What a great game.

[JWW]

I came back to GOA last week after about a year doing other things, and I was immediately immersed again and reminded of what a great game it is. I'm having lots of fun with it and want to thank Frank and Matrix again.

It is such a great design. It is simple to manage though, as they say, hard to master. I don't feel overwhelmed by detail in any area. The leader activation rules and resource allocation really make you have to think each turn. It is chesslike. And the AI is very good.

I wish this concept could be adapted to some other eras. Napoleonics? The Civil War? (Do we have enough Civil War games?) Ancients?

Thanks, Frank.

[Hanal]

You are opening the door for another discussion of a much much needed strategic Franco-Prussian wargame!...[:)]

[JWW]

Lol.  I once did a graduate level research paper on the Franco-Prussian War.  Could we include the Austro-Prussian War?

[ulver]

Do any of you guys know what other games Frank have designed? If this is anything to go by the man is a genius.

EDIT: Found this Frank Hunter's American Civil War game
http://www.thurb.com/games/acw/intro.htm

Brilliant in its deceptive simplicity. One of the very best strategy games I’ve ever played. Also the post-release support has just been undeliverable with Frank releasing hot fixes by mail for ongoing games when I mailed him.

[arichbourg]

He's done some very nice operational Napoleonic games as well, some of which are here on the Matrix site I believe. For example, Campaigns on the Danube 1805 - 1809.

[JWW]

Yes, I had the Civil War game.  But it is something like 12 years old now.  I've looked at Campaigns on the Danube but haven't bought it....yet. 
 
I'm just daydreaming here, but a game based on the GOA engine with area movement instead of hexes, with fewer units, higher stacking limits, the leader activation rules but the leader has to be in the same hex/area as the units, and then similar simple economics/research/unit replacement rules, simple political rules, something simple, chesslike, no micromanagement, a good AI, set in other eras would be great.  In my opinion of course.  I know that is a lot easier said than done.  But GOA is a really great game.

[boogada]

I have this game for about 11 month now. And almost the entire time I have at least one PBEM game going on. Still enjoying this a lot. I bought some other games in between but barely (if ever) play those.... so much wasted money... GOA is great!

[hjaco]

I agree - one of the most cost effective games compared to replayability. Only the old War in Russia and Europa Universalis can compete with this little gem IMHO [8D]

[FrankHunter]

I've developed a few other topics using the GoA engine and the results have been mixed. It seems to work very well in a Spanish Civil War game I put together. (Brigade level, turns are 1 month)

A topic it didn't really work on but which I redesigned into an offshoot system was the Russo-Japanese War. Its similar to GoA but all those "HQ Refits" are now supply units that have to be moved across the Sea of Japan or the Yellow Sea and then dragged overland till they reach the HQ. Its a race against time as the Russian forces come in slowly over the Trans-Siberian RR so the Japanese player is always facing the choice of whether to push on with limited resources or wait for more supplies and troops, which gets harder as his forces move away from the coastal ports. (Brigade level, turns are 2 weeks)

I'm just daydreaming here, but a game based on the GOA engine with area movement instead of hexes, with fewer units, higher stacking limits, the leader activation rules but the leader has to be in the same hex/area as the units, and then similar simple economics/research/unit replacement rules, simple political rules, something simple, chesslike, no micromanagement, a good AI, set in other eras would be great. In my opinion of course.

I guess we had the same daydream because I ended up trying a "GoA with areas" system for the Russian Civil War which seems to be coming along nicely and very similar to what you've written. (Division level, turns are 1 month)

[Lascar]

ORIGINAL: FrankHunter

I've developed a few other topics using the GoA engine and the results have been mixed. It seems to work very well in a Spanish Civil War game I put together. (Brigade level, turns are 1 month)

A topic it didn't really work on but which I redesigned into an offshoot system was the Russo-Japanese War. Its similar to GoA but all those "HQ Refits" are now supply units that have to be moved across the Sea of Japan or the Yellow Sea and then dragged overland till they reach the HQ. Its a race against time as the Russian forces come in slowly over the Trans-Siberian RR so the Japanese player is always facing the choice of whether to push on with limited resources or wait for more supplies and troops, which gets harder as his forces move away from the coastal ports. (Brigade level, turns are 2 weeks)

I'm just daydreaming here, but a game based on the GOA engine with area movement instead of hexes, with fewer units, higher stacking limits, the leader activation rules but the leader has to be in the same hex/area as the units, and then similar simple economics/research/unit replacement rules, simple political rules, something simple, chesslike, no micromanagement, a good AI, set in other eras would be great. In my opinion of course.

I guess we had the same daydream because I ended up trying a "GoA with areas" system for the Russian Civil War which seems to be coming along nicely and very similar to what you've written. (Division level, turns are 1 month)

So you are working on a Russian Civil war game based on the GoA engine. This is very good news. This is a very interesting period and has long been neglected. How far along are you with this?

[Alan Sharif]

Frank..............stop teasing us PLEASE. I want all three games now, or at least by Xmas.[:(] Guess I am going to be disappointed. But, joking apart, all three sound great and I for one would welcome all three titles. Something tells me I am not alone.

Regards

Alan

[FrankHunter]

Yes, working on lots of different titles at the moment. You guys didn't think I was lying on a beach with a book when I wasn't here did you?

The game that is furthest along is the Russo-Japanese War. I've got everything except the AI and graphics going on that one. I should mention it has two scales. The area from Mukden down to Port Arthur and over to Korea are at one scale while the surrounding areas (Japan, rest of Korea, Vladivostok and Siberia around and to the west of Harbin) are at a smaller scale. One hex of the surrounding areas equals three hexes on the regular map. The reason of course is that nothing much happens in those surrounding areas but I wanted to include them and didn't want to go the "off-map boxes" route. I should also mention the Russians have problems too. They can't just pull back to Harbin and await reinforcements. Internal problems make it necessary to successfully defend as far forward as possible. So I think its an interesting situation, the Russians start weak and get stronger every month but have internal political problems, the Japanese start strong but their economy can't sustain a long war in Manchuria. The naval game is different from GoA's and I've been trying to make things like Amphibious movement easier.


Once the new Napoleonic game (same series as the Danube game) wraps up the others will proceed much faster.

As for this Christmas, no chance Sometime in 2009.

[Lascar]

ORIGINAL: FrankHunter

Yes, working on lots of different titles at the moment. You guys didn't think I was lying on a beach with a book when I wasn't here did you?

Of course not[:)], but we had no idea how many titles you had in the fire. Good to hear that you are capitalizing on the excellent GoA engine to such an extent.
BTW what ever happened to Imperial Ambitions (I think I recall that title correctly.)
Dave

[FrankHunter]

Imperial Ambition (the days of Napoleon III and von Bismarck) awaits finding time to work on it. It doesn't share any code with my other games so its a longer haul than a series game like the operational Napoleonic games or converting an existing engine to another war.