Since this is a H2H game, and I know the strategy of both sides, fog of war does not play a big part in game play decision making. In fact, in some ways I’ve stretched out the game just to see how late game TOs behaved. However, in spite of the inherent problems with H2H, I think the AAR reader will still get a feel for the scenario design and strategic problems faced by the players.
A brief introduction to the scenario and game mechanics are in order.
The battlefield is large (300X300) compared to the number of units deployed, which after splitting is a per side mix of about 300 aircraft, naval and land units. There is one main land mass, two significant islands and an assortment of smaller islands. Minor supply points and ports are sprinkled around to enable amphibious operations and keep unit supply logistics problem manageable.
There are 16 cities capable of fielding armies. A random draw will assign one city as the Imperial Empire capital city and one as the Leftist Rebel capital. The other 14 will be offered as allies using random TOs. When a TO is used there is a 60% chance that the city will join the requester, a 20% chance that it will reject the request and join with the enemy and a 20% chance that the city will remain neutral. Whatever the city decides to do there is a variable delay built in so it is possible to get well underway before cities declare their allegiance.
Random ally city TOs have a problem in that TOs may not be evenly distributed. In an effort to prevent lopsided games, one of two house rules should be selected for use. #1 A game is only valid when the Empire starts with 3 or 4 ally TOs. This usually provides a competitive game, but it still can become one sided. #2 Each player can only use 5 ally TOs no matter how many are offered or how the city reacts to the offer. This will result in 12 cities in play and 4 neutral. I prefer #2; it was used for this test game.
The scenario usually has several phases. Initially there is a rush to gain resources (supply and replacement rate) and clear rail lines between friendly cities. As the grand strategy develops there is movement to engagement and combat. Finally, the enemy is defeated by a combination of military defeats and reduction of his resources and capacity to wage war. There are no victory points accessible to the players or set conditions for victory. Players decide when to surrender or enter a truce. Should the game run long, late stage events will be triggered to degrade supply, reduce replacements, introduce disease and promote desertion thereby forcing the game to end in stalemate. If desired, the battlefield loss penalty can be used to determine the outcome.
The map shows the land and army producing cities (green dots). The starting cities of the Leftist and Imperial Empire are decided by random draw. All other cities become allies, enemies or neutrals using Theater Options. The dark circles are locations of the supply and replacement centers.
