It has been said that if you could test hindsight, it would always have 20/20 vision. We can all be wise after the event ... but how many of us nod sagely, say that we could see it coming ... and then do something similar ourselves? I know that I do ... and the past few days have given me the opportunity to look backwards so that I do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
I recently decided to go back to basics, and to re-examine (and re-use) Joseph Morschauser's FRONTIER wargames rules. As a result I have fought a series of play-test battles that I thoroughly enjoyed, and each battle has taken me a bit further down the road towards my goal ... which is a simple set of fast-play rules that use a gridded playing surface.
Now I have been down this road before, and I decided that it might be a good idea if I re-read the relevant blog entries I wrote at the time. What I discovered was that I got side-tracked at various stages as I tried different ideas out, and that I ended up in several developmental cul de sacs.
This exercise in hindsight made me realise that unless I keep going back to the original rules that Joseph Morschauser wrote to double check that I am staying in line with his basic design philosophy, I am in danger of repeating my earlier errors. This has helped me to formulate my ideas for the future developments I want to make, and with luck I will be writing blog entries about my progress as it happens. Even if I fail to achieve my objective this time around, at least I will be able to look back at some time in the future and realise where and why I went wrong!
I recently decided to go back to basics, and to re-examine (and re-use) Joseph Morschauser's FRONTIER wargames rules. As a result I have fought a series of play-test battles that I thoroughly enjoyed, and each battle has taken me a bit further down the road towards my goal ... which is a simple set of fast-play rules that use a gridded playing surface.
Now I have been down this road before, and I decided that it might be a good idea if I re-read the relevant blog entries I wrote at the time. What I discovered was that I got side-tracked at various stages as I tried different ideas out, and that I ended up in several developmental cul de sacs.
This exercise in hindsight made me realise that unless I keep going back to the original rules that Joseph Morschauser wrote to double check that I am staying in line with his basic design philosophy, I am in danger of repeating my earlier errors. This has helped me to formulate my ideas for the future developments I want to make, and with luck I will be writing blog entries about my progress as it happens. Even if I fail to achieve my objective this time around, at least I will be able to look back at some time in the future and realise where and why I went wrong!