>>93373752
>How do you feel about card driven games? Do you think they're too arbitrary and "board-gamey", or do you think they can convey simulation and topics just as well as any traditional action mechanism?
As a rule I don't like them. I hate rng. I don't mind odds that you can influence, like e.g. squad leader, in which your decisions stacks the odds in or against your favour. Card driven however just feels too gamey, unless the card deck is simply simulating dice in some form or another.

Take "we the people" and games that adopted similar systems. It is too restrictive. Maybe I need refuse right, but I can't because I only have attack centre card. Fuck that kind of noise. I don't mind a "the best laid plans" approach to things, but that isn't what is happening, I and the mice don't even get to make a plan to fuck up with this type of card system. I feel like cardgames often (and easily) just make things random for the sake of it, and then try to pawn it off as "le ebin fog of war".

I like my games to be playable "sims" to some degree or another, and most card systems are incompatible with that in my experience.

Squad leader has some sim aspects to it, things often pan out similar to how it would have panned out IRL, giving it a level of intuitiveness. Despite its bible tier rules, it is actually pretty easy to learn because of this.

>>93373752
Any (pacific) wargames that simulate sigint?

>>93373912
>Maybe I need refuse right, but I can't because I only have attack centre card. Fuck that kind of noise
To be fair, I think every CDG after Hannibal(?) dropped that combat system. Pretty much everything is just modified dice rolls (including We the People's own remake, Washington's War).
>I feel like cardgames often (and easily) just make things random for the sake of it
I think its just a different kind of skill that can be incongruent with wargaming conventions. Wargames usually hit you with a lot of output randomness. Cards are a form of input randomness. When you add both together it can feel like you're getting blasted at both ends. Despite this, a lot of CDGs tend to have solid balance. Combat Commander for example is often criticized for its randomness yet the same handful of players win all the in-person and Vassal tournaments. Hand management can be mastered but I can see why someone would dislike it
>Squad leader has some sim aspects to it, things often pan out similar to how it would have panned out IRL
On that I have to disagree. Squad Leader (and ASL) has basically nothing to do with realistic infantry tactics. Obviously it was a revolutionary game for its day and realism has no impact on it being fun but it has little value as a simulation.

>>93374261
To be fair, short of taking part in a kriegsspiel, you will be hard pressed to find something that better models its real life counterpsrt.
Having said that, there is NOTHING like taking part in a kriegspiel. Not as boardgame, not as PC game. It is some of the most fun I have ever had. We should really once try to get one of the ground with people from the thread.

>>93373912
Same, if I can't apply a healthy amount of real life logic I am generally not interested.
Like that napoleon game anon posted in last thread, lots of abstraction and simplification, but horsies still go fast and far, cannons go boom from a distance, rivers and towns give defensive bonusses, having to retreat into an enemy eliminates you, can't stray to far from your corp officer. Is it a sim of what Napoleon&co did IRL? Hardly, a lack of fog of war and order delays alone precludes that. But I can still apply real world logic to an extent. Cards ruin that for me, all of a sudden I am deckbuilding. Which is fine if you enjoy deckbuilding, but why not play MTG or yugioh that which are actually designed around the concept.
Cards in wargames feel like a novelty gimmick.

>>93374412
>you will be hard pressed to find something that better models its real life counterpsrt.
Band of Brothers
Fields of Fire
Last Hundred Yards
We don’t have to be beholden to ancient understandings of C3i anymore.
Not to mention the gaminess of its ruleset.

>>93374464
Deckbuilding isn’t the only form of card action system

>>93373752
>How do you feel about card driven games?
Best types of historical simulation games in my opinion. Here's a handful of cards - do the best you can with them. Just like most conflicts. Games like Time of Crisis do it really well - you build what's in your deck, what's in your military and political apparatus, but you aren't guaranteed to be able to use those when you need them.

It's kind of amusing that people that hate on RNG and not having the cards they need when they want to do something also play the games with the most dice chucking.

So the pastebin references an upcoming list of solo games. Can you guys recommend some? Only solo game I have is Target for Today which I love! Would be interested in any time period preferably strategic level but am frankly clueless.

>>93374464
>Cards in wargames feel like a novelty gimmick.
The purpose of cards isn’t to create fog of war (though that is a tertiary byproduct). It’s to force limited command and resource allocation. By far the most unrealistic thing about classic IGOUGO wargames is that every unit can move and fight every turn. Perfect control of your units is pure fantasy and any game that allows it must follow suit. That doesn’t mean they’re bad, but to me they’re the least “war-like” wargames.

Obviously cards are not the only way to achieve C3 principles in a wargame design, but that’s their true purpose.

>>93374743
I’ve heard very good things about Global War from White Dog. Haven’t played it though.
As for other solo games I still think Fields of Fire is the tactical GOAT but I’d wait for deluxe edition for the improvements.

