AAR – Ronnie vs. Dan (GSv2.01.32) (The War is Over).

gsmart04 · Post by **gsmart04** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:21 am

You guys are WAY more experienced than me. I'm playing just my second game against the A/I and the A/I fought a very determined defense in the summer and winter of 41-42. Its now Spring '42 and I'm confused as to how to proceed as the Axis player. There is a ton of Russian infantry around Moscow with 2 Tank Corps. I'm holding the line Novgorod, Smolensk, Bryansk in the central sector with 6 Panzer Corps, 4 mech inf, and some regular infantry and have been wondering what to do with my first clear weather turn. The front opposite Army Group South is mostly dormant on both sides though I do have 2 Panzer Corps, a mech inf, a few German inf, and the boatload of Axis minors that are mostly around the the 4-5 step strength. The Russians have enough infantry in the South to be competitive.

As I said, in '41 the Russian A/I did not simply melt away to the East and wait for me to catch up. I took plenty of casualties in the Axis forces and the A/I did too, I thought...then winter showed up and it looks to be fairly even in the Russian theatre now.

How do you guys normally play against the Russian A/I in '41-42?

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:52 am

supermax wrote:Ronnie, do you think its possible to do this if the russian player stays exclusively on the defensive till 1942?

There were a couple of games where i really hit the russians hard but they just melted away in the russia hinterland, so couldnt really reach them ...

I am wondering how possible it is to win this game if the russians simply dont do anything against the germans unless its winter and 1943?

Wow ... Lots of post that I haven't had a chance to digest. I think the answer to your question in my opinion is that it depends. I think a player of your quality can win that strategy or any reasonable strategy against most players. I've tried the strategy of melting away against you, Borger, Craig and Neil (for example) and I was never able to get moving on the eastern front.

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 1:52 am

gsmart04 wrote:You guys are WAY more experienced than me. I'm playing just my second game against the A/I and the A/I fought a very determined defense in the summer and winter of 41-42. Its now Spring '42 and I'm confused as to how to proceed as the Axis player. There is a ton of Russian infantry around Moscow with 2 Tank Corps. I'm holding the line Novgorod, Smolensk, Bryansk in the central sector with 6 Panzer Corps, 4 mech inf, and some regular infantry and have been wondering what to do with my first clear weather turn. The front opposite Army Group South is mostly dormant on both sides though I do have 2 Panzer Corps, a mech inf, a few German inf, and the boatload of Axis minors that are mostly around the the 4-5 step strength. The Russians have enough infantry in the South to be competitive.

As I said, in '41 the Russian A/I did not simply melt away to the East and wait for me to catch up. I took plenty of casualties in the Axis forces and the A/I did too, I thought...then winter showed up and it looks to be fairly even in the Russian theatre now.

How do you guys normally play against the Russian A/I in '41-42?

Here's an AAR I did a year or so ago against the AI. Maybe you'll find something useful there. I did force a USSR surrender.

viewtopic.php?p=184740#184740

supermax · Post by **supermax** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:01 am

rkr1958 wrote:
supermax wrote:Ronnie, do you think its possible to do this if the russian player stays exclusively on the defensive till 1942?

There were a couple of games where i really hit the russians hard but they just melted away in the russia hinterland, so couldnt really reach them ...

I am wondering how possible it is to win this game if the russians simply dont do anything against the germans unless its winter and 1943?
Wow ... Lots of post that I haven't had a chance to digest. I think the answer to your question in my opinion is that it depends. I think a player of your quality can win that strategy or any reasonable strategy against most players. I've tried the strategy of melting away against you, Borger, Craig and Neil (for example) and I was never able to get moving on the eastern front.

