Wargamer's Corner

Swamp - having just started a new job myself, I agree that alone drains an incredible amount of physical and emotional energy. I come home at night and try to work up the desire to dive into a deep game (like Sins, for example) but just can't muster the energy. So what I've decided to do is just . . . not worry about it right now. I picked up Fairway Solitaire and play that for a bit to scratch the "gaming" itch, and I think that eventually I'll adjust to the new job and find that my "mental energy" has picked up again. Then I'll have plenty of deep, interesting titles to choose from and dive into.

The ACW game does take time to learn (even if you are familiar with the system from BOA), but I think it's better than the Nappy one because it has a functional campaign game. But it's very rewarding mind candy.

Swampy, I agree. I lose interest in the complicated games when work is stressful and long. And I feel like it takes longer to learn the games than before. And I get lots more sleep.

The beauty of it is, the games are there when things lighten up.

Try Hornet Leader. You can play a scenario in half an hour; it's not that complicated; and it's fun and a bit tense. Flashpoint Germany, though, that was a huge disappointment to me and I'm not sure that an upgrade will fix it. I'm watching that though.

Another big patch for Strike Force, and of course the ToW one came out last week. But I'm playing AE and probably ACW and Civ 4 this weekend, along with some TF2 I foolishly volunteered for. I'm looking forward to it. Gotta be better than the broken glass I'm being dragged through at work.

You guys both have excellent points - Let's drink to better days!

Too bad about you not liking Flashpoint, Robear, I was hoping the new game in the series, and the Red Storm version would fill that Team Yankee jones I've had going.

SwampYankee wrote:

Middle age sucks the big one.

Well, duh. But I don't think it's a big deal if you don't want to play complex games right now The solution seems to me to play games you want to play. I mean, this is gaming we're talking about. It's supposed to be fun. When you want more complex games, you come back and play them. This isn't a job where someone else tells you what to do.

I realize that, it is just a lament, I guess. I used to get a lot of fun and relaxation out of them. But you're right - you can't force it any more than you can make yourself like a food you don't like.

More like, as the job gets hard and the family goes through crises, the home-cooked meals fall off and you get to know the carry-out delivery guys by name. That and you microwave a lot more stuff.

Gaming is like that. It's still fun, but sometimes the thought of trying to figure three potential lines of advance into Kentucky and how to secure them, prep your supply chain, raise and move troops and assign leaders, and oh yeah secure the river too....all that stuff starts to look like work for some reason. Might as well play a bit of Lotro or Fairway Solitaire, something easy and fun.

Swampy, as I recall, there was some abstraction in the Flashpoint game that just threw it completely off for me. I remember being savagely disappointed at the system they'd chosen to use. My impression of the game was that it resembled PanzerBlitz more than any kind of realistic tactical sim. My tastes in that area run to Tobruk more than the abstracted systems. (I played Tobruk for years, it probably left a non-faded area on my carpet at the time.)

Have you ever played any of the Victory game ACW series? Stonewall Jackson's Way and the like? That's what AGEOD's game brings to mind for me.

Robear wrote:

More like, as the job gets hard and the family goes through crises, the home-cooked meals fall off and you get to know the carry-out delivery guys by name. That and you microwave a lot more stuff.

Gaming is like that. It's still fun, but sometimes the thought of trying to figure three potential lines of advance into Kentucky and how to secure them, prep your supply chain, raise and move troops and assign leaders, and oh yeah secure the river too....all that stuff starts to look like work for some reason. Might as well play a bit of Lotro or Fairway Solitaire, something easy and fun.

Swampy, as I recall, there was some abstraction in the Flashpoint game that just threw it completely off for me. I remember being savagely disappointed at the system they'd chosen to use. My impression of the game was that it resembled PanzerBlitz more than any kind of realistic tactical sim. My tastes in that area run to Tobruk more than the abstracted systems. (I played Tobruk for years, it probably left a non-faded area on my carpet at the time.)

Have you ever played any of the Victory game ACW series? Stonewall Jackson's Way and the like? That's what AGEOD's game brings to mind for me.

This is so true about a game turning into work.
And 'really!' on the AGEOD games remind you have the ACW boardgame series. That's quite a plus. Now that it's supposedly in a store front, I wait a bit for the price to come down and then grab it. Btw, just to confirm, all those options you mention can be turn over (or off) to an AI administrator, right?

No. You are thinking of Forge of Freedom, that had the options able to be disabled, the AGEOD game does not. Important difference. However, you can play scenarios instead of the Grand Campaign to get smaller, simpler games going.

Swampy, when does the 2nd edition of Flashpoint come out?

Should be out for the summer. It is thus far "barely announced" in that it will coincide with the Flashpoint Middle East" that they are really humping. But the designer told me on the boards that Matrix told him to release them both at the same time. And he expects he will as the new game will use the old maps but have new rules and counters for infantry and allow for MUCH MORE customization and scenario design by the community.

They won't be abstracting infantry, and that makes me happy.

Today Richy and I played the starting scenario of Eisenburgh Gap. That was great, and made me want the Red Storm version of Flashpoint to be like that.

Me too, the infantry stuff is important. I dunno, maybe I should re-install and try it with the latest patches. Maybe they added good to it after it was released.

You guys need to move down here so you can come over on Sundays and play hot seat or LAN or something. I mean, I could move up there, but it's easier for me if you move down here. Mmmkay?

If it isn't snowing there today, I'll think about it!

Sorry Swamp-monster... We got ice.

Today we had Sonow, then ice, then rain. Now everything is freezing up.

The good news is that the sump pump we grudgingly installed when we built is keeping the basement dry!

Nice. We are on a high spot so even in hurricanes, we've never flooded. Thankfully. I keep all the board games down there.

