Jollyguy

Huge land battle in Russia, basically the Kursk of the game. Liam has level 5 tanks, myself level 4. The game will likely be decided there, and IMO Liam has the upper hand. No softbuild limits that I know of. We've been exchanging several pbem turns a day, and I try to knock a turn off before I head to work. Disagree that I tied down a large amount of units in Caucusses, as the mountains help you there, and you have to step the advance somehow. I used mainly corps, with one tank and a HQ. Brest was a rookie mistake for me, but hey, this is my first game, and Liam is a premier player, so I'm learning as I go. I'm not convinced that all the concern of amphibious tranports is warranted. They can be planned for, and IMO many times if you get sideswiped, then you didn't plan well. Pulling off a landing still requires foresight, and if not done correctly, it's Dunkirk time. I was able to evacuate two armies, but did lose Patton, but he does come back cheaper in his second life. I did make some poor research mistakes, but again, that's the learning curve. I think one thing about research is you're like a kid in a candy story, "yea, ASW, looks good, and pile on some some advanced tanks on the platter, and oh yea, long range air, sounds good." I think one of the keys, which Terif mentioned in an earlier post, is to backoff on the research at some point, and start building up. I think this is even more important for the Russians, as a few extra units here and there can turn the tide in what looks like will be massive, classic, battles of manuever in the Russian steppes. Also made a big mistake about 1/2 a dozen turns ago. I bought a Russian tank, then realized I should have reinforced my existing units first. I had to cash in many of my Russian research chits, had no other option, as to back up would have lost my entrenchment. I would say tanks and motorization and infantry weapons are key for the Axis, so SC 1 players are simply going to have to realize that the monster of the game are tanks now, not planes. Although, planes are effective against tanks, so we have a true combined arms game here. For the Russians I would say tanks, anti-tank, infantry weapons, don't break your entrenchment, and stop with the research at some point and start building units. All-in-all a great game, having a great time. If I lose I want rematch as Allies again, then I'd like to take my try as Axis.

Liam set the game up, but no railhead option that I know of. I landed a corps and cut off the two French cites from Paris, then bombed it to get it below 5, so units can't be operated to it. He was very thin in France, so this worked as he didn't want to unentrench his Paris minor army to come after me. I also landed in the two northern German cities, but that raid is over, my corps are POWs in some Stalag. Railhead head sounds interesting though, it would seem to benefit the Russians, and they can use it early Barbarossa. Bob

