Valkyrx - Intelligent Wargames Tables

 

I've had a couple of chances now to go down to www.valkyrx.com in Birmingham to see their evolving Intelligent Wargames Table based wargames centre. They are busy beta-testing the Fantasy version at the moment (single models) but on the last visit I got the chance to play with the Alpha version of the Napoleonic Big Battles game (10mm, 1:15, ~ Bde per 15cm base)

I'm doing a full write-up for The Nugget which I'll post here later but in brief:

• Each base has an NFC chip
• Each ~2m hex table is split into ~ 127 15cm hex tiles
• Each hex tile has an NFC sensor to read the chip, and a set of LEDs
• Players just move their units (IGO-UGO, 2 mins max per turn - the aim is to work in "real-time")(lights highlight illegal moves)
• The computer then does everything else, using the lights to show who is attacking who, and what the combat results are
• A tablet PC lets you drill down to individual units to see strength and losses (to the man) and ammo states (to the round!)

Here's a video of the system in action.

And a few more photos showing the guts of the system:

Legal move

Illegal move

The NFC Sensors under the table cloth

The hex tile/NFC sensor array

Our Napoleonic test game, my double envelopment underway (note: terrain can be added)

More on all this later.