CHOCOLATE BOX WARS

 CHOCOLATE BOX WARS

Rules for Gaming from Percussion Cap to Khaki

On this page you'll find a complete set of rules and supporting materials for my home brew post-Napoleonic continental warfare game system (derivative of Great Escape Games' Iron Cross/1914).  Although this game, Chocolate Box Wars (CBW), was conceived for continental warfare, it will work just as well for other areas in the timeframe. Going further, it is particularly well suited to imaginations. These rules require only a modest collection to get started and should be well within the scope of any collection one might have on hand (and there are print and play armies available for a quick start or a non-miniatures approach).  There is more about the game in the introduction and rationale in the rules (Scroll down the page to find links for downloading the rules and other materials). 

Here are the principles:

1. Stand Based (two stands per infantry and cavalry--enough to show formations).

2. Figure and Stand Size Agnostic (any scale figs, no rebasing necessary)

3. Low Figure Count (configure as you would like)

4. Low Stand Count (9-10 units per side; playable in a 4'x6' area)

5. A DBM/DBA-like army list structure with lots of matchup options

6. Plug and Play: get a game on the table for 2 players with little prep. 

7. Unit Attributes and Configurations with period flavor

8. Simple mechanics with a focus on handling units as part of a coherent force

9. Unspecified level, but notionally battalion, regiment, and battery 

Battle Reports: For a look at the game on the table, feel free to peruse the blog reports on playtest and other CBW games: Danes v Prussians 613/24, Hungarians v Austrians 6/18/24, Hungarians v Russians 7/6/24, Hungarians v Russians (Club Game Night) 7/16/24, Danes v Prussians 8/25/24. Danes v Prussians 11/12/24. Lundy's Lane, 1866 11/26/24. Chocolate Box Wars Game and Update 12/19/24.

Living Rules and Designer's Notes: I will use my blog posts to provide updates and notes on the rules and game play. If the post is a battle report, scroll down to the bottom to find the observations and notes. Links to those posts will be maintained (and updated) below, so you can return to this page periodically for updates: Chocolate Box Wars Update 8/17/24; Danes v Prussians 8/25/24; Danes v Prussians 11/12/24.  First Asymmetrical OOB Match 11/23/24; Lundy's Lane, 1866 11/26/24. Chocolate Box Wars Game and Update 12/19/24.

INTRODUCTORY/PLAYTEST SCENARIO

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....PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MORE.... 

1. BRIEF OVERVIEW

2. ESSENTIAL MATERIALS TO PLAY

3. SUPPORTING MATERIALS

4. PRINT AND PLAY ARMIES

5. FINAL NOTE

1. BRIEF OVERVIEW

Army Building Schematic

                                  Army List Choices      Print and Play Army Example

The Concept Illustrated: In the above graphic, each box represents one stand on the table. Infantry and cavalry are two stands, artillery and command one. Each side begins with a core force of four infantry battalions, one cavalry regiment (choice of light or standard), one artillery battery, and one commander. One selection is then added from each of three categories (Elite, Line, and Auxiliary). The yellow boxes indicate the choices in a typical army build--seven infantry, one cavalry, one artillery, and one command.  On the right, I have plugged in the units from my British Print and Play armies that might be used. After initial selection, you would then have the option of upgrading several core units to customize a bit more. 

2. ESSENTIAL MATERIALS TO PLAY

THE RULES

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The Rules: Don't let the page count put you off. The actual rules--the mechanics of play--consist of only 12 pages (including charts and illustrations). The rest is advice on setting up games, optional add-ons, rationale, and bibliography. Players have noted that there is a learning curve to the system, but it isn't a matter of complexity as much as gaining fluency with the mechanics, interactions, and flow. Our experience has been that the first game is a often a learning game, after which players have the system down and are focused on "play" rather than "how to play."

Player Reference (Two versions)

Original (V24)

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Alternate (V24a)

This version has more permissive field and light artillery "Move and Fire". You can discriminate it from the original by the version number and the black background on the header (thumbnail of the front is shown: there are no changes to the reverse) 

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Player Reference explanation: I print on the front and back of a single sheet of U.S. letter sized paper.  The sections are color coded: green for movement, red for combat, violet for recovery, and with a blue section for activations. 

At the top of the front page is a consolidated table with units listed by type and unit/posture. You read the line for each unit all the way across for movement, terrain, and combat (as illustrated above for INF Column).  Everything you need is on one side (the front), with the back being supplemental. We have yet to flip the reference sheet over during play, but then again, I've been on hand to facilitate. While getting used to the game, you may need to refer to the turn sequence on the back and maybe the expanded explanation of Retire and Reform.  The variable morale table is on the back, so if you're playing with a variable (V) morale unit, you'll need to go there when it rallies for the first time. 

Supplemental Army Lists

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Supplemental Army Lists: These are not actually needed to play, but I thought I'd put them here rather than down the page. I've put together ten army lists based on regions and nationalities (two examples above). These are a bit of Hollywood, a bit of history, a bit of whimsy. You can configure historical forces using your own understanding and the army construction system in the rules, use these, or a bit of both. They are particularly well suited for creating imaginations based on national "flavors."  Take them for what they're worth. 

3. SUPPORTING MATERIALS

Player Reference Card

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Player Reference Card: This is handy index-card sized reference with a bit of useful information not found on the player reference. On the front (the left picture), it has a key to the class, attribute, and morale abbreviations. At the top it shows how to read my unit labels. At the bottom, it lists the five unit actions. On the reverse, I paste the fire zones. 

Unit Labels (V2)

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Unit Labels: I print these on sheet magnet, cut them out, and put them on a metal strip on the back of my stands. This label set isn't every possible combination of unit, attribute, and morale, but it covers most of the the unit combinations that can be put together under the standard rules. The yellow command labels are more for use with my print and play armies in order to set them apart from the units. When playing with miniatures, I don't use labels on my command stands given that they are self evident. 

Army List Building Tools 

                                PDF DOWNLOAD              EXCEL DOWNLOAD

Army List Tools: On the left is a worksheet that can be used "old school" with a pen or pencil to put together an army list. It has all the unit options with blanks underneath where you enter the unit from your collection that will be used for that particular element. On the right is an excel spreadsheet that you can use to build an army list: it will also calculate the Activation Points, the Exhaustion Threshold, and give you the Ratio of Activation Points to Units (a rough measure of force effectiveness).  It's also constructed as a "fill in the blank" for army building. 

4. PRINT AND PLAY ARMIES

Print and Play Armies:  Please see the May 27, 2024 post for a full description. There are six sets of armies available for download:

BAVARIAN THEMED

BELGIC THEMED

BRITISH THEMED

FRENCH THEMED

NORDIC THEMED

PRUSSIAN THEMED

5. FINAL NOTE

Feedback Welcome:  If you drop by and find any of this of interest, please consider leaving a note to let me know you dropped by.  And if anyone actually gives the rules a try, feel free to either leave a comment or get in touch to let me know how it went!

Excelsior!