josta's Games Log

[josta59]

Jun 18, 2023 17:14:30 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

I’ve been wondering where the heck you’ve been, my friend! Too many people have disappeared from here…so much so, I’ve wondered whether the site is sustainable any longer.

That’s a gem, for sure! I bought it for the same reasons of street to street fighting. TBP does some real nice, low complexity games, with a small rules book footprint. I started toying with it when I bought it but got sidetracked… been meaning to get back to it! 

Lock ‘N Load Publishing’s, “Day of Heroes” is a more complex version of this style of fighting in the Middle East. It’s currently on sale for half price at $40, which I highly recommend… see here. Another good pet ion is NUTS! publishing’s, “Phantom Fury”, but that’ll cost ‘ya (well over a hundred), as it’s OOP.

I've been around! Believe it or not, I spent a few months playing that previous game, Land of Confusion. So I was gaming, but didn't have much to post about. Then I spent a while reading the rules for Battle for Ramadi and trying to understand it, and now I'm finally trying it out and had something to post!

Thanks for the recommendations!

[josta59]

Here's how Ramadi looked at the end of my last turn. All the counters are my side, which was the Iraqi Army. All unoccupied hexes are assumed to contain ISIS, except the red-tinged hexes around the edges, which are my HQ.



I feel like that's pretty respectable for my first time playing. I took three objectives, including the government complex that is critical to win the game.

Unfortunately, the final score was ISIS 26, Iraqi Army 22. So close. The Army needed more points than ISIS, along with the government complex, to win. Still, not bad for my first try. And I did a terrible job keeping score, so who knows what the real score was.

Naturally, the further I got in the game, the better I understood it, but by then I'd made too many errors to beat ISIS. I'm sure I'll do better next time!

The next game on my table will probably get me back into tabletop miniatures, finally. It's been a while. And I'll probably be using Force on Force for the first time, after all these years of curiosity about it!

[Whiterook]

…I think that’s a very respectable outcome! Probably pretty realistic, too, when considering the different style in which each side fought.

You hit on a very good point I think about a lot… have to keep telling myself to just PLAY the game, warts and mistakes and all! You will learn as you play more scenarios. I’ve noted many of my gamer friends do this; have that mentality… I’m afraid I’m just now trying to heed that style! I always want to know a system pretty much down pat, which for me, means rereading rules endlessly, which is a real drag. I think you’re on the right track and the healthier one!

[Whiterook]

I came across my copy of Ramadi… I forgot how gorgeous the components to this game are! I’ve since bought another game of similar style, different era so, I’ll probably hit that before this one but still, it was great to see it being played. You planning on playing again soon? I’ll have to check to see if this is on VASSAL.

[josta59]

Well...I've bought a few games in the past year and downloaded some new miniatures rules. I'm running into the problem of having a lot of stuff to play and not much time. I have a board game I haven't opened yet after getting it months ago. And once I put a game on my table, it stays there for weeks because it takes a while to get used to the rules and I don't like restarting the process too often. So I probably won't get back to Ramadi any time soon.

But yeah, very good game! I contacted the designer recently to see what he has in the works. He's still working on modern games. Makes me happy.

[Whiterook]

Aug 21, 2023 19:55:51 GMT -5 josta59 said:

Well...I've bought a few games in the past year and downloaded some new miniatures rules. I'm running into the problem of having a lot of stuff to play and not much time. I have a board game I haven't opened yet after getting it months ago. And once I put a game on my table, it stays there for weeks because it takes a while to get used to the rules and I don't like restarting the process too often. So I probably won't get back to Ramadi any time soon.

But yeah, very good game! I contacted the designer recently to see what he has in the works. He's still working on modern games. Makes me happy.

You're certainly not alone in ‘…having a lot of stuff to play and not much time’ and games in shrink   Pretty much ever wargamer I know has similar. I also share your dislike for re-learning and starting over with systems… I seem to always be relearning games, lol…doing that with Lock ‘N Load Tactical at present. The way I’ve moved somewhat passed that dilemma is, I started to regard rulebooks as “books and magazines”, in with that mindset, I’m just reading 

[josta59]

Aug 22, 2023 8:44:52 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

Aug 21, 2023 19:55:51 GMT -5 josta59 said:

Well...I've bought a few games in the past year and downloaded some new miniatures rules. I'm running into the problem of having a lot of stuff to play and not much time. I have a board game I haven't opened yet after getting it months ago. And once I put a game on my table, it stays there for weeks because it takes a while to get used to the rules and I don't like restarting the process too often. So I probably won't get back to Ramadi any time soon.

