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Precinct Omega Podcast - Design #8 - Points Systems, Army Building and Balance (Patreon)

Published:
2021-03-19 13:37:20
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

If you ever want to get a group of wargamers talking (like we need the encouragement) just ask them about points systems.  It's one of the most controversial and hotly-contested arguments to be had in our world.

In this podcast, I take a look at not only the different approaches to points systems that designers can take, but also at the reasons why designers use (or don't use) points systems.  I discuss the alternatives, what both designers and players should bear in mind when thinking about points systems, and what the future might hold.

Required reading for this podcast (j/k) is Douglas Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach 

Comments

Jonathan Lupton

I think you should add "random" to your list of alternatives to points systems. This is where you roll on a table to determine the troops you have, or for their skills and equipment. This works well for narrative games, particularly campaign based ones.

Marco Rinaldi

Coming from a solo player and a casual one at that, a hybrid and variation of the fixed points systems I think is quite fun is that present in the One-Hour Wargames book by Neil Thomas. Scenarios give you the number of units each side has, which can be different, but the exact composition of the forces is randomized by rolls on unit-types tables.