Arab-Israeli Debacle

Nov 23 2014

Situation B-1

We agreed to play an 8 turn variant where Egyptians got more points for Israeli kills. Was only able to keep 2 Israeli units on the board, and some bad die rolling didn't even get me any dispersions much less kills. Unlucky in this one. Also, we played Basic rules which don't have overrun. That probably would have made a difference as the T-34s are speedier than the Israeli armor.

Situation S-2

We switched sides for S-2, myself taking the Israeli, SK taking the Egyptian. This is actually a very cool scenario. We played standard rules, and I learned a lot:

Artillery has to be registered in advance for indirect fire.
Overrun doesn't work like it does in PanzerBlitz. It's more like an "armored close assault with advance after combat."
Infantry can fire on armor! Oh noes!
Opportunity fire is really important.

Also, I learned that when there is no terrain to help establish a defensive line, do not attempt to establish a defensive line. If strong in fire and range, shoot from long distance. If fast but weak, close and assault.

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.