Prior to writing a single rule for Ages of Conflict, we decided on how we wanted the game to play. We wanted to offer a game with consistent purposeful rules, and so it was important that every rule we designed and tested would adhere to our design goals. If a rule did not fulfill our goals then we either removed it or modified it.
Ages of Conflict is designed with the following goals:
Quick Play
We wanted quick play. Quick play keeps players engaged in the game rather than having to fill 20 minutes of downtime while their opponent moves all of their units or otherwise decides on what to do. To help achieve this goal we implemented alternating actions and kept table lookups to a minimum. Alternating actions results in players being constantly engaged having to activate a unit every minute or two.
Minimized table lookups keeps focus where it should be – on the game table, rather than in a book.
Based on Reality
We wanted the game’s results to simulate historical combat, at least as much as a game allows. We studied ancient battles to understand how armies and units behaved to ensure the rules model historical combat as we know it. An element of command and control was implemented as soldiers did not always behave as expected or desired.
Morale is Important
Most battles were lost when discipline broke down resulting in one side fleeing the field. Ages of Conflict rewards you for putting your units in the best position possible. Breaking your opponent’s army is the goal rather than slowly grinding them down.
No Overpowered Heroes
We didn’t want heroes capable of taking over a game. Doing so removes tactics and rewards min/maxing. Any hero charging into combat on their own should expect to lose.
Flexible
We wanted Ages of Conflict to be flexible. It was important to not limit the genre or scale of the game. Our goal was to construct a core set of rules that would work with ancients, fantasy, American Civil War, Napoleonics, World War II, and sci-fi. We also wanted rules that we would scale to allow battles as high as the brigade level down to individual companies, squads, and platoons.