>>93374580
A lot of CDGs also have dice chucking in them though. Other than that yeah a lot of people can’t into hand management

>>93374580
Dice chucking is a probability spread. Tying outcomes to certain values lets the designer tweak how likely an outcome should be.
Cards can br deisgned that way, but don't have to be. In the earlier games that adopted cards it very much felt like a minigame within the game.
In a way it is like magic the gathering. A good deck in that (and similar) game accounts for draw probability, i.e. the strategy is not centered on drawing "that onr card" on turn 1. A good deck is playable with nearly any first draw, maybe you need to adapt your playstyle and strategy, but it is playable. A bad deck however is one that heaviky relies on certain card combos which you either draw or don't draw and has flexibility otherwise, so it feels very RNGy. Sure, there is always an element of luck, but you can account for it, and there is a reason people will consistently win and others consistently lose.
So too I see carddeck in wargames, only now it is the designers who did the deckbuilding. A handful of games let you do the deckbuilding.

Honestly, a wargame on a map with a c3 system on a more complex customisable card system (so build your own deck) would be my favourite game of all time.

>>93376290
>Honestly, a wargame on a map with a c3 system on a more complex customisable card system (so build your own deck) would be my favourite game of all time.
That loosely describes Littoral Commander from my understanding. Might be mistaken though.

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So based on this >>93373326
post from last thread, I am going to give it a go.

You can pick Blucher (Prussians in green).
Wellington (Brits in red, can also command allies)
Prince of Orange, henceforth PoO (Allies in various colours, can also command brits)
Napoleon, Grouchy and Ney for the French.
If there is a conflict between order people give e.g. both Napoleon and Grouchy (or PoO and Wellington) give orders to the same unit(s), then I'll roll a dice for the outcome.

Pick one, don a trip, first come first serve.

Orders can be as exact (attack this unit with that unit) or as vague (attack the right flank) as you want and will interpreted by me tonthe best of my ability within the scope of the ruleset

Any questions I will try to answer (e.g. a close up picture of a certain part of the battlefield, or questions aboit rukes/mechanics). Picrel is the current situation after 1 turn, general names penned in (on the sides reinforcements, the majority of which are angloallied

I'll give it two hours before I continue playing with me taking control over anything that hasn't been picked. If you want to join later that works too, it is just that I don't want to sit here 8 hours waiting for something that might never come.

>>93376423
Oh, and give your orders spoilered. Don't read the other's spoilered messages. That way it introduces a little fog(ish) of war(ish). Obviously unenforceable, so it is an honor system.

Anons, is there a mecha game in that style? And if no, what would be the best recomendations to make on? I'm thinking of trying to do something for heavy gear and mechas like that in that style.

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>>93376423
French move up on the west. It looks like they have overwhelming numbers, but Ney can't direct everything all at once on his own.
Near Ligny a push on the centre continous. 3rd corp on the western flank cautiously tries to envelop the enemy flank, but towns and streams will make this tricky. On the opposite flank 1st cav start to encircle two prussian positions, making it untenable for them to hold. Meanwhile somewhat north of them 2nd cav tries to get control of a bridge.
Cannons of the imperial guard are slowly being moved into position (with a staggering amount of firepower)

Cool little rules regarding to the Guards, if they suffer ANY negative combat result (retreat, eliminated or exchange) the french morale drops by 20. Morale is done on a per corps basis and many don't even have 20 to begin with, so the guard losing a fight would instantly demoralize half the army, which then has a good chance to cause a domino chain whereby what remains also becomes demoralized. Couple of ways to avoid this:
1) cannons firing indirectly do not suffer combat results, so Guard cannons can be used with impunity
2) have other units mixed into any given fight and have overwhelming odds, you might have to exchange, but as long as you have "fodder" units to sacrifice for this all is good (so usually you'd have 3 or non-guard units and a 1 guard unit if you need the extra firepower to get into a specific firepower odds collumn)
3) the attack that resulted in guards being exchanged for opposing units resulted in the ENEMY morale being shattered

All of this only apploes for guards beinf used offensively, during defense none of this applies.

TL;DR
Guards can not be used unless victory in a particular fight is close to guaranteed, or if it will break the enemy, or if it is a hail mary endgame situatiin where you'd lose without using them anyway.

>GMT reprint of Samurai never ever

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>>93377988
I recently got Cataclysm from GMT. It was so terrible (and terribly overpriced) that I am now reluctant to buy from GMT again.

