexible enough to allow players to explore many variations and options, so that the game can be as equal (or unequal) a contest as they want. Options include: variable Polish deployments; greater or lesser surprise and speed of mobilization; changed attitudes of the Soviet Union or neighbouring countries; French intervention; Plan Zachod (the Romanian Bridgehead Strategy); and even the possibility that the Blitzkrieg, so appealing in theory, fizzles out on the battlefield. Designed 2008, went into Pxxx with Lock n' Load Games in early May 2009, came out in spring of 2011.

Finnish Civil War is a simulation game of the civil conflict in Finland in the early months of 1918. Two versions: 1) a company/battalion scale one that has 280 counters and uses a system heavily modified from Freikorps, Konarmiya and War Plan Crimson; and 2) a brigade scale one that has 60 counters and an even more heavily modified system. Both games use the same map (hex grid of southern Finland, at 12 map miles/ 20 km per hex). Special units and chromy bits include: variable-strength Red and White Guard units; Armored Trains; the spring thaw that occurred midway through the war; peace negotiations, German intervention and Russian withdrawal (including the Future Guilt Clause!); General Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim; German Tactical Agility; White guerrillas; and the Swedish Talent Agency. Designed fall 2009; available for free on my website, at http://www.islandnet.com/~ltmurnau/text/gamescen.htm .

Guerrilla Checkers is a hybrid of Checkers and Go that attempts to model some aspects of Maoist guerrilla warfare. I was thinking about how two people could be playing two different games on the same board at the same time, with the common objective of killing each other, and came up with this. Equipment required: checkerboard, six checkers, and 66 small flat pieces (buttons, glass beads, small Go stones, etc.). The "Guerrilla" player, using small Go stones or some such, plays on the intersection points of the checkerboard squares to surround and capture the enemy pieces. Meanwhile, the "Counterinsurgent" player, using checkers, moves on the checkerboard squares to jump and capture the enemy. Designed spring 2010, available for free on my website, at http://www.islandnet.com/~ltmurnau/text/gamescen.htm . VASSAL module is available, and a version for Android system mobile phones is in beta (summer 2012).

Sources

Reviews For reference, here is a list of where reviews of my games have appeared:

Online Boardgamegeek.com

Grognard.com Strategypage.com

Print Media

Paper Wars magazine Issue Game Title

Fire and Movement magazine Issue Game Title

(this page last revised 6 June 2012)

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