Shayne Logan Talks About Old School Tactical

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Shayne Logan is the designer, and artist, responsible for Old School Tactical, the massive hit from our parent company, Flying Pig Games. Tom Russell asked Shayne a few questions about the game and its origins in Yaah! Magazine, Issue #7. The below is an excerpt from that interview. If you would like to order the magazine, it is available here. 

What was the impetus for designing Old School Tactical?

The simplest explanation is that I wanted to start playing on the table again. I’ve been playing in the digital world for a long time but I missed having a nice board with counters to push across it. Computer games can do a lot of things, but there is nothing like stealing a victory from an opponent on the opposite side of the table.

Or to quote Conan, “To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” This is what makes tabletop wargames great. These moments in a wargame are awesome and worth the effort.

And as anyone who has ever played a wargame and thought they could make it better, I thought why not. I have some graphic skills, so I decided to put these to use and design my own game. This way I could design a game that I wanted to play, and hopefully a lot of other people as well.

What would you say are the key features that set OST apart from other tactical games?

I would say there are three key features. First is the Impulse system. It is the system of action points available to players to perform all of their actions in a turn. It is a system based on the chaos of a firefight between groups of men on the battlefield. I haven’t played all the tactical games out there, in fact I’ve hardly played any, so I cannot say how they handle this. But I do not think all units should be able to act in every turn. Stuff happens. Orders are not received, or ignored. Men keep their butts to the ground or rush forward. Tanks do not see the other tank firing at them. And on and on, there are thousands of possibilities that explain why in a span of a four-minute turn, a unit was in constant action, or why it didn’t act at all.

So, my solution to this is the Impulse system. There are a set number of six-sided dice that each side rolls in a scenario to get their total points to use for the turn. These totals will vary in the course of the game and it really adds a dynamic to the battle which I think other games do not have. It lends a natural flow to the battle. For a few turns your plans may be going perfectly, but then you roll poorly for Impulse points, and the tide of battle turns. You have to react to this, adjust and overcome. That makes each turn, of each battle, come to life.

Another key feature is flexibility. From the spending of Impulse points to the setup of forces, I’ve tried to give all the choices to the player. I trust the player to make their own decisions. After all, that is what gaming is about!

I don’t believe in handcuffing a player, I want them to own it. With this flexibility and the chaos of the Impulse points, I think a scenario can be played multiple times with varying results. 

Key feature number three I think is gameplay. What helps here is a ruleset that feels natural and plays out with no hiccups. The rules will not be needed after a few plays and the game could be taught to a friend easily. A lot of the detail is baked into the design so that it does not get too fiddly for the players and hang up the flow of the game. Play moves back and forth between the players easily, and as a result, most scenarios will play out in a timely way. A player does not have to work through multiple charts or dice rolls to resolve attacks, so the action doesn’t bog down. You can concentrate on crushing your opponent instead.

What makes for a good OST scenario?

I don’t know specifically what makes a good scenario. I kind of play it as a movie clip when I’m designing them. If the movie is dull and boring, then the scenario will be as well. In the best scenarios, victory is in doubt the whole match. It is decided on the last turn, after the last shot has been fired. The flow of the firefight twists and turns with the chaos of the Impulse point rolls. And when it is over, I immediately want to switch sides and play again.

I think the trickiest part of designing scenarios for OST is arriving at the ‘Gut Check’ and Impulse Dice numbers for each side. For the Gut Check number for a side, you have to ask what is the morale of those units fighting in this battle? What type of troops are they? Nationality and theatre of war? Elite, Regular troops, or second line units? Veteran units or green? Fresh back to the front from a refit, or exhausted from retreating for 2 weeks? There are many, many, and many more things that are reflected in a side's ‘Gut Check’ number.

The Number of Impulse dice rolled per side in a scenario is also influenced by a lot of similar things. Things like supply, morale levels, and heat of battle stressors. Or how many units on each side; you cannot give too many dice to roll, for example, if a side is to be handicapped.

These two numbers define the narrative of the battle, so use them wisely.

I think that goes for both designers and players! What's your favorite scenario in the base game (and why)?

I like them all for different reasons. I think a favorite may be "Steiner’s Stand". Simply because James Coburn is awesome in Cross of Iron, and I like playing the scenario with that Russian overrun in mind.

Read the rest of the interview in Yaah! Magazine issue #7.