The bkx includes a baggy with coloired wooden cubes. Paper rules. A paper scenario/guide book. A handful of chits. Some paper nation boards, a paper score tracker and 2 paper maps. Badabingbadaboom, 100 euros (saw it after for 80, which is still too much)

The rules are the most convoluted unintuitve mess of interwoven shit. Never have I had to reread and recheck rukes as often as with this game. I am not joking when I say it is easier to get into ASL. Every rule cross references every other rule (exaggerated). On page one rules on oage 13 referenced, you go to those rules theybreference rules on oage 7, you go tonthose rules, they reference rules in the previous section, you go to that and it makes a reference to a rule name (no page, good luck). Like, the thing is a beast that only makes sense once you have a grasp of it all at once there is barely any "we can ignore that section until it applies and just play" because , again, basically every rule relies on every other rule.

The absolute WORST game I have had the displeasure of playing that is all just paper shit, 40 euros would have been a reasonable price for what is in the box and then still the rules would have been shit.
It is such a poor product, un fucking believable. I am convinced GMT doesn't playtest the shit they release.

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>>93377863
Prussians go for a counterattack exploiting the weakness left by the two french infantry units being shattered, the french have not yet had a chance to plug the hole. The rest of the line is simply holding position. It is a precarious position with command spread thin, but if they can last the day they might pull of an ahistoric opportunity for Wellington to beat Ney and link up.

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>>93378236
In the west wellington rides towards the incoming reinforcements (enter the map next turn). The crossroad is defended maing use ofna crest, disallowing any easy artillery fire. The trail through the woods which bypasses this is lightly covered by cav, they won't hold, but they will delay.

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>>93378279
After all is said and done, the Prussians pish back the french in the west and manage to push across the river in the centre, they are however routd out of part of Ligny.

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>>93378474
An oppurtunity has presented itself for the french: the road towards Ligny has been left uncovered, allowing for a march on the Prussian rear. As it is ahistoric I am letting digits decide.
Even digit: Ney sticks with the standing order of taking the crossroads.
Odd digit: Ney marches towards the cannons with a corp, leaving the rest to hold and stave of a pursuit by wellington (picrel).

>>93378070
>I am convinced GMT doesn't playtest the shit they release.
Until recently, it was entirely designer dependent. They had no internal development staff that they would assign to projects outside of artwork. All playtesting and proofing of rules was up to the designer of the game.
This was fine when GMT was primarily publishing games from relatively well established people who knew what they were doing. But over the last decade or so they really ballooned the amount of projects they’re willing to take on from relative unknowns, which leads to a lot of very inconsistent quality.
However, over the last couple of years GMT has changed and now has an internal development staff to assist designers. This *should* mean that the average quality will improve, but you never know.
As for Cataclysm itself, that game was just shit. It had a handful of diehard shills that were convinced it was the grand strategic WW2 game they had dreamed of and shilled it as hard as they fucking could, but everyone else realized it was shit. I think it got a heavy rewrite of the rules a little while ago.

>>93378702
>that game was just shit.
Truly. Even once I got to grips with the rukes, it felt mkre like things just happened. Nkt even that your plan got spanners thrown at it, but there is essentially no way to plan anything. 2 bad draws and a shit role and your nation is in the dumpster to no fault of your own.
Also, almost impossible to explain to newfriends. I have played opening scenarios of ASL with newfriends after 30 minutes of rules and the rest as we played. But this? Even the simple scenarios are fucking convoluted shit.

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>>93378604
Prussian eastern flank all but collapses, with 3 infantry units having tonretreat with no legel path, and another being shot to pieces. Their 3rd corps is on the brink of routing. The Prussian western flank gets pushed back but holds. In the centre, near Ligny, they get pushed back across the river.

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>>93380955
"Im westen nichts neues"

Ney elects tondirect the 3rd cav to clear oit the few opposing units blocking a path oit of the woods. 2nd corps swivels to the west lreparing an exit from those woods. 1sr corps is nearly in position for the centre right. Some cavalry is sent out to deny the uncontested road leading to ligny, lest wellington gets the idea to sent units over to help the Prussians.

>>93380955
Oof. Friedrich is spinning in his grave

So I have made an error. In real life D'Erlon with the 1st corp WAS ordered to march on Ligny and attack the Prussian west flank in the rear. Luckily IRL there was some confusion and they didn't appear untill ~1900 (gametime is now 1600). So I am just going to pretend I did this with intent and will send D'Erlon over on the next turn.

Other than that things are going quite historical. Prussian eastern flank faltering, Ligny not cracking, St. Amand being lost but still recapturable. Historically the young guard saw fighting around St Amand, whereas in my case they have been sent further east to sure up the centre push (something the Prussians might exploit this round?), but overal it is quite neat to see how good a job this does to recreate the battle with a very simple system.

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>>93378070
What the hell possessed you to buy Cataclysm? It's one of the worst games ever put out by GMT, probably only surpassed by The Supreme Commander.
No one even wanted a corrected reprint, so it's been delisted by GMT.