This game started when Liam (Axis) and I (Allies) were both SC 2 newbies, actually, it was the first SC 2 game for both of us, so we’ve both made mistakes. It’s spring of 1943, so the game is well along. Game started as tcp, and that worked fine except that Liam hosted and set a five minute timer, which BTW we both decided was too short. It’s been all pbem since, as we haven’t been able to coordinate tcp times. Early game was usual as far as I can remember. But after reading of Terif’s vigorous defense of Egypt strategy I decided to do the same, and we fought toe-to-toe there for quite awhile. The difference is that I didn’t hit Tobruk early on because it hadn’t occurred to me then. There were turns that Liam had to back up and reinforce, me the same, and Russian readiness was climbing slowly the whole time, and as he mentioned in an earlier post, Malta was generous to me, both on my turns and his. Then he pulled an amphib attack in the Jordan/Palestine area behind my lines and that sealed it. I had earlier upgraded my escape port to AA, and kept a carrier there to guard it, as if that got reduced my entire Middle East force would have been trapped, and you have to plan accordingly, as you can only get two ships/transports out at a time. But I was able to get everything out except a corp or two, but I did lose some navy. He took Norway, but was so weakened after our knock-down-drag-out in the Middle East that he didn’t DOW Russia, which probably saved him US readiness. I reinforced England to avoid a Sea Lion, and at the same time his subs were patrolling, dinging my mpps, then not patrolling, so I assumed he was pulling them back as he got additional sub advances, which of course concerned me. He kept pushing in the Caucusses and got a city and a mine and then I started to push toward Iraq and got within two squares of his oil field, but then I ran out of supply and he was hitting me with air, and we went back-and-forth a bit. I finally set up in the mountains and he started to pull back toward Iraq/Iran, but he steadily moved forward in Russia proper and the Finns joined and he took Leningrad. Then the US joined. Given that he had advanced subs I researched up to level 3 ASW for the US, and finally scraped enough research mpps to get the MPP starved Brits up to ASW 2, and then moved out. Meanwhile he was bogged down in the Caucusses with low supply, so I was able to slowly reclaim my oilfield and city, which is where that front is now. But he also has his paratrooper down there, so I have to leave my cities garrisoned. He took Moscow and has me backed up to Stalingrad, but I still hold that other city to the southwest, but can’t remember its name. His strategy is to siege a city by totaling surrounding it but not attacking it, reducing it to five and reducing its supply, then hit it the next turn. As to diplomacy, he got Spain up to 82%, which made me buy five chits for the Brits and then five for Russians as soon as they came in, as I had to assume he had the Italians buy five. That hasn’t moved since Russia came in, so we’re obviously at a standoff, ten chits each. I thought about having the US buy five and tilt it in my favor, but at 82% Axis that would take forever and cost me more chits each time there was a success, so a standoff is fine. I did get success with Sweden though with US chits, so I think his convoys from there have stopped. Meanwhile, out west, I found his subs, but he had them on silent, and they were only at advanced subs level one. So my assumption was wrong, he didn’t research advanced subs at all, but having them pop in-and-out confused me, which means I over invested in ASW, as I was up to level three for the US, level two for the Brits. I sunk all three in quick order, plus a BB and cruiser, then landed two US armies and a HQ around Brest as winter loomed. Mistake. My air was virtually useless, and he was able to hold for several turns, twice down to strength 1. Plus, the whole time I was hitting Brest as if only the unit in front could attack, and then on the third turn I was on French soil I realized that squares instead of hexes would have allowed my other army to attack also. Another mistake. At first he ignored my invasion, but has now operated a significant force west, and I may lose my HQ, as he has advanced motorization, and I can’t disband the HQ as it’s abutting an Italian corp. I did hit Paris with my bombers, so he had to operate to Antwerp and kick off from there. Anyway, I finally took Brest, but we’ll see how long that lasts. At the same time I took the northern Norwegian city and mine. That’s where things sit. The most important lesson to me is that weather must be taken into account, as it can both a savior and impediment. I also notice in Russia that it’s harder to set up a defensive line, with motorization a unit can use the squares to squeeze between the juncture of units and get behind you. And, as Blashy mentioned, advanced air is of less value, as its only good against other air units. You can just put yours on ground mode and move then around until you find a spot where your enemy has little air, and use them there.

Yes, Franco was all talk, not much action, he folded fairly quickly. He grabbed a truckload of sangria and headed to Gibralter, which wasn't the brightest move, as both the Kriegsmarine and Italian navy's were waiting. Meanwhile, Saddam Hussain's father, Goddamn Hussain, was quickly subdued by the Brits, but in a move that would make his eventual son proud, Goddamn Hussain hit the oilfield and knocked it to 0. Shades of the present day. And up north, the Finns, the eventual makers of furniture you assemble yourself (or is that the Swedes...Ikea), well, I know the Finns make those great Nokia cell phones. Anyway, they lasted a few turns but did surrender. And in the heartland of the Fatherland of Uncle Joe's Russia, fairly quiet so far, a couple cities taken, a million or so people lost by my estimate, just a warmup for 'ol Uncle Joe! Hell, he's capable of putting far more comrades than that in early mass graves! But those Spanish veterans are headed east, and it's going to get bloody, more to Joe's liking I'm sure. Meanwhile, FDR has upgraded his wheelchair to motorization 2, and braced his leg braces to heavy armor 3, and has Eleanor out on the stump, which of course leaves more time Lucy Mercer. And 'ol FDR is going to need all the help he can get. It's going to be a long war. Bob

