1. Introduction *

1. Introduction

WWII is adapted from the historic Kriegsspiel and should be viewed assuch.

1.1 Kriegsspiel

The original Prussian wargame was designed to test staff proceduresand tactical understanding. The first design dates to 1824. It was originallyplayed as a game with rigid rules applied by an Umpire (who is called thereferee in this game, but these two terms are identical. The word refereewas used to depict that the referee is also responsible for the administrationof the game). One of the few wargames to be used by real soldiers for anylength of time.

1.1.1 Free Kriegsspiel

The free Kriegsspiel is a mechanism where two opposing courses of actionare explained to an Umpire who decides on which course will prevail, basedon historical precedence, personal experience, reasoned debate and hisown judgement. There are no rules to resolve battles, although there maybe movement and deployment tables. So called because it was the methodused in the later (post 1870) examples of the Kriegsspiel.

The original 19th Century military wargame was played as an "activeumpire" game, with the blue and red players each in different rooms, andthe umpire making his decisions in a third. At first he used complex setsof rules to reach his verdict on what had happened, but eventually it wasfound that this process was too laborious and time-consuming. The "free"wargame was preferred, whereby the outcome of actions was decided by theumpire himself, without rules, simply according to what he felt were themilitary probabilities of the situation.

The free wargame speeded up umpiring and at the same time as it eliminatedthe rigidities and clumsiness inherent in all sets of rules. Greater flexibilitywas given to the decision-making process, because each individual situationcould be analysed fully according to its own specific merits. It did nothave to be fitted into the sort of abstract formula which rigid rules demand.A greater sense of immediacy could be brought to the game.

In modern recreational wargaming the free Kriegsspiel system is unpopularbecause it is even more "subjective" than umpired games which use rules.A free kriegsspiel unashamedly rests upon the whims and fancies of theumpire, unrestrained by any rules. To many people who need the crutcheswhich rules provide, this is heresy. They believe that the whims and fanciesof a remote rule writer are somehow more valid than the whims and fanciesof a rule-giver who is present in person. They also demand the repeatabilitywhich written rules can give, and are horrified by the fact that every"free" wargame is unique and un-exportable to other groups of players.

The mature wargamer who takes his history seriously, however, will realisethat it is actually less realistic to write down probabilities for everyconceivable situation, than to look at specific situations, in all theircomplexity, and give rulings upon them as unique events.

All it needs is an active umpire who is reasonably conversant with thehistorical period being played, and who is capable of assessing a widerange of factors in a short space of time. It takes a little practice butin fact there are far more wargamers capable of developing these skillsthan many people imagine. The great advantage of a free wargame, apartfrom its elimination of long-winded rule books, lies in the fact that itbrings an active consideration of historical changes and probabilitiesinto play itself. When there is a set of rules, this consideration musttake place before the game, during the process of rule-writing. Playerswho use rules written by someone else will not need to look at the historyat all. But in a free kriegsspiel this is precisely what the umpire hasto look at all the time.

1.1.2 Game Structure

The shape of any wargame is profoundly affected by its structure. Thisgoes beyond the details or rules, or even rule mechanisms, but includesthe really basic questions of how the players stand in relation to eachother and to the rules.

In most wargames there are only two participants, both of them players;They both know and apply a set of rules, and can therefore verify thatthe rules are used correctly; The players can also see all the pieces laidout on the board before them, and can supervise everything that happensin the game. Open games of this type are designed to maximise the possibilitiesfor competitive play between the two participants whether or not the gameis played as part of a competition, and regardless of the "competitivespirit" of the players. It is this game structure - which is so similarto that of Chess - which places two people in a competitive relationshipwith each other, and thereby tends to minimise any vagueness or "subjectivity"in the rules.

1.1.3 Fog of War

In real war, however, there is a great deal which is vague or unknownto participants, and the conventional wargame can be seriously faultedfor making everything seen too clear-cut and easy to see. In real war,no commander can know everything which happens "on the other side of thehill" - or even what happens in his own army once his back is turned. Nowargame can truly be realistic unless it places some rather significantfilters to knowledge between the player and the full "facts" of the battlehe is purporting to fight.

