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Author Topic: Whats on Your Table?  (Read 173477 times)

Barthheart

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Reply #780 on: December 30, 2021, 09:51:59 AM
Well they are “book style” in that they come in books.  :biggrin:

Bismarck has a map but you write on it instead of using counters. It is NOT a read a paragraph and then chose which page to go to style.

You roll to see what the RN is up to then fight if required then move yer ships where you want to. Rinse and repeat.

PETS - People for the Ethical Treatment of Square corners


trailrunner

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Reply #781 on: December 30, 2021, 12:22:22 PM
I liked the book format.  Graphics were good, and I liked how they brought the history into the format.  It reminded me of something that I would have had when I was young, long before computers and iPads.  I had originally purchased it to keep me busy for a 6 hour train ride (each way), but wound up taking it to a cabin for a weekend instead, and it was perfect for that.  All you need is the book, a pen or pencil, and two dice (or a dice app).  I've read that some people photocopied the book, or made a plexiglass overlay, to preserve the pages, but I just wrote on the book itself. 

My issue with the game is that the British missions (or whatever they were called) were pretty much the same.  As you progressed through the book, the victory conditions got harder because they required the Bismark to stay at sea longer, or get more points, but it was essentially the same set of British responses over and over.  I sort of get that because the British missions were based on history, but I got bored and never did finish all the missions.

Good observation on B-17.  I did not really care for that game.

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judgedredd

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Reply #782 on: December 31, 2021, 12:49:06 PM
Enemy Action:Ardennes
Here's an example of the AI and what you need to work through in order to have the AI work....

This picture shows the AI Command Card. This one is is for the XVIII Airborne Corps. You work down the list in the top half of the card and perform the first action in the list that is applicable. A {G} indicates it's for the German Solo game only, and {A} signifies it's for the Allied Solo game only and the arrows indicate it's for both the Allied and German solo games.

In the case of this card,
  • Deploy all Corps Reserves
    I have no XVIII Corps reserves to deploy
  • Expedite Corps Reserves
    There are no XVIII Corps reserves in the following day - so I cannot expedite them
  • Assign 2 RPs to Corps (20-29)
    There are no units requiring replacements (I could replenish 2 units with 1 replacement each - and only from the 20th to the 29th)
  • Activate all units in Corps
    This one I can do

There are checks you have to do to see if you can activate a Corps and the reason I can activate the Corps is because of this bold section from section 10 of the manual 10 Allied Activations and Action Cards
  • “Wandering behind enemy lines” (10.8 )
  • In danger of surround, but not surrounded and not in a VP hex
  • Out-of-contact (9.3)
  • Dispersed
  • Eligible to receive an IP (Improved Position) marker (that is, in supply and not in a hex with a town, city or IP)
  • 19+ The following situation also triggers activation:
    proximate (10.3) to a German unit/stack against which the Allied unit has at least a simple 2:1 strength advantage. Include the strengths of other active and inactive Allied units proximate to the German unit in this assessment.

If any of the above criteria apply to at least one unit in the formation, conduct the Allied activation sequence for all on-map units in the formation.

At least one of the units is able to receive an IP (Improved Position) so I can activate the units of the Corps.

Once you've worked out that you can activate the Corps, you draw 3 Action Cards which tell you how you can activate them. You go through the Action Cards in numerical order, starting at the lowest number and work up to the highest number. In my case I pulled 3 cards numbered 02, 05 and 06. 02 was Fill the Gap and it did not fit any of the units in the Corps.

However 05 was Major Offensive




judgedredd

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Reply #783 on: December 31, 2021, 01:19:11 PM
The Major Offensive card (pic 1) specifies a situation which fits my units. I do have units which, when moved towards a German unit, will present a greater than 2:1 ratio for attacking.

The Action part of the card tells me how to execute the command. It tells me that other proximate units in the same Army can reinforce the attack - and this allows me to move the units in purple to move into position and support the attack. It also tells me when to break off the attack - in this case if I have equal to or more than 5 steps of units attacking (I have 16 steps) then I break off the attack when I (the Allies) have suffered 2 hits...so I keep pulling chits until - as the Allies - I take two hits.

NOTE - I haven't included the CCB 3A VII - that's because it needs to move out of a German ZoC which costs and additional point and the only way it can move is into woods - which costs 4 MPs for an Armoured or Mechanized unit - so it would simply use all it's MPs to move one hex and couldn't get to the battle - so it stays put.

