Inspiration

Sometime in 2022 I stumbled across an interview with Sebastian Bae discussing his upcoming wargame Littoral Commander; a wargame set in a near future Indo-Pacifc. I was fascinated and promptly ordered a copy from the Dietz Foundation.

Shake Down Cruise

In 2023 I hosted my first game of Littoral Commander for 6 players at Pacificon, a local tabletop game convention I’ve been attending since the 80s.

All 7 of us had a very enjoyable 4 hour session, learning the game, experimenting with the mechanics, and many of us ready to play again. One interesting component of the game is the tracking of hits and resources associated with each unit / counter, which is done in the core game with cards and cubes. I found that particular aspect to be a bit cumbersome, while really appreciating the unique resources of each unit.

At the Ready

Rather than give up on the game for being “too fiddly” I was convinced that these details could be better managed on paper. It has taken me some time to return to the concept, but requests to play Littoral Commander have inspired me to action.

I have created a Google Sheet (linked here) here that can produce a paper roster for any given scenario and task force. Hits and resources for any given unit can be tracked using a simple checklist model.