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So, what can I do to stop these unsightly creases from happening? Do I just have to unfold all of my paper maps and let them lie flat?

>>93381427
A lack of own research combined with a decent BGG score (7.5 from ~700 votes) and a need for a multiplayer wargame (not 1v1 mp, but multi-multiplayer). My group has played axis and allies to death and also find it a bit to simple. Then we played scyhte, which is a cool game but suffers a bit from playing alongside each other rather than against each other and needing to know every faction's "solved" optimal play so you can mess with it without fucking up your own build, making it all a bit gamey.
So I figured we'd fry this, but Ibditched it before even introducing it to the group. Played it against my brother, and it was a fucking mess. You have your nose in the rules more than anything else. I can't overstate what a terrible misbuy this was, and I went in wanting to like the game. Maybe somewhere underneath it all there IS a good game, but not with these rules. It also just tries to much (e.g. the chinese civil war thing, so fucking convoluted, and it adds fucking nothing to the experience)

>>93381513
If you fold and unfold, that is going to happen. No way around it. I have old paper maps that have holes where two such folds meet. Still perfectly playable, just doesn't look as nice. What you could do (something I do with some of my games nowadays) is cute the map up in a way that doesn't require folding when storing. Then when playing I put down the map and place a sheet of plexiglass over it to hold it in place and to stop dorito fags from ruining my maps with their dust (and my chits are tweezers only, no touching).
For ASL I have scanned and laminated each map half several times, then I drew on on the scenario specific stuff (victory hexes, deployment limits, exit hexes etc). The originals stay in their box.

If you go with cutting, don't use scissors, get yourself a paper slicer for nice straight clean cuts.

>>93382206
Play Quartermaster General
Or if you can keep game nights to 3p: Maria or Friedrich.

>>93380955
>that one green cav rotated 90 degrees
My 'tism is now triggered and it makes me feel unreasobly unsettled looking at that pic.

>>93381207
>but overal it is quite neat to see how good a job this does to recreate the battle with a very simple system.
I often find this to be the case. Extremely complex games can offend have a lot of odd edge cases or unforeseen interactions between game mechanics that can lead to strange results.
>>93382206
I feel bad that you wasted your money on that crap. I can identify several points of error made
>BGG score
Often BGG scores tend to (massively) overrate newer games while (massively) underrating older games. A 7.5 for a game from 2005 isn’t bad. For a game from 2018 its a huge red flag.
>A&A and Scythe
Cataclysm’s rules are particularly shit but a lot of wargames have rules written in that technical style or with lots of exceptions that can take awhile to parse. They cannot be learned as you go for the most part, you really gotta sit down with them yourself to digest them. Again though, Cataclysm’s rules were particularly amateurish.

As for multiplayer wargames I’d actually recommend, I’d check out:
>One of the COIN games
>Maria
>Friedrich
>Triumph & Tragedy
>Time of Crisis
>Burning Banners

>>93382352
Isn’t Friedrich 4P?

>>93382352
>>93382366
I'm going to add Successors and Angola to the list of multiplayer wargames. Both are best with 4 players.

>>93382352
>Quartermaster General
Nta, and not to knock the game in and of itself, but if his group is finding axis&allies too simple, they aren't exactly going to be thrilled by him walking in going "look guys! axis&allies.......with cards!".

I know it isn't a wargame, but R00T is a lot of fun, and you do kinda wage war.

>>93382440
I’d like Root more if the expansions didn’t feel so sloppily bolted on

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>a&a too easy
Straight into the deep end you go

>>93382468
I've only ever played it vanilla and quite like it. But it is one of the few games I can get my family to play, so I am quite biased (my hex/chit stuff is met with less enthusiasm than an oppurtunity to watch paint dry).

>>93382499
>Decision
*barf*

>>93382499
>mom, can we get entry level hex wargame?
>NO, WE HAVE ENTRY LEVEL HEX WARGAME AT HOME
>entry level hex wargame at home:

>>93382518
Be happy you can play Root with your family. It took me years just to work them up to stuff like Inis

>>93382499
Wish I could download the GOSS ruleset. I'm both intrigued and repelled by the series.

>>93382545
>Inis
They'll play that, but not root? Nani the fuck?

I have friends that won't play anything other than mainstream shit that everyone knows the rules too through cultural osmosis alone (scrabbke, monopoly, catan, rummifuckingkub). But the moment I can get them into anything else, the floodgate is open (within reason, still has to be family friendly tier 20 min rules max, so none of the autistic stuff).
Got my mother to play escape from colditz for instance.

