Next War: India-Pakistan (and SR Frontiers)

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My usual opponent and I really enjoy hex and counter games, it's our favorite type of game, and games in the Next War series really scratch that itch. We get one on the table about once a year. We previously played the India-Pakistan game in early April 2023, so it was time to get it back on the table.

In the previous game I was the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (IROP) forces, with PRC allies, and AS was the Republic of India (ROI). I won that one 26 to 22. In this game we switched sides.

Here's what the setup looks like:

Kashmir setup

IROP was unusually hesitant in this game, and was reluctant to take any losses despite having more factors to lose. India was really aggressive about getting forces moved into place and willing to take step and unit losses to prevent entry into the Kashmir Valley. The upshot was a blowout win for ROI, scoring 34 to IROP's single point acquired by eliminating an ROI brigade.

Here's the situation at the end of the game:

IROP symied

Star Realms Frontiers 4:39

As usual, 4:39 indicates Frontier game 4 from 39 collective Star Realms games. This was AS' first play of Frontiers. He pursued a Trade Fed strategy, which is new to him as he usually goes all out Blob. He gained a lot of points back this game, nearly every turn during later rounds. I went for Star Empire, which ran dry through the whole mid game. I ended up winning this one by a very small margin. The 5 cost Blob "scrap any card in Trade Row for damage equal to cost" I was able to play twice, and it tipped the game. I didn't have any Authority generation, but I did get some Outposts in play to soak off attacks which would have otherwise crushed me. Great game!

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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.