It could be luck, but I wonder if some of the random events need to be tweeked. I.e., I've played probably five games as the Allies, and have yet to receive a single Free French unit. As to Malta, perhaps they get more proficient interdicting as time goes on? I just read the script, and it says 10%, but IMO it seems to happen more often than that. Bob

Another thing that was interesting was after England fell a prompt came up that Franco was, "mobilizing his forces. But then Rambo hit Vichy France, and another prompt came up that said, "Spain shocked at aggression against Vichy France." So I think if Rambo had waited one more turn he would have had Spain, but now its readiness has been knocked backwards. Plus, I finally got success in Spain and knocked it down further, as I suspect he drew off chits to use against Russia. But then I used chits from the US against Sweden, and knocked that down, so I believe he'll lose his Swedish mpps. Bob

I am the Allies, Rambo the Axis. Given all the discussion about the importance of the Med I decided to try something different, not too outside of the box, but just to use the units the Brits are already provided a little differently than in SC 1, and to use the British capital moving to Africa as a backstop. We were able to tcp last night from a running pbem game. Early game went as expected. What was different was that I moved my bomber to Egypt and hit Tobruk on the first turn of Italian entry, knocking it under 5, which I was able to see as at the same time I hit the emtpy port with a BB, and knocked it down to 2 or 3. Then I got lucky with Malta, and that interdicted Italian supply all around. The next turn I hit the city with the bomber again, then the port with the BB and backed up, as you never know with Rambo, he may have dispatched amphibious transports to hit my bomber that was too near the coast. Rambo, resilient as ever, invaded Tunisia for its port, and had all three of his Germans planes at the boot of Italy, with every intention of still going for Egypt, but with the Italian cities knocked down they couldn't get there. I also had moved a couple extra ships to the Med, to screen landing zones against amphibious landings. Then I got long range air and could hit Tobruks port and city at will from a safer position, without the risk of an amphibious landings. Then Malta kicked in again, and both city and port were disabled, but more importantly, his air had to go the long way to Tobruk, giving me temporary air superiority. Long story short, the strategy worked, as IMO it delayed his Africa expedition by probably six turns or more, and gave me time to recover from having spent 375 on five Spanish chits. I was able to reinforce everything untouched and research a bit. To be safe I sent several more ships to the Med plus my upgraded fighter from the Home Islands, and had time to reinforce and upgrade my African fighter, which was all good, because sure enough, here came Rambo. Late 1940, almost 1941, but he still came in force. He had been able to get an HQ and a tank and a fighter down there the slow way, and a quick battle ensued. He hit my front corp that was blocking the gap at the depression and knocked it down to 3, and deployed the Italian Navy, and landed an Italian army amphib. And BTW, knowing Rambo, I had researched anti-subs, so I had an upgraded cruiser at ASW 2. That turn I concentrated on his navy with my fighters and my navy, knocking his sub to 3 with my damaged cruiser (ASW works), and sinking another ship and damaging the rest. But I still hit Tobruk with my bomber, as I didn't want any more of rolly polly Goring's flyboys to show up than necessary. Anyway, Rambo got the worst of it. At the same time I hit his tank with my tank and the fresh Australian corp, and reduced it to 1. The next turn he backed up all around, but I went after him, and took out his 1 strength tank and found an Italian army all amphibed up and ready to go, and hit that, knocking it down to four. I would lose a weakened carrier. Then my army garrison at Alexandria left its entrenchments and I took out his Italian army and hit his air force after it intercepted, and he was in full retreat. I took Tobruk and the other Italian city to the west, but did not pursue him to Tunis although I saw an Italian corp there. At the same time I blocked the gap between Greece and Africa with my beefed up Med navy, so he could not slip an amphib by me. Meanwhile, he was getting success with Uncle Joe, plying him with plundered brandy I suspect, a nice change from Russian vodka I am sure. Rambo, knowing I was weak in the Home Islands did a delayed Sea Lion, but I had already evacuated my Army and as I mentioned, my air force and navy, so all he got was three corps. It took him probably four turns to subdue the headstrong Brits, but that old sot Winston made it safely to Africa with a ship load of whiskey and cigars, despite him not liking that hot weather all the time. Uncle Joe was able to break away from planning his latest Pogrom long enough to join the fray, and the US is in, which is where we left it, because I believe Rambo fell asleep. We will continue pbem, but IMO hitting Tobruk was effective, and really tossed a wrench in the Axis timetable. I will leave it to other players to modify this strategy, as there would be Axis counters, but then there could be Allied counter-counters also. But the point is that this is a new game engine and there are other ways of doing things. IMO the Allied player does not have to just sit there passive and wait for the Hun hordes to come at Alexandria, although the Allied player does have to be cautious at first. But there do seem to be moves that the Allies can make that cause the Axis pause, which is exactly what the Allies need until they can gather their strength. Bob