Many attempts have been made to introduce hidden movement and otheruncertainties into the conventional two-player game; but these have usuallybeen clumsy or limited in their effects. To ensure a really effective fogof war it is necessary to introduce a third participant into the game -an active umpire.

1.2 The Umpire

An active umpire's job is to note down the moves which each side wishesto make, and then find the results. He will tell each player only thosethings which in real life he would be able to find out - e.g.. the troopmovements within visual range of his own position, and so forth. In thisway the player is relieved of the task of running the game, at the sametime as he plays in it, and the intelligence available to him is realisticallylimited.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Active Umpire

An active umpire is often suspect in the wargaming community becausehis function is to take the running of the game out of the hands of theplayers. This means that the players can no longer verify "whether or notthe combat results were fair", and the suspicion of umpire bias is quickto appear. In real war, however, the decisions of fate are scarcely notedfor their fairness, and any wargame based upon perfect equality and justicebetween the two sides will make a very peculiar simulation of reality.

On the other hand an active umpire must know his business. He must listencarefully to precisely what it is that his players wish to do, and mustweigh up the odds for each different type of outcome. If he is decidingthe results of combat by the use of a set of rules, he must know the rulesand be able to apply them quickly and accurately. Finally, and perhapsmost important of all, he must relay the results back to the players insuch a way that they understand what has happened, and are given all theinformation to which they are entitled (but no more). The umpire must "painta picture" to his players in such a way that they will accept his rulingsand the historical reality of their predicament.

One of the most powerful arguments in favour of the active umpire systemis that it helps the players to concentrate upon playing their roles. Theydo not interrupt their action as army commander in order to process therules, throw dice etc... the umpire does that all for them. Also they needno longer act as battalion commanders, manoeuvring individual units, atthe same time as they are trying to run the army. Again, the active umpirecan give decisions for each battalion, and allow the player to performonly those acts which in reality would be the task of the army commander.

1.2.1 The Referee

Games in which certain actions are performed by a neutral party. Thiscan be limited to merely resolving the rule disputes in a "traditional"game, or can involve organising the entire structure of the game to properlymodel such things as hidden movement and limited intelligence. The "umpiring",the task of judging battle outcomes and giving out informnation to theplayers, has been described in the above paragraph. WWII features not onlyplay against one another but also it permits a wide range of alliancesor dependencies among players. This can either be a team of players takingup several positions in a large nation, or alliances between nations eachruled by an individual player. WWII also includes a role-playing aspect.Some people have difficulties discerning between their real personalityand their role in the wargame. Besides the task of umpiring the game, thereferee is a mediator between players, a source for advice, administratorof the game and its clerk (the guy who does all the stupid work).

1.3 The Player
 
 

1.3.1 Playing a role

As player, you step into the role of national leader, highest-rankingminister, or commander of a major branch of a nation’s armed forces orsecurity service. This requires a tiny bit of role-playing, because a realisticsimulation will only develop if the players feel comfortable with the personthey play, the position they are in (reflecting both pride and responsibility)and the time in which all this happens, namely, the late 30ies to early40ies of the 20^th century.

1.3.2 Pre-set roles

Important player positions are pre-set by the referee. E.g. the Germanpolitical leader player will start as Adolf Hitler. Not everybody mightwant to role-play such a person. Somebody would be interested how the warwould have evolved if Hitler was assassinated earlier. Well, this all ispossible. German generals might assassinate Hitler as well as an SAS executioncommando ordered by Neville Chamberlain, but the game starts with Hitlerin charge, and someone must play him.

1.3.3 Generic roles

Other positions are less restricted. Generally you can request a historicalperson that was in a comparable position at that time. In any case, a personalityprofile must be prepared either by the referee or by the player with approvalof the referee. Obviously a chicken commander would not be part of theJapanese Army. Neither would an ardent communist serve in the Royal Navy.This is why this game features the Personality Profile.