>>93382567
It's the set up that puts me off. At this point surely you just vassal JT game or play one ofnthe Grigsby games?
I do understand wanting the physicality of chits, a board etc. and generally prefer it, but this sort ofnstuff is just too much. Just the idea of moving the unitds and having to keep track of what has and what hasn't moved in a given turn, stuff if nightmares.

>>93382637
>Got my mother to play escape from colditz for instance.
How even
O
W
?

>>93382637
Inis is way simpler than Root dude

>>93382525
>>93382499
I've never played a Decision game that didn't have opaque rules, rules bloat, or both and that's counting their Folio games series.

>>93382952
Well yeah Decision is just cynically wearing the skin of SPI for boomer nostalgia while they write rules the way Berg wrote Campaign for North Africa: with zero thought or playtesting or proofing.

>>93374743
I'm this anon. Do any of you do any sort Play by Email? This is obviously niche as fuck but would love to play some of these. I'm 31 and a corporate guy and don't have time to weed out IRL friends autistic enough to play this shit and still be safe enough to invite over to the house.

>>93383038
DAK II is actually good mind you.

>>93383071
I used to play dominions V, which is de facto pbem. I have also dobe WitE pvem, and I used to play squadleader pbem. At one point I did diplomacy too, but I didn't care for that, without it family/friends the backstabbing misses a poignancy and doesn't have the drama. I have seen some big drama with IRL diplomacy. Pbem diplomacy is kinda boring, there is no implicit trust to break.

>>93383071
Yes. I have also for a very long time wanted to try my hand at kriegspiel type games, but refuse to do it in the heavily sanitized reddit safespaces. No, I don't have a compulsion to make every other word cunt or so, but I do want to have the cunt freedom cunt to cunt do cunt so cunt if cunt I cunt so cunt desire (cunt).

>>93383091
>>93383099
Thanks for responding guys. So what are we gonna play? The only PBEM I've ever done is TripleA lol...

>>93383073
DAK II was designed by Dean Essig and published by MMP. It has nothing to do with SPI's Campaign for North Africa

>>93383071
I usually just play through Rally the Troops. I'm too lazy for Vassal 80% of the time.

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I would like to try the following games:
Littoral commander
World at war 85
Burning banners
Conflict of heroes
Mbt
Red strike
Task force
Are any of those worth playing? Or just outdated, overpriced and boring games.

>>93384034
Every last one of those games is good except for Littoral Commander (haven’t played it so I can’t comment on it) and Conflict of Heroes (good game but Academy Games is so fucking retarded that it makes it harder to recommend than it should).
However I don’t know which of those games is good for (You). What’s your experience level with wargames?

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French left gets pushed back and St. Amamd is taken by the Prussians Prussian left regroups across a stream.

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>>93385040
The French continue to threaten the prussian east flank whole trying to drive a wedge between the 3rd corp and the main prussian army. The guards, having shifted over to the centre have left a weakness on the French left.
In their previous assault several french units have landed outside of command range, without being able to receive new orders they can not help anchor the left flank. Grouchy moves over to rectify this.
In the top left corner d'Erlon can be seen appearing.
We have now landed in ahistoric territory, grouchy was on the right Napoleon on the left, the guards held/assaulted st. Amand and never shifted over to Ligny, the IVth assaulted Ligny and didn't try to split the Prussian army.

An interesting thing is a conflict between my urge/tendency to envelop a position when given the opportunity from playing more modern setting games and sims, and the difficulty of doing so with the command structure. It is very enticing to go over a long flank to block rear retreat roites, but you run a real risk of spreading to thin and having too much firepower "lost" to units too far away to be directed.

>>93385227
The French cavalry is iverzealous and pushes up into Prussian line. The prussian east however is on the brink of collapse. However thr French left is exposed and waiting to be exploited.

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>>93385558

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Prussians make a tough call and put all their attention on the flanks, leaving their largest centre force out of command for this turn.

>>93383071
>>93383292
Same boat as you - most of my regular game group are opposed to playing historical sims. RTT has been nice because I can scratch that itch and it's a pretty good community of gamers.

>>93373752
Holy Vassal has alot of games in it. Thanks alot

Do you have any suggestion for a few wargames which are easy to get into but still are intelligent wargames?

Coming from Axis and Allies and like Risk, and some buddies who play polytopia and Civ6 who maaaybe could get roped in, if possible

>>93385590
Probably for the best. They’re appear to be in a very tenuous situation right now

>>93386290
Any particular period of historical interest?

>>93384122
Huge model wargame experience with friends. And I mean with good rulesets not with fow, bolt or modern 40k.
Decent experience with board games, but none like the ones I listed.
GF plays a lot but gets bored when the choices and gameplay design get eclipsed by dense historical details.
I enjoy when games feel credible not necessarily overdetailed but with a well thought of mechanics that work to produce an authentic or thematic feel to the game.

