Kris Hall: The 2nd John Firer Interview

A few months ago John Firer granted me an interview about Spartacus and some of the other card-driven wargames he was working on.  Spartacus has recently been published by Compass Games, and I decided to check back with John and see what other games he has been designing.

Kris: I am aware of three upcoming card-driven games you have under contract right now: Ides of March which is to be published by ComsimPress, Age of Bismarck which is also with ComsimPress, and 1866: the Struggle for Supremacy in Germany which will be published by Blue Iguana Games.  Any other games under contract that I am not aware of?

John: No, Kris, aside from current ongoing contracts with Compass Games for Spartacus and GMT for Successors, that is all that are under contract for now.  I do have near completion projects that I will offer for publication when the time is right ...so if any publishers are out there and interested, by all means feel free to contact me! ;-)

Kris:  Age of Bismarck and 1866 seem to share a common subject matter: the rise of Prussia in the mid-to-late nineteenth century.  What are the similarities and differences between the two games?

John: First off let me say that while they may appear to share a common theme, they really are not that similar.  AOB is not just focused on Prussian efforts towards unification but on Sardinian efforts as well.  I have found through study and research that the two were very much linked – not always intentionally but often by circumstance and intersecting interests.  For example, in 1859 Austrian refusal to allow Prussia to command the German Federation armies on the Rhine led to slow mobilization by Prussia and thus bought time for the Franco-Sardinian field armies to mass against Austria in Northern Italy.  This greatly contributed to the Allied victory in that campaign.  It also convinced elements in Prussia that Austria would never share power in Germany and thus exclusion of Austria from Germany was a desirable goal.  AOB is just as much about Italian Unification as German, with a good portion of Second Empire intrigue thrown in as well!

The only similarity really between the two games is the powers involved: Prussia, Italy (unified by 1866), France and Austria.  AOB is a strategic-level simulation whereas 1866 is operational.  AOB covers 13 years and 1866, 3 – 4 months.  AOB extends from Western France to Eastern Russia and Denmark to Sicily and 1866 predominantly covers Central Europe.  AOB has a single deck of 110 cards, 1866 has two decks for a total of 55 cards.

1866 was designed 8 years after AOB and has included some new thinking and innovations derived from experience gained through my various design efforts. Features include:
• An extensive mobilization mini-game in which players must balance off mobilizing units with maneuver and event playing, all with uncertainty as to when war will begin
• A different combat system, somewhat of a cross between POG and AOB
• Potential French intervention, with the forces Napoleon III could have moved into Southern Germany had he listened to his wiser advisers
• The politics of the German Confederation
• Differing cohesion factors of all combatants which plays into the combat system
• The Prussian Needle gun and its effects on operations and battlefield performance
• Coordinated attacks and the Moltke Effect
• Two Scenarios, Mobilization to War (the campaign) and The Six Weeks War (a shorter scenario, excluding the mobilization subsystem)
• Multiple fronts for both players: Austria, Italy, France/Western Germany

Kris: When are gamers likely to see some of these games published?

John: Great progress has been made on the graphics for AOB and I am hoping that it will be released soon.  1866 is just beginning the process with a new company, Blue Iguana Games so it would be premature to even conjecture at this point; it would be best for Blue Iguana to comment on that.  Of course, if I were king, they would all be released in short order! ;-)

Ides which was to be next in the queue is no longer with ConsimPress.  I don’t feel at liberty to discuss why at this point.  However needless to say, Ides is now available for contract with another company and I am entertaining offers in regards to its publication.

Kris:  I see on the information you have listed on Comsimworld that a game design under consideration is Battlefield Italy: Italian Wars During the Roman Republic 218 - 40BC.  Which wars would this game cover?  I assume it would cover the Social War between Rome and her annoyed client states.  Would it also cover the struggle between Marius and Sulla?  If you published this game, it would form a Roman Republic trilogy with Spartacus and Ides of March.

John: My concept here Kris, was to provide a simulation that uses a common map, common set of counters, common base set of cards and a common operating system and apply it across many periods BUT provide unique and individualized adaptations for the specific scenarios provided.  These adaptations would include scenario specific counters (leaders and units), rules, and cards.  The ancient world provides a period where the fundamentals of the art of war, such as tactics, logistics, environment and strategy remained somewhat constant over long periods of time.  Battlefield Italy would provide the setting for this and enjoys a number of potential scenarios which are interesting and not often covered at the scale I would be using (Italy from Cisalpine Gaul to Bruttium).  Scenarios I am thinking of including are: Pyrrhus; Hannibal in Italy 218 – 203BC (possibly broken into two scenarios); Marius’ campaign against the Germans; the Social War; Caesar in Italy 49BC; Antony vs. Octavius 44 – 43BC; the Perusia Campaign in 41BC, etc.

Kris:  In our last interview, you said that your game Panzers of Spring: the 1940 campaign was 90% completed.  Am I correct in assuming that this is a card-driven game?  Is the game finished now?  Are you shopping for a publisher?

John: Yes Kris, it is indeed a CDG and I have finished it.  Initial playtesting has indicated that I may have to rethink or reengineer some of the rules that deal with the activation of units.  Panzers of Spring is meant to bring the CDG design to operational campaigns instead of strategic campaigns and to the modern era.  Therefore getting the right balance between activating everyone and activating too few units is crucial, as this is one of the prime ingredients in CDGs that differentiate them from more traditional wargames – that and fog of war.

...and yes, I am interested in a publisher for this effort. :-)

Kris: The other game you have mentioned as being in active development is Gaul Is Divided.  How complete is this game?

John: I have a complete set of rules, the majority of the cards, about 75% of the counters and the broad outlines of the area of operations.  I had an interruption in the design effort this Spring as a result of work, a computer crash and vacation.  I hope to complete the design and begin initial concept testing this Summer.

Kris: Spartacus has just been published by Compass Games.  I have not played it yet, but it certainly looks wonderful.  I am sure that every game design is a learning process.  What did you learn from designing Spartacus?

John: Thanks Kris, I hope you get a chance to play it soon!

With every design, I learn something new and Spartacus was no different.  However, remember that Spartacus was completed and submitted to Compass in 2004 so the most recent learning experience revolved around the development process and the actual release of the game.  I think my greatest learning point was the critical importance of the developer to the overall process.  He is key once the design is put to bed.  I was (and still am) very fortunate to have had a superb developer in Neil Randall.  He was a great teammate and we worked extremely well with each other.  In fact, even though we have never met in person (only through emails and phone conversations), I consider him to be a good friend.

The second learning point that I obtained from the Spartacus project is that no matter how thorough the design and development process, until a game is out to the general public and being played by a wide audience, all game issues can never be totally discovered and addressed.  I believe we had a thorough playtesting with a wide variety of playtesters yet the playing audience has produced situations that have surprised us (and no doubt will continue to do so).  This is great because it will make Spartacus an even better game!

Kris: Other than these games, what other projects are you eager to work on?

John:  I think the projects that are really calling for my attention and are interesting me the most are “Rome Moves East: The Wars Against Philip V and Antiochus III” and “Imperial Sunset: The French Campaign in Germany in 1813” but for different reasons; the former because it is a campaign I have been interested in for at least 40 years and the latter because it will open the door for a new series of Napoleonic, operational CDGs on a number of topics I am interested in.

Kris, I would like to take this opportunity to again thank you for your invitation for another interview.  It is always a pleasure!

Kris: You are quite welcome.  Thanks for the interview

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