Yes, maybee, but that game was ages ago, under a different version of the game... A Very different version of it

.

gsmart04 · Post by **gsmart04** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 7:18 am

rkr1958 wrote:
gsmart04 wrote:You guys are WAY more experienced than me. I'm playing just my second game against the A/I and the A/I fought a very determined defense in the summer and winter of 41-42. Its now Spring '42 and I'm confused as to how to proceed as the Axis player. There is a ton of Russian infantry around Moscow with 2 Tank Corps. I'm holding the line Novgorod, Smolensk, Bryansk in the central sector with 6 Panzer Corps, 4 mech inf, and some regular infantry and have been wondering what to do with my first clear weather turn. The front opposite Army Group South is mostly dormant on both sides though I do have 2 Panzer Corps, a mech inf, a few German inf, and the boatload of Axis minors that are mostly around the the 4-5 step strength. The Russians have enough infantry in the South to be competitive.

As I said, in '41 the Russian A/I did not simply melt away to the East and wait for me to catch up. I took plenty of casualties in the Axis forces and the A/I did too, I thought...then winter showed up and it looks to be fairly even in the Russian theatre now.

How do you guys normally play against the Russian A/I in '41-42?
Here's an AAR I did a year or so ago against the AI. Maybe you'll find something useful there. I did force a USSR surrender.

viewtopic.php?p=184740#184740

Hey Ronnie, thanks a bunch! I can't wait to get into that AAR in detail. I know I'll learn a lot. Its great that you did it and posted it as a reply to me.

I had been on a long, several year hiatus from wargaming though I started 50-some years ago with Avalon Hill boardgames. Over the years I played a lot of wargames as they became available on the PC. I eventually switched to a Mac and found that there weren't many strategic games available for it. Then after 3 years of no wargaming I found this forum and Matrix Games forum and have really dived back into it and found a way of installing Windows 7 on my Mac as a dual boot system. GS 2.0 has reinvigorated my wargaming appetite and I've recently bought a few more games from Matrix. So now, I'm really enjoying myself again. All these years and I'm still into it. Amazing!

rkr1958 · Post by **rkr1958** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 12:18 pm

gsmart04 wrote:Hey Ronnie, thanks a bunch! I can't wait to get into that AAR in detail. I know I'll learn a lot. Its great that you did it and posted it as a reply to me.

I had been on a long, several year hiatus from wargaming though I started 50-some years ago with Avalon Hill boardgames. Over the years I played a lot of wargames as they became available on the PC. I eventually switched to a Mac and found that there weren't many strategic games available for it. Then after 3 years of no wargaming I found this forum and Matrix Games forum and have really dived back into it and found a way of installing Windows 7 on my Mac as a dual boot system. GS 2.0 has reinvigorated my wargaming appetite and I've recently bought a few more games from Matrix. So now, I'm really enjoying myself again. All these years and I'm still into it. Amazing!

One thing I really like about wargaming on the computer is that the computer takes care of all the "administrative" details like rule interpretation, keeping up with which units have moved and which haven't and managing the board and units themselves. No more searching through a box of counters for that one 7-8 armor unit or the cruiser Indianapolis. And by the way, the writing on cardboard counters must have shrunk since I played my board wargames ages ago in my 20's. Because now I find it difficult to even read the writing on them.

That's another advantage of wargames on a computer ... it's much easier now to read the names on the units and see the map properly!

Diplomaticus · Post by **Diplomaticus** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 2:04 pm

Does anybody remember those great "monster game" Civil War battles from SPI? You know, 'Terrible Swift Sword,' 'Bloody April,' etc.? They were fantastic regiment-scale games, but the administrative side made them at times almost unplayable. For instance, in Bloody April the fatigue rules were essential to maintaining realism and balance, but hoo boy--what a headache! All these stacks of little numbered counters to keep track of. And then there was accounting for ammo. Computers make all this soooo much better.

supermax · Post by **supermax** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:54 pm

The worst monster game i played was pacific war...

92 wonderful pages of rules and thousands of counter, every ship light cruiser and bigger being represented!

Ground troops even the japs marine battalions were on the map

Took me a month just to start the first game

And lets not forget world in flames or squad leader!

supermax · Post by **supermax** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 3:56 pm

The most important thing for me with computer wargames is the hability to find players to play against

Its hard to find wargame geeks in my area!

