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Post by mikeh on May 6, 2023 13:38:44 GMT -5
That is a lot on your plate! Your play test game sounds interesting.
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Post by Whiterook on May 7, 2023 10:46:54 GMT -5
That is a lot on your plate! Your play test game sounds interesting. The good news is that I’ve played all three systems, so it’s a matter of refreshing my grasp on the rules… the mechanics I’ve got down no problem, but it’s all those pesky little bits of rules that make this such an amazing and fun hobby, where we get to relive history. I could likely bumble my way through game plays as is, but my mood OCD (if that’s what I have) dictates I know with fair certainty, how to play fully so that I can just relax and play  On the WWI playtest, I’m halfway through the rules (14 pages, so not a big stretch) and I’ve thought a couple times, this is right up your ally! It’s a much larger scale than I’m used too (Corps/Divisions/Brigades)l so a total shift in mindset for me, which is a good thing… stretch and push that comfort envelope! A couple things have thrown me a tad so far, like: “LOS” standing for Line of Supply (not line of sight); no “Agitprop”, which I still don’t have complete grasp of, but is basically a politician unit or component or mechanic, for Agitation & Propaganda for the Russians… a marker you can buy, but I do t know what for just yet. |
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Post by mikeh on May 7, 2023 14:06:42 GMT -5
I don't like it when they change meanings on us, LOS becomes LOF or Line of Fire or some such, I always find myself tripping over these little things.
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Post by Whiterook on May 7, 2023 17:49:44 GMT -5
I don't like it when they change meanings on us, LOS becomes LOF or Line of Fire or some such, I always find myself tripping over these little things. Exactly! I actually pointed this out in my first report play test report, due in a couple weeks. I recommended they change the acronym to “LOSup”, for line of supply, of they want to keep an acronym…but feel they should just write out the verbiage of maintaining a supply line through friendly hexes. |
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Post by mikeh on May 8, 2023 10:42:25 GMT -5
Is it just to put their own personal stamp on a game I wonder? Another one is, from Fortress Berlin I think it is, is where DF for Defensive Factor is PF for Protection Factors. Come on! Lets all speak the same language, or as you suggested change it up a bit LOSup works, if they really feel they must.
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Post by Whiterook on May 8, 2023 19:22:47 GMT -5
Is it just to put their own personal stamp on a game I wonder? Another one is, from Fortress Berlin I think it is, is where DF for Defensive Factor is PF for Protection Factors. Come on! Lets all speak the same language, or as you suggested change it up a bit LOSup works, if they really feel they must. It may be… I would have been more positive this was the case, but I found another one today that makes me wonder if they (or me) just don’t know traditionally accepted rules standards… I saw for movement, it costs 2 movement factors (MF) to move into an open hex, but only 1 MF to move into a town or city hex; I have never known that to be so in other games and in fact, it has always been the reverse, in my experience… it’s harder to move into a city so, that’s generally been the 2MF cost, where it’s easier to move in the open, thereby being less movement factors. |
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Post by Whiterook on May 13, 2023 20:08:15 GMT -5
I’ve been bouncing around the rules for three games I’m bringing to Compass Games Expo in four day (WOW, it’s almost here!!!), and I just added this one that I’ll be hosting an evening multiplayer game… Escape from Colditz! This is the newest version, put out by Osprey Games in 2016, which features a bigger map with new colorful artwork and great components.  I plan to get this on the table tomorrow, so I can work through a game in prep for the expo. I last played this game probably about ten years ago or so…and then, it was with my 1973 Parker Brothers version, which is smaller. It’s a very cool game! …plays up to six players, with one player being the Germans, as the Security Officer trying to prevent escapes (…of course!); the other five players being a different Escape Officer from different Allied nationalities. You know, as an aside… I just remembered that I have a VASSAL module of this, but it’s the Italian (or some odd) version of the game, and kinda confusing to use. I should look at it again and if usable, offer to GM it here, if I can find enough players. Seems several of our gamer friends have deserted the ship!!! |
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Post by mikeh on May 14, 2023 12:36:05 GMT -5
That is a nice looking game. With up to 6 players it sounds like a good game for the Expo.
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 3, 2023 20:14:11 GMT -5
That is a nice looking game. With up to 6 players it sounds like a good game for the Expo. It was a blast to play! I felt more comfortable teaching it this go’round, more so than I did several years ago when it was my first play, as well. This new version by Osprey is so worth the money! |
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 3, 2023 20:28:47 GMT -5
About to put counters down tomorrow and see if I can muddle my way through a first play of Campaign 1 (of 3).  The name of the game is Eleven Days War: Final Offense in the East 1918, currently setup on my office desk… nice big map, where I had to use my biggest sheet of plexi! I’d planned on playing it this weekend, and o finally got through the rules a couple hours back, just before the Stanley Cup Finals game one. This is one of three games I am currently signed on to PlayTest… I’m trying to get a play in before my second (of the four reports I’m obligated to do, this second one being due this Tuesday. I’m part of the Bravo PlayTesters (the group I’m in, which is basically round two of play testing). It’s a gorgeous game, even for a prototype print. Basically, 14 pages of actual rules, at what I would guess is Medium (nudging High) Complexity. Some very cool elements in it, including Armored Trains! It’s Brigade to Corps-level so, lots of bodies and equipment to move. It encompasses a timeframe of February to May 1918 (Operation Faustschlag), so Lots of mud and ice to slog through. As you can see, Russia dominates the landscape, but there’s the possibility to pursue one side into Ukraine. Not sure on units density yet for artillery, but there’s surely a shit-ton of Infantry! It’s from Decision Games, so very historically accurate, as the8r games tend to be. When out for sale (next year?), it will be a magazine game, best to my knowledge. This is my first PlayTest for a game for Decision Games. It’s an 8-week commitment process, so very short and intense…unlike the other companies I’m playtesting games for. |
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Post by mikeh on Jun 4, 2023 12:17:23 GMT -5
Probably just me but the maps orientation throws me off.