At the bottom of the card, it does say Protect VP Hex and when you look that up, it says in 10.3 Allied Action Card Terminology
Protect VP Hex
When moving an Allied unit, do not move out of a VP hex within 2 hexes of a German unit or to which a German unit is proximate, if doing so would leave the hex vacant. Do not participate in an attack if in a VP hex occupied by fewer than four steps total.


The units I plan to move (see pic 2) are in VP hexes (highlighted in green) - however due to ZoC (Zones of Control highlighted in red) of Allied units, they will not be able to move to the VP hexes (there is a ZoC north east of the Armoured unit being moved which is why I can move it - I've just cropped it off so you can't see it) - so I can move these Allied units off their VP hexes and commit them to attack the 2nd Panzer of XLVII Corps

By moving these units, I will have a 25:4 or a 6:1 ratio in combat.

I've made that seem simpler than it is - there's a lot of checking and double checking rules to see which situation fits - but the point of my post was to show you that the AI, if worked correctly by the player, can work very well. It's because of this that I have stalled in my progress as the Germans - the AI is either plugging gaps in their lines or attacking - and just enough to make a dent here and there. It really is a superb system - if somewhat complicated.

Anyway - I'm off to play some more  ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 2021, 01:22:27 PM by judgedredd »



bayonetbrant

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Reply #784 on: December 31, 2021, 02:49:53 PM
Dude, seriously...  why aren't you writing this as a "how to play" or analysis article for the front page?!   :whistle:

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judgedredd

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Reply #785 on: December 31, 2021, 03:19:52 PM
Dude, seriously...  why aren't you writing this as a "how to play" or analysis article for the front page?!   :whistle:
because it's........soooooooooooo.....time.......consuming.

Honestly it's been on my table for over a month. Sure real life and stuff have got in the way - but I'm literally 6 turns in over that period!! Alot of that time is me re-reading rules to check stuff.

I've done AARs before and they are time consuming - this one would be an absolute mare with the photos and the like. Absolute hell.

I did start a document I was going to give you. 2 pages in and I gave up. It was a mess. All over the place, no real structure and I wasn't really explaining things properly.

So sorry - I'm afraid this one stays undocumented. I only wanted to post a snippet of what the game AI played like and I didn't want to start a new thread because I wasn't planning to provide much more - if anything more at all.



bob48

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Reply #786 on: December 31, 2021, 03:33:33 PM
What you have put is really interesting and does give some insight into how the game works.

SLÀINTE MHATH, JD :-)

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'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'


judgedredd

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Reply #787 on: December 31, 2021, 03:37:27 PM
Agus a charaid



bbmike

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Reply #788 on: December 31, 2021, 04:05:32 PM
The front what now?

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


judgedredd

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Reply #789 on: December 31, 2021, 04:35:26 PM
He said "Good health" and I said "And you friend"
Oh...the front page?  :ROFL:

I've really not helped keep this thread on topic, have I  ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 2021, 05:23:43 PM by judgedredd »



mcguire

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Reply #790 on: December 31, 2021, 05:12:18 PM
The front what now?

 :ROFL:

(Oh, ah, what's on my table? Uh, lessee, I started the introductory Lasalle 2 scenario using Hazdrubal's very attractive Table Top Simulator module. I'm up to about turn 6, the French are taking a beating, I've screwed up the rules a lot, and I accidentally deleted a French artillery unit. But it still look very much like what I'd think a Napoleonic battlefield would look like (with disappearing artillery units). Great fun!)

"Man...knowing how to use the cards properly certainly changes how I play the game" -- judgedredd


Hethwill

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Reply #791 on: January 24, 2022, 02:26:31 PM



BanzaiCat

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Reply #792 on: January 25, 2022, 08:10:03 AM
Currently I'm working through Days of Ire for the next episode of the podcast.

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(includes Solosaurus Plays)


judgedredd

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Reply #793 on: January 25, 2022, 03:45:45 PM

You should probably say what the game is  :whistle:



Hethwill

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Reply #794 on: January 26, 2022, 05:13:23 AM
You should probably say what the game is  :whistle:

The Dark Summer ( GMT Games ) aka. the only Normandy campaign operational I will ever need ( for various reasons ).

but in the meanwhile I ended playing it and threw a game we like playing here in the household.



This War Without an Enemy https://www.nutspublishing.com/eshop/wargames-en/this-war-without-an-enemy-en