I seem to be repeating themes lately. Two subjects that I've explored in previous columns are random numbers and games. They intersect, of course, and at the intersection of two interesting things, you often find another interesting thing: simulation gaming.
When you play a computer game, there are two basic ways in which the game evolves. You might walk past a demon's lair and always get attacked in the same way. If you respond in a certain way, and the result is always the same, you're probably playing a deterministic game. On the other hand, if every time you walk past the demon's lair, there are multiple possible occurrences, the game has a random component. Purely deterministic games aren't very interesting to replay. Randomness, especially when it leads to realistic behaviors, adds greatly to a game, especially when replayed.
In simulating real events, random elements are a necessity. If a number of event probabilities are known, or can be approximated, a simulation is possible. If you're playing a WWII naval warfare game, for instance, and you're commanding an American destroyer, you might want to launch some torpedoes at a target. Assuming you aim right, and you're target isn't too far away, it would seem to be a deterministic problem. But of course, your target is probably moving and, if conscious of your possible presence, it is probably zig-zagging, which certainly affects your probability to hit. Visibility can also be an issue and even if you do hit, early American torpedoes had a very high failure rate - it might do no meaningful damage. Random numbers determine the path taken through these and other probabilities, to yield a result - miss, dud or damaging hit.
Simulation games can be abstract, like the classic computer game "Empire." You're one of two to six factions trying to colonize a planet. At first, it's a game of economic development, as you expand from a single city, capturing neutral cities to grow your empire. Eventually, you contact the other factions, and fight it out. There are generic air (fighter and bomber), ground (armor and infantry) and naval (submarine, destroyer, cruiser, battleship, carrier and transport) units. Each has its own movement factors, attack and defense strengths, damage allotment, etc. Some units have unique properties - submarines are invisible to most unit types, while transports can carry troops and carriers can carry fighters. If you're playing against humans, the randomness is limited to combat results (and perhaps a random map). If you're playing against a computer, however, its behavior will have some random elements, while also conforming to a logical general strategy.
"Empire" is a rather ancient computer game, first appearing in commercial form in the late 1980s. I just played a few turns of "Empire Deluxe 3.11," which was released in the summer of 1993. It still runs on my Windows XP machine. "Empire" will continue to survive, too. An Internet version of "Empire Deluxe" is now in beta testing. You can find out about it at www.killerbeesoftware.com.
Simulation games are usually more closely tied to reality. One of my favorites is the old Avalon Hill game, "B-17 Queen of the Skies." It is a board game, simulating bombing runs of the "Flying Fortress" against Luftwaffe defenses over occupied Europe. The strategic mission is to fly 25 sorties, which will get you and your crew a ticket home. Each tactical mission involves a great deal of randomness, such as your target, your position in the formation (the outside of the formation can be deadly), the weather conditions, how many fighters you face, how much damage they do to you and you do to them, flak damage, bombing accuracy, etc. The random results (ideally) reflect the actual probabilities of these events happening, so you get results that feel real. Usually, the "milk runs" are uneventful, but on occasion, they can go horribly wrong. Conversely, you can sometimes slip through many waves of formidable defences, accurately bomb a distant target, and get back with inconsequentional damage to your ship and crew. More likely, on the tough missions, you'll get shot to pieces and have to crawl back home - if you're lucky. It's very unlikely any of your crew will survive 25 missions. While each mission had a fairly high probability of survival for the crew, running the gauntlet 25 times generally leads to death, capture, or being invalided home. Although "B-17" has been out of print for several years, there are still web sites devoted to it. Some have active campaign games and include stories of the simulated missions, some of which are very detailed - they read like history. One good example can be found at "Thunder from the Skies" www.midcoast.com/~csetsett/99th.htm ("After Action Reports"). You can find a similar site at www.70thhistoricalsociety.org/b17/aars_mission1.htm. Postscript: The previous two websites seem to be inactive. You can visit part of the latter site at www.70thhistoricalsociety.org/b17/.
Here's another game you might want to check out. Sierra Madre offers a game with a similar theme to "B-17," but it is set in WWI and involves zeppelin warfare. The description for "Luftschiff" looks very interesting. I don't own it, yet, but I'll probably succumb soon. They have a number of other unusual and potentially fun titles, too. You can find the Sierra Madre web site at www.fatmessiahgames.com/smg.html.
CATBAR - Brain Candy #68 - Fun at Random / Brian Rock / Oct 23 2003