Rambo how did you do it?

[Curry]

Rambo, I see you defeated Terif with his new Spainish gambit as the allies. I also saw the first time he beat you with it, then you came back in the next game for a win. How?

- Did he take Spain in both games?

- Did you invade England?

Thanks

[Curry]

(Terif being allies in both games - I believe)

[Terif]

Yes, I was both times Allies.

It was a very good game against Rambo. We battled in Spain, Iraq, Romania (conquered by Russia), Skandinavia and again for Turkey, Iraq and France.

Unfortunately he got LR lv1 in turn 6 (1 chit), very bad in Spain... Then he conquered Egypt and Iraq (taken by Allies before) just in time for Barbarossa (2 turns before), same with Yugoslavia. Until Barbarossa he was always 1 tech advance ahead in LR and jets...this changed after Russia was in the war, but it was too late for Iraq.

Russia conquered Romania, Finland and liberated Sweden. But Romania was lost early. I made the mistake not to reduce Oslo port, but to block it only with my units. So he was able to send reinforcements after his 7 airfleets in Denmark killed my blockade ships. One turn more and Skandinavia would have been Allied (Bergen already occupied, only Oslo was missing), after my last battleship failed to reduce the port (expected combat result 0-2, bad luck as it was only reduced by 1, so the port was still working), Allied task force in Skandinavia was lost.

After this western Allies invaded France and took Brest while Russia conquered Turkey and Iraq. It was the last chance for Allies to turn the tide, but Axis had too much mpp and tech (AA Lv3!!, AT Lv2, HT Lv2, jets Lv3 vs Lv2 Allies, LR Lv1, IT Lv1...)in the meantime. Additionally Siberians didnt transfer till the end. Germany conquered Moskov and approached Sverdlovsk in the Urals, but no Siberians in sight....(Russia had too much units left in the Balkans Iraq and Turkey) Trench warfare in France, both sides with lots of air, but Germany with Lv3 vs 2 UK...

At the end:

- UK/USA hold western France with 2 Hq, 4 armies and several corps, but would have been killed in the next turns after UK had no mpp left to reinforce its airfleets.

- Russia had Turkey, Syria and Iraq (2 cut off italian corps remaining) + landings near Tobruk.

- But russian homeland was nearly lost without Siberians: Moskov, Kharkov lost, Urals next turn. Lots of german armies, tanks and airfleets (10 in total) in mother Russia

- total german tech superiority in every area.

Allies surrendered in June 1943: no mpp, no siberians, no tech, not enough units left = no hope to turn the tide or to reach 1947 for a draw...

The game was very close, without luck for Axis in Iraq Yugoslavia or Romania or without my mistake in Norway Allies probably would have won the war.

In every case this game shows:

- Never do the same thing twice in a row without changing anything in the strategy or the enemy is well prepared

- Spain is fun , but very risky for Allies (I lost 2 of my 4 total lost games cause I used the Spain gambit..). If Axis is prepared for Spain, Allies have a problem...long term its a disadvantage for Allies.

- I like the spain gambit cause it creates a totally different and exciting game, even if I loose sometimes because of this ... We battled over the whole map forth and back, that makes really fun.

[Terif]

BTW: to answer your questions:

I took Spain in both games. In the first he sent some air to Spain (probably he read about it in Condors thread about his game against me ), but had to remove it after it was nearly killed by ground units. He also tried a Sealion, but it failed and he surrendered before Russia was in.

[Curry]

Thanks Terif, they sound like really fun games.

[jon_j_rambo]

Curry --- This game was very interesting. I was fortunate in the tech research versus Terif. I never got huge amounts (nothing higher than +3), but I had a slight edge in several categories WHEN IT COUNTED. There was a point when Terif had Jets better than me, but it was for a very, very brief time, during non-essential point since there wasn't any major air engagements, they had past or I caught right back up (actually passed him in Jets again).

Back to my take on the game...

1) Poland: I got off to a slow start here, took it turn #4 or #5 costing me an insignificant +1% readiness to Russia. I had sent an extra Army to the West relative to cookie cutter Poland with took some punch out of that Army-Group.

Axis grade: POOR, taking Poland late & nearly a diaster in Russian readiness.

