Baltic Gap First Play

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Learning game with 3 newbies (I was one of the newbies).

We only got completely through setting up, the German phase of Turn 1 and the movement phase of the Russian Turn 1 by the time I left around 6 pm. So that was a little over 7 hours to not finish a single turn.

However, I think have grip on OCS: you have to count the entire amount of supply available for the game, and ration moving and fighting to accommodate that supply. On the last turn, use low ammo or whatever, but until then, be really careful not to out move or worse, outfight supply.

Along with getting a better notion of the overall strategy, I have a better understanding of how the turn sequence and phasing works. It's not that hard, but it's not trivial either.

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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.