I Ain't Been Shot Mum!
Encyclopedia
I Ain't Been Shot Mum! is a World War II
tabletop skirmish miniatures wargame produced by Too Fat Lardies.
Designers Richard Clarke and Nick Skinner started work on a set of rules for the Vietnam war. Feeling that the existing rulesets allowed too much control over their forces they set out to design a set of rules that would force a player to think as a real-life commander rather than a gamer. As such, IABSM has been heavily influenced by the Kriegsspiel approach, usually (but not always) utilizing an umpire to help decide points of issue that arise during the game such as modifiers for shooting, spotting enemies, etc.
The rules are designed to force players to adopt realistic tactics, including scouting ahead for hidden enemies as the game system uses "blinds" to simulate the fog of war
.
The main focus is not on military hardware but on the men using that hardware, and on morale
and command and control
. Rather than giving the player total control over their forces every action, the system uses so-called "Big Men" to allow players to influence their forces behaviour. It also features a random, card-driven initiative system rather than the classic I-GO-U-GO system most turn-based strategy
games use. A typical company will have a card for each platoon and a card for each Big Man (officers and NCOs). The actions of squads/sections are keyed to the platoon and Big Man cards. This initiative system is designed to simulate the "friction" of war noted by Carl von Clausewitz
, plus units use a dice system for movement, observation, and fire that means you never know exactly how they will perform.
The basic IABSM system provides a framework allowing players to tailor the game to specific situations or conflicts. Apart from its main focus on World War II
, it has been adapted to the Spanish Civil War
, the Falklands War
and the Korean War
.
The rules are designed for Company level games, i.e. where each side fields roughly a reinforced company of troops at 1 man to 1 figure scale, with infantry combat being at the heart of the rules, but also including a comprehensive mechanism for armour support, artillery, etc. The rules have been designed for 15 mm scale figures, but can be easily adopted for other scales such as 6 mm or 25 mm. The system does not use a point-based method for constructing opposing forces, so most games are designed to be scenario driven.
The challenges and possibilities of this approach are endless, since shooting at a target behind some cover would require both players (or the umpire) to agree on the shot being Great, Ok or Poor. But this freedom also allows for any non predictable action to take place, like heroic feats, based in the same common agreement.
Scenario/campaign packs published so far are:
Also, some free scenarios has been published in the Scenario of the Month section of the Too Fat Lardies webpage.
Reviews:
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
tabletop skirmish miniatures wargame produced by Too Fat Lardies.
The rules are designed to force players to adopt realistic tactics, including scouting ahead for hidden enemies as the game system uses "blinds" to simulate the fog of war
Fog of war
The fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
.
The main focus is not on military hardware but on the men using that hardware, and on morale
Morale
Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group, is an intangible term used to describe the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal, or even in oneself and others...
and command and control
Command and Control (military)
Command and control, or C2, in a military organization can be defined as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission...
. Rather than giving the player total control over their forces every action, the system uses so-called "Big Men" to allow players to influence their forces behaviour. It also features a random, card-driven initiative system rather than the classic I-GO-U-GO system most turn-based strategy
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
games use. A typical company will have a card for each platoon and a card for each Big Man (officers and NCOs). The actions of squads/sections are keyed to the platoon and Big Man cards. This initiative system is designed to simulate the "friction" of war noted by Carl von Clausewitz
Carl von Clausewitz
Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz was a Prussian soldier and German military theorist who stressed the moral and political aspects of war...
, plus units use a dice system for movement, observation, and fire that means you never know exactly how they will perform.
The basic IABSM system provides a framework allowing players to tailor the game to specific situations or conflicts. Apart from its main focus on World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it has been adapted to the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
and the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
.
The rules are designed for Company level games, i.e. where each side fields roughly a reinforced company of troops at 1 man to 1 figure scale, with infantry combat being at the heart of the rules, but also including a comprehensive mechanism for armour support, artillery, etc. The rules have been designed for 15 mm scale figures, but can be easily adopted for other scales such as 6 mm or 25 mm. The system does not use a point-based method for constructing opposing forces, so most games are designed to be scenario driven.
The Kriegsspiel approach
One of the main characteristics of IABSM is that many common and somehow simple decisions are left to the players, effectively providing a "framework for play" rather than a checklist to represent real situations on the model battlefield.The challenges and possibilities of this approach are endless, since shooting at a target behind some cover would require both players (or the umpire) to agree on the shot being Great, Ok or Poor. But this freedom also allows for any non predictable action to take place, like heroic feats, based in the same common agreement.
Rules and Sourcebooks
The main rules do not contain any information about the armies involved. The armies are described in various supplements. Currently Too Fat Lardies has released supplements for several theatres and campaigns:- Blitzkrieg
- Covers the period between 1939 and 1943.
- Army information for Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.
- Götterdammerung
- Covers the period between 1943 and 1945.
- Army information for Brazil, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Romania, the Soviet Union and the United States.
- In the Footsteps of Legions
- Covers the war in the Mediterranean and North Africa.
- Army information for British Empire and Dominion forces, Free French, Vichy France,Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, United States and Yugoslavia.
- In The Shadow of the Rising Sun
- Covers the war in the Pacific.
- Army information for Australia, China, Holland, Vichy France, Great Britain, Japan, Thailand and the United States.
Scenarios
As well as supplements detailing various armed forces, Too Fat Lardies also publishes scenario supplements for use with IABSM. The supplements contain historical background, maps, mission briefings and participating forces. As the forces involved are described as real world equivalents rather than point values, conversion to different rulesets is relatively easy.Scenario/campaign packs published so far are:
- Western FrontWestern Front (World War II)The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
- The Defence of Calais
- The Campaign for Greece
- Operation Sea Lion
- Anzio: Wildcat to Whale
- Where the Hell Have You Been Boys (D-Day)
- Eastern FrontEastern Front (World War II)The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
- Eastern Front
- Vyazma or Bust
- Pacific/Far EastPacific WarThe Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
- Pacific/Far East
- Fall of the Lion Gate (Fall of Malaya/Singapore)
- Bloody Burma
- AfricaNorth African campaignDuring the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
- Africa
- Call this a Ruddy Picnic?
- Others
- Cymru am byth (Rather than detailing a specific operation or campaign, this supplement follows the actions of one regiment during the course of the war.)
Also, some free scenarios has been published in the Scenario of the Month section of the Too Fat Lardies webpage.
External links
- Too Fat Lardies website
Reviews:
- Independent review on Boardgame Geek.
- Independent review on RPG.net.
- Independent review on The Wargame Shed.
- A totally biased, in their own words, review from the Durham Wargames Group. Other Too Fat Lardies rules covered in the articles as well.
- Issue 2 Page 44 : Wargames Journal Interview with Richard Clarke and Nick Skinner about wargaming and IABSM Another independent review.