A long, long slog east of Kiev

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I wrapped up a very long solo game of 10 turns of Situation #8 of PanzerBlitz a couple of days ago.

This was a very long game.

Despite all the effort I put into planning, the Germans were still soundly whipped.

The link above has most of the gory and illustrated details. I took enough pictures to be able to set up the scenario exactly the same for a future play, at least for the Russians. I do plan on playing at least one more solo game of Situation #8, possibly several, in an attempt to get a better feel for just exactly how well the Germans can do.

Update: I'm setting up for solo game 2, and found that I had an extra block deployed on this game. Probably didn't matter much, but it helps a little mentally to know that I did, in fact, tilt the situation ever-so-slightly more in favor of the Russians.

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What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.