But yeah, very good game! I contacted the designer recently to see what he has in the works. He's still working on modern games. Makes me happy.

You're certainly not alone in ‘…having a lot of stuff to play and not much time’ and games in shrink   Pretty much ever wargamer I know has similar. I also share your dislike for re-learning and starting over with systems… I seem to always be relearning games, lol…doing that with Lock ‘N Load Tactical at present. The way I’ve moved somewhat passed that dilemma is, I started to regard rulebooks as “books and magazines”, in with that mindset, I’m just reading 

Me too! I've read so many of them now that it's enjoyable because I usually understand and can visualize what they're saying. Getting my minis out and trying them can be time-consuming, though.

The big exception was Skullcore, which came out in January. Seems like an interesting concept, but it's like reading another language. I tried hard to understand but couldn't. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I posted about it here: wargamingdropzone.proboards.com/thread/342/skullcore-free-digital-rules-killwager

[Whiterook]

Aug 23, 2023 16:03:42 GMT -5 josta59 said:

Aug 22, 2023 8:44:52 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

You're certainly not alone in ‘…having a lot of stuff to play and not much time’ and games in shrink   Pretty much ever wargamer I know has similar. I also share your dislike for re-learning and starting over with systems… I seem to always be relearning games, lol…doing that with Lock ‘N Load Tactical at present. The way I’ve moved somewhat passed that dilemma is, I started to regard rulebooks as “books and magazines”, in with that mindset, I’m just reading 

Me too! I've read so many of them now that it's enjoyable because I usually understand and can visualize what they're saying. Getting my minis out and trying them can be time-consuming, though.

The big exception was Skullcore, which came out in January. Seems like an interesting concept, but it's like reading another language. I tried hard to understand but couldn't. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I posted about it here: wargamingdropzone.proboards.com/thread/342/skullcore-free-digital-rules-killwager

Hmmmm… I made it through 9 minutes of the 12 minute short quick tutorial and I see what you mean. It’s an odd system as is and I’m curious how the original system is (which I wouldn’t be surprised to see is easier to play). My impression is, there’s a Lot to remember, mainly because they’ve made up their own “language” on terminology and mechanics… like ‘grips’ (firing) and ‘react’ (opportunity fire). It’s almost like they had a digital First Person Shooter and are playing it physically with minis. 

I can see that it’s fast play, once you get the language basics down and convert that in your head to general wargame specs… but it’s basically a game of in close opportunity fire and guns blazing attacks. 

I don’t really like the LOS rules at first glance, as they’ve complicated the ever livin’ hell out of them; nor the ZOC…I know many games that use similar, but in this case, it’s because they want a lot of blood spilling as quick as possible. 

It has merit for what it is… well thought out design… but not my general desert.

[josta59]

Aug 26, 2023 5:07:39 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

Aug 23, 2023 16:03:42 GMT -5 josta59 said:

Me too! I've read so many of them now that it's enjoyable because I usually understand and can visualize what they're saying. Getting my minis out and trying them can be time-consuming, though.

The big exception was Skullcore, which came out in January. Seems like an interesting concept, but it's like reading another language. I tried hard to understand but couldn't. I'd be interested in your thoughts. I posted about it here: wargamingdropzone.proboards.com/thread/342/skullcore-free-digital-rules-killwager

Hmmmm… I made it through 9 minutes of the 12 minute short quick tutorial and I see what you mean. It’s an odd system as is and I’m curious how the original system is (which I wouldn’t be surprised to see is easier to play). My impression is, there’s a Lot to remember, mainly because they’ve made up their own “language” on terminology and mechanics… like ‘grips’ (firing) and ‘react’ (opportunity fire). It’s almost like they had a digital First Person Shooter and are playing it physically with minis. 

