What happens at a narrative wargaming event is up to the choices your players make. What choices your players can make is up to you.
Everything you don’t design will be out of your control. However, designing doesn’t mean controlling everything – just keeping things from going to shit.
On a basic level, your initial design should include the following elements:
- The Number of Players
- The Duration of The Event
- The Game(s) You Want to Play
- How Much Work You Want To Do
Start small, work your way up.
If you are reading this, thinking about hosting an event, then I am hosting you here at this event called an article. The choices your players can make in your event are guided by your own choices as a designer. I'd like to guide the choices you make. These are my recommendations.
Number of Players: 6-12
You may not have expected to see math this early, but here we are. 6 and 12 are borderline mystical numbers. They are both divisible by 2, 3 and 4. These are very wargame-friendly numbers.
Within this range you can have 2-3 tables of 2-4 players, in a totally freeform number of combinations and configurations. You can accept odd numbers of players. That means players can drop mid-event without issue.
Players may even drop before the event starts. An event which can accomodate 6-12 players that is fully booked can still fire if half of the players flake.
I don't recommend that you plan to play in your own event - you should save the seats for your players - but it can be a good last resort if its the difference between cancelling and going forward as planned.
Keeping your own participation in reserve is a lifeline for such situations, and should not be given up lightly.
This has happened to me. It will happen to me again. I hope it doesn’t happen to you. Despite that blessing, it still may, even if you do a great job. You should be proud of yourself either way, just for trying something difficult.
You can change these numbers if you like, but try to design your event to run just as well with a full-house as half-seated. A 50% flake-rate is not totally uncommon.
The Duration of The Event: 4-6 Hours
Narratives are stories, and even the shortest stories traditionally have at least three beats.
A single beat is barely a limerick. Two is like being impolitely struck with a hammer. Three is a magic number. The first game can invest people, the second escalates or subverts, and the third is the climax.
Feel free to break this rule, but you will probably play at least three games.
Some games are short, but even short games take 30-45 minutes.
You will need to move around terrain. People will need to use the facilities, drink, smoke, take phone calls, read packets, learn rules.
You will probably start late by at least 20 minutes. Possibly as much as an hour. You will never start early. You may end up planning an event that is shorter or longer than my recommendation, but you should assume that you will need at least 30% more time than you expect.
The Game(s): Thematic, 3+ Players, No Factions, Short
Most stories you read are written by one author – a single voice helps give a story cohesion.
Collective storytelling is difficult because agreeing on things can be difficult. Different folks will bring different strokes.
A game with strong themes will attract people attracted to those themes. With that intrinsic commonality they will have a better time together.
Make strong thematic decisions in your narrative design, and advertise them with images and text.
Having only two players at each table means you'll need more tables, more space, and more terrain.
Focusing on games which can still be played quickly and enjoyably with more than 2 players will help grease the wheels and reduce the amount of work you need to put in.
Timing and duration are important. A lot of people have 9 hours to play wargame. More people have less. By necessity, the people who have more time can still spend less time. The shorter your event is, the more people will show up.
Shorter games mean shorter events, and better attendance.
Factions are problematic for collective narratives when the factions writers arn't part of your collective - everyone that reads them will come away with different ideas.
Factions want different things, and making sure the modalities of your narrative are appealing to all factions can be a chore.
It is not impossible to run a narrative event for a game with factions, or even to design factions for an event to add to a factionless game. I personally avoid the former, and advocate the latter.
How Much Work Do You Want To Do: 3 Tables. 1 Packet. 2 Reps
Given the above assumptions on headcount, you’re probably going to need to make / source 3 tables worth of terrain.
You will also need to write some kind of narrative pamphlet / packet – something to get people into the vibe at a minimum.
Lastly, every rule and scenario you write which is not part of the game is your responsibility. Make they are fun. Play everything twice. Once to make sure it works, and a second time to try to break it. Time your games so you know how long they take.
Writing scenarios in particular is one of the most under-appreciated elements of wargaming as a hobby. It is not difficult to write a scenario, but writing one which is good the first time is often a matter of luck. However, even a bad scenario can be fixed with a few tweeks. Take playtesting seriously. Be respectful of your player's time by not putting untested content in front of them.
At this stage, it's important that you can imagine these tasks and be more or less undaunted. I won't comment on terrain building and game-hacking practicalities in this series, though I will give a few examples of the latter, down the line in a few places.
If you need to, take some time to find the courage to accept what needs doing. If you're not ready now, dont burden yourself with the rest of the process.
All of the living are young compared to the dead, and you have the rest of your life to host a narrative wargaming event.
With the exception of bodily functions, very few things are truly necessary in the present-tense. But, if you feel nature calling you to host a narrative wargaming event, now may be the right time after all.
If now is the right time, then we can talk about next steps.