Wharf Rat Games is a new publisher recently started by the dynamic duo of Ryan Heilman and Wes Crawford. I have interviewed both of these guys a few times for their own designed games and also hung out with them quite a bit at conventions including Buckeye Game Fest in April 2024 and the World Boardgaming Championships in August 2024. I am really happy for them that they have taken this plunge and created their own publishing company. I know they know games. Have been in the industry for a while now and also have great connections with many designers and would be designers and I am sure that they will bring many quality offerings to our tables over the next decade plus.

Wharf Rat Games is a Baltimore-based board game publishing company whose mission is to produce high-quality, light-to-medium-weight board games with engaging themes in historical, science fiction, and fantasy genres. With gameplay designed to last under 90 minutes, their games aim to captivate both casual and experienced players. But there is more than just their introduction here as they have signed their first game and it is from a designer we all know and love – Hermann Luttmann. A Forlorn Hope places solo players or up to three cooperative players in command of a battalion charging across No Man’s Land to capture enemy trenches during World War I. Success requires careful balancing of bold advances and timely retreats to avoid casualties, maintain cohesion, and keep troops from becoming pinned under relentless enemy fire. Over a decade ago, Hermann pitched a groundbreaking design to Alan Emrich at Victory Point Games—a push-your-luck mechanic within a wargame framework, originally set in the WWI trenches. While the concept was well-received, Alan suggested a Civil War theme instead, leading to the creation of In Magnificent Style, based on Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. This game went on to be published by Victory Point Games and later by Worthington Publishing.

They are now gearing up to launch this interesting game on Backerkit and I reached out to Hermann to get some more information and understanding of the game.

Here is a link to the preview page for the campaign: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/wharf-rat-games/a-forlorn-hope-can-you-make-it-across-no-man-s-land/launch_party

Grant: What is your upcoming game A Forlorn Hope about?

Hermann: A Forlorn Hope is an abstract simulation of six different World War I trench warfare battlefields, using a push-your-luck system that allows the player to experience the tension, frustration, and futility of these trench assaults across No Man’s Land. Players will try to push their battalions to victory in six different scenarios – Neuve Chapelle, 1^st & 2^nd Ypres, Verdun, The Somme, Passchendaele, and the Meuse-Argonne (The Lost Battalion). Each scenario is quite different, with unique elements, mechanics, terrain features, events, and victory conditions.    

Grant: What is the meaning of the title? What did you hope to convey about the game to the players?

Hermann: The dictionary definition of forlorn hope is “A persistent or desperate hope that is unlikely to be fulfilled”. There is hardly a better way to describe the madness of the four years of trench warfare during the First World War. Interestingly, a “Forlorn Hope” is also a military term for a group of soldiers who are assigned the riskiest (and potentially most suicidal) mission, often involving infiltration, ambushes, or scouting missions. For the players, we felt the title was perfectly descriptive of what to expect in the game play. These are tough, grueling scenarios that will require the player to grind out their assaults to their best ability. And yes, the friction of war in this game is a cruel, un-welcomed participant.   

Grant: Who is this new publisher and how did you come to do their first game?

Hermann: The publisher is a brand new company called Wharf Rat Games. It was founded by Ryan Heilman and Wes Crawford, both fellow game designers who also became good friends of mine as we worked on other projects together and just hung out at conventions. That I was honored with the opportunity to design their first published game and it was honestly totally by accident! They were interviewing me for their Rat Chat video series and somehow my In Magnificent Style design came up in conversation. I happened to mention that the original idea for the unique push-your-luck mechanism I came up with for that game was actually a World War I trench warfare game. Victory Point Games, who published the original IMS, thought that subject matter was not an easily marketed subject for a wargame, so we changed it to Pickett’s Charge. Well Ryan and Wes asked me if I would like to fulfill my original dream for the mechanism because they really liked the idea of covering trench battles. And here you have it! 

Grant: Why was this a subject that drew your interest?