>>93387970
Red Strike has two scenarios like that. One is a smaller scenario about NATO using ground forces to break a second Berlin Blockade, the second is one of the huge campaign scenarios that is a prepared NATO invasion of Eastern Europe.

>>93388192
In that case I'll go through the list for you and recommend based on that
>Littoral Commander
Even though I haven't played it the mechanics seem fairly robust without being overdetailed. It abstracts a lot of secondary assets like air support or electronic warfare to a deck of cards. It seems fairly easy to grasp mechanically.
>World at War 85
Despite a thick (100 pages) rulebook, I actually think this game is very easy to learn. It has a lot of ground to cover with modern combat systems like helicopters and ATGMs but it handles these systems with very similar mechanics. I had no problem explaining it to my miniature wargaming friends. At its core its actually pretty snappy, largely owing to its avoidance of CRTs for combat resolution.
>Burning Banners
Also a very easy game to learn. The advanced rules definitely add some more oddities to the game in terms of when certain magic spells activate, but its an easy recommend regardless. The one thing I would caution is approaching it like a 6 player game. It *can* do that but I think the downtime would be extremely high.
>MBT
I might give this one a miss. The basic rules aren't too complex but the game really is built around the advanced rules. The emphasis here was on simulation more than anything else, which led to a fairly dense rulebook.
>Red Strike
I'd also give this one a miss. It fucking *revels* in simulation detail. The sheer scope of the game is impressive. You could easily cut out the land combat entirely and just sell it as an air/naval game and no one would bat an eye. It also does a pretty good job of keeping both sides engaged throughout a game turn by giving you a lot to do constantly. But its also a game that will take you 12 hours to get through a single turn when playing the campaign, and the smaller scenarios are still very mentally taxing.
>Task Force
I assume you mean the VUCA game? Haven't played it but it seems pretty straightforward and slick to play.

>>93386290
Rebel Fury

>>93390028
I need to play that. It seems like a great intro to that style of game.

Rebel Fury is okay. I don't know if I would recommend it to a hex and counter newcomer though. The system is simple enough, but it's not particularly intuitive I find. The scale is also a bit off-putting; it feels like you're playing a tactical game but in reality you're not.

>>93390838
Thank you. I have to assume the hype is because it’s another Herman game but that guy has never been great at these “simple” games. Even We the People, despite its influence, has a lot of problems.
I’m just waiting for him to make Gulf Strike 2

>>93391792
He's working on Defiance now, for the modern-day Ukraine war, so I don't expect Gulf Strike 2 to ever come out

>>93395696
>so I don't expect Gulf Strike 2 to ever come out
The Red Strike designer already said that he contacted Herman and they’re collaborating on a new Gulf Strike. He said it’ll have scenarios for Iran-Iraq, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, and a link to Red Strike’s WW3

>>93387545
Victorian or ww1 or ww2 are cool, but any are good

>>93396973
>Victorian
Most wargames set post-Napoleon are American Civil War games. The guys who did the Europa Universalis board game are doing a Victoria board game sometime in the future, which might be worth checking out when they do the kickstarter. It probably won’t be a wargame per se but they did an excellent job with EU regardless.
>World War 2
Triumph & Tragedy is the default answer at this point. 3P, pretty obvious and easy step up from Axis and Allies. Churchill is also very good albeit atypical for a wargame.

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What game should I play this week, /bwg/?

>>93398742
Hey Anon, can I come over and play some Jabro, New Type or White Base? I can bring snacks and maybe drinks if that helps!

>>93398742
Unfortunately you don't have an ACW game otherwise I'd suggest commemorating the First Battle of Bull Run

>>93398742
Solitaire? And will you be blogposting like napoleon anon?
If yes to both the spi/tsr games (I think it says semper fi?) ro compare it to napoleon anon whos game is also spi/tsr.
If no to both I couldn't care less.

>>93398838
You can come over if you’re in Tokyo!
>>93398858
Yeah solitaire. Trying to get my gf into it but she probably needs to watch me solitaire it a few times. I’ll blogpost for sure if it’s appreciated. The SPI/TSR games are
>Sniper
>Blue & Gray

>>93398742
Bios:Genesis!
obviously implying you are gonna work your way through the entire trilogy, with a pit stop in mesofauna.

>>93398945
actually haven’t played Genesis yet (just got it recently) so that’s a good idea, the other Bios games are fun though I’m more partial to the first editions. Mesofauna is fun too though (that one’s shrink-wrapped because I gave my old copy to my ex, she really liked bugs and thought it was a cute game).

>>93398882
>You can come over if you’re in Tokyo!
Darn, no can do friend. Shame.

>>93398882
Then I pick blue and gray.
I also hope napoleon anon hasn't died, I liked following that.