Will sign up tonight, but a couple comments. First, IMO singling out pbem players is misplaced, and also removes probably the majority of people from the pool of available players. SC is a time consuming game, and it’s clear to me that most individuals simply do not have long blocks of time to tcp, which is why so many, probably the largest segment of players by far, have migrated to pbem. I live in Seattle, and believe me, when the sunshine hits the last thing I want to be doing is sitting glued to a computer monitor. Plus, I work fulltime, am married, and have other hobbies, like gardening; walking the dogs; biking; daytrips with the wife. This and more is why pbem suits me so well. I am lucky to get in two tcp sessions a week, at a max of two to three hours a sitting. Inertia will set it in for my opponent if he insists on not pbem’ing inbetween tcp sessions, as there could be stretches of two or three weeks when I can’t tcp. Now, even though I’ve signed up, my strong preference, actually my personal requirement, is blended games; tcp when available, pbem when not, in order to keep up momentum. I currently have games going with both Rambo and Liam that are either tcp/pbem or just pbem, and I think if you ask either they’ll say things are proceeding smoothly. As to reloads. Yes, that is always a possibility, but if you look at the SC 1 pbem “Case’s Ladder,” set up years ago by Curry, you will see that Terif is something like 100-0, and other players, although not active lately, post stellar records. IMO cheaters are always discovered one way or another, and in the long run it doesn’t matter, as cream rises. Plus, IMO, 9 players out of 10 are honest, and the 1 of 10 that aren’t I don’t worry about. If I suspect something is amiss I just stop playing them. So, at the risk of being presumptuous, if I’m accepted under these terms, when available I’ll send out e-mail invites and tcp the first person that’s available, then pbem in-between tcp sessions. Bob

Ottosmops; IMO your ideas are spot on. Amphiious Tech would allow for more landings and reflects reality, as landing know-how and capabilies were rudimentary at the beginning of the war for all sides. But your idea for naval zones of control for amphibious landings/transports is simply brilliant, and I hope it finds its way into a patch. Bob

Maybe this is my laptop alone, and I first I thought maybe just an aberration, but I just tested: If I have my computer unplugged the game runs like it has mud in its circuits, but the moment I plug it back it in, its back to normal speed. Anyway to alleviate this? Sometimes I like to take the laptop to a coffee shop and there aren’t any available tables with electrial outlets nearby, so it would be nice to just play game off the battery sometimes.

