Hello,
In 900 point games, army minimums, objectives, table size etc. are increased by 50%. Also the army status value can be recalculated. Was there any consideration given to increasing some of the assets by 50% and or the barrage sizes?
Thanks and regards,
Richard
Hello Richard
Because an asset can change the game a bit it was not considered good idea to increase the value of assets. An increase might let an asset dictate the game direction rather than be an irritant to the opponent as intended.
Other members will have thoughts too.
martin :)
Thanks for the quick reply Martin and I believe you are correct regarding the asset values.
We play 900 point games all the time and wanted to confirm what we are doing is a sensible extension to the 620 point games.
Would you add another hasty defence for the defender in a 900 point game?
Just going back to my first post about barrage sizes. In a 620 point game Suppression, Gas and Rolling (assuming they arrive) all cover more than half the frontage - 5 out of 8 squares, whereas in the 900 point game they cover 5 out of a 12 square frontage.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Regards, Richard
Hello Richard
i would still recommend not changing any aspect of the assets.
This however might cause the game to be more fluid. This would be due to the fact that less unist are affected by artillery barrages etc al. This might not be a bad thing.
The exception to all this is to maybe increase all barrage assets by D6-2 if using late WW1 Western front armies. At this point of the war barrages were vey common and effective.
i.e. Roll a D6 and deduct 2. This would give value addition of 0,1,2,3,4. (Expected = 1.5)
If you increase assets it might work against players using planning and manoeuvre. It would then start to bog down into "win by asset".
Let us all know how it goes Richard.
martin :)
Hi Martin,
Thanks again for the quick reply.
We have started using a third set of hasty defences for the 900 point game which seems fair and does not appear to affect either side unduly so far in the 3 or 4 games we have played with the extra defences.
We have not adjusted the assets in any way as we thought to ask the questions first to see if others had, and would share their experiences.
If we do mess with the assets and or number of squares affected by barrage, I will provide some feedback on outcomes.
Thanks again,
Regards, Richard
Just to offer a counterpoint. Assuming that you give one objective away (standard defender ploy), then having the the 3rd hasty defence means then all of you important objectives will get a H/D. As such you are really giving the attacker a tough time. The game is already tough for the attacker. Typically they will need to get 3 objectives to win you are making that really hard.
The 900pt games I've seen aren't necessarily wider, the attack is typically deeper. If you do go wide then the higher command where you have to dice are weak.
It does change a little between early and late war. Late war you might have a reasonable chance of 'digging the lice out of the carpet' with gas , followed by suppression barrages. Early war that 3rd H/D I think would be a killer .... IMHO of course ;D
Hi Richard, why have you increased the game to 900, wide game, more units normal width?
Stewart
Hi Stewart,
The people I play against are just into larger games. They increased the board size to 12 x 6 squares for 900 point games before I started playing. I assumed this is correct because you add two more objectives and they cannot be in adjacent rows. Happy to be corrected.
Regards, Richard
Thanks Richard, just wondering the thinking behind it. When playtesting we did try other sizes but settled on 4x3 to give a good game for a club meeting (3-4 hours).
Stewart
The 900 point game is catered for in the rules, 6 objectives and 12 scenery pieces played on a 6 by 3 foot table. I believe you and I Stewart played a couple of games one year at fisticuffs one year. I think you end up with more reserves as you can't get all the figures on the table. The objective total is increased to 19.
Chris
Richard have you been playing the game as described by Chris and set out in the rule book on page 8?
My rules are with someone else, so if memory serves me right, Yes we are playing the game from the rule book.
Regards, Richard
Hey Richard
Don't let them deter you!
martin :)
Thanks for the support Martin.
I am not easily deterred and these questions about the 900 point game are just about checking that the points made have been considered and not used for good reason.
I have played quite a few games recently and the two I am most proud of are the 1916-18 Austro-Hungarians attacking in a Trench Game against the Italians, taking 5 objectives including the Bunker and winning well. The other was a reversal with the Austro-Hungarians defending in the trenches and holding all but one of the objectives at the end of the game. Both these games were 8 turns long which is unusual for us.
Regards, Richard
Do remember that if you win, it is a demonstration of excellent tactics and leadership.
If you lose it is just bad luck. Probably someone else's fault.
The other goof trick is to announce "I have to go to an important appointment" if the games takes a turn for the worse. Then you can add, "let's call it a draw then". Only works 3 times in a row though, before arousing suspicion. Remember, it is the winning that counts not the taking part?
martin ;)
Richard great to see that you are enjoying the rules and the period is giving you some great games.