Try Tigers on the Prowl or Panthers in the Shadows.
Posted on 10/01/2001 8:14:21 AM PDT by jalisco555
(I just love those homey bits of Klingon folk wisdom, don't you?)
Actually, I participated in a group that is playing the game with stream-lined rules, the game is great, now that is. The game isn't over yet, but they are in the Spring of 1943.
Favorite scenario in TOAW? Perhaps Kursk, talk about a grinding slugfest. A lot of tension in that one. While it is hard for the Germans to win, as it should be, I've played it 3 times and it never ceases to capture my imagination. Korea '50-51 is probably the most entertaining though.
Koby
My ANKW port is based on the original from S&T #139 (nothing west of Mosul); I may revise it if I buy the complete ANKW game from Desert Fox Games. The fun part is editing the road network.
Have you played the computer version of "Kingmaker"? I had played the boardgame quite a bit when it first came out and, when it came out for computer, I snapped it up.
I've got about a 50% win record against the computer ... a very combative and "intelligent" AI program.
When I was stationed in Germany, we took over an empty barracks room and played the old SPI monster game "Terrible Swift Sword". It lasted about three months and, once you entered the room, you were not allowed to talk to another player unless he was on your side AND his counter was in the same hex as yours. We created "courier" pieces to send messages back and forth from one subordinate command to another, with the three referees (to ensure "compliance" with written orders) in between. Even though everybody could "see" the enemy's units, the "fog of war" still raised its ugly head.
In our game, "Robert E. Lee" ordered portions of "Early's" command to march west, ostensibly to reinforce Pickett in the center. The order was received and "Early" began his march. Unfortunately, as "Lee" hadn't specified where the march was to be made to, the referees informed "Early" that he was to keep marching west until "Lee" sent an additional message to either halt him or direct him in.
When the battle heated up, "Lee" forgot about the order and, with "Early" passing through the hills to the northeast, didn't "see" his troops leaving the battlefield until several game-hours had passed. If the refs hadn't cut "Lee" a break, my guess is that "Early" would have been marching to Pittsburg.
Ah, the good old days when we were unmarried and didn't think twice of staying up all night doing things like this.
Ain't that the truth. I'm lucky if I have an hour a week to spare for gaming now. If only all this family, work and community stuff didn't get in the way!
Ditto that. I still have a big pile of Avalon Hill and SPI games. Those of you, like me, who did the SPI thing in the '70's, know where Jim Dunnagin came from when you see him as an expert military commentator on CNN. I saw him once just after the terrorist atrocity, as well as during the Gulf War.
Anyone else play with the computer Close Combat series? Especially "A Bridge Too Far". Good stuff, especially in the all-infantry battles. Lots of vehicles tend to make the game get weird, due to vehicle unit AI (or lack thereof), but the infantry-only scenarios feel amazingly realistic.
If you liked N44 you'll LOVE Karhov 42. That is one of the best wargames/computer games I've ever played. N44 is too much a game of attrition while K42 gives both sides ample opportunity to attack and defend. The Germans don't have muc to do in N44 unfortunately. Skip buying the other games, buy K42.
Koby
We had a yard sale several months back, and my wife wanted me to put my old wargames up for sale (Panzer Leader, Panzerblitz, Luftwaffe, Third Reich, Waterloo, etc). When I objected, she said, "You never play those games--you haven't even touched them since we've been married! When was the last time you played them?"
She thought she had a point, I guess.
I remember one night in college--the day I bought Panzer Leader--the other fellow and I set it up that evening and played all night. Finally, when the sun came up, he said he had to leave and go to class. We played about 12 hours straight. Oh, for the days when I had 12 hours to kill playing a game.
To the point of the article, I majored in History in college, and I read history constantly, yet I have learned more about historical warfare from wargaming than any other source. I particularly enjoyed a much-maligned game called Alexander (Avalon Hill). The manual was a pretty good primer on ancient war tactics and the game was just flat-out fun to play. I loved that game. I learned about the art of marital forgiveness when my wife put Alexander in our open-air garage soon after we married. The heat/humidity/rain turned the game board into a wet paper bag.
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