OP here. I’m thinking of some revisions to the recommended games list. I was wondering if I should separate series games from the others and put them in their own separate section in the list where I describe the series as a whole, and then list of the relevant games one by one with their own specific details.
I am also working on the solitaire list. I haven’t had the time recently to do it but it’ll get done soonish.

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>>93398982
I'd be interested to see bios as well, I am less partial to the SPI games because I am already quite familiar with them, whereas bios has had my eye for some time.

>>93399215
Not dead, life just gets in the way and I might have to move the playfield soon(ish) as I can't use the table for anything else whike this is there (fine for a couple of days, annoying when it is weeks)

Anway, as for the game. The French break the 3rd prussian corps on the eastern flank (this disallows any advancing after a succesful attack and their movement over open terrain costs 2 (instead of 1) and for woods infantry pay 4 (instead of 2). Making roads the only efficient way to move around. Despite taking and securing St. Amand in the west, the Prussians might have to break off and retreat before they get surrounded and nighttime kicks in (can not enter or leave ZoC during night, so if there is no open corridor to the north, the Prussians aren't leaving)

>>93401791
Okay first to two votes wins in my books. I’ll give Bios Genesis a crack later this week. If this gen goes before then I’ll post in the new one.

I'm now through the rules of TWW and will soon start a first game.
Any recommendations on how to tackle that? Like should i start with a regular scenario or a short one?
Also how long are the turns in TWW? I didn't find anything on that in the manual, just some mention that it might be a week

>>93383071
I would be up for live games over Vassal + Discord for voice, or a hybrid of that (like prepatory moves done over email/Discord message but moves requiring reaction from the defender done live). I don't like the idea of doing full PBEM because after all these are board games which are meant to be played "live". Also don't like full PBEM cuz I don't like my opponent making "assumed" moves/retreats for me, no matter how obvious they may be. beecrafty on Discord if you're interested. Similar boat as you being a working fella who would never be able to get his IRL friends into it

>>93404602
Do you mean The Third World War?

>>93405257
Yeah, sorry for the confusion

>>93406275
In that case I'd recommend starting with Southern Front. It has fewer counters than Battle for Germany so its a little less overwhelming and doesn't have weird mechanics like Arctic Front or Persian Gulf.

Turns represent 2 weeks of time I believe. Learning the game it'll take awhile to get through one even when not playing the combined game. Probably an hour or two.

>>93395696
>He's working on Defiance now, for the modern-day Ukraine war
Glowies gonna glow

>>93406865
Herman is just glowie adjacent

>>93401791
I would have lost my nerve already if I were playing the Prussians lol. I find that I'm a very cautious commander.

>>93374743
Fields of Fire or the D-Day series.

>>93373752
Opinions on the Field Commander series?

>>93413103
Quite mediocre outside of Napoopan, which is solid.

Can anyone recommend a solitaire game set in the Pacific theater of operations during WWII where you control the Japanese? I'm a big fan of the Japs, be it naval, island defense, fighting in China, or the original outward push. The exact period of the war isn't important, but playing the Japs is.

>>93373752
>tfw trying to tackle Nevsky as a novice wargamer
FUCK
I thought Combat Commander was crunchy
it looks so damn good though, I love the rules for supply trains and the logistics behind it but man, I think I'm just fucking retarded

>>93413719
the Holdfast series has Atlantic and I think Pacific games
not sure about solitaire but 2p is fun, maybe check BGG for suitability of solo

>>93414163
>2p is fun
The problem is I ain't got a player 2. My scant few wargamer friends have made it absolutely clear "no hex and chit bullshit!" I'm the one who usually brings in the esoteric rules, but they've set the limits on what they're willing to play..

>>93414144
Levy & Campaign is a lot to swallow all at once. Personally I think it could do with some simplification of the combat system but that’s just me.
>>93414240
There is Zero Leader from DVG. The COIN game China’s War will also probably have some kind of solo system when it comes out.
Unfortunately other than that though you’re looking for a niche of a niche of a niche. Personally I’d recommend two handing everything.

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I just tried Nevsky and it was very different and interesting. I got trashed by the Teutons very very hard at every step just to have them lose track of supplies and coins and leave the board en masse because they were not paid and lost intrest in the crusade. i won by getting beaten and being pushed back to almost Novgorod and having my enemies exhaust themselves in the process. Very thematic ending, Yes... i love the game. On my list to try next is Won By the Sword and Churchill.

>>93415186
This might be my own ignorance talking but it seems that a lot of wargames, especially those on pre-20th century wars, tended to gloss over the effects of attrition even though that's what really destroyed armies on campaign.

That new Napoleonics game from VUCA does a similar thing. Attrition seems pretty severe in that game.

