Intelligence Activities

[DeckPrism]

I'm reading A Man called Intrepid about a man who set up spy networks and various other activities during WWII. It struck me how unprepared Britan was, and how resolute Rosevelt was behind the scenes. I also found interesting parallels to today.

But the things that excite me are the applications to games of intelligence activities. They seem to be an integral part of war that are neglected in games which supossedly focus on war. Where is the drive to decode enemy transmissions? How can advance notification of an opponents unit construction, unit staging, and unit movement become an integral and interesting part of a game? Can one eliminate the fifth column in your teritory and exploit it in theirs, or more easily exploit it in their captured territory? Why for that matter are captured areas so easily assimilated in games? Can I fake out my opponent with false build orders while concealing the ocasional important project? Can sabotage be made significant? Could superior intelligence activities delay an adversary long enough for your ally to get help to you? For that matter how often in games can one person send supplies to another?

I see some of this stuff necessarily being rare, but if combined with a good story bit , every bit as interesting and significant as building a new carrier, moving a group of destroyers, or deciding which hex to invade.
_________________
Do not let light shine upon your opponent's mind through a hole in your body.

[RobHuntingdon]

Oy... I agree 100% that such SHOULD be in a good TBS... but.... (you knew that was coming didn't you). I actually spent some time trying to design how a good inteligence system would work in a game and very quickly realized it's a real beast to work out. I'm not saying it can't be done. In fact I hope somebody (maybe even Horizon? Or perhaps Horizon 2 or something....) will do it soon. But I think it's quite a *major* task.

Plus I think the biggest reason why it's not in there is that it's a "subgame" not the "real" game... and as such it's one of the first places that cuts are made when people start to realize just how big the scope of the project they've laid out has gotten. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it's something else. Either way though, I do know it's very hard to design a good system that's fun, easy to use, inobtrusive, PLUS effective AND important to the main game as well.

RH
_________________
Robert, the Earl of Huntingdon

Tarry here, my merry men, whilst I seek what adventure await in yonder greenwood; but look thou listen for my call, for I will blow my horn if I become hard-pressed.

Adapted from Sterling, pg. 45