Hermann: I’ve always found a particular interest in World War I, maybe because it was a subject about which I knew few details, but every time I explored it deeper, it became more fascinating. There are just so many interesting aspects to the various nations involved in the conflict and the widespread fronts where such vicious fighting occurred. It just captivated me and then even more so when I discovered there were relatively few wargames covering the war, at least in the early days of wargaming. When I got into actually designing wargames, I wanted to challenge myself to do unusual games and when looking for relatively under-gamed and obscure topics, trench warfare loomed large. So, I set out to figure a way to make trench warfare entertaining for a game player. A tough task, to be sure, but I stumbled upon the idea of doing it as a solo design with an “against the wind” type of push-your-luck approach.

Grant: What is your design goal with the game?

Hermann: Well, as with any of my game designs, my #1 goal is to make an entertaining game experience that players will want to come back to constantly. I want players primarily to have fun, but also to have some challenging decision-making to ponder, topped off with some genuine surprises. In this game design, I want players to explore the various types of historical trench assault situations, which can be quite varied. Each scenario is unique and highlights a different aspect of attacking across No Man’s Land. At the same time, I hope players learn a little something about each of these battles and then perhaps will be interested enough to want to explore a bit deeper into these fascinating engagements.   

Grant: What from trench warfare during WWI was important to model?

Hermann: Actually, the near helplessness of your troops crossing No Man’s Land and the fact that you are left to fate! You can direct your men to a certain degree…pointing them in the right direction and gauging when they should “hunker down” and take shelter…but otherwise it’s “dancing through raindrops”. What I did with this design is that you do have control of the order in which you move your units and how far (unless the enemy interferes with your plans, of course). I also added the “Wave” mechanic where you want your men to remain in as long a connected line across the battlefield as possible. Not only is this realistic, but a successful wave will earn you additional Tactics Chits, which will increase your units’ abilities and help mitigate against bad luck. So, you as the player are trying to advance against the enemy’s “wall of fire” as quickly as you can, but also trying to maintain order- two opposite forces pulling you apart, and something that a commander on the Western Front had to deal with. Yes, that can be frustrating but it’s also quite fun. You cannot know or control where the enemy artillery will fall – and that’s about as realistic as you can get. You pray and hope and push…and that’s the WWI tension I want to model.

Grant: What sources did you consult about the details of the history? What one must read source would you recommend?

Hermann: Oh, boy – honestly, there is no one book I used as these scenarios cover multiple battles. I researched each battle from the various books I own, on the internet, and I watched one or more documentaries on You Tube for each of the battles. My main source to get a framework for most of the early- to mid-war battles was The Western Front 1914-1916 by Michael Neiberg. Otherwise, there are numerous books covering each of the Western Front trench battles in greater detail.

Grant: What other games did you draw inspiration from?

Hermann: None actually…other than my own. This game is closely related to In Magnificent Style, Crowbar! The Rangers at Point du Hoc, and the upcoming Kill All Fermitians! (formerly Volters Lead the Way! and is being re-published by Flying Pig Games). Some of the games that I did play in the past, and which gave me hope that I could make a decently entertaining trench game, were Landships (Clash of Arms) and Trenchfoot (GDW).

Grant: How does the game use press your luck?

Hermann: Essentially there are two aspects to the push-your-luck mechanic in this game. One is that you want to get your units to voluntarily Hunker Down before the last Cohesion Cube is lost – this is called a Catastrophic Cohesion Loss. Units that are not Hunkered Down when this happens will be made Pinned, and that makes it harder for them to activate in the next turn (as they start that turn as Shaken units). Hunkering Down in time means the unit has huddled, taken cover, and is regrouping safely. It will begin the next turn without penalty. So, the player pushes their luck by gauging how far to move a unit before Hunkering Down and ending its current turn but thereby being in good shape to start the next turn. The other aspect is that the player will be compelled to keep units in a Wave – a chain of adjacency to each other – to gain the greatest number of new Tactics Chits. Therefore, the player needs to determine how long to keep units active in order to maneuver them into a Wave, but then risking being caught in the open and thereby Pinned when cohesion is lost.

Grant: What type of experience does this create? What are the toughest decisions forced on the players?