1.4 PersonalityProfile
 
 

1.4.1 What your profilestands for

This profile states the goals, the interests and, in part, the abilities,advantages and disadvantages of the person you play. This somehow limitsthe way you can successfully play. All your orders will be evaluated withregard to your Personality Profile. No matter how mighty your position,you are still dependent on a myriad of followers, officials and helperswho will not only become suspicious of you, but will eventually let youdown if you act too much against your personality. After all, it was yourpersonality which brought you to the position that you now occupy. If youwere a different person, you would not have made it there. Maybe elsewhere,but certainly not the position you are currently holding. This is the reasonwhy you should always try to act accordingly.

1.4.2 Acting againstthe profile

Of course you still have freedom to decide. Just remember that the farremote your decision is from your Personality Profile, the likelier yoursupporters will diminish. If you go to extremes, you might actually getfired (both metaphorical and literally). The higher your position, themore supporters you need, and the more necessary it becomes to act accordingly.If you feel uneasy with this kind of restriction, you will perhaps be betteroff by a lesser position, where your personality isn’t that important orwhere you really don’t rely on so many supporters (the dictator of... BurkhinaWhat?).

1.5 Player Positions
 
 

1.5.1 What is a Position?

In WWII, each player is playing a whole nation or an important departmentor command of a great power. On the administrative end of this game, twotypes of positions are discerned, to achieve a balance between turn feesand game action.

1.5.2 Position Types

MAJOR COMMAND POSITION (maj): A player who plays an importantrole in the game. A position with both power and responsibility.
 
 

MINOR COMMAND POSITION (min): A player who plays either a weakor largely inactive position. Available to players who like to make mostof an underdog power, or with ambitions to expand their country and forcesinto a Major Command Position.

1.5.3 Positions byCountry

GREAT POWERS include the U.S.A., England, France, Russia, Germany,Italy, Japan, and Nationalist China. Each great power has room for manymajor or minor positions. As world war spreads, more positions will beneeded for great powers to operate effectively. Command Positions are:

• Political Leader (PL), responsible for diplomacy, economy and minor positions.
• Army Group Commanders (AGC), responsible for all land forces in their theater
• Naval Fleet Commanders (NFC), responsible for all naval forces in theirtheater
• Air Force Commander (AFC), responsible for strategic missions, Flak andassignment of air force units to Army Groups and Fleets
• Intelligence Chief (IC), responsible for secret operations for nationswhich have established a large secret service.
• Armaments Minister (AM), responsible for economics of nations too largefor the political leader to fully cope with.
• Foreign Minister (FM), responsible for diplomacy of nations too large forthe political leader to fully cope with.

Sweden, Norway, Finland, Netherlands, Belgium, The Baltic State Confederation,Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Spain,Portugal, Siam, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Afghanistan,Persia, Saudi-Arabia and Communist China. Each minor nation is controlledby a single player.
 
 

UNDERGROUND POWERS are partisan leaders, governments-in-exileor liberation movements that operate without being in control of a country.These are: Indian Nationalists, Indonesian Nationalists, Viet Minh, EgyptianNationalists, Syrian Nationalists, Iraqi Nationalists, Ukrainian Nationalists,Belorussian Nationalists, Filipino Nationalists, Georgian Nationalists,Ethiopian Nationalists Czech Partisans, Polish Underground Army, AmericanCommunists, Zionists German Communists, The Communist International andwhatever underground movement that develops during the game or that a playerdesires to play. Each underground power is controlled by a single player.
 
 

After the collapse of Nations, their players have various ways to continuethe game, either in:

• Great Powers of an allied nation (e.g. Dutch players may take up positionsin Britain, France or America).
• Collaborating Minor Countries (e.g. French players may take positions inVichy France).
• Underground Powers (e.g. Yugoslav players start a partisan position).

