Tonight we tried using Zoom to play our WWI air game Modder Fokkers with most of the players remote & me umpiring.
Chris (here) & Mark (Lenah Valley) with 1 Nieuport 11 each.
Nick (Tolmans Hill) & Dale (Canberra) with 1 Albatros III each.
Chris could come in person as I am allowed one visitor at a time & the table provides the required 1.5m "social distance". 2 remote players were in Hobart suburbs, one in Canberra. SteveD in Canberra & PeterC in Black Hills Zoomed in for a while to see how it worked.
The game was played with 1 plane per player. The game sequence is:
1. Players secretly record their proposed moves (the hex grid provides precision). The remote players have 3 camera feeds to help them. A fixed camera at each end of the table, plus the umpire has his phone as a mobile camera & provides the players with close-ups as required.
2. Players transmit their orders to the umpire either by text using Zoom's private text chat facility, or by showing a diagram on screen.
3. The umpire moves all the planes.
4. The umpire assesses who can fire & calls out how many dice at what to hit.
5. Damage is recorded on a damage log for each plane.
The Albatros' had the advantage of twin machine guns to the Nieuports' single guns, but the Nieuports are more nimble. The British maneouved better in the first clash & inflicting a lot of damage on Nick's Albatros. But damage then mounted on all the planes except Mark's. He flew around the edges taking pot shots & avoiding any damage at all. With damage mounting, Nick ran for home leaving Dale on the wrong side of the 2 Nieuports. Dale dodged & weaved his way past them & made it the safety of the German table edge with the 2 Nieuports snapping at his heels, their single machine guns unable to land a knockout blow. So while no planes were shot down, the skies are clear for British observers & it was British victory.
The game worked well for the remote players. The 3 cameras gave them sufficient info to make sound decisions. Mark, through remote, was clearly the MVP, his greater experience in the game showing thru. The consensus was that while it's not as good as being at the wargames table for real, it's a hell of a lot better than not being there at all.
Zoom is proving to be a good platform for what we are trying to do. Our earlier difficulties were the result of ignorance rather the system & we are learning how to do it better every game. It's also allowing old comrades in Canberra to be involved - it makes no difference whether the remote players are in the next suburb or half a country away (as long they have decent broadband).
Chris (here) & Mark (Lenah Valley) with 1 Nieuport 11 each.
Nick (Tolmans Hill) & Dale (Canberra) with 1 Albatros III each.
Chris could come in person as I am allowed one visitor at a time & the table provides the required 1.5m "social distance". 2 remote players were in Hobart suburbs, one in Canberra. SteveD in Canberra & PeterC in Black Hills Zoomed in for a while to see how it worked.
1. Players secretly record their proposed moves (the hex grid provides precision). The remote players have 3 camera feeds to help them. A fixed camera at each end of the table, plus the umpire has his phone as a mobile camera & provides the players with close-ups as required.
2. Players transmit their orders to the umpire either by text using Zoom's private text chat facility, or by showing a diagram on screen.
3. The umpire moves all the planes.
4. The umpire assesses who can fire & calls out how many dice at what to hit.
5. Damage is recorded on a damage log for each plane.
The game worked well for the remote players. The 3 cameras gave them sufficient info to make sound decisions. Mark, through remote, was clearly the MVP, his greater experience in the game showing thru. The consensus was that while it's not as good as being at the wargames table for real, it's a hell of a lot better than not being there at all.
Zoom is proving to be a good platform for what we are trying to do. Our earlier difficulties were the result of ignorance rather the system & we are learning how to do it better every game. It's also allowing old comrades in Canberra to be involved - it makes no difference whether the remote players are in the next suburb or half a country away (as long they have decent broadband).
1 comment:
Looks like fun,will have to zoom next time
Post a Comment