2) LC/Denmark/France: LC was taken turn #2, Denmark got dinged soon after. On turn #3 almost scored a French Army kill in the "first-blood-hex", but in survived to strength-1 & Terif operanded him out, replacing with corp or something. That was good enough to get the ball rolling in France & made up for my delays in Poland. Follow-up turns, I got thru the Ardennes nice enough, creating a wedge for me to work on. Terif used the "stuff-alot-of-French-corps" in the way defense to buy time for UK/Canada to invade Spain. I took France May26/June6 with no significant damage or casaulties. Italy joined the same time.

Axis grade: AVERAGE. Taken no major damage & getting France May26/June6 against Terif (regardless of his strategy) is acceptable behavior. Come to think of it, I might have lost an Army-unit.

3) Dealing w/ UK/Canadian invasion of Spain: I had gambled with a chit early in the game into Long-Range-Aircraft & scored +1 in that category. I never got higher in this tech area, but in was a key in stalling Terif a few turns in Spain. I was able to force an intercept of the UK-air who was pounding Madrid & then attack the RAF fighter directly with a different long-ranged +1 attack. It took some punch of UK's power. Yes, Terif did get Spain/Portugal, but the Canadians, UK-Army, & a couple of corps didn't escape. This was good for me.

Axis grade: VERY GOOD due to the Long-Range hit on UK-fighter. That extra +1 range was key to that plan. Yes, getting that tech was luck, but taking advantage of it is important.

4) Air war for Iraq: This was a close call! UK poured in the Kitchen Sink to defend their precious oil wells. Terif had 5-fighters w/ HQ defending Egypt/Iraq. I sent Manstein for this operation with about 5-fighters trickled in a line thru Western Egypt. If I didn't get Iraq before Russia entered, I was doomed. This operation took 8-10 turns before I finally busted past the Suez. What helped was my Jets+1 vs Terifs no tech Jets. It was a matter of attrition air combat. Terif know I had the edge, but he was willing to take damage to the RAF to buy precious time.

Summary: GOOD, this was a "Just-In-Time mini-battle, that I BARELY won. I got Iraq & kicked the Brits out, 2-turns before Russia came into the game.

more to come...I'm on vacation & relatives are yanking me from the keyboard

[zappsweden]

The fact that Rambo got Jet advantage often was that not due to him having more chits or was it just luck?

I can recall from all my battles gainst Terif that i often get L2 before him in the mid-game. When Terif is Axis he seems to use L0 Jets for a long time hence using the MPP to conquer neutrals as fast as possible. When he is Allies, he seems to rather invest in units and reinforcements since he tries to slow Axis down.

[ September 06, 2003, 04:04 AM: Message edited by: zappsweden ]

[Terif]

Zapp:

I bought my first chits in LR and jets after Portugal surrendered (max 3 chits in jets). I am pretty sure Rambo had only 1-2 chits in jets during Iraq, cause he used all mpps to buy air, for battles and operating...

but I think he knows detailed chit numbers, perhaps I am wrong...

[Codename Condor]

Sounds interesting, i mean: to be defeated after allies taking Spain&Portugal (and terif commanding allies...). All that previous discussion about Spanish gambit being a winner as i read in some threads some time ago seems wrong now. its only a different game, with an advantage for allies if they manage to get Spain&Portugal and then a clever use of all the extra-MMps they get. Maybe rambo was lucky with tech but very impressive to win terif after a sucessful Spain&Portugal campaign. In all my 3 games with him he never managed to take Spain, but i gambled with Sealion, i only beat him once.

rambo, im taking a break in SC games, im giving a shot with HoI and i really dont have time for our game, if u can wait some time fine if not id report a lost.

[Terif]

Yes, the Spain thing is not a winner. It creates a very different game. Without a Sealion - which is not possible if Allies take Spain + Portugal - it will be usually a very exciting game with fights all over the map.

If the Axis player knows what he does, it is even a disadvantage for Allies if they can conquer both countries... and Rambo knows how to play Axis - especially after I did the same some hours ago, so he knew exactly what I would do and how to counter...

[Curry]

I've tried the Spainish gambit as allies and its really hard. I think only an experienced and very good player like Terif or Rambo can pull it off for the win (as allies). Terif is so correct in that it creates a totally different game from the normal "cookie cutter" game that we all get use to. That is what makes it fun.

