For a while now, I've been bothered about the mind-boggling complication (NOT complexity) of the double-blind rules. It's simply impossible to use, unless you're an insanely anal-retentive madman who enjoys inflicting his madness on others. Multiple mapsheets? Paper records? Eighteen referees making sure that one player doesn't so much as glimpse the other player's board, punishing any who do so with repeated taser blasts? (Ok, I made that last part up.)
But the problem is that it seems to have been made by someone who equates complication with complexity, and that just ain't so. You don't need a ton of rules for complexity; you just need to have elegance and flexibility. Chess is complex yet simple (only 6 types of piece on each side and a handful of rules yet the game is incredibly in-depth); Final Fantasy 1 is complex yet simple (6 character classes yet an infinite combination of parties; 4 Red Mages away!)
So, I've had it as my goal the last couple of months (in between getting fired, making sure I still have a place to live, not succumbing to soul-crushing depression) to create a set of double-blind rules that are:
1) Easy to use (requires as little additional rules and resources as possible)
2) Tactically complex (allows for as much variety of play and tactical gambits as possible)
3) Cheating-resistant (nothing is completely cheat-proof, but ideally, if you're afraid your opponent will cheat, keeping an eye on them will prevent cheating)
The first step? Go to the Downloads page (or right here) and grab the
Battleforce Tokens: Mercenaries. In case you don't know, one of them looks like this:
.
You're probably seeing where I'm going with this, but if not, let me spell it out:
Each token represents one Battlemech, vehicle, or infantry unit of the appropriate weight class, with the model represented by the token written
on the bottom of the token.
[Dev Note: This is to reduce cheating; while someone could conceivably switch two tokens of the same weight class around, though hopefully you'd notice them trying, it would be nigh-impossible to replace a Light 'Mech token with an Assault 'Mech without being called out for it.]
For simplification's sake, each side's sensors are assumed to be strong enough to tell where an enemy's unit is on the battlefield, as well as its general type (Battlemech, tracked/wheeled, hover, VTOL, infantry) and weight (A, H, M, L), but direct LOS is necessary for specific identification.
At all times the token moves as though it were the model, with the front orientation represented by the 'up' direction of the letter or image, but any piloting rolls that might have been required by dangerous behavior are ignored (without the immediate threat of being under fire, a pilot can take more time to keep control of the unit in question).
The Spotting Phase comes right after the Movement Phase, and is devilishly simple: Any tokens that can draw LOS to each other are flipped over, identified, and replaced by their appropriate model.
The LOS rules work exactly as described on pages 99-103 of
Total Warfare, but with the following exceptions:
An Active Probe can achieve LOS for purposes of identifying units regardless of intervening terrain within 18(24?) hexes. Note this does not mean they can fire or act as spotters, but that the tokens will be turned face-up and replaced by the models they represent.
A Light Probe can do the same, but with a limitation of 12(18?) hexes.
Any unit within 6 hexes of an ECM-carrying unit (including the ECM unit itself!), instead of using specific weight tokens, will be replaced by a generic 'blip' token. Probes within range of an ECM bubble, instead of achieving LOS on models and identifying them, will be able to identify the type and weight class of the units inside said ECM bubble. Blip tokens that end their movement outside the ECM bubble, but that are still not within LOS of an opposing unit, will be replaced by a token of the appropriate weight and unit-type.
[Dev's Note: Rather than just having the Probe be able to "tell it's being jammed", I elected to have the Probe be useful for halfway defeating ECM and giving some information.]
A unit with both ECM and an Active Probe may only use one per turn, declared at the start of the Movement Phase before the unit moves. If had ECM active at the start of a turn, but turns it off to use its Probe, any 'blip' tokens not within LOS of an opposing unit will be replaced by a token of the appropriate weight and unit-type.
EW Equipment can either act as a Light Probe or an ECM with 3 hexes of range, declared before the unit with the EW Equipment moves.
During the Firing Phase, any units that have not been identified but are equipped with Indirect Fire weapons can fire them per the IF rules (via spotters/TAG).
Experimental stuff:
Any units that move out of LOS, then move into an ECM bubble, are replaced by a 'blip' token with their unit written on the underside. If they move out of the ECM bubble but are still not within LOS, they are replaced by a token of the appropriate weight and unit-type.
Units with Stealth Armor active may not be visually identified at all until they are within 15(20?) hexes of a spotting unit, along with the effects of being an ECM-carrying unit as explained above. They are still be able to fire if they have weapons in range.
It's still a work-in-progress, and needs to be playtested more thoroughly, but still... I like it. It doesn't require a whole bunch of extra gear, it maintains complexity while keeping it simple, and it makes certain pieces of gear (Active Probes, ECM, maybe Stealth Armor) have more of a presence on the battlefield. Any thoughts?
