Old Memories Flooding In...

Bill and I played Thirty Years War last evening.  I conceded in Early War, during Turn 6.  I remember now why this hasn't always been on my list of favorites...

This game is very, very fragile.  A couple good rolls on one side, coupled with poor rolls on another side can devastate one of the players.  We went into Turn 6 on fairly equal footing.  Bill moved his Bavarians west to smack a smaller stack of protestant units.  I then moved my "killer stack" with Mansfield to relieve the smaller force.  We got a roll of 0 (me - bad)/9 (Bill - good), and I had to retreat.  During the retreat I lost 2 generals (20% chance on each), so that force was stuck (didn't have enough command to move it).  Bill moved the Spaniards in to finish off the smaller stack (no retreat -- all units and both leaders died).  Now, since my larger stack couldn't move (well, I could move 2 of the 7 units off, which would only allow the Catholics to whack them separately), I had to stay and face a joint Spanish/Bavarian army.  They moved in, and I won the battle (10 losses to 9, I believe), but my now decimated units were completely leaderless.  At that point, we decided to call the game, as Bill's Catholics had 3 large stacks and I had a little leaderless stack and a stack of 3 militia in the south.

It was ugly.

Now, I realize that extreme results can skew any game, but we just had one extreme result.  The other battles were close (and I even won some).  But the attrition and the leader losses (including losing King Christian earlier which meant all 4 Danish veterans left the game) worked together to make the Protestants impotent.  I believe this was a big problem when I played 6 or 7 years ago.  The inability of armies to avoid battle means that once losses start spiraling, the other side can just catch whoever they want and attrit them to death.

So, this second game was not really satisfying at all.  I'm certainly glad we broke the game out to play, and I'll probably hang onto it, but I think it's too fragile of an engine to keep putting in my "to play" pile.  Once in a great while, perhaps, when I forget why I'm not constantly playing.

Thirty Years War finishes and MMP flares up...

Bill and I finished our game of 30YW on Wednesday.  Today, on CSW, a few of the regular jerks showed their jerky sides again, making me happier than ever that my time spent there is less and less.

First, the good, then the bad (and the ugly)...

Bill and I left our last game off after Turn 10 completed.  I posted an AAR of the first 10 turns last week.  This week, we started on Turn 11, Bill as the Protestants, me as the Catholics:

Turn 11: 30 VPs.  The Catholics were in decent position, though the big stack of Swedes was looking troublesome.  The Swedes, under Adolphus, moved on the Independent city (and Electorate) of Koln, besieging the fortress there.  Cardinal Infante then moved his large, but fragile, Spanish army to Koln to relieve the siege.  The battle was a big one -- both armies were on the 20+ tables (the most potent).  Losses were horrendous, with both sides taking 14 losses (the most one can lose in a single battle!).  Then leader losses were rolled, and...  Adolphus and Infante both die!  The Swedes, even though technically the "victor" at Koln, fall back to Hesse-Kassel, taking the area, while the Spanish lick their wounds outside a still Catholic Koln.

Turn 12: 30 VPs.  The Treaty of Heilbronn is signed and the German Protestants recognize the Swedish leadership (now without Adolphus).  This is a 3 VP swing for the bad guys!  Wallenstein takes a small army and heads north, taking Dresden.  The Swedes regroup and head south, taking Donauworth.  The Bavarians, under Tilly, kick the Swedes out and kill some veterans in the deal, leaving the Swedish army quite fragile.  Additionally, Adolphus' replacement, Bernard of Sweden, dies of wounds suffered in the Donauworth battle.

Turn 13: 26 VPs.  The turn begins with Wallenstein at 19 "Wallenstein Points."  If he hits 20, the Catholics automatically lose (he gets too powerful), so he's dismissed (his points go down by 1/2, rounded down to 9, but he's out of the game for the entire turn).  Bad turn to be out of the game, as the French enter, giving 6 VPs to the Protestant cause (not to mention more Protestant armies to deal with -- damn Catholic France!).  The Spanish take Sedan, but it falls right back into French hands.  Tilly looks to destroy the Swedes at Nurnburg, and while he cripples them, he is killed in the battle.  A large Protestant army ends the turn besieging Ingolstodt.

Turn 14: 17 VPs.  This is it, the end game, the last turn.  Turn 13 was a "biggie" for the Protestants, as they gained 9 VPs.  19 VPs is a Protestant win, 20 is a draw, and 21 is a Catholic win.  Things are looking grim for the Pope's "Armies of God."  Starting the turn, Wallenstein is recalled, and he promptly takes back Saxony.  A large battle takes place in Torgau, and Wallenstein is killed as his force is wiped out by Mansfield's Protestants.  Piccolomini moves the remaining Austrians to Dresden, holding it against Mansfield's army and thus preserving Saxony as a Catholic stronghold.  On the last move of the game, a reduced strength Imperial Mercenary moves into Brandenburg, taking the area (2 VPs) and the final Electorate (5 VPs) for the Catholic side.

Game End:  25 VPs, Catholic Victory!

The game was back and forth, and a lot of fun.  I smiled writing this, remembering the game.  Bill and I plan to switch sides and try again in a week or two.  And on this good note, I'll leave the "bad and the ugly" for another time.

