Guide
How to write a wargame battle report without it taking all evening
A good battle report is less about remembering everything and more about noting the right few things while the game is still fresh. This guide covers what to write down, what to photograph, and how to turn it into something people actually want to read.
Why most reports never happen
The hard part is rarely the writing. It's that the game ended two hours ago, the details have blurred, and there are forty photos with no notes. A few habits during play fix most of that.
Doing it yourself, or letting Debrief do it
Doing it by hand
- Note one or two lines at the end of every round
- Photograph the table at the start, mid-game and end
- Open with the setup, close with the result
- Write it up while the game is still fresh
Debrief
- Give it the same photos and notes
- Get a finished, structured report back
- Add narration, music and video if you want them
Doing it by hand works fine — these habits are worth having either way. If you'd rather not write it yourself, Debrief takes the same photos and notes and writes it for you.
How it works
- 1
Photograph the table three times. At deployment, around the middle, and at the end. Shoot from the same angle and keep the whole board in frame.
- 2
Note one or two lines per round. Who took the objective, what fell, and the moment worth remembering. Names beat descriptions.
- 3
Open with the setup. Who was playing, what factions, what mission, and what was at stake.
- 4
Tell it round by round, then close on the result. Keep each round to a short paragraph. End on the final score and the moment that decided it.
Frequently asked
- How long should a battle report be?
- For a written report, one short paragraph per round plus an opening and a closing is plenty — roughly 400 to 800 words for a five-round game. Shorter and punchier usually reads better than a full transcript.
- What should I write down during the game?
- One or two lines per round is enough: who took the objective, what died, and the moment someone will still be talking about. Photograph the table at the start, once mid-game, and at the end.
- Can Debrief write the report for me?
- Yes. You give it the photos and a line or two per round, and it writes a finished, narrated report. It works with a dozen tabletop games, from Star Wars: Legion to Blood Bowl.
- Is my battle report used to train AI models?
- No. Report text goes through Anthropic's API and narration audio through OpenAI's API, and both providers state that API inputs and outputs are not used to train their models by default. See the Privacy Policy for details and provider links.
- Do I have to pay to use it?
- No. Written reports are free. An optional Patreon pledge unlocks recorded narration, video export, and a higher monthly report allowance.