Crazygunner1 · Post by **Crazygunner1** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:33 pm

supermax wrote:The most important thing for me with computer wargames is the hability to find players to play against

Its hard to find wargame geeks in my area!

Agree...palying vs computer is not an option anymore. I don´t get why game designers don´t adapt more to playing human vs human instead. Majority of the games out there is still against computer. Comon we are in 2012 soon....get with the program

gsmart04 · Post by **gsmart04** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:08 pm

I have to admit that I still like playing against a good A/I and that should remain one way of playing. Human opponents add another dimension for sure and the social aspect is also important, but sometimes I just feel like playing a historical 'what-if' or lack having access to a fellow wargamer and the A/I is handy that way.

gsmart04 · Post by **gsmart04** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:14 pm

rkr1958 wrote:
gsmart04 wrote:Hey Ronnie, thanks a bunch! I can't wait to get into that AAR in detail. I know I'll learn a lot. Its great that you did it and posted it as a reply to me.

I had been on a long, several year hiatus from wargaming though I started 50-some years ago with Avalon Hill boardgames. Over the years I played a lot of wargames as they became available on the PC. I eventually switched to a Mac and found that there weren't many strategic games available for it. Then after 3 years of no wargaming I found this forum and Matrix Games forum and have really dived back into it and found a way of installing Windows 7 on my Mac as a dual boot system. GS 2.0 has reinvigorated my wargaming appetite and I've recently bought a few more games from Matrix. So now, I'm really enjoying myself again. All these years and I'm still into it. Amazing!
One thing I really like about wargaming on the computer is that the computer takes care of all the "administrative" details like rule interpretation, keeping up with which units have moved and which haven't and managing the board and units themselves. No more searching through a box of counters for that one 7-8 armor unit or the cruiser Indianapolis. And by the way, the writing on cardboard counters must have shrunk since I played my board wargames ages ago in my 20's. Because now I find it difficult to even read the writing on them.

That's another advantage of wargames on a computer ... it's much easier now to read the names on the units and see the map properly!

Having the computer handle the administrative details is a real advantage over the old board games and as you mentioned there was always that aspect of having to set up dozens or hundreds of counters --- that was a pain. I know what you mean about the small writing on the counters too. The only thing I tend to miss about the old boardgames was the ability to see the whole board at one glance but the PCs have even made strides in that direction with the zoom in and zoom out features.

Peter Stauffenberg · Post by **Peter Stauffenberg** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 3:44 am

I remember in the good old days it took maybe 4-5 hours just to set up the first turn of Fire In The East and then we had time for a few hours of playing until we spent several hours typing the location of all the counters.

I still remember the funny situation where we had nearly completely setup the first turn of FITE when a spectator moved to get something to eat or whatever and accidentally hit the map. Then all the counters fell down on the floor. I've never seen anyone run so fast out of the house as that unfortunate spectator.

supermax · Post by **supermax** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:46 pm

Stauffenberg wrote:I remember in the good old days it took maybe 4-5 hours just to set up the first turn of Fire In The East and then we had time for a few hours of playing until we spent several hours typing the location of all the counters.

I still remember the funny situation where we had nearly completely setup the first turn of FITE when a spectator moved to get something to eat or whatever and accidentally hit the map. Then all the counters fell down on the floor. I've never seen anyone run so fast out of the house as that unfortunate spectator.

Hahaha

For me it was my damned cat!

Middle of 1943 with pacific war, and he completly destroyed the pacific!

That cat also ran really fast out of the house!

The game was over as well!

Kragdob · Post by **Kragdob** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:56 pm

To avoid awful defeat you can sneeze in the middle of the map as one of my opponent did once

gsmart04 · Post by **gsmart04** » Sat Dec 31, 2011 9:54 pm

Or jump up suddenly and knock the board and pieces to the floor as once happened to me.