[jon_j_rambo]

CodenameCondor --- I'm in no rush to finish our game, when it happens, it happens. Let us know how HOI goes. Reports say it's labor intensive real-time game strategy. Lots of clicking & maintaining "stuff", rather than combat, I guess? It can be bought in the USA very easily at Walmart, the biggest Retail store on the planet. I'd like to find a game that doesn't take soooo long to play. To properly play a "skilled SC-opponent", it will take 20+ hours or more. I just don't have the time, that's why alot of my games I play like a pyscho, going for a quick hit. I'd like to play a game like old fashion SquadLeader...a combat system that has tons of scenarios to play. Games can be 2 to 8 hours long, you get to set-up your initial pieces where you want to, clear game objectives, etc. I was looking at http://www.matrixgames.com/ they have "Cross of Iron" which looked cool. Their website is so sorry, it doesn't have release date (or is it already released), prices, etc. It did look cool. I know there are "good" tactical turn based games out that, it's just a matter of finding them.

Curry --- TASK (Terif Allied Spain Kracker) is a fast paced, "just-in-time" type game. I was fortunate in the tech when it came to the major air engagements (+1 Jet advantage is good enough) & the way the Balklan Campaign turned out. It was a timing thing. Plus, after you play an oppenent enough times, you'll see trends in their play. I'm sure Terif can recognize my moves as predictable & Rambo-ish. We all have a style. A really great player can mix his strategy a little bit to keep the opponent off balance, but remember, the different strategy must be effective. I try all kinds of whacky stuff, but sometimes it isn't smart whacky stuff

Terif --- That last game we played last Saturday (early my time), I was just to damn tired & impatient to put a good fight. You can probably predict when I'm "fresh" versus being "burned-out". Anyhow, that's life, had to goto the airport & the relatives were going to plug (see Waltero). I disagree that TASK is "not a winner", I believe it is a winner. That game was very, very close...I barely skimmed out tactical victories in the different parts of the map.

Til next time,

Rambo

P.S. Somebody find "cool" strategy turn based games that we can play that don't take 20+ hours to properly play.

[ September 08, 2003, 05:43 PM: Message edited by: jon_j_rambo ]

[SeaMonkey]

Rambo, you need to take a look at "Battlefields" on the Matrix website. Its operational scale ala TOAW, but has some unique features, like simultaneous execution of turns, but turn based. Also a command structure allowing multi-players in different command levels as a team under a single commander (PBEM). Frictional movement and some nice graphics gives it curb appeal, not to mention an extensive editor. Its in beta, currently, but release should be before 2004. Read/Look at the forum posts.

[Archibald]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:

I'd like to play a game like old fashion SquadLeader...a combat system that has tons of scenarios to play. Games can be 2 to 8 hours long, you get to set-up your initial pieces where you want to, clear game objectives, etc.

Surely you must have tried Combat Mission?

[jon_j_rambo]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm interested in new games. Combat Mission is weak. Cross of Iron is expected for Spring '04.

[Logan Hartke]

Originally posted by jon_j_rambo:

P.S. Somebody find "cool" strategy turn based games that we can play that don't take 20+ hours to properly play.

While it is not turn-based, you might want to try Close Combat III: The Russian Front or Close Combat V: Invasion Normandy. They are very much strategy games, yet they have none of the annoying, time-consuming micro-management that kills so many games. It is all about the strategy and knowing your equipment. It's company-sized combat that only takes 30-60 minutes at most to play a game. Even though it's real-time strategy, it doesn't have building rushes like other RTS games (you can't built any units at all), nor is it so fast-paced that it leaves turn-based game players behind. A very user-friendly game that is easy to learn yet hard to master. A lot like SC but on a much smaller scale, with better graphics, less time-consuming, and in real time. On the surface, it isn't a life-changing game, but there are a LOT of mods out there. It's a great game and I love it. Only down side? You have about as much chance of finding an affordable copy of CC3 or CC5 as you do Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz, only you can download Iron Blitz. I've not seen that you can download CC3 anywhere. A great game if you can find it, now if only you can find it (I bought two copies when it was affordable and readily available). Also, it has about the same system requirements as SC (really taxing, I know).

Logan Hartke

[Logan Hartke]

Oh, heck, I just went on Amazon. Someone there is actually selling a copy of CC3 for $20. I'm dead serious, buy it NOW! I've not seen one at that price for a while. Ebay has like 3 or 4 for sale right now and you might be able to get one for about that price if you win a bidding war. They usually go up a lot near the end.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/offering/list/-/B00001LDC9/all/ref=sr_pb_a/103-2507791-8900664

Logan Hartke

[ September 10, 2003, 02:55 AM: Message edited by: Logan Hartke ]

[Curry]

What's HOI???

[VonPaulus]

HOI = Hearts of Iron.