Slitherine

Bruce Geryk over at Quarter to Three has posted a fascinating analysis of an aggressive, forward Allied defense, and puts forth a convincing argument that, at least in some situations, the Allies should try to hold their line rather than adopting the Iron Maiden strategy (Run to the Hills/Run for Your Lives!) You can take a look here:

http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2013/0 ... conundrum/

Thanks, Jeff! I'm planning on more posts there in this style, so anyone who is interested in this kind of thing should keep an eye out for it. I've also organized a small BotB tournament on the forums there: http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk ... hp?t=71544 and would love to see something similar done elsewhere if feasible. At any rate, I love the game.

Good reference, Jeff. I personally think one needs to adapt the Allied strategy to what results from the opening attacks. If a freakish number of the little Allied units survive, they can be quite useful in screening the rivers while the big boys fight up front.

I've also found that aggressive play with the 1- and 2-value units early on can throw a serious wrench into the Germans if you use them in the right places. Denying them some early river crossings can seriously throw off their entire game, and force them into a narrower channel that's then easier to counter in the late game. Of course, it's rough on those units, and you have to make sure you have the VP to give away, but it's a solid strategy. I don't think it's overly gamey either- you're essentially making your weak units a rear guard and sacrificing them to buy time, which has happened many times in history.

Bruce,

Please drop a post here when you get another article up. I'd love to read any future thoughts you have and I'm sure others here would as well.

Cheers!

Great Job! A lot of newer Allied players probably get turned off from making a couple of mistakes early on and get discouraged. Hopefully enough of those will read your article and learn some damage control so they can enjoy the later parts of the game.

Ha, now I know where some of the fresh Allied moves I've been seeing are coming from