Finally have the WRG 6th edition armies discussed some time ago on the table. As usual, the process was not smooth.
I’ m older than when I first started playing this system, but not wiser when it comes to matching up figures and economically compiling an army list. Always was problem. Neat listings very quickly rendered illegible with cross outs and scribbled notes. Thought I had these things worked out when I ordered the new figures. But, once based and consolidated into an army list using the finished painted figures, the results were less than optimal. Workable, not not approaching optimal.
Of course, I had the immediate wargamer reaction that the solution was buying more figures, expanding what I had. But, that was madness given cost and shipment time. Also, the thought of another larger scale painting project just makes me cringe. So, instead of that, it was back to rebasing and finagling the unit mix.
Fortunately, I came up with a very satisfactory mix for each army, minimal figure wastage (only 4 painted figures not used) and a workable 1,200 or so point total for each side. Just right for a game with each side commanded by a single general.
In between sessions of rebasing figures – which for me always includes the nerve wracking prospect of an Xacto knife blade snapping and flying into my eye – gluing and re-flocking, I found time to really dig into the rules.
When you Google up “WRG 6th Edition Rules” the narratives are not positive. There is some feeble recognition that this rule set was once state of the art but the emphasis is on complexity and the availability of newer rules. However, I find the procedural nature and author Phil Barker’s mannered and arcane presentation (with critical elements of information sometimes taking the form of a single buried sentence) oddly soothing. These rules whisper “Take your time, there’s no hurry, this action doesn’t have to be ‘fast and furious’”.
My first walk through lasted 3 turns on a terrain-less surface. Lessons were learned, some figures rebased (again), lists reorganized and I re-set, again without terrain. I ginned up army rosters to keep track of orders, casualties, and other miscellany.
Now, three turns into my second game, I’m impressed on how smoothly the system plays. Especially when there are no Rules Lawyers to deal with – and in my distant memory this system was notorious for attracting/creating them.
Sure, the checklists of reasons to test Reaction, and those for Shooting and Combat modifiers are lengthy, but not so onerous that a quick glance through takes care of any adjustments that need to be made.
All in all, I’m glad to playing WRG 6th again. No need to find a “better hole”. For Now.