Creating A BKC Scenario

In the latest Warning Order magazine, Matt Irsik had some post-game musings on the rules themselves and also how they played their games, which made for some interesting reading. He asked for some ideas on how other gamers approached things and I duly sent him my two penn'orth. So as mentioned at the end of that post, I thought I'd jot down how I approach creating a scenario for BKC, but this could equally apply to other rulesets and periods. So in a rough chronological order:

Select A Setting or Period

• This normally starts with what am I in the mood to play. It might sound bloomin' obvious, but you want to game what grabs you at that particular time.
• So is it Normandy '44, Sicily '43, Russia '41 or Poland '39? Each have their own merits for sure and sometimes you just fancy some Early War action as opposed Late War.
• Rather stating the obvious again but what collections do you have to game with? If mainly a Late War tank based force, then this naturally limits your options. 
• For Solo play all of the above is quite easy to sort out, but with other friends and gamers, you might have to adjust things to suit. 

Select A Scenario

• Do you want to play a historical action, such as the D-Day landings or Poland '39?
• Or do you want to play one based upon a Grant & Asquith book for example?
• To keep things simple depending upon the time you have, then one from the rulebook might fit the bill nicely.
• Some scenarios might not be applicable, such as an Airborne Landing in Poland '39 or Russian '45. Not impossible of course but worth bearing in mind. I find that if it feels right and plausible, then you get a better game from it.

OOB

• I tend to do some basic research for both sides at the start once the Period and Scenario have broadly been selected.
• Decide who will be the Attacker, who the Defender. Depending upon the Period, this might point towards one force rather than the other. So Poland '39 is most likely to see the Germans attacking, but it is not out of the questions to have the boot on the Polish foot for something different.
• Do you use Points or Historical OOB? I tend to use a mix of both. For solo games I'm not too fussy, but if I've got a friend coming over, I will take more care and attention to try and make sure they have a good game by giving both sides a chance as it were.
• The Scenario will often dictate the OOB being used. So for example a tank heavy force would not really be suited for a Stalingrad type scenario. I know it's stating the obvious a bit, but still worth bearing in mind.
• How many players per side will there be? Based upon experience each player should have roughly a Battalion plus Support to play with. If more than that it can be hard to keep track of things and then the game can start to bog down with too many units to co-ordinate. So if each player does have their own Battalion, then roughly speaking they can do their own Turn alongside other players without too many problems surfacing.

Table Size

• Do you have space for a 6' x 4' table or larger or will that be a push? Maybe 4' x 4' would be more appropriate? Again Scenario selection and the number of players might mean a certain size is required. Naturally this can feed back into the above affecting the Scenario, OOB etc selected.

Table Layout

• Quite early on I will start sketching out the table layout, based upon all of the above, to help me start firming things up in my mind. If a scenario from a Grant & Asquith book, then the broad details are already there and then just need tweaking to suit the period being played. Again the same is true of a historical action. But if it's a scenario from the rulebook, then you are obviously starting with a blank page. This will take more time and effort but it is a rewarding task in its own right IMHO.
• On this 'map' I will sketch out rough deployment areas, scheduled attacks, reinforcement arrival points etc. Again for solo play I do not have to worry too much about this and can keep it quite simple. If a friend is coming over then this will be more detailed and accurate so that they can plan there Attack or Defence. 
• I will take into account major areas of terrain, such as woods, rivers, BUA's etc to make sure that the terrain does not unduly inhibit one side more than the other. Sometimes this will naturally happen if based upon a historical action, but then that's part and parcel of playing it.

Scenario Specifics

• Are there any specific things that need to be taken into account, such as the weather, night time action, when reserves might arrive?
• What is the Objective for either side for the game? If using a scenario from the rulebook, then this is easy to sort out. Ditto for a Grant & Asquith type scenario, but some tweaks might be required. For historical actions then this is less easy to figure out, well for me it is. Either side might have different victory conditions, which can make for a fun and challenging game.
• Player briefings are usually required alongside a map so that again they can plan things in advance and hit the ground running when arriving chez moi.

Pause & Take Stock

• At this point I normally like to leave things for a day or two to let everything settle down in my mind and to let it wander a bit. Quite often I will have some slightly altered ideas on all of the above and tweak things here and there. A period of reflection is well worth doing if you can as it really does make a difference.

Set Up The Game

• Normally I try and set the game up at least a day in advance, taking into account all of the above. I will work round and view everything from all sides to try and make sure I haven't made any glaring errors!
• Then if possible I leave it over night and come back to it fresh in the morning. It is amazing what you pick up when you look at it with fresh eyes the next day. Often I will move the odd thing here and there to remove possible obstacles the might inhibit one side more than the other. Again I will walk round just to give things a final once over.
• If playing with a friend, I will send over some photos of the layout from their own side, trying to give them an advanced view to help them plan their strategy and tactics.

Time

• A normal game for me lasts about 2-3 hours when playing solo or with a friend, where we each have roughly a Battalion per side with support. If more people are playing then you might need to allow another hour or so.
• This excludes of course setting up and taking down the game. Normally the set up will take me a couple of hours as I find it is good not to rush things so that you avoid some glaring terrain placements that might unduly affect the game.
• Take down is around an hour or so.

A Campaign

• These days I find campaigns a much more attractive option and a better gaming experience. Naturally this is not an option for everyone but a lot of the above can be carried over from one game to another.
• I like narrative based games where the outcome of one game naturally suggests one or more options. The alternative of course is to use the Campaign system in the BKCIV rulebook, or one of the many options out there.
• For the players, having to marshal their forces over the campaign is something that to my mind, really adds another dimension to our games. No last minute Pyrhhic victories in a one off game, but careful consideration and husbanding of ones troops.

Well there you have it. I hope this might have been useful in some shape or form, but I found it interesting to jot these things down from my own point of view.

So until next time, stay safe and keep healthy.