The Three S's

Part 3 of the Lazy Gamer's Guide to Wargaming

Previously, I discussed the mission of the lazy gamer. Once I have it defined, I can consider ways to achieve it. I did not develop these concepts overnight. Instead, these are ideas that I formulated over the years. I have found that they work for me, so I have systematized them into a tripartite strategy. Let’s take a look at this strategy.

The Three S’s
Below are the three defining principles of my strategy. I think you can figure out why I call them the Three S’s.

1. Small
2. Simple
3. Short

Small refers to multiple aspects of game set-up. First, I try to focus on a small number of periods.  With fewer periods, I have much less prep work to do. Second, I keep my armies small in terms of the number of units in the army and in the size of the miniatures. Finally, I keep the battlefield itself small, which makes set-up much easier.

Simple refers to the rules and to game set-up. I have found complex rules a bit off-putting, which discourages me from playing. Simple rules generally results in more games. Simplicity in set-up likewise encourages play. If it takes a long time to build terrain or set it up for the game, the less likely I’ll play.

Short can refer to the size of the rules as well as the length of the games themselves. If the rules are long, then I probably will never finish reading them. Furthermore, short rules tend to be simple rules, with the advantage described above. Short game length is also an advantage because I will more likely have a window of time in which I can play. Because I don’t have a dedicated gaming space, I cannot leave a half-finished game up; I need to finish. If I don’t have time to come to a conclusion, I won’t play.

By applying these three principles to my gaming, I find that I have more time for what is important – playing games.

Next Time
I want to dive deeper into these principles. I will begin with the principle of keeping things Small, discussing practical ways to stay small and still have satisfying games.