Luftwaffe - An Avalon Hill classic

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My usual wargame opponent stopped by for game day. He's on an Avalon Hill kick right now, so we got in a first play of Luftwaffe. This game is from the mid-1970s (at the earliest, too lazy to look it up right now), and features all the usual Avalon Hill touches such as mounted, foldable board, glossay poster sized rule, and the bookshelf sleeve.

Side note: I wish bookshelf sleeving would return, it's such an elegant way to package, and Avalon Hill did such a great job with it.

We played through about 10 turns. At that point it was clear the Allies had shot their load, and the Germans were going to be able to prevent any further victory points. By the number of bombings, the US won, but they lost a point for running out of fuel, so it turned into a German victory.

Interesting little game. I think it plays pretty fast once the rules are internalized. I can see a lot latent strategy as well. Not sure when or if we'll get it back on the table, but I'm glad we played 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.