Slitherine

Hello Volks,

December is Battle of the Bulge month. To commemorate that epic struggle I'm putting together a whole new campaign concept that combines two games in one.


Background –
An open concept campaign that combines the boardgame, Axis & Allies – Battle of the Bulge, with Battle Academy. A&A-BB is played out until a major battle occurs. At that time, the forces are translated into a Battle Academy multiplayer game where the individual battles are fought out. The results of the battle are then applied to the A&A-BB board and the fun continues! Players not actively playing the boardgame can watch the action unfold via Vassal, the cyber-board system.

How to play –
The game really only requires 1 player (2 ideally - any owners of the boardgame out there?) to play the A&A-BB strategic game. The game is played as per the A&A-BB. Minor battles are conducted on the board but when a major battle occurs, it is translated to BA.

A Major battle involves at least 3 non-artillery ‘figures’ from each side. Otherwise the battle is considered minor and is simply played according to the A&A-BB rules.

When a Major battle does occur a battle map is made up that would ideally roughly configure to the terrain of the A&A-BB map where the battle is taking place. The map will be named according to the coordinates on the A&A-BB map (ie. Charlie-10).

Here are the Vassal files that can be clicked through to watch the campaign unfold (note; you'll need Vassal 3.2.0 and the A&A-BB module to watch these files - see resources below)
Campaign Map
Start Turn 1 - Dec. 16, 1944
Turn 2 to battle at St. Vith - Dec. 17, 1944
Turn 2 to battle at Clervaux - Dec. 17, 1944
Turn 3 to battle at Nine Charlie - Dec. 18, 1944 (current)

Here is the Current Situation Map

Deployment areas will be set with the attacker deploying from roughly the same direction as they are on the A&A-BB map. The Defender will deploy on pretty much the rest of the map with a buffer between the forces of 5 or more hexes.

Battlefield sizes and durations will vary according to the average number of A&A-BB figures participating in the battle and are as follows….
Small Battles = 3-5 Figs., Duration 12 turns, Size 32x32
Medium Battles = 6-8 Figs., Duration 16 turns, Size 40x40
Large Battles = 9-12 Figs., Duration 20 turns, Size 48x48

Objective! - The object of each BA battle is to eliminate as many of the enemy forces as possible in the allotted time. Units lost in the BA battle are translated back into A&A-BB figures where eliminations and retreats. There may also be secondary objectives if the defending figures have supplies in their area (represented by Flags in BA) the capture of enemy flags will result in lost supplies! The Attacker is a battle has nothing to lose and should try to eliminate as many of the defenders as possible (and capture any flags which represent supplies)..however, the attacker should try to avoid losing units as any attacking units lost will off-set the defenders losses.

BA units that are to participate in the battle are based on the A&A-BB figures and roughly translate as follows…

Artillery figure = 1st Figure = 2x Mortars & 1x truck (or mobile mortar if mostly armoured), 2nd Figure = Preist/Wespe (modified to fire every other turn), 3rd Figure = Calliope/Panzerwerfer
Infantry figure = 3x infantry + up to 2 support units
Tank figure = 3x tanks (or 2x tanks Axis) + 1x infantry + 1x halftrack
Truck = 3x trucks (max. regardless of how many trucks are in the hex).

The makeup of the BA units from figures will vary according to the historical OOB.

Current Axis Table of Organization and Equipment
Current Allies Table of Organization and Equipment

After a battle, BA units are translated back to the A&A-BB board using the following method...
1) Determine total points lost in terms of unit costs for both sides
2) Subtract the Attackers points lost total from the Defenders points lost total - if the result is negative then the battle had no effect on the defending forces
3) If the result is positive then the Defender starts to subtract the costs of their strongest units possible until the points can no longer be applied (ie. there is no longer a unit that could be purchased with the points)
4) If a Division loses 1 unit, it translates as a retreat on the A&A-BB board. If a Division loses 2 units the figure is eliminated from the battle

This is just an explanation of the method, players do not need to do the calculations simply submit a screen shot of the Casualty screen at the end of the battle.


How to get involved -

I will be looking for players to either fight me in the BA battles or even fight each other and I’ll be using the results of those battles to update the A&A-BB game.
Hop in, hop out…switch sides…it doesn’t matter…this is meant to be fun! It's really all about the battles...but watching the outcomes as they affect the bigger picture will add a whole new dimension!

Once you've fought the battle, come here and post the results. I'll be randomly determining the board outcome based on the battles fought here by the community.

Click here to download instructions for the Current Battle

Here is the current situation battle intel



Here are some resources for those interested...

