For Whom the Dice Rolls, but not as we know it, Jim.

My friend Russell K, who I know through WD, bought a copy of FWTDR, which was jolly nice of him. He even splashed out on the hardback version - a very wise choice, if I may say so. Recently he gave the rules a try out, using his 28mm figures, and shared the outcome with me.

I don't have a full narrative for the game. Russell was sharing pictures via WhatsApp as he played. His comments are given in a different font to normal, with my replies interspersed.

RK: "My run-out of For Whom The Dice Rolls using my old 28mm FAA SCW range and odd Foundry stuff. A people’s militia meets a Spanish Legion and Moroccan Unit on the road to Madrid across the mountains. The Socialist militia get to the barricades erected by the village workers’ committee but now have to face the Africans’ assault."

RK: "Plenty of fresh oranges will keep the socialists’ morale up….."

GE: Looks great. The game works with 28mm!!!

RK: "….. which is just as well as the HMGs are about to open fire."

RK: "It’s a small game (that’s what I like really), just one unit a side, so I’ve cut the additional cards by 1/3rd, and it seems to work well. The distances are more or less doubled."

GE: Never played a game that small

RK: "No, I think it’s not what it was designed for, but it works ok, and the size of the forces are historical for the early bit where column met column."

(Personally I think they are a bit small, but he's the customer, and it's his game)

RK: "It’s all very cool Graham, well done indeed. I’d go unpainted plastics for a big game with some flags on display. 

I might get some 1/72 vehicles for an expansion to this. Also have a unit of Foundry Italians so adding them in might be a good attack/defence scenario."

RK: "The target socialists took three hits from the company in the foreground and one on the hill."

GE: You need to reorg.

RK: "MGs are splattering the barricades at that range but they’re well built. Go and get more oranges, comrade!"

RK: "The phrase “solitaire-friendly” also comes to mind too, which might be a good selling point. You pretty much know what order things should go in."

GE: Really? That's a surprise to me.

On the solo point, I'd never really thought about it, as it was designed originally as a two player game that would scale up, not scale down, not because I didn't think it would work, just it wasn't what I was looking to design. Similarly I wasn't expecting 28mm figures to work well, and I reckoned that three battalions aside would be the minimum for a game. 

Happy to be proved wrong on all those counts.