Harvest the Wind Designer Notes

Harvest the Wind is a microgame of tactical warfare in the late 19th Century American West. One player assumes command of the forces of the U.S. Army (Army player) while the other controls the Indian forces (Indian player). The microgame scenarios include Wood Lake (1862), Wagon Box Fight (1867), and Massacre Canyon (1873). Each unit in HtW represents 3-10 soldiers, civilians, or Indian warriors. eader counters represent an officer plus one or two aids. Counters are also used to represent small arms and artillery pieces, as well as horses, and wagons. The scale is approximately 30 yards per hex and one turn equals 5-15 minutes of real time.

My goal in designing HtW was a fast-paced, high-action game that was still reasonably accurate simulation of tactical combat in the West.Movement, fire combat, and melee combat are the major components of tactical warfare, so most of the rules and most of the time spend playing should focus on these three activities. There are no formations, no supply (aside from Low Ammo rules), and (unlike most miniatures rules), no command rules other than the effects of Leaders.

I like to view the use of separate Weapons counters as somewhat innovative. While there are precedents for discrete support weapons (e.g. LMG etc. in TAHGC's Squad Leader), I am not familiar with other games that do not provide some sort of intrinsic fire strength to counters. (If you know of any rules that use a similar system, I would be interested to hear about them.) Indian units are assumed to possess primitive missile weapons like the lance, ax, and bow, but the range on these weapons is so limited they do not warrant a ranged fire strength. Instead Indian units are given a higher Melee strength.While the use of a separateWeapons counters seems adds complexity and counter density, this system provides greater flexibility in assigning firepower to the various units, and allows interesting rules such as abandoning weapons, the picking up and use of abandoned weapons, and the Low Ammo rules (which would have required a separate counter anyway).

The "no stacking" rule is somewhat arbitrary. Not allowing stacking simplifies many of the rules, prevents annoyingly-high counter densities (the "domino" effect) since most units require two markers (unit plus weapons). No stacking also somewhat mimics the low density of manpower on both sides during the Indian Wars. So, no stacking.

The "to hit" numbers in the Fire Combat Table reflect both effective range and rate of fire. For example, a carbine such as the Spencer repeater has a high rate of fire compared to a muzzle loading rifle, but has a somewhat shorter effective range due to the shorter barrel. The difference between firing canister and shell from the howitzer is also apparent in the FCT. The Defensive Fire rules give tremendous fire capability to repeating weapons, at least at short range, making units equipped with them almost impossible to engage in melee combat. But, that is the way it often was. Indians accustomed to low losses in inter-tribal warfare (where counting coup was more desirable than actually killing an opponent) were reluctant to press an attack if met with withering firepower from a defender. Artillery units, being difficult to maneuver and direct, are denied a chance to fire at moving targets. They are still allowed a chance to fire defensively, and can be difficult to overrun if given a reasonable covering guard. The rules regarding controlling horses are based on a chronic concern to the cavalryman; loss of his mount. Cavalry units would often etail a fifth to a third of their available forces to protect and control their steeds.

The American Indian fought mostly on individual initiative. Therefore, there are no Leaders on the Indian side. Instead, "medicine" represents fervor for fighting and provides, for the Indian player, benefits similar to that of Leaders. Each scenario provides a certain number of Medicine markers, based upon the historical accounts (when available) of how the Indians viewed the battle, medicine-wise. The Medicine rules were influenced by YELLOW RIBBON, a set of miniatures rules written by Greg Novak. Warfare among the Plains Indians was closely tied to their religion and only "good medicine" could ensure a successful outcome to a battle. Heavy losses or other indications of "bad medicine" often lead to the Indians breaking off an attack. Varying the number of Medicine counters available provides flexibility in setting the overall "morale" of the Indians.

Last and least, a word on politically correctness. My goal was for this game to be decidedly apolitical. The game is based as squarely on history ("what happened") as I am capable of doing, and I have not intentionally tried to make any kind of political statement. However, a few points should be mentioned to ward off expected criticism. I have opted to use the word "Indian" rather than "Native American" or another term simply because of the historical context. In the time period represented in the game, that is what people native to this continent were called. Similarly, I have used the term "Sioux" because it is historic, rather than the name "Dakota" which is now preferred by most members of that tribe. The victory conditions in some of the scenarios are met by the killing of innocent women and children and the slaughter of pony herds. While this is (and should be) repugnant to any civilized human being, such activities were committed by both sides, including by Indians against Indians. Because the wholesale destruction of people and property was an integral part of the conflicts against and between the Plains Indians, these elements have been incorporated into the game. If you find this offensive, I apologize, for that was certainly not my intention.

If you would like to comment on this game, please write to the Commander.