Theatre of War - A Piquet Campaign System (1st Printing)

Theater of War generates linked, tactical tabletop games in a larger strategic setting. Theater of War is designed to be used with miniature collections of existing, fixed sizes (no more collecting and painting forces for the next game just in order to meet the order of battle requirements!) while providing an entertaining background for a campaign with a definitive conclusion. Theater of War provides a system for determining tactical scenarios, based on decisions made by the campaign players. Theater of War includes rules for organizing campaigns in all of the periods covered by the Piquet rule system.

Theater of War vividly represents the fog and friction of war, modeled by sequence decks and initiative rolls. Battle Hands made up of Sequence cards are used to move from the campaign map to the tabletop. Battle hands determine what type of tabletop battle will be fought, as well as any particular advantages (relative army sizes, terrain, set-up) that will exist. This combination and interplay of Battle Hands is the heart and soul of Theatre of War. It allows a campaign to be fought without an umpire making rulings about force strengths and scenario definition, as well as providing for pre-battle maneuvering as both sides attempt to gain an advantage. Theatre of War places the gamer in the predicament of not knowing for sure what the tabletop game will hold - that is, not knowing until they've committed and played their cards!

Theatre of War is designed to provide a campaign framework for Piquet tabletop miniature games. In order to play Theatre of War, both the Piquet master rules and the period supplement in which the campaign is set are required.