Playing the game alone?

[Sieben_slith]

I've just ordered the game and it's on the way, but I have a question. As a long-time board gamer I've often played games alone (both sides) when I lacked an opponent or was simply interested in the designer's take on a particular historical situation. I gather from this forum that the game has a pretty bad AI, so I'm wondering if I could play it with all sides human controlled until I can arrange for PBEM. Will historical events trigger normally? Any problems you veterans know of?

[cpdeyoung]

The AI can give you a fun game, and you certainly should give it a try. I too have many time played both sides, and I think you could do it with ToW, however I have another alternative for you.

I like to play N number of turns against the AI, saving each turn as MyGame001, MyGame002, etc. At some point, an interesting point, I will go back and reload a previous turn, and change the "human" nations to AI, and vice versa. This can be great fun, in effect playing against yourself. You can do this as often as it continues to be interesting.

Have fun,

Chuck

[gwgardner]

Take a look at my solo AAR. I don't think the AI is all that bad if given the time to build its forces. Historical play, that is.

I never tried playing both sides, but I think it can be done hot seat. If not specifically hot seat, try starting off the game as one side, then hit F11 and change all the other side's countries to human controlled.

[Tomokatu]

I've had nearly 30 years playing experience and I find that the AI will give a competent, but maybe not brilliantly inspired, opposition - especially if you crank all the AI-contolled countries up to "Very Easy" (PPsx200%). Most of the "complaints" are from other grogs who want more or less difficulty in their area of particular special interest. I would never call the AI "pretty bad". It's certainly better than playing against yourself. If you make a mistake the AI will punish you!
 
As far as the triggering of historical events - there will be variants. Some of these depend on tasks performed or not performed, some are time-controlled. No two games will ever be identical and every game will have surprises. They're all enjoyable. The game has massive re-play potential either solo or pbem. Your money won't be wasted but you may have to give up working or family or both in order to devote enough time to play.

[TexHorns]

I concur with Tomakatu. The addiction quotient is extremely high. I constantly find myself saying "just one more turn then I'll stop and do something else, like sleep."

[Manalishi]

"Just One More Turn!"
 
"... what? its 2am? Okay... let me just finish this up and I'll come to bed. I promise..."
 
 
Actually, I havent found any stratgey games that provide this complulsion since Civ/SMAC. Heh. ToW does possess a high degree of this quality, although, in my opinion, there are some negative influences that limit it. Primarily the horrible manual and the utter lack of information upon which to base strategic and operational decisions. Because of this, I often feel that I am playing more of an adventure game than a strategy game. I press the "end turn" button to find out what happens next more than I do to prosecute my efforts in any given campaign. Persistence pays off, though. Other than that ToW is pretty spectacular in this regard.
 
I play the game solo all the time, although I do have one pbem game progressing. I find the pbem to be more fun because humans are infinitely harder to predict than the AI. The downside of pbem is the lack of instant gratification. Oh well. Always playing against the AI can lead to the formation of some fatal tendencies against a human player. Mostly my solo games are adventurous efforts with various coalitions against the AI to learn the ways and means of the various nations on the map. Know your enemy.
 
I have played the Poles and the French quite a lot because they are the main defenders against the early German blitz. I play them solo because, in a multi player game, you just dont kow what your "allies" will or will not provide, so I figure it is best to master them as stand alone entities rather than relying on the good will or intentions of any allies. Plus, knowing their strengths and weakness also helps when I am on the other side of the table.
 
I would venture to say that most of us play solo most of the time, and that ToW provides a mostly enjoyable and immersive expreince in single player mode. I doubt one would need another player or a new mod for a very long time, given the multitude of choices the game provides.
 
 
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