USA Opening

[Berkut]

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: Berkut

Herwin, are you doing this against a human or AI opponent?

No human player worth their salt is going to let you stroll through the Shenandoah.

Currently against the AI. The fact that a live opponent would be smarter doesn't make the strategic direction invalid.

Well, it doesn't make it invalid - it does make it not very likely to work though. A good human player is going to fortify the valley, place enough troops there to make an overrun impossible, then crush you when you attack it by bringing in the entire ANV in prime defensive terrain.

Note that Lee did not try to hold the Potomac line--it was too far forward from Richmond for supply. I guess the game is slightly unrealistic in that regard.

Meh, it is kind of a abstraction. Although Manassas in the game does turn into a defended Southern fortress. But then, every space turns into a defended Southern fortress in the game, at least in the East.

[Sluggonics]

It looks like there's three activations in the opening, but I'm only getting 2 for the Union on the first turn.  Maybe I can just move Chapman from OH to DC to run the cavalry scouting of Manassas, and still activate Grant and Halleck on first turn, or wait until the following turn to activate Grant?

[JAMiAM]

Halleck will activate for free during the production phase, on the first turn, so I usually don't waste a leader activation getting him half a turn early.  You can still do all of your AC/TC machinations, but he'll be stuck in Evansville until the following turn, iirc, should you take him as a freebie.  This will reduce his help value, should he get initiative.

[herwin]

ORIGINAL: Sluggonics

It looks like there's three activations in the opening, but I'm only getting 2 for the Union on the first turn.  Maybe I can just move Chapman from OH to DC to run the cavalry scouting of Manassas, and still activate Grant and Halleck on first turn, or wait until the following turn to activate Grant?

I play Limited Command Point Recovery. That provides an extra activation each turn.

[Sluggonics]

ORIGINAL: herwin

ORIGINAL: Sluggonics

It looks like there's three activations in the opening, but I'm only getting 2 for the Union on the first turn.  Maybe I can just move Chapman from OH to DC to run the cavalry scouting of Manassas, and still activate Grant and Halleck on first turn, or wait until the following turn to activate Grant?

I play Limited Command Point Recovery. That provides an extra activation each turn.

Ah, mystery solved.

[herwin]

I did some comparisons of GGWBTS with board games at the same (or larger) scale. Generally it matches well, but there are some differences. Most of my games are back in America, but I do have War Between the States 1861-1865 (Decision Games).

In War Between the States 1861-1865 (Decision Games), they play the Mississippi Delta as leaky--you have to take the cities to block the commerce. There are deep-water routes into the delta from Brashear to Fort Pike and Procterville and reaching the Mississippi as far north as the Red River, which means to block commerce, you need to capture most of the delta.

In that game, weather only affects supply and movement, not combat. Missouri starts out neutral (like Kentucky). Violation of Kentucky neutrality is a big deal, but transports on the rivers do not violate neutrality, so the Confederate player has to watch the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.