Axis & Allies – Battle of the Bulge

Rulebook - http://www.wizards.com//avalonhill/rules/BotBRules.pdf

Vassal Engine - http://www.vassalengine.org/
Vassal Module - http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module ... _the_Bulge

(note; the A&A-BB will be played out using Vassal module 2.1 with the BA setup and the 3.2.0 version of Vassal. Vassal is a cyber-board system that allows owners of the game to play online either live or via email)

Axis & Allies – Battle of the Bulge is a trademark of Hasbro Inc.

Acknowledgements - Thanks to Amaris for his random map plugin (invaluable!), Merr for his many scripts to make the game more fun, Gottalove88s for his ideas and help, all of the players who made this happen and of course the staff here at Slitherine for making such a great game!

Very interesting Mac. I will like to see how this pans out. I do not know how to play Axis and Allies..But, would love to see some AARs and screens of how its going. Very interesting..Hope goes well.
Mike

Thanks Mike,

I plan on posting some screens for those not familiar enough with replaying the file on Vassal (not the most intuitive program but works great for these purposes). I'll also be sure to post screens of each battle situation when I post the coming battle so players can get a sense of what's going on strategically.

Again, the beauty here is that the community doesn't need to know how to play A&A-BB, just the desire to get into some unique BA battles!

A&A Battle of the Bulge is quite a departure from the traditional A&A but it's a great game unto itself, I recommend it highly.

Hope to see you on the field!

Cheers!
Mac

(edit - here's a map of the start of the game...looks a little busy, I know...but it will all make sense as it unfolds)

Ok, so I couldn't help myself and got a game underway!

You can watch the action unfold (and I comment as I go) by downloading the logfile here

To Watch the Wacht am Rhein unfold -
Once downloaded open up Vassal, load the A&A-BB module then go to File > Load Continuation... choose the file that you downloaded above. Once loaded you'll notice what looks like a play button in the top left of the Vassal screen...you'll need to click that each time to go through the actions (and my yapping!)...each click will show the action unfolding.

The first turn really just sets the stage as a lot of those poor doughboys are simply overrun (there aren't enough figures for a BA battle)...but as you'll see the Allies act swiftly and start to reinforce setting the stage not only for turn 2 but most definitely some BA action!

For those of you who just want to see what's where...here's the situation after the first turn.

This looks really neat Mac. I got Vassal...but, sadly I am not good at it...lol. I am going to load it an see whats up...
Who did you start playing with?? If you need any help...just let me know...I am interested..But...will prob need help. lol
Mike

Thanks Mike,

I'm outta here for today but yes, have a look and let me know if you run into any problems.

I'm just playing against myself right now so I can get some BA battles underway and give the community an idea of what I am thinking. I would be happy to show you if you want to learn though, like I said, it's actually a pretty neat game unto itself...depicts the Bulge battle very well.

I'm looking forward to setting up the BA battles and playing those out too!

Mac, I tried to load the log file you put...Put on vassel it says log file not found or something like that. I cant seem to get the thing to open up in vassel.
Can you show me a screen of what I need to do to get it up and running? Sorry...just not too good with vassel.
Not sure...Could the file be bad??

No worries Mike, Vassal isn't the most friendly program but it does get the job done. Besides, I should post how to view the file for those interested anyway (thanks).

So here's how to view...

Make sure you have the Vassal engine 3.2.0 downloaded.

from there you'll need to make sure you have the A&A-BB module (http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module ... _the_Bulge) grab the AABattleBulge_v2.1.vmod version (that's the one I set up)...

once that is downloaded open up Vassal and select File > Open Module then select the AABattleBulge_v2.1.vmod and it should load it into you Vassal.

Once that's loaded you will get the intro screen, select the 'Load saved game' radio button then navigate to where you downloaded my logfile and select it (you'll then be asked what side you want, it doesn't matter so just go with Observer).

That should load up the logfile I created and then you can click through the steps to watch the play unfold.

Ok, I'm really out of here for the nite, good luck and let me know if you still run into problems. Otherwise, hope you enjoy!

Hey Mac...would also be interested in this...need to get some time to read over the rules and get Vassal downloaded. I used to play Squad Leader and Panzer Leader board games so am somewhat familiar but never played Axis and Allies.

Got it...finally...lol. It looks alot like Memoir44 but on a strat level. this is neat...

Brummbar44 wrote:To Watch the Wacht am Rhein unfold -
Once downloaded open up Vassal, load the A&A-BB module then go to File > Load Continuation... choose the file that you downloaded above. Once loaded you'll notice what looks like a play button in the top left of the Vassal screen...you'll need to click that each time to go through the actions (and my yapping!)...each click will show the action unfolding.

MAN...my finger tired from all the clicking! I agree, this is very neat...can't wait to get some turns in.

