Pro Wargame League TM
To play in a game you must first join the league by enlisting as an officer. This will place you in the pool. Enlistment will post your Background/Profile on our site and make you eligible to bid for Army Command in our next battle.
Note that Corps Commanders can get fired or killed during a battle. So, if you didn't get in at the beginning of a game, there is still a chance you can get a command later on.
How do you get to be an Army Commander? These positions are given to the two highest bidders. That's right. Put your money where your mouth is. Winning bid money will be combined with Sponsored Prize money to determine a grand prize payout to the winners. We will announce totals on this as we go. So far it's worth $50!
If you don't win an Army Command, you can still be selected as a Sub Commander. If you are offered and accept a Sub Command, you can play for your lower bid amount. Click here for details on the Bidding Process.
Membership in the league as an officer is currently FREE. As numbers dictate, we will assess a membership fee at some point. Serving as an Officer is potentially free. Prospective Army Commanders will have to bid to get their position. You can be selected for a Sub Command and play even if you bid nothing. If your team wins, then you would win nothing. You also may not look very serious or confident to a Army Commander while they are picking their team.
Subscription to the Dispatch currently runs $16.00 / 6 month period. Our desire here, is to have the spectators and sponsors paying and the players getting paid. Crazy! I know.
Since most of us have busy lives, we try to keep the time commitment minimal. While serving as an Officer, you can expect to spend 2-4 hrs per week. This will obviously vary depending on battlefield conditions and your command style. We are looking to conduct 2 turns per week on Tue and Sat. Though these deadlines are set, players have complete flexibility to plan / make their moves through the week around their own schedules.
Note: We do get Nazi about turn deadlines. If you are "a little late" because something big came up at work we are sorry. You just missed a turn. The war waits for no one. Missing a turn isn't good, but usually isn't disastrous. Your units will continue to operate on previous orders. Miss a couple in a row, and things could start coming unglued. If you are a Corps Commander, you may have some explaining to do for missing a turn. Remember, your Army Commander can replace you at any time for any reason. Note that this takes some of the pressure off and allows you to step out of a game if life gets demanding. You just may not be able to get back in for awhile.
A one day battle will last approximately 6 weeks. A campaign may go longer.
-Knowledge of the Game
An interesting distinction between hobby wargames and professional style is that you don't need to be an expert with the game rules or system to do well. The most important thing here is leadership and communication skills. Second would be a understanding of basic military principals. It would help to have some experience in some kind of wargaming, but it is not necessary. Many military principals are common sense. For example: Being outnumbered and flanked is not good. Attacking up hill and into the woods is difficult. Moving along a good road net work is faster. etc.
You will need to get a feel for timing and how orders & reports flow. The best way to get this is to follow along in the Dispatch for awhile. This will give you a start. The rest can only be learned by experience however. So jump in!
-Perfection
As you read along in the Dispatch, you should start to see that no one is perfect. In our games, no one can be. Our games aren't about memorizing the perfect move sequence or attack factors needed on the CRT. We only get one chance here, and you can rest assured that it will be full of mistakes. This is about having fun and learning. We can all breathe a collective sigh of relief.
What do you get out of all this? Camaraderie, fun and education: This is a great opportunity to develop/exercise leadership, strategy and communication skills. More importantly, we also offer CASH! The winning Army Commander in the next game will win a CASH PRIZE. I don’t think our Corps Commanders will get paid in the next game. As we grow these should become paying positions as well.
In addition, active duty Officers (currently in command) receive the Dispatch for FREE. Also note that being in the pool, makes you eligible to bid for Army Command in up coming battles.
Biographical Background
Here is your chance to talk about you! Think of this as a combination biography, resume and gun for hire ad. You will want to put some thought and planning into this before you fill it out. You will probably want to include any relevant experience you've had. Readers will learn about you through this. Army Commanders will use this info to select their Corps Commanders later.
1- Laugh
2- Blame it on them. There are plenty of mistakes to go around.
3- Explain the mistake with a good excuse. There are usually plenty, but you may not know what the correct one is until later. In this case, make one up! Here are some examples:
- I got that order/report too late.
- I didn't think you knew about the enemy positions over here, so I wasn't sure what you wanted then.
-I know, but the other Corp didn't attack, so I wasn't sure if you wanted that anymore.
-I couldn't see / didn't know that then.
-I tried to do that, but it took too long for the troops to start moving.
-I ordered the troops to attack, but they all ran instead.
... or make up your own. It's fun!