Some Musical Advice

For Makers of Decision-Forcing Case Studies

‘Mel! Thanks for joining us. We could use your expertise.’

‘Happy to oblige! Melpomene’s the name. Narrative’s the game. How can I help?’

‘We’re offering some advice to folks who craft decision-forcing cases. Hints from Heloise, so to speak.’

‘I remember her well. I always thought that she was Auntie Hera in disguise … Goddess of Domesticity and all that.’

‘Makes sense …’

‘So, Sweet Sister, what advice do you have for folks who would build historical map problems.’

‘Well, at the risk of being obvious … devote a lot of time, toil, and trouble on the provision of maps. A good map provides a lot of context, and thus reduces the amount of exposition required to get the players started.’

‘The more you draw, the less you need to write.’

‘Or say. Better yet, if you can find a suitable base map, then all you have to do is add the symbols that depict units and other moveables. Best of all, you can sometimes find a copy of the same map that the historical protagonist used while wrestling with the real-world problem.’

‘Where can folks find such maps?’

‘I recommend looking through the posts already published by The Tactical Notebook.’

‘All fifteen hundred of them?’

‘Good point. I think you have uncovered a mission for the Green-Garbed Goddess. Thalia, what do you think?’

‘I think that it’s time for me to write a post about the art of finding maps.’

‘Splendid. What other suggestions can you offer?’

‘You should try to put Clio out of business.’

‘Excuse me? Is that any way to treat your big sister?’

‘No offense, Sis. Here’s what I mean. Rather than doing full-fledged historical research, you should look for a pre-existing narrative, something written by someone else. You will still have to fill in gaps and place the piece in context, but, unless you have a whole lot of time on your hands, you shouldn’t try to build a case from scratch.’

‘Where can people procure pre-fabs of that sort?’