Random Friday Wargaming: The War of 1812 Minigame

Wrapping up our anniversary week coverage on the War of 1812 comes a free minigame, from Internationally Acclaimed Game Maestro™ Brian Train

The Second War of 1812
or
"Once More With Feeling"

(originally published in Strategist, volume XXVI number 4 issue 289, April 1996)

In the United States, exuberant 110th-anniversary celebrations of battles such as the Battle of New Orleans of 1815 and the Battle of Baltimore of 1814 produced a sense of euphoria over a "second war of independence" against Britain, culminating in a drunken lurch down the road to war with the Dominion of Canada in 1925.

The Rules

1.0 Introduction
Hi there.

2.0 Components
The game consists of two cards, one representing the American invaders (YankForce) and the other the Canadian defenders (CanuckBlock).
Players will need one n-sided die to play the game.

3.0 Sequence of Play
The game is one turn long and consists of three phases:

3.1 Movement Phase
3.2 Combat Phase
3.3 Victory Determination Phase

4.0 Movement
Place the CanuckBlock card face up on a table between the two players.
Place the YankForce card next to it.

5.0 Combat
Combat is conducted by the YankForce player rolling the die and matching the results on the following CRT:
1 to n-1 = Canuckblock eliminated
n = roll die again

6.0 Victory Determination
The YankForce player wins if the CanuckBlock card has been eliminated during the Combat Phase. The CanuckBlock player wins if the YankForce player fails to win, e.g., if he rolls n+1; or if lightning strikes and turns him into a pillar of salt; or he (in)advertently inhales the die and chokes.

7.0 Optional Rules
The CanuckBlock player can declare at the beginning of the Combat Phase that Prime Minister MacKenzie King is using his ouija board to predict the next die roll. If the prediction is correct, the YankForce player must buy him a drink before rolling again. If the prediction is wrong, the YankForce player wins a Sudden Death Victory.

Analysis
The probability of rolling an "n" on 1dn approaches 1, i.e., 100% certitude, as the value of "n" also approaches 1. Thus the most favourable and promising strategy for CanuckBlock would be to use a one-sided die.

So... anyone want to playtest this one?

By: Brant