1972 The Lost Phantom (2)

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After my surprise win on my first game of this, I've decided I need to take another spin.

I doubt I will be as lucky the second time around, but we'll see.

Turn 1

  1. Mapping: roll 2 which is jungle-hill-jungle.
  2. Encounter: roll 25, none.
  3. Dice allocation: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: south to jungle, roll 6, take 1 health.
  5. Stealth: 3, 5 success.
  6. Rest: 4, 2 success.

A relatively successful turn, didn't make much forward progress, but neither went backwards.

Stats: 6-6-5.

Round 2

  1. Mapping: roll 6, paddy-village-paddy.
  2. Encounter: roll 64, find map with open field three hexes away.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: 5, 3 success, move to paddy.
  5. Stealth: 4, 4 success.
  6. Rest: 5, 3 success.

Another relatively successful turn.

Stats: 6-6-5.

Round 3

  1. Mapping: roll 1, jungle-swamp-swamp.
  2. Encounter: roll 36, no effect.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: roll 6,1 health to 4.
  5. Stealth: 3, 2, reroll since moved, 6, proximity 5.
  6. Rest: roll 5, 4 success.

Gotta watch the health.

Stats: 5-6-4.

Round 4

  1. Mapping: roll 6, paddy-village-paddy.
  2. Encounter: roll 11, Flash Flood, retreat to previous hex.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: roll 6, 4, choose 4 to succeed.
  5. Stealth: 2, 1, reroll 1, proximity 4.
  6. Rest: roll 6, 3, reroll 3 for 4, success.

Starting to get a bit nervous here.

Stats: 4-6-4.

Round 5

  1. Mapping: nothing open.
  2. Encounter: roll 46, no effect.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: 3, 1 for no movement.
  5. Stealth: 6,4 choose 4.
  6. Rest: 3, 2 lose 1 endurance.

Stats: 4-5-4.

Round 6

  1. Mapping: nothing open.
  2. Encounter: 36, no effect.
  3. Dice: 2-1-2.
  4. Move: 5, 1 success.
  5. Stealth: 2, proximity 3.
  6. Rest: 6, 6, reroll 6, endurance back to 6 health to 3.

Stats: 3-6-3.

Round 7

  1. Mapping: roll 4, clear-jungle-hill
  2. Encouner: Crash Huey per above, grab Flare Gun.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: 6, 3 reroll 4, move to jungle.
  5. Stealth: roll 4, 4 success.
  6. Rest: 6, 1 reroll 5, success.

Stats: 3-6-3.

Round 8

  1. Mapping: roll 2, jungle-hill-jungle.
  2. Encounter: 62, Crashed Huey, already have Flare Gun and 6 Endurance.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: 5, 3 success.
  5. Stealth: 4, 4 success.
  6. Rest: 6, 1, reroll 1, lose 1 health.

Stats: 3-6-2.

Round 9

  1. Mapping: roll 4, clear-jungle-hill.
  2. Encounter: Flash Flood, go back.
  3. Dice: 2-2-2.
  4. Move: 6, 1 health at 1.
  5. Stealth: 6, 3 reroll 3, health 0 and that's the game.

AAR

I've been taking all 6's, but I now figured out I didn't have to do that. For example, suppose I rolled 6, 6 for a move. I could choose not to move, in which case the 6 for losing health would not apply.

Also, I need to play the odds a bit better on allocation. 2-2-2 isn't always going to be optimal.

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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.