>>93413719
Just buy Pacific War and play both sides. You're not a baby are you?

>>93417220
Classic 4chan™ answer!

>>93382206
can vouch for Maria
878 Vikings
Space Empires 4X
and if the idea of 4 player tank battles in which each player controls a tank during a skirmish in WW2, Tank Battle is good but pretty crunchy

>>93384034
I've played Conflict of Heroes: Kursk and it's fantastic. the scenarios start you out with relatively easy rules and then ramp up as you go, adding in more elements. I also think the design is top-notch, the initiative and exhaust system is great

>>93386290
Sekigahara
it's one of the most elegant board games I've played and it's also aesthetically impressive
rules are quite easy, even for a wargame, with a unique battle mechanic
also doesn't drag on for hours and hours
highly recommend it

>>93414240
Holdfast isn't hex and chit
it's areas and blocks and plays pretty quick and clean
it's a whole series of games but I've only ever played the Atlantic one but the infantry ones look quite good too

>>93415186
awesome
I'm trying to tackle this game but being relatively new to wargames, man...it's rough. but I absolutely love the mechanics of attrition and logistics, bringing some sense of authenticity to the whole thing I guess
I'll play it someday I'm sure

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>spent the last half an hour or so setting up Third World War on my dinner table
>only NATO side done so far
>severe lack of space
I can see why VASSAL seems to be the better idea

>>93423628
Yeah even as a single map the side sheets make it a hog

>>93421321
I’d *highly* recommend checking out 1812 Napoleon’s Fateful March from VUCA. It’s a much easier game than L&C with a heavy emphasis on logistics without being as bean-countery

>>93423817
i even folded up the top part of the map and it barely fits the table.
i might switch to VASSAL anyway, since this doesn't seem feasible to play on my small shitty Ikea table

>>93424016
Yeah I had to get a bigger table for Battle for Germany. I can’t imagine playing a combined game.

>>93401813
I think it's hands down the worst Bios, it's just so randomly punishing because Eklund needs to belabor how brutal early life was that it ceases being fun as a game long before it's over. I hope it won't turn you off the series if you haven't tried the others, they're much better
>>93406865
Hah, maybe we'll get a Zelenskky for the great statesman series out of it too

>>93424648
Eklund makes simulations
Simulations can still be fun
Eklund’s simulations are often not fun

>>93424648
>Hah, maybe we'll get a Zelenskky for the great statesman series out of it too
>Pericles-esque where one side is Ukraine/NATO and the other is Russia/China
>Ukraine and Russia have to keep getting material support from their allies while NATO/China have to try and temper it and get a favorable negotiated peace
I'd play it

>>93427526
>Fire in the Lake except driven by an Oration phase instead of a COIN deck
Brother, I'd cum in it.

What wargames would you cum inside?

I picked up a used copy of Avalon Hill's Kriegspiel today at a local book store, and while it seems like most of the pieces are present and in good condition, I can't seem to find a full listing of what unit chits it's supposed to come with. If anyone might know or have a complete set themselves, I'd like to see if I need to create some before trying the game out with friends. At present I have:

Red:
>I-1, -2, -3, -5, -6, -7
>II-8, -9, -10, -11, -12, -13, -14
>III-15, -16, -17, -18, -19, -20, -21
>Plus 4 blanks
Black:
>JG-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8
>Elitegruppe-9, -10, -11, -12, -13
>Blakbutte-14, -15, -16, -17, -18
>Plus 1 blank

Besides blanks, to me it feels like Red should have a I-4, and Black should have a few more units in Blakbutte to make the total number of units more even, but it is also just a personal gut feeling.

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>>93430019
I found this pic of the counter sheet on gulag

>>93429136
Paths of Glory

GMT's newsletter is out. Some highlights
>New edition of Frank Chadwick's A House Divided
>Mark Simonitch's next 'XX game Italy '43, which covers the advance to the Gustav Line
>Reprints of A Gest of Robin Hood, Next War India-Pakistan, and A World at War
>Next War Iran, and Normandy '44 will be shipping in early August
>Labyrinth the War on Terror and Red Dust Rebellion will be shortly thereafter
>Fields of Fire Deluxe is FINALLY done with proofing and will be going to the printer shortly

Personally I want Italy '43. Simonitch has me by the balls with that series.

>>93423998
thanks for the rec anon I'll check it out

>>93423628
if you're going to get into wargames, you need a massive table. that's like step numero uno

>>93436776
One mappers are generally playable on most regular tables.

Bolt action or chain of command or flames of war?

>>93440239
None of them. Play Combat Commander, Old School Tactical, or ASL

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>>93436525
>Next War Iran
Bolton Chads we won!

>>93443562
Finally we can live out war walrus’s dream

Baking the next thread btw

New thread
>>93444462