Speaking of Games - they are giving away the full version of TITANS OF STEEL: WARRING SUNS. It was an ok game - A sci-fi "Mech" type game, if you havent played it - well worth the download. It isnt going to blow your socks off, but you cant beat the price.

- Spy

Good to see you Spy.

Did I mention that Richy and I played the first scenario of the board game Eisenburgh Gap last weekend? If they used the engine they are developing for Heroes of Stalingrad to publish all of Walker's boardgames on the computer, I'll be a very hamppy camper. The board game rules are great to learn, very deep but not too hard to learn. The only complaint I had was that I knew where he had set up ( He was on the defensive), obviously a board game problem that would go away with a computer itineration (sp?).

Good to be seen. I am trying to find a good wargame myself. Thinking about the Modern Combat one. Trying to scratch my itch.

Ahh, Spy - I dunno about that one. Read the forums. A lot of unhappy purchasers due to CC's famously bad AI getting even worse with the increased lethality of modern weapons.

Let Robear and the rest of us make suggestions. Are you wanting a modern warfare game or are you open to other time periods?

Open to other time periods. I have dabbled off and on for years in the wargames, but am not nearly die hard as a grognard as say you or Robear. I enjoyed the old TOAW games etc... and love the Combat Mission games. I have the Combat Mission Modern Warfare game, but havent really messed with it all that much.

I'm not as hardcore as I used to be. Well, Emo still sucks, but in terms of games.

There was a big important update for CMSF in the middle of January, so if you didn't grab that, be sure to. Fixes a metric tonne of problems. I can't vouch for whether the game is still as dry, but at least your soldiers will handle themselves correctly in buildings and around walls and such. They also implemented LOS differences between different postures, which was not in the first versions. And fixes to vehicle AI, weapons tweaks, AI changes, etc.

Armageddon Empires is a highly replayable hex-based, turn-based strategy game where you get your units and abilities via a deck of cards. So each game is different. Indy game, bit of a weird interface but once you get past that it's highly replayable and laptop-friendly.

The AGEOD games (Birth of America, American Civil War and Napoleon's Campaigns) all use the same base system. They came out in that order, but because NC doesn't have a multi-year campaign, it's a bit crippled compared to the others. BoA is the best treatment of the French/Indian Wars and the American Revolution by far, and the ACW game is better. It's the largest and most comprehensive of the three, but the base system is highly detailed and takes a while to get down. There are Wikis for the games, but you'll find yourself poring over the rules to get full benefit. Still, it's very cool trying to plan for future campaigns, raising troops and setting up supply nets while protecting against incursions. And the naval game is neat too. No tactical scenarios, operational level (divisions and regiments, built from companies, organized into corps and armies), two week turns (resolved hourly with si-move once the turn button is pushed), fog of war, weather effects, wide variety of units, fortifications and trenches, riverine warfare in detail, Western theater abstracted, chance of British/French intervention, tons of special events like draft riots, state-based political loyalty system, national elections, industrialization and strategic spending with in-game effects, political system including military leaders so you have to pay penalties to ditch popular but incompetent leaders.... For a strategic/operational game, this is fantastic.

There's also Conquest of the Aegean, a pausable realtime tactical/operational game which sticks closely to doctrine and models combined arms warfare in WWII. Very fun, from Matrix games.

I got Hornet Leader, I consider it a light game like it's boardgame predecessor. Plays in 30 mins to an hour for a scenario. Lots of chrome, good clean system, solitaire only (again that's the original design). It has it's knuckle-biting moments.

I'll let Swampy talk about the Harpoon re-releases, I think I'm burned out on that system over the years.

GalCiv2 has yet another expansion. It's turned into the definitive space 4x game out there. Stardock games.

You like RTSs, so try out Sins of a Solar Empire.

EU3 with Napoleon's Ambition can't be beat for strategic nation-building. Hearts of Iron I think is still broken from the latest add-on, but Victoria is still very good. But EU3 is the leader in that line.

And of course, while not a wargame, Space Rangers 2 is on Stardock without Starforce protection, so it's a fantastic go-to game for casual play.

I have been playing Sins since its Beta days. havent updated CM. I may try the ACW game. I played Harpoon for years - used to be a trainer we used at the Naval Academy. I havent played it in ages. I have EU3, but had a had time getting into it. Thansk for the recommendations - I may try the ACW game although Mount & Blade has its hooks in me.

Yell at us if you have further questions.

I need a job with a longer commute so I have a time and place to play games. It's really hard to walk to work while playing on a laptop.

And no, I'm not getting a Hip Desk.

I really should give CM:SF a shot sometime, considering how much time I mined into the previous iterations. I gave Steel Panthers a shot (Sorry Swampy!) but I just can't do Hex-based wargames, the interface seems both massively intimidating and utterly boring. Thankfully, EUIII and CM:BB are still on the hard drive.

I have CMSF and while it's serviceable, as Swampy has noted it's somewhat dry. I play it occasionally but not like the WWII games in the series. Just so you are warned.

I dunno, maybe it's tons better now, but the initial experience was frustratingly close to good and I need to shake off that memory.

We should just name this thread "Wargamer's Corner" and pretend that strategy games are cool because they can get a long thread going. At least we have our own table at the GWJ cafeteria that way.

Anyway, Battlefront has released the big 1.07 patch for CMSF. The release notes look promising. I'll have to try the game again this weekend.

As you wish, my liege.

All is forgiven, BTW, Pred.

I think you will like Heroes of Stalingrad. I Cannot wait to play it, now that I can appreciate the wonderful mechanics of Eisenbach Gap. Relatively easy to learn, but deep.

Eisenbach Gap? Pray tell? I see you mention it above, but what's special about it?