Downtown, Game 2, Scenario D2 Raid

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Played game 2 of Downtown, this time playing the D2 raid scenario, which brings in a lot more rules than the beginner "Surfin' Bird" scenario.

I played the DRV against the US opponent played by AW.

The D2 raid scenario requires digging much deeper into the rules than the initial Surfin' Bird scenario. This is a good thing. The rules aren't written as "Programmed Instruction," but having rules which ramp up scenario intensity is a good thing.

We didn't have a lot of trouble with the rules, other than dealing with the amount of complexity a simulation at this level of historical detail demands. AW was a bit miffed, I think, as he seemed to be looking for more game than simulation, whereas I'm absolutely delighted with the level of detail provided. It require being familiar with a lot of subsystems in the game, and that takes time.

One great result of this game is I figured out how to use my dummy flights. I had them sitting at the airfields not doing anything when I should have been flying them around to spread confusion.

The game went to the DRV, with a collateral damage point offsetting 5 points awarded to US for heavy damage on the main target.

I'll be reading through the rules in the evenings now that I've got some game play under my belt. It's starting to make more sense now.

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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.