Grognard Wargamer Thread!

Kingmaker was fairly fun as I recall…cant remember anything either though!

Used to play that quite a bit at our gaming club in the 80s. IIRC AH even made a decent computer version of it in the 90s.

I am considering this from the Slitherine sale as I’d like a beer and pretzels WW II grand strategy game that isn’t too taxing to learn. Any good reasons not to/better suggestions?

https://www.slitherine.com/game/gary-grigsbys-world-at-war-a-world-divided

I used to like it, and bought it a few months ago for the same reasons. Very buggy with Windows 10, so crashy it was unplayable.

I have this but European Theater only https://www.slitherine.com/game/strategic-command-wwii-war-in-europe.

Its OK for a Beer & Pretzels thing and the mods are good too. This one has the whole war.

https://www.slitherine.com/game/strategic-command-wwii-world-at-war

Yeah, it’s a pretty simple MP game with enough period flavor. Not card driven, but lots of cards used for the time. It really needs a reboot, but my guess is that it’s on Hasbro’s more expensive license list (for wargames) of the old AH stuff they own. It was always in print and was a pretty popular title for AH. The only “issue” with it, IIRC is that the endgame is hard to push to conclusion, but for a bunch of new players (or “haven’t played in years” players) it’ll be just fine.

A lot of those games really get the fine tooth comb on BGG and other sites in retrospect because they’ve had soooo many playthroughs.

Just FYI, MMP has a Black Friday sale with some crazy prices.

http://www.multimanpublishing.com/News/tabid/82/Default.aspx#news

I bought Beyond the Rhine, Day of Days, It Never Snows, and The Greatest Day, as they are all freaking 50% off. I would have bought Last Blitzkrieg and Op Mercury, too, except I have them already. Check it out. Oh, I bought The Tide at Sunrise just because I heard it was good.

Just bought it (Tide at Sunrise). Thanks, B. Merry Black Friday to me.

I bought Tide at Sunrise and Beyond the Rhine. They’d better be good, Bruce.

Nostalgia got the better of me and I bought Unity of Command 2. Some thoughts:

  1. The time developers spent making the map “3D” was largely time wasted. Or else I’ve vastly underestimated the number of people out there trying to create the perfect screenshot of pocketed Axis armies.

  2. The tutorials are woefully inadequate. The campaign starts at Wadi Akarit. The tutorials cover the Louisiana Maneuvers and explain the basics of movement, combat and supply. Things not covered: specialized combat, naval landings, airborne operations, the card system, Corps specialization and basically everything new that UoC2 brings to the table. The mind boggles.

A tutorial covering the Torch landings to the beginning of the campaign could have addressed all of this, while casting some light on a part of the North African campaign that lives in the shadows in the land of computer wargames. Such a wasted opportunity.

3). The AI is as good as the original. Perhaps a little better. So there’s that.

I’ll probably have more to say after I’ve completed the campaign, if anyone is interested.

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@Navaronegun Speaking of prying, can we pry some thoughts on WarPlan out of you please?

I’m in the middle of 2 mirror PBEMs. When I’m done, I’ll elaborate. I know Santa is curious, so it should be soon.

I’ll say this, the initial bugs have been worked out, so that is a good thing.

WWII open-source tank commander roguelike.

https://www.armouredcommander.com/blog/

It’s kind of cool looking, if butt-ugly of course.

Have some clip art

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I can’t remember if we’ve discussed this before, but has anyone in the thread played in any matrix games? (The role-playing-like wargames, not the company that produces computer wargames).

There are several groups that run them at Gen Con every year, and I know that they are played in some military and political circles.

Tom Mouat describes them in his collection of notes, Practical Advice on Matrix Games, as follows:

Matrix games are different. In a Matrix game, there are few pre-set rules limiting what players can do. Instead, each is free to undertake any plausible action during their turn. The chances of success or failure, as well as the effects of the action, are largely determine through structured argument and discussion. This process allows for imaginative game dynamics that are lively and open-ended, and yet also grounded in reality. In a Matrix Game, you use words to describe why something should happen, the Facilitator or the players (or both) decide how likely it is, and you might roll a dice to see if it happens (but equally, in the face of a compelling argument, you might not need to). If you can say “This happens, for the following reasons…” you can play a Matrix Game.

Matrix games are particularly well-suited for complex conflicts and issues involving multiple actors and stake-holders, varying interests and agendas, and a broad range of (diplomatic/political, military, social, and economic) dimensions. The game system crowdsources ideas and insight from participants, thereby fostering greater analytical insight. The games themselves are not intended to be fiercely competitive, with obvious winners and losers. Instead they operate with the players working to generate a credible narrative. The player roles may have objectives that will place them in conflict with other players, but it is perfectly possible for all of the players to achieve at least some of their objectives by the end of the game.

I’m busy with the upcoming Westphalia game at the moment, but once that is completed, would anyone be interested in giving one of these a shot? I’d be happy to moderate, and have some ideas about what to play and how we can adapt it to a online forum.

I’ve played (forced to play) many when I worked for the military. As a result my interest is below zero (is that possible?). :)

They are ooey-gooey and end up being feel good “team-building sessions” but do a poor job exploring actual strategic/operational problem-sets . I’ve even been in two sessions run by the author, Mouat.

That “Robust evidence from research on intelligence analysis and prediction
shows that crowds outperform individuals” quote is laughable (BTW, he has a bone to pick and a product to sell - in his day job he is affiliated with a company that attempts to see crowd-sourcing software to NATO) as well as selling these game sessions to whatever NATO nation is willing to pony up bucks (9/10 times, "Murica).

I think the amount of fun you have with this type of game is is inversely proportional to how seriously you are expected to treat the consequences.

As policy planning tools go, they are not particularly helpful. I think of the exercise as a light role playing game, rather than a meaningful tool. In that context, I think they can be fun.