Hermann: Well hopefully, as with all my push-your-luck game designs, a sense of constant tension and discomfort! Because of the nature of the Activation and Event Cards, you never know when things will get really rough, really fast. Artillery barrages can land directly on your units – or just miss them. These can cause units to be forced to become Pinned, ending their turn immediately and making it tough to get them going next turn. Therefore, with each decision by the player whether to push another turn or not, there is never a comfort zone where you think “all is well”. The game system will keep you on your toes and always second guessing yourself – and that’s the experience I want to see players having as they attempt to navigate No Man’s Land in WWI.

Grant: What different player counts does the game handle?

Hermann: I suspect most players will be interested in this as a solitaire game, but in fact it does accommodate two or three players as well. In these counts, players will each control one Battalion and work cooperatively with the other player(s). In the case of the 2-player game, players will alternate control of the second (middle) Battalion. Scoring remains the same, with players sharing in the victory or defeat.

Grant: How does the solitaire game function? How does the AI prioritize its decisions?

Hermann: The player draws a hand of Activation Cards each step. Every card has a theme…either Suppressed, Slog, Advance, or Rush…and a set of matching results for cohesion loss, movement, and casualties inflicted on the unit. The player assigns each card to a unit and that unit must then abide by the directions and effects on that card. Usually, the player has some agency in how that assignment can occur. But if one or more “Draw Event Card” cards is drawn, the player must immediately draw an Event Card and apply its effects before continuing on with the activation. This also has the reciprocal detrimental effect of reducing the player’s hand size for this step’s assignment. If you have fewer cards than units, then you must draw the top Activation Card and blindly assign it a unit. There are a number of ways to help mitigate bad draws and results…the player has Tactics Chits to apply if needed and Officer Cards that can be used for certain special abilities. The AI is the deck of Activation and Event Cards, and the player needs to become familiar with what the Activation deck has to offer to make better calculated decisions. In the case of the Event deck, it is mostly random effects (such as for artillery bombardments and machinegun fire) but does prioritize counterattacks and other events against the most advanced player units. There are also Scenario Event Cards in most scenarios that create events specifically tailored to the battle you are currently simulating.

Grant: What has been your most challenging design obstacle to overcome with the game? How did you solve the problem?

Hermann: Honestly, the hardest thing we struggled with was not mechanical or procedural or thematical…it was making sure that the game was balanced for the player. In other words, that the player in every scenario was sufficiently challenged with a competitive, but not impossible, game. That means gauging how severe the Event and Activation Cards are, how many Tactics Chits to allow, how many Officer cards to be made available and how strong their powers are, and how variable and deadly the combat system is. Oh yeah – and how many Victory Points to award and penalize for each victory condition. And after you’ve taken your best starting estimate of where and how these factors should fall, the only way of getting them right is through trial and error, and tons of testing and demoing. And there’s really no magic formula to solving that issue, other than to hammer through the game and constantly bend, spindle, tweak, fudge, and edit.

Grant: What is the layout of the game board?

Hermann: Gamers familiar with In Magnificent Style and Crowbar will recognize the game board immediately. On the player side is the first row, representing the home trench. Then there are a series of nine more rows extending to the far side of the map, ending in a final row representing the enemy trench. There are also nine columns, each of which is occupied by one of the nine player units. In addition, the board is segmented into three No Man’s Land Zones of rows…green (the closest to the player), blue (in the middle), and red (closest to the enemy side of the board). These zones have a number of important effects on game play. Finally, there are three Battalion Zones of columns – 1^st Battalion (left side), 2^nd Battalion (middle), and 3^rd Battalion (right side)…into which is deployed the three units of each of the three Battalions. 

Grant: What is the anatomy of the counters?

Hermann: Well, there are no unit counters used in this game! Each of the player’s nine units is represented by a unique wooden piece, showing hand-drawn artwork highlighting the typical soldiers deployed by each nation in the game (there are four armies included – German, British, American, and French). There is no other information on the standees as it is not required for gameplay. There are other numerous cardboard markers used to track information or to be used by the player to perform certain game functions.

Grant: What different type of units are available?

Hermann: There is only one type of unit, technically speaking. The unit pieces represent the generic units fielded by the army you are controlling. Some scenarios will designate if the units represent a unique type of unit. If so, the scenario instructions tell you what your units can do differently during this scenario than the typical unit.

Grant: How does combat work in the design?

