A Few Thoughts for MinceHeim and the Hobby

Unrelated: A Battlefield-in-a-Box ruined tower. I picked it up on a steep discount from the game shop, apparently nobody wanted it because it was “too green”. It’s very Minas Morgul from the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings films, and I love it.

Below are some thoughts I’ve got for MinceHeim, to show that I still love my little game and I’m thinking of it, and to give an idea of what might come soon. Sometimes writing comes easier than painting and playing.

1: Activating figures back and forth figure-by-figure might result in a more balanced game than one warband activating after another.

2: Practically, I replace 2cm with 1”, and 4cm with 2”. I know it’s slightly more movement, but oh well. On a larger field I double this to 2” of movement for footmen, and 4” of movement for cavalry. This is for 15mm figures.

3: Did you know that adhesive vinyl flooring tiles are usually a perfect 12”x12”? They come in a variety of patterns and are usually around $1 each. That means I can adhere multiple to board and create a 2’x2’ table or even a 4’x4’ table on the cheap, especially if I’m just a little patient. Also, a single tile offers a larger gaming space than the recommended 5”x8” tray for when you want it. I suspect the crafty person could easily build a storage container that could hold minis, gaming supplies, and a few different tiles for different battlefield settings.

Above: An adhesive floor tile. They are also surprisingly rigid in and of themselves.

4. I’m going to make a sheet of campaign rules for MinceHeim, because they could really shine if they had that. The Librarian Gamer also really inspired me with her MinceHeim colonial games, and I’m going to look at making up some rules for that era too. 15mm minis are cheap, and you could essentially get several warbands for a few dollars if you just grabbed a few infantry packs. Sikhs with fixed bayonets and some Arabs with Jezails (Jennifer, you reminded me of my love for the Jezail).

5: A figure engaged with two or more enemies suffers a -1 to Parry and Armor Save rolls. A stunned man already loses his next activation, so I’m chewing the cud when it comes applying an additional penalty.

6: Maybe it’s my Dungeon Master brain feeling this way, but a random encounter table for MinceHeim would be a blast, along with a random objective table. That way if you wanted to take your hand out for a quick solo rumble, you could roll up and have an objective (like claiming a good camp site or looting a precious item) and something that wants to destroy your band.

To summarize, I’ve got work to do on four fronts: MinceHeim 2.0, Campaign Rules, Random Objective/Encounter tables (or at least a Scenario List), and finally, an “expansion” for something outside of Medieval Fantasy (gasp! What a change for me). I’ll probably add the campaign rules and random tables/scenarios to the main document when I make changes.