Fully randomize your OHW with Assigned Cards

     I've had a few questions as to how my home brew card system works for Solo OHW. So I wrote this article to better explain how and why I go beyond the OHW "Chance" deck with an addition of my own. ;)

First you need a deck of 52 playing cards. In my case, I use an era appropriate Pirates deck:

 

Next you pull out 15 cards for the OHW Chance Deck. One full suit of 14 cards plus a Joker to represent card 15:

 

Shuffle this as normal and set it in an area off table for the game. Now you use the remaining cards for your armies. Divide them into two decks, one for each army preferably of different colored suits. One card is assigned to each unit in your armies. For this example I'll be creating a deck of four for each four unit army:

 

My ranking system is as follows:

Cavalry are either K,Q,J 

(Being the best and richest men in the Napoleonic armies of the era they get the best cards.)

Infantry are either 10,9,8,7,6, or 5

(The OHW army generating table usually assigns between 2 and 4 infantry units so I gave a broad gap in the suit for them.)

Skirmishers are either 3 or 4

(No reason, just that it's easy for me to remember.)

And Artillery are either A or 2

Next take each deck and shuffle separately and place aside near the Chance deck:

 

You should have 3 card decks, the Chance Deck, the Red Army Deck, and the Blue Army Deck:

 

 Now I'll show how they work in game. Turn 3: a 6 is drawn from the Chance deck! That means 1-3 of my units (I'm playing the Red Army) are "Confused" and can't move this turn. Normally OHW allows you carte blanche to choose the units (once you roll of course) to afflict with this nasty surprise. That's where my army decks come into play:

 

I roll a 3! The max number of units are confused:

 

Now I go to my army's assigned deck and draw three cards:

 

Looks like the cavalry won't be able to do what the do best this turn. Neither will the skirmishers be able to get to cover. And the infantry will be a sitting duck for a cavalry charge from the Blue Army! I put each card by its assigned unit to remind me during the turn that the Chance card's effect that turn applies to them:

 

Once this turn is resolved and the new turn begins, pick up all unit cards and reshuffle that army's deck:

 

And that's it! :) I've used this in every OHW battle I've played so far and it works splendidly for me. I don't use it for activation because in OHW, all units in an army move each turn which means that it's not needed. Also the max size of an army can only ever be 6 units although I have toyed with the idea of full 10 unit per army games. Normally I only use the Army decks for the adverse effects and my own initiative on the bonus cards. This means the "AI" army deck is only used when I draw a "15/ Enemy Panic" as that card is the only one that affects the enemy adversely. I hope this helps clarify my system of unit cards for those interested. ;) Next article, the Battle at the Ford, part of my Peninsula in Crisis OHW Campaign, starring Major Sharpe's 95 Rifles!