Hermann: Combat is pretty straightforward and fun, using custom combat dice. There are two types of combat…Event Combat (generated by an Event Card) and Assault Combat (generated when you move a unit into the same space with an Enemy Unit or vice versa). The dice handle both types of combat resolution. Each face of the die has a letter code that is utilized when resolving Event Combat. This letter tells the player if any Hits are scored on the affected Battalion, if the unit must retreat, and if it must Hunker Down. In the case of Assault Combat, each face of the die has a number value. Both sides in an Assault Combat will roll a number of dice, depending on the value of the enemy unit (shown on its counter) or, for the player’s unit, the use of Tactics Chits, Officer abilities, and the presence of supporting friendly units. All dice are rolled at once and the number values for each side added together into an Assault Combat total. This will yield a victory for either side or a stalemate result.

Grant: How does the game use cards? Can you share a few examples of cards and explain their use?

Hermann: Activation Cards are used to move and fight with your units while Event Cards are random events that will affect your units in various ways (or not, if you get lucky). Each step, you draw a number of Activation Cards equal to the number of available activated units, plus one.

For example, you draw three cards when you have two eligible units to activate (there are only two available units in this example because the third unit is finished for the phase, due to it being Hunkered Down or Pinned). You look at the three cards and if one or more is a “Draw Event Card” card, you draw an Event Card immediately and resolve it.

If it’s the Event Card shown above, the enemy machineguns are issuing sweeping fire across your advancing forces. You check areas “A” and “B” to see which of your units are located in those areas (there could be up to six units in both areas!). You then roll one die against each such eligible unit and apply the letter result rolled on that unit.

Then you discard the “Draw Event Card” Activation Card and you now only have two Activation Cards to choose from. One card is assigned to each of the two units you have left to activate, and its instructions are applied to each unit.

For example, the above “Advance” Activation Card is read from top to bottom as follows:

• The top (yellow) entry is the possible loss of cohesion. Because there is a “1” shown in the icon, this means that one Cohesion Cube (the scenario will tell you how many you start with) is discarded. If this is the last cube in your supply, there is an immediate Catastrophic Cohesion Loss and any of your units that are not Hunkered Down or already Pinned are made Pinned. This ends the turn – you count victory points earned, reset all the markers and Officer Cards, and begin a new turn, but starting with a fewer number of cohesion cubes to use. 
• The middle (red) entry is the number of Hits this unit’s Battalion takes. Hits are recorded by Battalion, not by unit, using a Battalion Hit Infliction Track. In this case, because there is a “2” in this icon, there are 2 Hits inflicted on the Battalion and this is immediately recorded by the player.
• The bottom entry is the Movement allowance for the unit. The color of this icon and the graphic of the soldier’s posture indicate the maximum number of spaces the unit can move forward (towards the enemy only) and the manner of the move (Normal, Cautious, or Crawl). Normal is a standard move forward with no impediments; Cautious is a Normal move but only if the unit is not moving from one Zone to another (like from the Blue zone to the Red zone); Crawl is used to move a unit that is Shaken (removing the Shaken marker) and/or moving from a Shellhole. On the example card, there is a “3” in the Movement Allowance icon so the unit move up to 3 spaces using Normal movement procedures.  

Grant: How is victory achieved?

Hermann: The player scores, and loses, Victory Points (VP) throughout gameplay, and at the conclusion of the scenario. Each scenario lays out exactly what conditions are needed for the player to score, and lose, VP. This is normally a combination of how much progress each of your units makes toward the enemy trenches, capturing enemy trench spaces, and the occurrence of Catastrophic Casualties (that’s when a Battalion accumulates more than 10 Hits). Each scenario may also have entirely unique ways to gain and lose VP, depending on the historical battle situation being depicted. The player totals their VP and compares that total to the narrative table that provides the level of victory or defeat and what would have happened in the battle at your level of achievement.  

Grant: What type of experience does the game create for the players?