Someone already mentioned this, but in case it got overlooked, but during the Allied turn during replay it will take you to an empty spot in the ocean, usually the Atlantic, but no units are there, then the replay moves on. Doesn't take an Einstein to figure out that an Axis sub is moving in silent mode. The Allies get an advantage as they then dispatch ships accordingly. Bob

Good, because the same thing happened to me. I tried to add a "?" at the end of the named turn that I screwed up in the sequence earlier, and it crashed and kicked me out. It said something like "invalid argument," which is something I get from my wife sometimes, especially when its something she wants but I don't, but that's a another topic. Also, when I'm loading a game two of the same (always recently loaded) turns will show up in the queue, almost like one is the reflection of the other; and sometimes when I go to save the game it doesn't pop back to the one I loading, but another one in the queue. Bob

I toss my hat in the no pop-up option. SC 2 has simple enough gameplay, its not hard to check the diplomacy screen, and note that Spain starts at 40%, etc. Diplomacy is cloak-and-dagger, and alerting your opponent of success dilutes the investments. It would be akin to a pop-up saying, "XXX unit is unmoved, are you sure you want to end your turn," or "XXX city is ungarrisoned, end turn?" The player has some responsibility to check indicators. Now, perhaps there could be an option in the game setup, "Diplomatic Alerts" or something like that, but on balance, IMO there should be no automatic pop-up. Bob

All right, have the game, poked around for about 10 minutes. The only way to learn this thing is to play. If you want to play TCP now, my Axis game is up at 192.168.1.100, waiting for an opponent. I have soft build limits on, plus 7 minute timer. Other than that, no rules, as we won't findout if game is balanced until we test it. I'm an intermediate SC 1 player, and will take anyone...these are pre-season games anyway. (I don't see anyone posting on opponent's forum yet, that's why I'm posting here.) I probably can't play the whole thing TCP though, would like to finish by PBEM. I have a few ideas on Axis side, read Hellraiser and Condor's AAR, and think the Axis player needs to do things much differently than SC 1 Bob

Shaka; From an ahistorical perspective, I agree, invading the LCs or Spain runs against the grain. Same with the Axis invading Sweden and Iraq. But from the perspective of the game, and strictly looking at it within the playability of SC 1, doingany of these results in adequate repurcussions and benefits to each side, which within the entire balancing act of the game, balances out.

I would also be against diplomatic chits in SC 1, too unworkable. IMO, except for the Russian front, SC is basically balanced. If you take something away from one side you must compensate the other side at almost a 1:1 ratio. Yea, the Germans run roughshod the first couple years...just like they did in real life. But a decent bid to Russia compensates for this. Against a skilled Allied opponent, the Axis needs all those mpps to defend their vast empire. You take away Spain, or another large minor, and the Axis is at a distinct disadvantage. If Spain or Sweden is denied, would the Allies be willing to disband two carriers and not buy replacements, or be forbidden to buy HQs, or evacuate Egypt, or DOW a minor with no intention of invading to set back readiness? Probably not. One thing we've learned with SC is that a "fix" can have unintended effects somewhere else. Hubert was wise to offer patches reluctantly, and only after extensive play testing and comments by all of us. If certain players want mods or house rules or unit limits, that's fine for social play. But for Z league or pbem tournement play, IMO use the KISS philosophy. Keep it simple stupid. With SC that's done through bids. The reason the bid is 1:6 or 1:8 or 1:10 now is because the "marketplace" has determined that to be a fair amount of mpps to balance the Axis bias. Too many house rules clutter up gameplay and channel results toward much more limited outcomes. Basically, house rules and unit limits restrict probably the best aspect of the game, which is the almost endless differences in gameplay that result from humans doing unintended (and sometimes stupid) things. Kinda of like Newton's law of physics (the third?), that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Too many house rules limit action/reaction possibilities. A year after its realease, I'm only convinced that two house rules are absoulutely required: 1) No amphibious landings on a major on DOW 2) No Rome Gambit. Other than that, SC works fine as designed after adjustment with bids. Bob

Very good post. Even most mid-level players don't utilize transports as (inexpensive) scouts. Yea, it's ahistorical, but until SC 2, when we'll probably get destroyers, corp transports are the best and cheapest scouts and blockade units out there.

