You either represent fog of war by concealing information about the unit from the owning player and/or opponent or you don't represent it at all. But once the unit is engaged its capability becomes clear and doesn't change for the duration of the fight. Not initially knowing an enemy unit's capability is fog of war (this is what is meant by unpredictability). It can't be good for 15 minutes, then be awful for the next 15 minutes, then be so-so for the following 15 minutes, and so on. On the realism front I dislike dice because they introduce a variability in a unit's performance that it wouldn't have in real life: on a given day a unit is good or bad. Wargames are not simulations: they are exercises in imagination and skill where only enough realism is required to make the storyline plausible for the player (and the historian be damned).Ģ. That's fine – virtually every wargame out there caters for them. Many – if not most – wargamers prefer to have only partial control and let dice confirm or ruin their plans. I dislike dice, cards or any random generator in a wargame because I prefer that skill play a 100% role in the game. Let me make a few general points to clarify my position:ġ. Most armies had them and most gamers don't bother but a good design, built around contingent results, should reward players for doing so. Second, the contingency of melee makes it absolutely necessary for commanders to have reserves. Even the best laid plans can easily fall to pieces. First, it reminds me just how precarious any decision to fight was in the ancient world.

It is precisely the ability of dice to thwart my best laid plans that makes their use a game enhancer. The dice represent this contingency and the inability of the commander to fully anticipate every possible outcome. In large battles the player, representing perhaps the overall commander, has limited effect on the pacing and outcome of specific unit to unit clashes.

I think dice best produce the contingency of battle. For the record, I like dice in wargames not because I love to hold them and roll them. I disagree with the OP on pretty much every facet he mentions in his Jpost.

Table top games without dice