Hermann: Well, this kind of design attempts to give the players an appreciation for the frustration, sacrifice, and difficulty of conducting trench assaults during the First World War. Obviously, I can’t honestly replicate the true horror of these events, but I think playing through a tough game like this at least gives a glimpse into the absolutely brutal experience these men faced on the trench lines. Rather than focus on that death and destruction, the game abstractly attempts to give the player the feeling of commanding these troops and leading them on an almost insurmountable mission, under dire circumstances, and against nearly impossible odds. The scenarios included in this game were chosen for the drama, strategy, and historical significance offered by the battles they represent. And by boiling all these factors down to a simple push-your-luck mechanic, with the requisite amount of thematic bells-and-whistles to create the narrative, I think players will at least be challenged, intrigued, and curious about not only exploring all the scenarios and situations, but perhaps even researching the actual details of the horrific experiences of these soldiers. To that end, we’ve also included on every Activation Card an actual quote from a soldier, officer, or author who lived through these battles and hopefully conveys the horrors of trench warfare.

Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?

Hermann: One thing I’m very pleased with is the amount of narrative detail and variety we managed to get into this design. There are six scenarios contained in this first effort, but two of the scenarios actually contain multiple games to be played, kind of mini-campaigns. And each scenario feels so different than the others. Secondly, I am so pleased by the development and production support from Wharf Rat Games … specifically, Ryan and Wes. They are not only terrific designers and developers in their own right, but they’re beginning a company here that cares about providing high-grade production quality and customer service. This entire game package will be an attractive, well-produced, comprehensive, accessible, and highly replayable product and I am very appreciative and proud of that.

Go sign up for the game’s prelaunch at Backerkit and check out the art, news, and upcoming interviews at  https://www.backerkit.com/call_to_action/12a5e9bc-4ce6-4667-8f62-b2df3ccbf9fd/landing and get a free downloadable print-and-play game called A Summer in Sarajevo designed by Ryan Heilman. Can you save Franz Ferdinand from his assassins?

Grant: What other situations could this system be used in?

Hermann: This style of game play is designed for any era…even fictional ones…where one side is primarily static, on defense, and tough. The basic idea is that the player is pushing their luck against a tough defending opponent and their “wall of fire”. However, that defensive enemy is still capable of launching localized attacks of their own, so that even though a static line is being faced, the enemy can still jump out and sting the player. Any situation that fits that set of criteria can work in this system. I have ideas for more World War I battles that will fit in this series, but we’ll first see how well it is received. But I am open to suggestions as to how to convert this framework to almost any other historical era or fictional setting that will work.

Grant: What other designs are you currently working on?

Hermann: Oh boy…every time you ask me this, the list gets longer! OK…here’s what’s cooking:

• GMT Games – A Hell So Terrible: Verdun 1916 (on the GMT P500 right now). Also, the More of a Bad Thing expansion for The Plum Island Horror is now out and available. I will also be working on a post-apocalyptic design called Heavy Metal Thunder that is sort of an “express” version of the Plum Island Horror engine. It is designed to give players the same kind of narrative and cooperative experience as Plum Island Horror, but in about half the time and even more accessible as far as rules weight.
• Blue Panther – Dawn of the Zeds: Designer Edition. Yes – a brand new edition of the Zeds franchise with some new and better mechanics. Also, I need to work on the next Tattered Flags game (Antietam’s Cornfield) and the next Napoleonic solo game (probably on Borodino).
• Revolution Games – They March Against Us: Leipzig 1813 (the first of the Bonaparte’s Swords Series…which will be Napoleonic Blind Swords).
• Flying Pig Games – Kill All Fermitians! (formerly Volters Lead the Way!, a science fiction push-your-luck game). And we are beginning work on A Wild Primitive Madness, the next Black Swan Series game covering The Battle of Antietam.
• Jackl Games – More Brains! (a zombie push-your-luck game).
• Nuts Publishing – Nemto (an epic, multi-player, cooperative, science fiction campaign wargame).
• Unknown Publisher – White Mud (a tactical wargame on the Battle of Tuyuti, fought during the War of the Triple Alliance and bloodiest battle ever fought in South America. This was called the “Waterloo of South America” and is such an interesting engagement).
• Unknown Publisher – Miracle Along the Marne (a Black Swan style of wargame covering the Battle of the Marne in 1914).

You asked!

Thanks again for letting me do this! I really appreciate your support and kindness.

