Return to operational Kasserine

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I was planning on doing another in-depth study of this battle playing solo at EGO, this time using combat supply, but without throw or or air. It turns out MW wanted to sit in, so we played out the scenario with me as the Axis and him as the Allies. As a result of both playing this before, I knew about what I needed to do. MW had played it before as well, but with a German player who was not aggressive enough. I played the Germans very aggressively.

As it turned out, I won it. MW didn't move to block my northern exit so I took three units off the map for half it. Then I very aggressively went after Tebessa, and took that as well. With the US HQ unit gone from Tebessa, and the supply gone with it, he wasn't able to get enough gas and bullets to dislodge me from Tebessa.

Two main things shifted the game for me though: 1. some very good die rolls early on, and 2. the blunder mentioned above by MW. The die rolls were probably the main part of it, I just got some good luck and there is no denying it.

I should probably also mention that I ended up keeping combat supply pretty much in throw anyway. I'm still unclear on some of the details for throw, but I'm now confident I can play it.

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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.