It been quite a while coming … but at last, Chris Kemp’s NOT QUITE MECHANISED: TABLETOP OPERATIONAL WARGAMING 1914-1945 is now on sale!

These were the first proper operational-level wargame rules that I ever used, and they had a significant impact on my wargaming ideas at the time and ever since. They were also the inspiration for what became Tim Gow’s MEGABLITZ operational-level wargame rules, …

… and although both use very different game mechanisms, they are – in my humble opinion – both excellent sets of rules. (See here for a more detailed background to the development of the latter.)

I’ve known Chris Kemp since we both attended the first ever Conference of Wargamers (COW) back in 1980, and he began developing what became NOT QUITE MECHANISED in the years afterwards. I am lucky enough to own a copy of the first draft of the rules and was able to take part in several of the developmental play-test battles that have taken place in the interim.

As originally drafted, they did not use a grid but over recent years Chris has adapted the rules so that they do … and there is no doubt that this has had a major impact on their playability.

The book is divided into twenty sections:

1. Index
2. Modelling the Game and Scales. How to Organise the Toy Soldiers
3. Pre-Battle Organisation
4. Timescales
5. Unit Quality/Endurance
6. Measuring Range
7. Defining Contact
8. Starting the Game
9. Resolving Combat
10. Logistics and Markers
11. Miscellaneous
12. Example Game Turn
13. Sample Orders of Battle
14. Player Notes
15. Designers Notes
16. Acknowledgements
17. Bibliography and Further Reading
18. About the Author
19. Glossary
20. Playsheet

A particular strength of these rules is the fact that they can be used to fight operational-level battles on a tabletop at several different levels, these being:

• Front Scale
• Corps Scale
• Divisional Scale
• Regimental Scale

Unusually for a set of wargame rules, Chris‘ rules include logistics and medical units, the latter being able to remove hit markers from units they are in contact with during the reorganisation phase of each turn, assuming – of course – that the unit is not under fire or involved in combat at the time.

Chris Kemp’s blog – which is (not surprisingly) entitled NOT QUITE MECHANISED – has a host of battle reports and other goodies including numerous ORBATs. The most recent of these is called ‚Building Rubbish Germans‚ and is the ORBAT for a Corps Scale German M1944 Infantry Division.

A Corps Scale German M1944 Infantry Division … but lacking its schnelle Batallion, Pioniere and horses.

I cannot recommend this book too highly … and even if you don’t use the rules, I hope that you will find it as inspirational and informative as I have.

NOT QUITE MECHANISED: TABLETOP OPERATIONAL WARGAMING 1914-1945 was written by Chris Kemp and published in 2024 by Not Quite Mechanised Publications (ISBN 978 1 4452 7312 9).

Please note that photograph featured above is © Chris Kemp.