1.6.1 ResponsiblePlay

Responsibilities have been stated in the game information brochure andon the internet page. It will be repeated here. For a game with that manyparticipants, it is necessary that a certain amount of reliability is shownnot only by the referee, but also by the player. Missing a game turn usuallyhurts the forgetful player most, but it also hurts the game itself. Evenmore dramatically, a dropping out player in a major and important positioncan mess up the whole simulation. The referees will try to substitute missedmoves and dropped-out players until the schedule is taken up again, butthis paragraph is here to remind the players that this particular historicalsimulation game is indeed played for fun, but not entirely for fun. Youmay blame it on the realism. But we think that showing a little responsibilitywill make the whole game more enjoyable.

1.6.2 Responsibilityof the referee

1. To process turns, adjudicate orders and send reports on a regular basis.
2. To be impartial in any circumstance where conflict between parties arise.
3. To provide clarity for the players on the meta-game level (rules, paymentetc.)
4. To warn irresponsible parties, and if necessary, eject them from the game.
5. To filter public messages and delete, with or without notice, notions thatare of sexually explicit, racist or other intolerable nature.

1. To respect the fellow players, the referees and the rules.
2. To fair play on a meta-game level.
3. To submit turns on time and keep their account balance positive.

1. Directly converse in either diplomacy or messages to subordinate positionsby circumventing the referee. All messages must be sent through the turnorders.
2. Intentionally ruining his own position for whatever reasons.
3. Micromanaging of another player's forces.
4. To insult, harass or disturb other players.
5. To manipulate the game through any means other than turn orders (meta-gaming).

1.7.1 Who is who

Greater power players are set in a hierarchy, or chain of command. Thegame provides three levels of hierarchy:

1. Political Leader
2. Supreme Commander, Ministers
3. Commanders-in-chief of various branches

1.7.2 Pros and consof Hierarchy

Being part of hierarchy implies that orders are given from above andtaken from below. Orders are transmitted via normal game mechanics. Thismeans for you:

• As a subordinate player, you have to carry out the orders of your superiors.
• As a superior player, you have to issue proper orders, which is perhapsthe more difficult task. As stated in 1.3, micro-management of anotherplayer’s forces is not permitted. You will also usually get only a coarserdisplay of the force distributions than your subordinate departments. Tryto describe the long-term goals, the general directions and the overallstrategy. Describe objectives and preferences precisely if you like, butdon’t prescribe the movement of every single army.
• The superior player is eligible to assign new positions to players, switchpositions of subordinate players and to remove him from his command. Suchorders usually take a preparation time of three turns.
• The subordinate player can refuse orders. He can also attempt to rebelagainst his superior, and conduct a coup d’etat with his loyal forces.If successful, he may either open the position of his ex-superior for anotherplayer or take the position himself.

1.8 Payment
 
 

1.8.1 Money

Every PBM/PBEM game requires money to cover the running costs. Mostimportant items are printing, mailing, telephone, internet access and advertisingcosts. While JWA is a non-profit organization, it is necessary for thesafe continuation of the game that cash inflow is equal or greater thancash outflow. All left-over funds are used to purchase historical data,pictures and literature, to improve the quality and realism of the gameas it evolves. We know that WWII isn’t cheaper than most professional PBMgames. But those games are either computer moderated or of much lesserquality, or both, as you will notice when you have played in one of these.Furthermore, WWII accepts players from around the globe, no matter howexaggerated the mailing costs to these countries are. To keep administrationoverhead at a minimum, turn fees are the same regardless of where you live.

1.8.2 The subscriptionsystem

So, every player must pay his share to make this project work. Paymentis handled via the subscription system. You can subscribe to any numberof months (i.e. turns). Yearly subscriptions provide the benefit of onefree game turn. Not everybody has the same amount of money to spend. WWIIhas fixed prices based on expenses, with a small safety factor to coverfor eventualities. Many PBM games start low and end with very high turnfees. WWII assumes to run through the years with the same turn fees. Youwon’t be trapped in a cost spiral but you have periodical costs to reckonwith. Please check in advance whether you can personally afford playingthe game.