The proof is in the pudding with SC. This is the first and ONLY game that I've played for over a year, and NOT got bored with! For those playing SC virtually full time, sure, the game may get stale and cookie cutter. I suggest mods in that case. But anyway you cut it, SC is more satisfying after a year of play than Red Alert, Command & Conguer, was for me four months into it. If your overplaying the game, step back, take a break. That's one reason I've gone predominately pbem, it helps maintain the novelty of the game. I think one tcp session a week, mixed in with with a handful of pbem games, will keep SC fresh for me to the forseable future...until SC 2 hits the shelves.

First off, Rambo is one of the few real characters you encounter in life, and I mean that in the best sense. I love his sense of humor, and how he so easily baits others. I can't remember how old he is, he mentioned it to me once, but he reminds me of myself when I was younger (I'm 45), when I used to love to goad people. I was bummed when I heard he might retire, and am glad he's back. He adds a helluva lot of personality to this board. Anyway. When SC first came out I did my share of tcp, but then real life intervened. Right now I'm pressed to squeeze in a two or three hour tcp session a few times a month. I would LOVE to do more tcp, but first, the better half would end up doing some real life head cracking on me, and second, my other interests (stocks, gardening, reading WW II books, walking the dogs, writing, etc) would get short shrift. So to maintain balance, pbem fits my current lifestyle. I'll admit that I'll never be the player Terif or Rambo or Zapp is...and now Codename Condor (congrats btw!) but I appreciate the pbem league as it does bring a competive aspect to pbem'ers. Second class citizens may not have been the best choice of words, but who cares, Rambo is just a direct guy. I for one, an almost exclusive pbem'er, support his stance. Before one can ascend to the throne and get fitted for the championship belt, having to face off one-on-one, live, does not seem unreasonable. Heck, the guy who won the World Championship of poker this year cut his teeth on the online poker sites, but eventually had to make the trip to Vegas and stare down guys with names like "Slim" and "Tex," and take their chips from them directly. (Word of advice; If your a casual card player, don't ever play poker with guys named Tex or Slim.) Establishing a rule that for pbem'ers the final hurdle be done mano-a-mano, live, seems reasonable to me. TCP can be done session by session, and eventually completed. A couple hours a weekend for four, six weeks, would do it. And hell, some games are conceded shortly after Barbarossa, so maybe a few tcp sessions would do it. But in the meantime I'll stay in the pbem league, as if I was in the tcp/pbem league I would want to play too much, and lose some of that balance I'm trying to maintain. Bob

