inconsequential ruminations

If you have ever played D&D, or even if not, you owe it to yourself to read The Order of the Stick comic strip.

The guys came over to play Domaine last night. It was our first game and we were four. I am impressed. Klaus Teuber certainly knows how to craft tight and solid games. I have never played Löwenherz, its predecessor, so I had no preconceptions.

I was trying to think of incisive things to say about it, but Mikko has done it all for me with a very nice, concise review.

The only comments that are not covered in Mikko’s review are:

1. I like the plastic pieces. They are garish, but well made. My pieces looked as if they were made from white chocolate.
2. It felt brutally short, which is such a nice change from clumsy games that outstay their welcome. German games are supposed to be taut, but many are just insubstantial and short. In this respect it reminded me strongly of Quo Vadis, where you always feel as if an invisible sand timer is trickling away.

Rating: 8 and rising.

Two consecutive wargame posts about Operation Market Garden… never fear, I will be back to €urogames soon enough.

A couple of months ago, one of my friends at work mentioned that he had seen A Bridge Too Far and really enjoyed it. He was born in Eindhoven, so Operation Market Garden resonates with him. I told him I had a wargame on the subject, Monty’s Gamble, and he was interested until I sent him a copy of the rules. He was astonished games could be so complicated.

About a month ago, I read about Target Arnhem, a new freebie from Multiman Publishing, and realised it would be the perfect game for him. Last night, we sat down together, played it and had a good time. He is keen to play next week.

Target Arnhem is a simple 90-minute wargame about Operation Market Garden. It reminds me strongly of Ogre, because of the simplicity, duration, components and because both games involve heavy armour trying to punch its way through more numerous, weak defenders.

The situation is TA is slightly more elaborate and I prefer it because:

• There seems to be no perfect strategy. (In Ogre, the defender just bought masses of hovercraft and harried the Ogre to death.)
• Supply is a factor and is simply and elegantly handled.
• There are forward units, the paras, to rescue.
• The defenders start weak, but are heavily reinforced later.

My friend struggled a little with the rules, never having used a CRT before, but he was basically OK.

It was strange to play TA so soon after playing Monty’s Gamble, a serious wargame about the same battle. Both are good, but I prefer Target Arnhem simply because it is more playable and because it captures the essence of Market Garden almost as well. The 80/20 rule is definitely in evidence here.

This is a Japanese game. Apparently the wargame scene is very strong there. I would like to try more of Multiman’s International Game Series, if they are as elegant. Fire in the Sky is an option, but I am not particularly interested in the subject matter. A Victory Lost, about the Eastern front of WWII is more my sort of topic.

I tried to play Monty’s Gamble, my first serious wargame earlier this year. It was a bit of a disaster.

Inspired by Alfred’s solitaire gaming session reports and realising I was unlikely to find an opponent, I played it solitaire last week, when I was on holiday in Oxfordshire. The cottage has a spare room and table, and I had plenty of time on my hands in the evenings, with no computer to distract me. It was a successful experiment. I had a lot of fun with it. I used to read the solitaire suitability guidance on the back of Avalon Hill wargames in the 80’s thinking “What kind of weirdo could get enjoyment out of that?”, I now know the answer.

While playing, I realised it felt similar to playing a video game, as you can stop playing and come back to it whenever you have free time. That is very convenient when you are looking after a toddler.

Monty’s Gamble is certainly a very good solitaire game. The Allies have masses of troops and lots of choices. The Germans on other hand have few, weak troops and, as the defender, are reacting to the Allies’ attacks. In addition, there is no hidden information. Sometimes the game felt very like a puzzle, as I spent far more time worrying how XXX Corps could thrust their way up Hell’s Highway, compared to how the Germans could counter. I would go as far as saying that it probably plays better solitaire than two-player. Was that the intention? Regardless, I would still like to play an opponent, but as the Allies… Maybe I can find a game on Vassal?

Funnily enough, I recently bought a very highly rated video wargame, Korsun Pocket. I played the tutorial and although it scores points for fluidity and speed, I spend far too much of my life staring at a computer screen, so I think I will play solitaire tabletop wargames in preference. Having said that, I will probably give Korsun Pocket another chance.

Market Garden was a dramatic historical encounter, played for huge stakes and the game captures it . The operation is summarised well at Wikipedia and the same story is also told in the rules to the game. I think I now understand it far better than I would have done had I read a book or just seen A Bridge Too Far – even though it is an excellent movie. I will definitely be playing more wargames this way. Bittereinder is next, but that can wait for another post.