Ho Chi Minh Trail 3

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Another scripted game, this one running randomized actions and responses. As I write this introduction, I haven't even checked the output of the script, checking is the game "play" in this case.

The random responses are weighted to match the analog card frequencies:

  • 1..5 Bomb
  • 6..9 Search & Destroy
  • 10..12 Raid

The next round of work is going to involve a lot of documentation and engineering to figure out how to run trials, whether or not backwards campatibility is desired and if so, how to acheive it, logging and output formatting for analysis. A lot of work before any more code is written.

This game was a "win" with 132 supplies delivered. Turn log follows.

Turn 1: Jan 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 8, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 10, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Bomb trail, capacity reduced to 8, bases: 0

Game State: Supplies: 0, Trailcap: 8, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 2: Feb 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 10, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 12, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 5 supplies lost, new total 0

Game State: Supplies: 0, Trailcap: 12, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 3: Mar 1967

  • Action 1: Move 18 for total supplies 18, 0 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Pass
  • Response: Raid, lose a base, 0 remaining

Game State: Supplies: 18, Trailcap: 12, Bases: 0, Resources: 0

Turn 4: Apr 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 14, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 16, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Bomb trail, capacity reduced to 14, bases: 0

Game State: Supplies: 18, Trailcap: 14, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 5: May 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 16, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Move 10 for total supplies 28, 0 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 9 supplies lost, new total 19

Game State: Supplies: 19, Trailcap: 16, Bases: 0, Resources: 0

Turn 6: Jun 1967

  • Action 1: Build base: 1 total, resources: 0
  • Action 2: Move 8 for total supplies 27, 0 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 11 supplies lost, new total 16

Game State: Supplies: 16, Trailcap: 16, Bases: 1, Resources: 0

Turn 7: Jul 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 18, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 20, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Raid, lose a base, 0 remaining

Game State: Supplies: 16, Trailcap: 20, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 8: Aug 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 22, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 24, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 7 supplies lost, new total 9

Game State: Supplies: 9, Trailcap: 24, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 9: Sep 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 26, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Increase trail capacity to 28, 2 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 5 supplies lost, new total 4

Game State: Supplies: 4, Trailcap: 28, Bases: 0, Resources: 2

Turn 10: Oct 1967

  • Action 1: Increase trail capacity to 30, 4 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Move 34 for total supplies 38, 0 resources remaining
  • Response: Search & Destroy, 6 supplies lost, new total 32

Game State: Supplies: 32, Trailcap: 30, Bases: 0, Resources: 0

Turn 11: Nov 1967

  • Action 1: Build base: 1 total, resources: 0
  • Action 2: Move 30 for total supplies 62, 0 resources remaining
  • Response: Bomb trail, capacity reduced to 29, bases: 1

Game State: Supplies: 62, Trailcap: 29, Bases: 1, Resources: 0

Turn 12: Dec 1967

  • Action 1: Move 35 for total supplies 97, 0 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Pass
  • Response: Raid, lose a base, 0 remaining

Game State: Supplies: 97, Trailcap: 29, Bases: 0, Resources: 0

Turn 13: Jan 1968

  • Action 1: Move 35 for total supplies 132, 0 resources remaining
  • Action 2: Pass
  • Response: Bomb trail, capacity reduced to 27, bases: 0

Game State: Supplies: 132, Trailcap: 27, Bases: 0, Resources: 0

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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.