Rannug, Axis (real name Gunnar) beats Jollyguy in round II. Briefly, I'll explain how the game played out, then offer my suggestions on improvements to balance the scenario. Here's how the game played out: Poland held on turn one, and I dow'ed the LCs on my first turn, but didn't take it, but did take it in turn two. We then fought in the LCs and France for an extended period, aided by two advances in French anti-tank. (this led to an observation that perhaps the French are lucky on research like the Italians seem to be, except you seldom get to see how the French do in normal 39 scenarios.) I put all my British research chits on jets. I was able to evacuate all three French airfleets and an HQ to England, and after Paris fell set a trap around Brest, where by now I had level four jets which the Axis didn't know about, as I kept them out of action and fully reinforced when it was clear France was doomed. After Paris fell in late 40 or early 41 Gunnar moved numerous airfleets toward Brest, where I sprung my trap. I used my French airfleets for intercepts, and my level four fighters and carriers to finish off two of his airfleets. I then moved my jets around London to establish air control over France, and sold my jet chits and bought long range air. Eventually Gunnar took Greece. I started creating intercepts over France in an attempt to bleed the Axis, so Gunnar had to move his airfleets out of range until his tech caught up. Alexandria held. The game proceeded in this fashion until mid to late 41. I had been researching long range air for over a year, but never got another advance, but Gunnar did. This time it was his turn to turn the tables on me with a trap, and he took out two of my three British airfleets with his superior range. Russian readiness was inching up as he moved on Egypt. I evacuated all but one rear guard corp to Baghdad, giving me a Canadian and British Army down there, supported by the HQ evacuated from Greece, plus several corps. Then, with Russian readiness climbing, Gunnar pulled a delayed Sea Lion, throwing everything into it. By now his Italians were also up to level four jets, and he simply pounded the British Isles. He was short on land units though, and had to use the Swedes to fill out his landing force. He landed around London, which triggered Russian and American entry the next turn. I sent out corp scouts, and found both Bucharest and Stockholm un-garrisoned. He was able to garrison Bucharest, but not Stockholm, which I took. I sent the two Russian battleships toward Oslo, to delay his reinforcement of Scandanvia. However, the Brits were simply getting blasted by multiple advanced air units, while Beirut was also getting hit. I operated a Russian HQ and three units to Baghdad, and took out a couple Italian armies and stabalized that front, but by now the Italians were up to level five jets, and the Germans were beginning to press in Russia, and had been able to reinforce Norway. I was hoping the Swedes would surrender before he took Manchester, but they didn't, and he moved in. He also took out my two non-HQ supported US armies that I had landed in England in the process. I had no way to evict him from Manchester, so England would surrender eventually. He had a substantial advantage in units and tech all across the board, including still sizeable German and Italian navies. That's when I called the game. Suggestions for Game Balance: I like this scenario. I would suggest these changes: 1) Increase Russian readiness to at least 20, perhaps the standard 30. 2) Set the Axis minors to random. This will force a delay in Axis attacking Spain. 3) Move enough Axis units that they can't hit the LC's effectively on turn one, and enough French units so they can. This will leave open a Dutch Gambit for the Allies, which IMO is crucial in slowing down the beefed up Axis. ------------------ All-in-all a good game, a good opponent, and a good scenario! My thanks to the organizers of this tourney. Playing these mods improves one's skill level, as you need to think outside the box and see the game from a broader strategical perspective, and how the changes effect gameplay. Bob

Terif; My ISP got purchased, and since then I've had trouble with my e-mail. First it was certain domestic ISPs, but that got ironed out, now its overseas ones. The turns I send you are getting returned, sometimes two or three days later! And from the tenor of your latest e-mail, you're just not getting them. With that in mind, lets cancel our current pbem game. I've got plenty of games to keep me busy in the new pbem ladder, and I'm sure you'll not miss one less pbem game. Thanks for all your time and assistance and patience in bringing me along. As you say, you learn more faster by playing better opponents, and believe me, I learned plenty from you! There's a chance you'll see me again in the Z league ladder, just not anytime soon given my work committments, which is why pbem suits me better at the moment. Thanks again. Bob

Well, I don't know what "Vorwarts" means. It sounds like something from a Harry Potter novel, maybe Hogwarts in German. Anyway. The Poles are Poles. Two Armies are obliterated, true. But their airfleet, untouched on the ground, hit an HQ and exacted damage both on an intercepting airfleet, and the HQ. Meanwhile, the French are moving around a bit in that Maginot line of theirs, perhaps eyeing the Low Countries, perhaps not. And the Brits, with an extra 225 Pounds to spend, are deciding what to do with it, as will the Uncle Joe, as he's getting an extra 1,800 rubles. More to follow. Much more I'm sure. Bob

Message for Rannug; I've gotten your e-mails asking if I'm ready to start the second round, and I've responded to each one. However, it seems like we're having cross continental mis-communication, as from the tenor of your latest messages, you're obviously not getting my replies. Either here or in e-mail let me know how you want to proceed. If our ISPs aren't willing to talk, or at least not mine to yours, then we may have to consider tcp'ing. I'm free Friday and Saturday nights for about two hours at a stretch, starting about 10:30 p.m. board time. Bob

Do we have any house rules in the second round, as two opponents just mentioned above in their AAR, or was that just their mutual choice?

So what scenario are we playing for the second? I saw all the discussion on what scenario to use, but may have missed the decision on whether to go with the same mod, modify it, or try a new. If it's the same mod, I'm ready to go, just need to know.