Best Solo rules recommendation for WW2 land/sea, and Modern

[Thomaso827]

Do you have a scale you want to game, i.e. 1 to 1 or 1=platoon, etc.?

Tom

[jb]

Ideally I like 1:1, but as I have no opponent at the present to argue with...

JEEEZe are you that far into the Canadian woods?
Anyways I find just about any game you can play can be utilized to solo play. It just takes a little thought. For instance chits for enemy representation is a start, several different "orders" ( turned upside down)for your opposing army can go along with it or even a chart with a specific die roll moving an enemy so far and a certain direction( this would work great for WWIII soviets in any case...
These are just a very few of many aspects on how to do it.
I really hope it sheds a little info for you..
You might even be able to find a freindly bear up there, 'ey.

[Brigade Commander]

You don't have to be "...that far into the Canadian woods..." to not have an opponent so I'm also interested in how you keep your foreknowledge from affecting the opponent's operations. So....

Keep posting! And thanks All for the help.

[dragon6]

I don't know what rules would be best for solo WW2 but I can offer a few suggestions

http://lonewarriorswa.com/category/solo-wargaming
That's the Lone Warriors. Lots of stuff

http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/topics.mv?id=114
That's the solo gamers message board at TMP

http://solowargamer.wordpress.com/resources/
that just came up from a google of solo wargaming

However I can say that his suggestion of Two Hour Wargames games should work. THW games are designed for everyone to play on the same side against the game. Hey, that sounds just like a solo game! THW are low level skirmish type games.

Another method is play by (e)mail but miniatures games don't work very well.
However you might play strategically, map movement, then one or the other plays out the game using the orders the other gave for his side.

Or you can do all the map movement yourself but ask someone to give orders for the other army, very similar to the above but requires smaller amount of interaction.

The suggestions above, write multiple orders for both sides, but them in an envelope and randomly choose an envelope for each side. At an appropriate time stop, write new multiple orders, randomize them, and continue.

You could play the game but when some event, you decide on when the event occurs, happens you do a test. The test is randomized but with modifiers you think are appropriate, and the results tell how one, or both, sides react to that 'event'

You should, probably create the test first but plug in the results depending on the situation. Kinda like a morale check but for the army commander.

edited to add
I was looking at Foxbats ship pictures. Great stuff but he reminded me of something that might be useful. The people who do GQ3 (that's General Quarters 3) have a game called the Solomon's Campaign. I've not actually seen it so this may be incorrect, but I think it gives you the ships and aircraft. You have to cover certain missions with them and that causes the games. I don't think it has map movement, just things you must do and how you do them gives you the OB for that game.

It doesn't solve playing that game but I think you could cobble up something similar to the THW for ship captains. You would, effectively, be watching a puppet theater as the ships would do what they do. You would preform the dice rolls and interpret what has to be done.

[Thomaso827]

I second GQ3 and their module for WW2 naval, but there are some places you may just have to step back and do your best with both sides. Easy to take advantage of your own errors as you see them from the other side of the table. While it isnt designed for solo play, it would be easy enough to assign squadrons (or individual ships in smaller scenarios) to card decks, either red vs black, or by suite if you have mulitple forces, and just take moves for a force when their card comes up.

For WW2 ground combat, I'm still very partial to the Piquet Point of Attack Blitzkrieg rules, allowing you to play 1-1 (squad level), platoon or battalion level. Their later system, Field of Battle WW2 is a streamlined system, but each base = a company, with units being battalions. The card-driven system makes it pretty easy to run solo.

For modern land combat, at 1-1 scale, I've become partial to Force On Force, basing fire team units. Good detail without being overwhelming detail. Skirmish level without bullet counting or a need to name all the figures on the table. There is a solo play article on the Ambush Alley Games website from the older system that is said to be able to work with the newer edition.

And if you are looking at modern naval, try out the Surface Battle Group system. 5-minute turns eliminate a lot of the 30-second turns and the 3mm movement that can go with that. Card driven combat rounds make it fairly simple to carry out combat solo, while movement is simultaneous.