Wargame design external brain

one thing wargames do much better than rpgs is they share ideas without crying about it. Side effect of rpgs getting virtually monopolised by one big fat american corp. Wargames have no monolith, no single financial truncheon, no group of bestest friends advertising them. This is a good thing.

We will use the basic wargame. Chits, Attack/Defence/Movement, possibly with Steps and Supply, definitely with Ratio, maybe with Chit Pull. These are all basic concepts.

Wargamers are literally dying out. They are old. They like ww2 and other conflicts involving america.

Make a wargame with indie sensibilities. Cave Evil are doing it.

The problem with fantasy and sci fi wargames is lots of stuff. Things i can think of right now:

1- They dont have any emotional connection (see old men and ww2/america invades the world) so must make their own.
2- There is a temptation to make then a symmetrical conflict AKA chess

Every wargame i have enjoyed has been lopsided and told a story. I know more about 40k than ww2, plus space naizis arent real.

A fantasy (i'm gonna use fantasy to mean both 'cos that's fine) wargame has to tell me a story quickly. It has to have a warp and weft, ask questions the players have to answer, have lots of answers. it must be pretty, it must be replayable, it must be chunky, it must be fun. It must not be a generic frame to hang more things off, it must not be a minitures wargame clone.

Wargames can do so much and don't.

It should probably be 2 player. No one knows multiple people who will play with a carboard token on a map. dont lie.

It should have a shape that suggests the ability to make more things and build upon it. It should be open and welcoming, it should have fewer than 4 a4 pages.

it needs a hook. it needs and punchline. it needs to be something you can sell someone on in a sentence. Dark Emperor is about Sauron-like invading a post apocalyptic fantasy land. Obviously great idea. into it. it has a shape and you can picture it playing out.

It's such an easy thing to do. The rules are already made all you need to do it hang them in a suitably tasty way

Itchy Troika money

If you have a troika related thing on Itch, I propose a deal: I'll give you troika to bundle with your thing. The price of troika as part of your bundle will undercut my price and hopefully drive people to invest in your cool stuff.


  1. Top Right hand corner > Sales & Bundles > Co-op bundles > Create new co-op bundle
  2. Pick a snappy title
  3. Write a witty description
  4. Add the URL of one or more of your Troika! projects via the "Game URL" box
  5. Then add Troika!: https://melsonian-arts-council.itch.io/troika-numinous-edition
  6. We'll come back to "Minimum Price"
  7. Set a Goal if you like. Up to you
  8. Set the Start Date at 22nd of October 2019 and the End Date somewhere further in the future
  9. Now's the hard part. The split. All I want is $6. Set the minimum price and the cut so that $6 happens (or close enough, don't sweat it)
  10. Click Create Co-Op Bundle
  11. Then, VERY IMPORTANT, you have to send me a link to the bundle. Itch doesn't notify me that you did it, so if you don't tell me I'll never see it.
  12. Make sweet troikabucks

HEY DAN WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF THIS?
$6 and you guys make money and therefore can pay more rent and justify making more things. 

PRO TIP: You know that extra $6 people aren't spending on Troika with your thing? I encourage you to dig into it. So say you cool book is $10 on its own. It could be $16 with troika (with a 33%ish share to me in that case), or it could be $20 (like... a quarter and a bit? to me? Maths). See, you're still undercutting me and also making more money. Do as you please!

Also feel free to use this: