Tractics / Fast Rules

[thegreyelf]

So awhile back I (finally) acquired a copy of Tractics. It's a complete, early woodgrain set in outstanding shape (I'd probably rate it VG condition). I've wanted a copy for YEARS. I am pretty sure it's a first TSR printing, as two of the three booklets still read "GUIDON GAMES" on them.

I got so excited I bought about $50 worth of BUCKETS of toy soldiers, tanks, aircraft, and the like to prepare to play it.

Then...I haven't even gotten halfway through it. I've rarely SEEN something so dense and confusing. Holy bejeezus. The DOZENS of pages of reference tables and charts ALONE, not even considering the density of the three booklets.

I've had this thing for a few years now and it just makes me sad to look at it. I'm really not sure how to approach this. I really want to learn and try this thing. Otherwise it's just sitting on my shelf taking up space as a curiosity. Part of me thinks I should sell it off, get what I can from it. Another part still enjoys having it. I already gave the three buckets of toy soldiers and such to my buddy for his elementary-school-aged son to play with.

I also picked up a copy of Fast Rules (also in VG-Fine condition) and while it certainly seems FAR simpler...it also seems somehow disappointing next to the promise of Tractics.

Anyone have any tips on how to actually absorb this monster? I'd still love to give it a go at some point.

Anyway, here are some pictures, just because.

[thegreyelf]

Also, I completely forgot that there is a 14-year-old discussion thread on Tractics below this. Heh. If the mods really want to merge this with that one, that's fine.

[Finarvyn]

I feel your pain. I have my original copy of Tractics from the 80's (or something like that) and I haven't played it, either. At one point I gave it away to a friend who is really into WWII stuff, and after a decade or two he gave it back to me unplayed. I ought to sell the thing but I hate to part with TSR stuff.

Mine isn't a woodgrain, though. I forgot that version even existed.

[chicagowiz]

I can't give you tips on Tractics, specifically, because I don't own it, but I can tell you how I've learned/approached other games with dense rules like that. I break it down into simple chunks.

Like if a "turn" consists of: Recon, Move, Missile, Melee - I would just play a game of all turns w/recon phase only, just to get that. Then move. Then missile, etc. Small chunks, so I could absorb it.

I even did that with your Chainmail and learning Man to Man. Figure out how to determine who hits first. Just do that. Did a couple of different scenarios, just the initiative. Continued on to add to that.

IDK if this makes sense? But it's how I approach a lot of things that are dense information.

[Starbeard]

Mar 31, 2023 7:04:20 GMT -6 chicagowiz said:

I can't give you tips on Tractics, specifically, because I don't own it, but I can tell you how I've learned/approached other games with dense rules like that. I break it down into simple chunks.

Like if a "turn" consists of: Recon, Move, Missile, Melee - I would just play a game of all turns w/recon phase only, just to get that. Then move. Then missile, etc. Small chunks, so I could absorb it.

I even did that with your Chainmail and learning Man to Man. Figure out how to determine who hits first. Just do that. Did a couple of different scenarios, just the initiative. Continued on to add to that.

IDK if this makes sense? But it's how I approach a lot of things that are dense information.

I think this is the best general advice for learning wargames on your own.

This was how I taught myself Chainmail, by having battles that were literally just melee resolution, and a "battle" where units of different types raced around a terrain laden obstacle course, changing formation and so on. And as I do with most wargames, my first battle was nothing but heavy infantry and added the others in bit by bit.

One of the better wargame manuals I've tried is the Starfleet Battles Cadet Manual, which isn't so much a rulebook as a book of training scenarios. The first scenario is just allocating your energy to engines and moving around waypoints. I think the next is shooting at targeting dummies scattered around the board. It teaches you the new rule as part of the scenario description, and after a dozen or so scenarios/missions, you've learned how to play SFB. I wish more games took that approach, by offering a tutorial book that teaches the core concepts in cumulative steps as mini-games.

[chicagowiz]

Apr 6, 2023 15:28:58 GMT -6 Starbeard said:

Mar 31, 2023 7:04:20 GMT -6 chicagowiz said:

One of the better wargame manuals I've tried is the Starfleet Battles Cadet Manual, which isn't so much a rulebook as a book of training scenarios. The first scenario is just allocating your energy to engines and moving around waypoints. I think the next is shooting at targeting dummies scattered around the board. It teaches you the new rule as part of the scenario description, and after a dozen or so scenarios/missions, you've learned how to play SFB. I wish more games took that approach, by offering a tutorial book that teaches the core concepts in cumulative steps as mini-games.

... dammit, now I want to play SFB again. Wonder if someone's made a SFB module for Tabletop Simulator... *sigh* Anyway, back on topic!