Wednesday 11 January 2012

The New In Sight - Part Three - Conclusions

The Cabras now come into melee and casualties are taken. Time for the Reaction Test, Man Down, Received Fire. They are taken by the figure with one set of d6 rolled for each figure and the results applied to all the tests. So I roll 2d6 and go through the applicable tests for the figure. I test Man Down for some, Man Down and Received Fire for others.
The different one is the Cohesion Test where the ability of the figures to stay together will be tested.

 With the Cabras and adventurers both taking tests it's just a matter of time before someone rolls a result of Cohesion Test. The Cabras do and now one set of 2d6 are rolled and the results applied to all of them. This results in pass 1d6 and the Cabras runaway. Here's what it looks like.

 Game over. I timed the game and it took 35 minutes from start to finish. My observations are...
If I play THW games with multiple units where the reactions are taken by group with one set of d6 I'll use the "classic" or unit sized In Sight. (5150 Star Army, Colonial Adventures, Muskets and Mohawks)
But if I play smaller skirmishes where individuals take reactions I'll use the "new" or skirmish In Sight. (Long Rifle, 5150 New Beginnings, even NUTS).

Playing the new In Sight requires a different mind set as the In Sight front loads the mechanics but doesn't increase the actual game time.
Classic or unit size In Sight spreads the mechanics over the length of the game.

Both type of games seem to take the same amount of time.
I'll be posting a free "Unit/Skirmish" In Sight Table that should work with all THW games.
Does this mean that the In Sight is changing? No, it just means the new In Sight Test is another tool in your THW toolbox that you can use if you want. After all, it's your game.

5 comments:

  1. Maybe (probably) I’m missing something, but from reading this and the "5150: New Beginnings In-Sight Test - The definitive answers!” post, it seems to me that the new test is replacing an interesting and novel mechanism with a fairly convoluted equivalent of “rolling for initiative."

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  2. Not replacing, just an option to use. It is still the same mechanic of the overall Activation rolled at the beginning of the turn with the In Sight within the turn being expanded. And as I mentioned it's optional and can be used or not by the players.

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  3. I knew I worded that poorly. The meat of my confusion/comment didn’t revolve around the “replace”/“optional alternative" dichotomy, but rather my perception that:

    5150:SA In Sight = really cool and interesting mechanic; whereas
    5150:NB In Sight = convoluted equivalent to rolling for initiative.

    Big fan of your work though, so please don’t take this as a general criticism.

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  4. The thing about THW is there are a lot of mechanics that people can use. Some work for some people while some do not but the good thing is if you want you can pick and choose them to make it your game.
    The NB version is still the In Sight except now both sides can take it. The biggest complaint I've heard over the years is that really good guys that are active cannot get the first shot off as only the non-active side gets to test. This addresses it.
    As for criticism I like it as many of the changes in THW games have come from comments and expressing likes and dislikes on the Yahoo Group. It's helped the company grow.
    Thanks again,
    Ed

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  5. Thanks for your responses, Ed. As I said before, I love your take on gaming, and I love your accessibility. Best wishes!

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