As always it was a pleasure speaking with you Hermann. I am very excited about this one as it sounds very interesting and is also a unique gaming subject. I have played your Press Your Luck designs (In Magnificent Style and Crowbar!) and loved them both. Great games with very tough decisions.

-Grant

In an effort to keep our content varied and most importantly interesting, we have in the past reached out to Graphic Design Artists to provide them an opportunity to talk about their craft and their works. I for one love a good looking game as much as a well designed game and feel that the visual element to wargames can make them successful or hold them back. Prior interviews with Graphic Design Artists that have appeared on our blog have included Antonio Pinar Peña, Nicolás Eskubi, Ilya Kudriashov, Ania Ziolkowska, Matt White and Iván Cáceres. In this interview, we talk to an up and coming artist who has actually done a lot of really great looking graphics for several wargames over the recent years in Wouter Schoutteten.

Grant: First off Wouter, please tell us a little about yourself. Where do you live? What are your hobbies and interests? What types of games do you enjoy playing?

Wouter: I’m Wouter Schoutteten, I live in Belgium, I’m married with 2 kids. I have many interests and hobbies! Gardening, reading, grilling, walking, baking sourdough bread, drawing and being creative all around, collecting music… But my main interest is playing board games. I play all kinds: I play a lot of wargames obviously, but I also play Euro games and last year I really got into TTRPG’s as well. I play a lot solo too – almost every evening, something I enjoy a lot.

I really appreciate games that are very tight, that have limited mechanics. Games where every decision just is really important. The White Castle is one I like a lot.

As for wargames, ironically I have more affinity with history before WWII. Though I play WWII games too, and mostly on a tactical scale.

I’m now diving a bit into the ACW and one game that really stood out for me is Mark Herman’s Rebel Fury. What a clever game, one that I’m blessed to play with my 8-year old.

Grant: What is your full time profession? How did you get into wargame graphic design?

Wouter: I work as a graphic designer and illustrator. I do a lot of illustration in the field of branding and marketing. I’ve been working independent close to 10 years now. 

One day during holiday, I was reflecting on my career as an artist and about the kind of jobs I did so far. 

I always feel like an artist should set his own goals and should create something he wants to create. You know, something you as an artist would like to put into the world. And it dawned on me I could probably involve my hobby in my profession. I mean, I loved spending time tinkering with boardgames, making my own stuff, laying out little playaids I shared on BGG… But is there such a thing as an artist working in the wargame niche? I felt it would enable me to create something myself and at the same time give something back to the hobby. 

So I first created the art for Corvette Command, got in touch with Allen Eagle (the designer) next and presented the art to a couple of publishers and that got the ball rolling!

Grant: What is your favorite part about the graphic design/art process? Conversely, what do you struggle with or find to be the greatest challenge?

Wouter: My favorite part about it is really pretty early on in the process. Reading up, doing the research and spending a couple of days diving into the topic, looking for documentaries, listening to podcasts and get some understanding of what the topic is about. Something I did with Volko Ruhnke when we were starting on Coast Watchers – We sat together and played a single turn of the game, just so I got an understanding of the basic ideas and hearing from the designer what he is trying to convey, what he thinks the ideal experience for the player should be like. 

So what is my greatest challenge? In 2025 I started taking on more and more commissions, which was very exciting. I did a lot more work in the war game space than I ever did before. Then I learned that mapping the workload and working out my schedule really is a nightmare! These games can take a long time to develop. There’s a lot of going back and forth and to get everybody on the same line, that could mean a lot of iterations. So working on my planning skills this year!

Grant: If you are given strict design parameters for a specific game, does this stifle your creativity?

Wouter: Not really!  As long as the parameters aren’t really about the look and feel of the game, I’m okay with that. Usually being creative is easier within constraints. Starting from a blank canvas, that’s often a bit paralyzing. It’s nice to have some parameters like “we are looking to bring this kind of a feeling” or “this one should really feel like 1600”. These kinds of parameters work really well to spark creativity.

Grant: How long does it usually take to fully design the graphics for a wargame? What is the starting point for the whole process?