Hey Mac,

Congrats on your A&A-BB plus BA combi.
Looks a v creative idea. Clever and will be great fun to play!

Happy to help on any mapping if u need it.
Don't hesitate to ask any questions, any time.

Good luck!

Hey Mac...When do you project that you will be doing the BA battles?? I will help you if you want.. I dont know how to map, or use the editor..But, will play if you want me to.
Mike
* Looks like an interesting battle(or maybe 2) coming up next turn...Will you be making up those battles?? Looks like its going to be a tough fight for the ole G.I.'s...lol

I'm in for battles too, can't wait to play them out. I'll take either side.

I'll check out the Vassal system to see how such games play out, as I'm new to it.

I have setup Vassal, downloaded the mod and ran the save file. It all seems easy enough. I'm trying to understand what all the items on the map stand for, but I'll probably pick it up along the way.

I'm ready to play when the first battles are ready.

Thanks everyone, glad to hear there are some interested generals out there!...which gave me an idea...

Community Random Results
Once a battle is posted the community can fight out the battle with whatever opponent they wish, then come and post the results here (format to follow but basically units lost from both sides and how many flags taken etc...). I'll then randomly determine which of those battle results will be reflected on the board (in A&A-BB the battle results are random anyway, so this would be a neat and inclusive way to incorporate results). There will have to be a cut off time of course.

Everyone is welcome to play and submit results.


I did run into a BB to BA problem last night...fortunately, I came up with a solution. It occurred to me that in BB the attacker doesn't lose anything in battles on the board, just the defender does. My solution...

Take One With You!
The defender can mitigate their losses in BB figures by eliminating attacking units which in turn will cancel out their losses when it comes time to translate units remaining in BA back to figures in BB.


As for the BA maps, thanks for the offers everyone (Jon, I learned a lot from your work on GJS! Fortunately, we both owe a debt of gratitude to Merr for his wonderful scripts to make this possible) but I think I have a shortcut on how to produce maps quickly and at a nice level of detail (thanks to the extra efforts from the lads here at Slitherine who took the time and effort to extend the terrain beyond the bounds of the official scenarios...that's a lot of un-used area...well, un-used until now!) Further, I have the great work of Amaris and his wonderous random map plugin which should do in a pinch.

I've pretty much got the OOB's figured out (my old Panzer Leader rule book came in handy...after all these years!) just need to format them.

And most importantly, get on with the next turn! December 17th is dawning as is the realization that a major offensive has begun...it will be a desperate day for the Allies but if they win initiative, they might surprise the surprisers!

More to follow shortly....

So here's the latest situation

After a successful foray against a probing German line, the Americans are attacked at St. Vith.

Vassal logfile (save then load...not so many click throughs this time! LOL!)
Quick correction on my first logfile, I made an error in that tanks may in fact, blitz through an enemy ZOC.

Here is a quick screen for those who can't access (not sure if Vassal works on iPad?)


So the entire 7th Armd, II/106th Inf and I/9th Armd for the Allies defending against the 62nd VG (with arty) the entire 116th Pz and the 18th VG...should be a good fight but a tough one for the Allies. There will also be 3 supply flags that the Germans can attempt to control (which will translate into destroyed supplies on the map board).

Battle files to follow....

Ok Volks, the first battle is now set....St. Vith December 17th, 1944...I've left an open challenge to the first player who wants to take the Axis for a spin.

1. Run BA on your Mac, PC or iPad
2. If you do not already have B'44 on your system, skip ahead to Step 8
3. Choose Multiplayer (at the bottom)
4. Log in to Multiplayer as usual
5. Choose the My Challenges tab (at the top) then press New Challenge
6. Select a B'44 Campaign scenario and then Delete Campaign (bottom right)
7. Press X until you get back to BA start screen
8. Choose Campaigns (at the bottom)
9. Choose Download Community Scenarios (at the top)
10. Choose Download a Campaign Package from the Internet (top right)
11. Type http://tinyurl.com/bdr9mzp into the URL box
12. Click the green tick
13. Back at the campaigns list, select "B'44 - Wacht am Rhein" and click Download the Selected Campaign (bottom centre)
14. This should download everything that you need
15. Press X until you get back to the BA start screen and choose Multiplayer
16. Log in to Multiplayer as usual
17. Either go to the My Challenges tab and click the New Challenge arrow. Select "St. Vith December 17th, 1944"
18. Or go to the Accept Challenges tab and click the scenario that you're supposed to be fighting (if your opponent has already setup your game)

After all that, you can play B'44 on any platform... Phew!!

(thanks to GL88 for this process description)

I grabbed this...this sounds like it will be a good fight!

morge4 wrote:I grabbed this...this sounds like it will be a good fight!

Beat me to it lol. I'll wait for the other ones.