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 5, 2023 8:32:02 GMT -5
Probably just me but the maps orientation throws me off. It’s the first thing I scratched my head at, literally! I’m figuring the strange (and I too, think it strange) orientation is due to the map area sipping to the right bottom to stretching to the top left, shape-wise. If you flipped it 90 degrees right, so that the topography (i.e., names of the cities and towns, and such) was read normally, the player at the bottom of the map would have to have his charts at the top right, and the player at the top of the map vice versa. If I were the game designer, I would have alternatively shown the map in that 90 degrees position mentioned above; you could have kept a lot of the tracks and pool boxes at top and bottom. As well as kept the Terrain Effects Charts in those positions, but altered 90 degrees to face the sides’ player. As for the charts, those could have easily gone on separate sheets, clustered nicely. This arrangement would also make the game easier to play solitaire. In other news, I went through all the counters yesterday, and it was a royal pain in the ass to separate out all the counters: You have something like 14 different contingents that make up both sides, and they are all color coordinated. Firstly, for myself personally, the issues I had were first, colors, where many are indistinguishable ti me die to my color blind issues; secondly, that’s a buttload of factions to keep track of, including which contingents are allied with the mother country (Germany ot Russia), as well as who doesn’t play well in the sandbox with each other. I’m learning some cool points of game design, and I also think it’ll be a cool game to play… but unless they take my suggestions to heart and alter some colors, I’d think twice or thrice about actually buying it. |
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 5, 2023 12:58:58 GMT -5
So OK… I think I’m done here, with this WWI game! It’s the half way through the Bravo Team, PlayTest and I’ve submitted two of my four reports, which actually has a ton of commentary, corrections, and suggestions; two passes through the rulebook with proofing and editing, two passes through the counters, and two passes through the map, and two trials of unit actions in small skirmishes (movement, combat, geopolitical, etc.)…
I’m sure, as of this writing, that I’ve done about all I can do, for one glaring and monumental reason… color distinctions in counters and map are too difficult for me. I’ve actually, never had that happen with a game before. I may try some more skirmishes, but I don’t think I can handle the much more of the focus needed to figure out what is what. That’s all on me folks, not particularly the game, because I can say that the game itself has a lot of very cool mechanics to it, and represents the WWI environment around the time of the Russian Revolution. It’s also much deeper than I typically go in gaming, with battling on such a huge area. It started to feel more like work for me, once I started trying to play it…and that’s not why I personally game, even though I know a bunch of people who do.
I have no doubt this is going to appeal to a lot of gamers and see success in sales. In that regard, I’m very happy for thr designers. I’m always grateful to have been a part of the second phrase of PlayTesting, as I’ve learned a lot about what the design of a game takes, as well as the historical period, which I didn’t have a lot of experience with.
I might titter with it a bit more, but I’m pretty sure I’m going to pull this dog (me) outta ‘da kennel. Woof Woof!
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 17, 2023 10:46:40 GMT -5
11 Days War (see above) is a cool game, and models WWI around the time of the Russian Revolution very well. In the game, I was hoping for an operational victory for the Central Powers (CP), but I just couldn’t get to the end of the game in one piece. I think the game has good potential to play out historically, but I honestly do not know a lot of the period, other than some quick reading to see where the hell was!
In the first scenario setup, the game seems to be primed well for the CP to advance like a a juggernaut: I saw another playtester advance forward for the the first 4 turns… but he, like me, saw the action slow down considerably the rest of the scenario. This is mainly due to the scarcity of supply sources (cities) deeper into Russia. The Ukrainians fare better, mainly due to better supply sources.
What all this leads to is a front line established at Navra to Smolensk, to Kiev, for Ober Ost. Again, there is not enough supply sources to guarantee a secured advance further. I found it interesting that he and I had the same experience.
I like a lot of what the game brings, but it damn well burned me out playing it. I think as comfort grows with play, there are nuisances that can be exploited to make game play more successful? …not sure how much more I can put int9 this one though, as my sciatica has me currently sidelines to short times at any game, and Herr Hairy Cats are just baiting their time to pounce!
Time to move on?
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Post by Whiterook on Jun 17, 2023 11:00:15 GMT -5
Next one up… Ostkrieg: WWII Eastern Front  This is a strategic level game that covers the entire war in the east, from Barbarossa until 1945. Each turn is one year, but the game is card-driven with each year consisting of multiple card plays per side. I picked this one up at Compass Games Expo last month, because it’s basically a sister game of Pacific War… from the rules read (I’m 2/3rds through, a short 10-ish page rulebook), it’s damn near identical, except this is land-based. Great map, and the counters are decent…   I’ll be punching and clipping counters this weekend or so, as well as sleeving the cards. With sciatica, I’m looking for short timespans to pass the time. |
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