1.8.3 Extending yoursubscription

If your subscription is due to run out within two months (that is, twoturns after the current turn), you are required to extent your subscription.If your subscription is not extended at least two turns before it expires,your position will be put on a waiting list to assure that every positionis permanently controlled by a responsible player. That means, if you extendyour subscription lately, you may have to be assigned to another positionon the same alliance. You will receive a note when your subscription isabout to expire. In any case, we prefer a long-time commitment of players.The most important positions are given with preference to players witha long-term subscription

1.8.4 Turn Fees

The turn fees are issued in both US dollars and Euro (1:1 exchange rate) to make paymentconvenient to our American and European players. In any other case, paymentis treated the same no matter where the player lives.

• Start-up kit for new players $50.00

Includes two game turns, order forms, complete rules, and informationon your nation's resources, capabilities, armed forces, and deployments.
• Major Command Positions. $20.00 per turn.
• Minor Command Positions $10.00 per turn.
• Additional Major Command Positions $10.00 per turn.
• Yearly subscription including start-up kit, Major Position $230.00
• Yearly subscription including start-up kit, Minor Position $140.00
• Subsequent yearly subscription, Major Position $220.00
• Subsequent yearly subscription, Minor Position $110.00

1.8.5 How do I pay?

1.6.5.1 Cash

The easiest way is put cash in an envelope and send it through the mailwith the monthly orders. It is also the most risky way. We do not recommendit. Post employees are experts in singling out letters with money and someblack sheep will get that money, along with the so-important orders foryour troops or your nation. If you still do it, be sure to mention in anattached note (inside, not outside!) how much you put in. Bank notes havea tendency to remain in the envelope, stick between pages, or fall outwhen opening the letter. If you send foreign currency (other than US$ orEUR), we will change it to US$ or EUR at our local bank for the currentexchange ratio that this bank affords. Sending money through the mailis at your own risk!!!

1.8.5.2 Check

A safe method is sending a check through the mail. By stating the receiver,nobody except the receiver can cash in the money at a bank. Send your checkin US dollars made out to our US representative, Bob Barrett. This methodis generally only available for American players, as US banks only acceptchecks drawn on US or Canadian accounts. For South America, please askBob.

1.8.5.3 Bank Transfer

Another safe method is the bank transfer. Transferring money acrossthe oceans is often a problem. This is why JWA offers both an Americanand a European account. For American players, we still recommend sendinga check, see above. For European players, we recommend the bank transfer.Other players from around the globe should ask their bank whether theycan transfer money cheaply to Europe. Please make out the turn fees inEuro to our European Account.
 

1.8.5.4 Other methods

If none of the above is available or suitable to you, you may try anymethod you deem fit for delivering the money to JWA. We don’t want to lessenyour payment morale but please note: The subscription fees added to youraccount with JWA will be equal to the actual amount of money (in US$ orEUR) we receive (after any changes that might be required), which is notnecessarily the same value as when you sent it. Please abstain from sendingthings that are difficult or impossible to cash in or of uncertain value.Stamps do generally fall into this category, as well as other collectibles,trading cards, gold nuggets, Elvis’ undies etc.

1.9 Retirement
 
 

1.9.1 How to retire

Sometimes a player does not wish to continue the game for reasons whichare not subject to discussion. It is a player’s right to retire after hissubscription expires. As a matter of fact, whenever your account cannotcover the fees of the next turn, you are automatically retired from thegame by the referee. You will receive a retirement notice when this happens.Your position is then already opened for anybody to take over at that time.JWA would prefer if you informed us three months prior to your retirementso we can announce the opening well in advance.

...

5. Addresses
 
 

Worldwide Representative

JWA Abt. Ia

c/o Jens Niemann

Brunnenstr. 24

Böblingen 71032

Germany

Email: niemann@ike.uni-stuttgart.de

Phone: +49-7031-234762 (Please check the time difference when calling!)
 
 

U.S. & Canadian Representative

JWA Dept. 201

c/o Bob Barrett

397 Hallandale

Fairlawn, OH 44333

USA

Email: rbarrett@neo.rr.com