More Gaming...

While waiting for the VASSAL HIS game to start up, I took over the English position in an ongoing ACTS game after a slow player dropped out. The game is "HIS Bible and Sword" for anyone interested in checking it out. The moves are being done using Cyberboard, while it's being tracked (and cards are dealt) using ACTS. England seems to be in a decent position, we'll see how it plays out.  Since it's been a couple months since I've played, I figured this was a good opportunity to refresh myself with the rules.

Tonight, Bill will be coming by to finish up our 30YW game.  I'll take notes and finish up the AAR in the next few days.  I have a feeling this one is coming down to the end -- I'll need to fend off both the Swedes and the French.  Time to go to the Pope and pray a little (or a lot!).

With summer coming and the impending move, I've gotta figure out how to pack my games into boxes (mostly big ol' plastic recycling boxes).  I want to sell/trade many of them, so I have to keep track of where each game is.  Also, I'll need to have handy the games I'll be playing/hoping to be playing this summer, with my groups and at WBC.  As someone who isn't the most organized person in the world, this is causing me a bit of consternation -- and paralyzing me from doing anything, at the moment...

Oh yeah, as far as the move goes, a house in our neighborhood just sold for $50,000 more than we paid for ours -- and ours is bigger and on more land.  I had heard that the housing market around these parts was pretty good (bucking the national trend), but I'm shocked at some of the high prices I'm seeing.  We need to jump on that bandwagon!

Thirty Years War (quick ) AAR

Bill came over to play Thirty Years War this evening, and I wanted to post a quick AAR before I hit the sack -- for tomorrow I'll be very busy and don't know if I'll have time to get to it, between school (my busy day) and gaming Red Storm Over the Reich with Mike.

Once again, into the breach, Bill was the evil Protestants, while I was the evil Catholics -- are there no good guys here?!?!

Turn 1: 21 VPs (start): Not much going on -- the Protestants entered Saxony and whipped the Saxons in battle. They then took Leipzig, eliminating all Saxon units. Not a good start for the Pope's valiant armies...

Turn 2: 16 VPs: Hungary falls to the Austrians -- the revolt is put down! Christian of Brunswick entered for Protestants and was converting areas in Northern Germany. The Bavarians help their Austrian allies by taking Bohemia, and a Spanish army under Spinola enters the United Provinces, in an attempt to, for once and for all, make tha damn place Catholic!

Turn 3: 18 VPs: The Danes enter on the Protestant side, with King Christian running around Northern Germany. Fighting in the United Provinces begins, as Spinola's Spanish army takes Breda. The Bavarians move north and take Bohemia, consolidating Catholic gains for the turn.

Turn 4: 18 VPs: Baden enters on the Protestant side, putting more of the map into play. Cordoba brings a new Spanish army into Antwerp, as hostilities continue. A regiment of English veterans shows up at Mannheim, joining the Protestant cause. At the end of the turn, Prague falls to a Protestant army after a back and forth fight with the Austrians.

Turn 5: 19 VPs: Spanish troops head south and take the Lower Palatinate and Lorraine for the Catholic side. The Protestant army in the United Provinces leaves and lands, courtesy of the Dutch navy, in Mecklenburg.

Turn 6: 23 VP: The Catholic-allied Bavarians move west, taking Wurtenberg and marching on Baden. The Danes counter this move by bringing Munster under Protestant control. The Spanish besiege Metz, and the fortress holds...

Turn 7: 31 VPs: The Intervention cards are added to the deck, opening more possibilities for each side. The English go home, to deal with the impending Civil War, leaving their Protestant allies to face the Bavarians alone.Ferdinand II dies, throwing the Holy Roman Empire into chaos as Ferdinand III ascends to the throne -- much bickering amongst unpaid troops.The Dutch launch two counter-offensives in the United Provinces, taking back territory from the Catholics. Europe sees a huge, monumental battle at Prague between Mansfield's Protestants and Wallenstein's Imperial troops. Wallenstein begins earning a name for himself by winning decisively.

Turn 8: 32 VPs: The Danes, under the enigmatic Christian, advance into Munster and besiege the Electorate at Koln. Spanish units retreat back into the Spanish Netherlands, avoiding battle with the Danes. Wallenstein's grand army FINALLY takes Prague, after a prolonged siege.

Turn 9: 32 VPs: A large force of Spanish veterans enters the board, via the Alps, under Cardinal Infante and heads into Upper Palatinate. The Protestant armies regroup, and all Catholic sieges this turn fail.

Turn 10: 27 VPs: The Swedes, under G. Adolphus (sp?), enter the fray with a kick-ass army. Fortunately for the Catholics, the Swedes also land an army in Denmark, causing King Christian and his force to head home (and out of the game). The Spanish take back Munster, and both side build up for the "endgame."

Turn 11 will start with 30 VPs. The Catholics need 21 for victory, the Protestants need 19. This game is most certainly up in the air. I can't wait to play again, and I look forward to Round 2, as the Protestants, win or lose this time around.

A lot of fun was had tonight, that's for sure.