Wouter: The starting point really is doing research, reading up on the topic, talking with the designer about his vision, what he’s trying to convey, what the players should experience while playing the game. Once I have that, I start with mood boarding, looking for inspirational or similar graphics that I like. Also digging into the whole BGG catalog, looking for other games on the same topic, taking inspiration out of that. Then usually I design a couple of components to get a general look and feel. Then I hope to get the green light from both publisher and designer. Once we have that, I work out everything and usually there’s a couple of iterations that are going back and forth between me, the publisher and the designer.

Grant: Where do you obtain information from to ensure the accuracy of your subjects, whether it be uniforms, insignia, equipment, maps, terrain, etc.?

Wouter: So when I say mood boarding it’s more than just finding an esthetic. It’s also about collecting reference images from the appropriate period, so that I will be working on the right uniform, the right insignia and things like that. I like to have at least a couple of different sources. Online groups with miniature painters for exemple are excellent for this, these guys are experts. Also museums, books, documentaries,…

Wargamers can be really picky about details. And rightly so. I remember a talk from Adrian Goldsworthy, the historian, on historical accuracy in movies. But the same applies to games as well: We create these visuals as a representation of history and they are passed from generation to generation and we expect them to be accurate. Now there’s a big risk in that if we make something inaccurate, not many people will be able to tell. So it’s important for us to try and tell the history as accurately as possible. I like to think of wargames as another form of education, a way of studying history. But also as a way of preserving stories and keeping them alive.

Grant: What role does a good map play in a proper wargame? How does it help tell the narrative of the battle depicted?

Wouter: One of the things a map does is conveying the feeling of the era. It can also tell a part of the story in itself. Like the board I did for 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March from VUCA Simulations, if you look to the right top corner, where Moscow is, you will see the colors there are paler and they’re almost white, as opposed to the lower left, where the colors are more green-ish. This is because the French invasion started from these countries with a more mild climate. And as the French marched on toward Moscow, winter was setting in. Once they retreated from Moscow, they had to do so in terrible conditions, freezing severely. For this game, we couldn’t create two maps just for the sake of the narrative. So I worked with this color gradient so the French player would feel, the more he’s moving towards Moscow, the harsher the terrain is, the harsher the conditions are becoming.

Another one is the map for the upcoming Merville Battery from Dan Verssen Games that I am working on. For the raid on that French coast battery during D-Day, British paratroopers were dropped very early in the morning. By the time they attacked the battery, the sun was almost coming up, so the sun would have created these very long shadows. I visited the site of the battery in person to see how the site looked, but also what kind of colors we have there. I also checked with photo’s from tourists there that were taken early dawn, to really simulate those colors. In my first designs I tried dark blue tones to give it that night ambiance, but we settled for a version with a lot of dark greens with some pastel-like hues, some pink and soft purple. A peculiar color scheme, but one that gives that sense of early dawn on the map.

Grant: How does the design process for counters compare to the process for maps? What is your goal with the look of counters?

Wouter: Oh I enjoy drawing counters! I make illustrations based on reference images like photos from miniatures. Counters are drawn by hand. Usually I do a couple of tests to see if they work well when printed small. They have to be clear when used so very tiny. One thing I like about counters when placed on the map is when they really pop out. That’s something I keep in mind, to keep the colors of the map rather subdued and work with brighter colors for the counters.

Personally, I like if the counters are a bit of a narrative as well. I’m not a fan of NATO symbols because I feel they are too abstract and I lose that emotional connection with the people that were involved in the action.

Grant: What wargame companies have you worked with in the past? What games have you been involved with?

Wouter: I’ve been blessed to work with a very wide roster of publishers in such a short time. Lately I’ve been working with GMT, with VUCA Simulations and with Sound of Drums. But I also work with DVG, Nuts! Publishing and have worked for PHALANX, Fort Circle and War Diary Publications.

Grant: What games have you been involved with?

Wouter: 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March, 1920: Nest of Eagles, Assault Red Horizon 41: Revised Edition and Primosole Bridge Expansion, Corvette Command, Nightfighter Command, Merville Battery, Coast Watchers: Allied Field Intelligence in the South Pacific, 1942-1943 (to be released), The Far Seas (to be released), 1813: Napoleon’s Struggle for Germany (to be released), A House Divided: Designer Edition (to be released) and my own Dreaded Flags: Naval Conflict in the Age of Piracy 1568-1720.