I can see that it’s fast play, once you get the language basics down and convert that in your head to general wargame specs… but it’s basically a game of in close opportunity fire and guns blazing attacks. 

I don’t really like the LOS rules at first glance, as they’ve complicated the ever livin’ hell out of them; nor the ZOC…I know many games that use similar, but in this case, it’s because they want a lot of blood spilling as quick as possible. 

It has merit for what it is… well thought out design… but not my general desert.

Thanks for your perspective! I appreciate that.

[Whiterook]

…your welcome!

The system has a lot going for it in concept, and I may still try it out with my Battlefield Evolution miniatures. I’d struggled with the BE rules at first, ‘cause they were not what I was used to gaming, but they taught me to stay open minded; I curious to see how how the KillWager skullcore system matches up to them…maybe there’s a smash up between the two!

[josta59]

Good luck to you. I'd be excited to read any write-ups about anything you do in the modern setting.

[Whiterook]

Aug 27, 2023 15:45:36 GMT -5 josta59 said:

Good luck to you. I'd be excited to read any write-ups about anything you do in the modern setting.

Id definitely place a thread in the Game Design Zone in the War College   …it’s fun to mix, match, and alter!

[josta59]

Hey, just started playing Border War by Decision Games. It seems to be basically the same as their Congo Merc game that I also own and have played, just with a different theme. It's a solo modern wargame with a small rulebook, so I wanted it. In both games, you're roaming around an area of Africa with a couple of teams looking for objectives and fighting off enemies. The scale in Border War is a little larger, and your forces are conceptually bigger, but it doesn't look like it will play any differently. It's nice to be on a different map, and now I'm looking for the enemy's secret plans instead of looking for local innocents to rescue.

[Whiterook]

Hmmmm, that looks interesting! It’s been very cool to see the different boardgames that have captured your playing attention. I like to float between boardgames, which take most of my attentions… but switch over to miniatures systems; it makes a nice switch. I’ve had the feeling you are the other way around, preferring miniatures, but like to switch to boardgames now and then. Either way, it’s something that so many people miss out on, don’t you think? …I mean, I know gamers that just play one or the other, but to play both is gaming at its fullest, in my opinion.

We seem to follow the same tangents a lot, too… I never really played games that you move from spot to spot, but it’s a cool way to get into more of a thematic style game, perhaps? …rather than 360 degree adjacent movement, you need to follow a *path*, or *flow* in order to achieve objectives and general maneuver across the battlefield. Seems that way to me, anyway.

[josta59]

Nov 5, 2023 22:13:43 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

Hmmmm, that looks interesting! It’s been very cool to see the different boardgames that have captured your playing attention. I like to float between boardgames, which take most of my attentions… but switch over to miniatures systems; it makes a nice switch. I’ve had the feeling you are the other way around, preferring miniatures, but like to switch to boardgames now and then. Either way, it’s something that so many people miss out on, don’t you think? …I mean, I know gamers that just play one or the other, but to play both is gaming at its fullest, in my opinion.

We seem to follow the same tangents a lot, too… I never really played games that you move from spot to spot, but it’s a cool way to get into more of a thematic style game, perhaps? …rather than 360 degree adjacent movement, you need to follow a *path*, or *flow* in order to achieve objectives and general maneuver across the battlefield. Seems that way to me, anyway.

Hey! I've been making more and more money in the past few years, which has led to me feeling better about buying games, which has led to finding board games I really want to play. So this year my minis/board game mix is about 50/50. It's nice sometimes just to sit back and follow someone else's scenario and rules rather than creating a new minis game. And board games certainly have more structure.

Yes, these Decision Games feature area movement rather than a hex map. But planes and helicopters are available, so it's not as limiting as it might look. A special rule in this game is the ability to chopper units from one area to another as soon as enemies show up, which came in really handy in this game (which I won with a lot of luck).

A big difference from a hex map is that you can't see the enemies coming. They don't enter the map until you move to a new area, and you don't know when you'll run into them. It's kind of weird because there are reconnaissance rules, but you can only use them to see if a nearby objective is something you actually want or just a mine field (which is a weird dichotomy). You can't use it to see if there are enemies around, which is probably the most unrealistic feature of this game.