Grant: How would you classify or describe your distinct graphics style?

Wouter: I try to inject little bits of innovation in my art, something a bit different at least for the wargame scene. I like clear iconography, clear typography. I’m not a big fan of a lot of drop shadows and special effects. So I think you would classify it more as a bold, flat, very graphic style with some elements of the Franco-Belge comic, DIY and print techniques such as screenprinting, copier effects and lithography. I think these are some common elements you’ll find with other European artists as well. Is there something as a European wargame look?

Grant: What game’s graphics are you most proud of? Is there one game that you would like another crack at to improve or simply do differently?

Wouter: I really like the whole package of 1812 and how everything in that box works together. I’m also pretty proud at the humble Corvette Command. It’s published by War Diary Publications and it’s a game by Alan Eagle and more of a narrative-style game in the line of B-17: Queen of the Skies. Usually in these games, you haven’t many visual components in front of you. So for this type of game, I really wanted to create something different, something new, a strong visual game. I like the box art of Corvette Command. I tried a couple of new techniques in there.

Grant: What graphic designers/artists out there have influenced your style? Do you spend a lot of time studying other’s work?

Wouter: No, I try not to look too much to other artists. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, prone to tinkering with my own art. And, like many artists, I struggle with the infamous ‘imposter syndrome’. Nothing is ever good enough, especially if you compare it to work made by people who are way more experienced than me. “Comparison is the thief of joy” is a mantra I need daily. Of course, there are artists I admire a lot and if I buy a game, usually it’s because I like the look of it! Work by Nils Johansson, Marc Von Martial, Iván Cáceres, Roland MacDonald, Donal Hegarty, Rick Barber, Albert Monteys, Javi de Castro… Sure, I’m now forgetting many… So many talented artists.

Grant: What games are you currently working on?

Wouter: We have the Kickstarter running for Merville Battery by Vince Cooper for DVG. I’m also finishing up Coast Watchers with GMT Games before I start working on A House Divided. I’m also working on 1813 which is the follow-up on 1812, and the next volume in that series. There is this big rework of The Far Seas I’m finishing for Vuca. With Sound of Drums I’m working on their ‘Assault’ line and with Nuts! on a game on the Battle of Borodino. And some other as well, but that’s too early to say anything about!

Grant: Where do you see your wargaming graphic design career in 5 years?

Wouter: Difficult question because honestly I didn’t think there was such a thing as an artist career in wargames, because it’s so niche. Something I started to realize is that working in a niche industry is incredibly valuable. It’s very powerful for an artist to find a niche, one where you feel welcome and validated. It gives you focus in your artistic choices and it gives your work longevity. But that being said, I’m incredibly grateful for being able to work in this space and I didn’t expect it to go that fast. Something I really like to do in the future is to be able to work on a medieval or ancients game, because it would be so different to work on. And perhaps break in the TTRPG scene because there are a lot of illustrations used there.

Grant: What type of software and hardware do you use for design?

Wouter: Part of my work is deliberately done analog, pen and paper style. Most of the work however is done on computer in Photoshop, Illustrator and some InDesign. Drawings I do analog and a lot on iPad as well. At the moment I’m trying a couple of new things. I’m trying to introduce my scanner and my analog work back into the digital space, combining it with photobashing, which is a very exciting technique to create fast but unique visuals that sit somewhere between photograhpy and illustration.

Thank you Grant, for taking the time to listen to me. And thanks a lot to you and Alexander for doing The Players’ Aid these past 10 years or so. I think it’s one of the pillars of the hobby and of this wonderful community. I’ve been following the blog for as long as I can remember. It’s how I have been staying in touch with new games, how I discovered a lot of games and the joy of solo gaming too. The blog and YouTube channel has given me so much joy in this hobby. Thank you!

Thanks for your time Wouter. I know that you are busy working on several new projects but appreciate that you were willing to share your story and give us a little bit of insight into the life of a graphic designer. You have a very impressive list of games that you have done graphics for and I look forward to enjoying your work for years to come.

-Grant