The TOAW Open Challenge Project

[Hellen_slith]

Greetings, fellow Grognards and TOAW enthusiasts!

I here present to you my "Open Challenge Project" idea that, I hope will encourage new players to pair with experienced players and encourage experienced players to help new players.

This project has developed as a result of my seeing, on the "steam" (read: Slitherine) server, some half dozen game challenges that still remain open ... but are password protected.

My idea is that for you experienced players to create "open" non-password protected challenges so that new players can more quickly jump into the game.

For myself, I have already created an open challenge for the Kasserine tutorial. I am hoping that you other more experienced players will also join me in my project to create open games that are easily accessible to new players.

With that in mind, please join me in my effort to foster more interest in our favorite game.

Please take a moment if you are available and create challenges and tutorials for new players.

I hope this all makes sense. For myself: I have created a sort of "challenge system" whereby I create an "open" game on the server to seek out a new player. You can see the beginnings of my efforts by looking at the "challenges" I have started to create on the server game thing for Kasserine '43.

Well, I hope that you will join me in this project. Thanks for reading! ~H~

[larryfulkerson]

I think this is a great idea. Count me in.

[Hellen_slith]

Thanks, Larry! I have posted already for Tannenberg 14 and Kasserine 43 ... Zovs posted a great list of scenarios to choose from, I encourage to pick a scene and hlep fill up that server with open challenges!

PS: if you post an "open challenge" be sure to also post in the "seeking games" forum so as to list what you have posted as a challenge ... I put an example of my challenges already posted in there.

[larryfulkerson]

I need another playtester for my Barbarosa '41 mod. It's a small scenario, 47 turns, less than 300 units each side, about 400 X 600 hexes for a map, I'm guessing so it's on the small side. The early Soviet turns go quickly as not much can move. No password needed for this bad boy.

[Hellen_slith]

Thanks again Larry for your kind help!!

One aspect of this proposed project is, while we are "fishing" for players, there should be a mechanism whereby they request an open challenge?

I know that this might seem duplicative of the already existing "opponents wanted" section, but I was thinking of a mechanism whereby new players might request a scenario that they would like to play against an experienced opponent? Do you think they should request that within this thread, or just post a request in the opponents wanted thread?

I only ask so that there might be some way to better shepherd requests vis-a-vis open challenges?

I hope that makes sense!

[Zovs]

I’ll participate next week.

[Zovs]

In my opinion Larry’s and the original B41 is medium and moderately complex.

[Hellen_slith]

Thanks guys! I already have a taker for Tannenberg and the NATO Germany and for one side of Kasserine. I think someone has taken up Larry's challenge, too. I am gladdened for the response!

[mdanz]

This is a great idea. I hope it sticks. I already started a Tactics and a Anonymous heroics games. They are both good, well balanced and fairly small scenarios that should have fast turn exchange.







And thanks to the experienced players who accepted those..

[Zovs]

I got a challenge for a new player up Operation Nordwind 45 I’ll take the US so a new guy can get some combined arms experience.

[larryfulkerson]

Hey you guys: it's hard for a new player to know what to do when all the challenges have passwords. Are there no games to play ( without passwords ) available? It's actually not all that easy to look up the name of the potential opponent and PM him/her about the game's password.

[Hellen_slith]

Yes, those have been there a while. I posted three the other day and all of them were accepted a day later. I think there was another posted yesterday, it was already accepted, too. I'll post another when I get a chance, I am pretty full up right now.

[Zovs]

My open challenge was accepted and we are commencing...

[Hellen_slith]

Hello again, I saw on some other forums a couple of folks seeking TOAW opponents and I left them a message there about our "Open Challenges" project, this seems to garnering some interest!! Fantastic!! So I am posting here a little "bump" to keep the idea fresh.

Only a few moves in my current games left, they are already nearing completion in these smaller scenes. I think I will post a few of the new scenes that came with TOAW4, will post The Guns of August, that looks fun and the documentation is nice. Any suggestions for another good scene to look at?

Thanks again!

[larryfulkerson]

I always thought Sciliy to Brenner's Pass was a fun scenario. The Allied player, American, British, Free French, etc., has to start by invading Sciliy and then invade the boot of Italy and drive north almost to the mountains of Switzerland. The Axis player, Italians and Germans, have to delay the Allies as much as possible.
It's a relatively large scenario mapwise but there's not a gargantuan number of units for either side. I've attached it here below.

[Hellen_slith]

That sounds like a fun scene! As it stands now, several of my "open challenges" games are already nearing completion, so I am looking at posting some other scenarios to post so as to foster interest.

My goal is to have at least one scenario going from each of the major eras ... i.e., one from WWI, one from WWII, and one from hypothetical.

So far, I've met up with folks from all around the world, and they are all great players and we're having a lot of fun with this!

Thanks again for your kind support!

[Hellen_slith]

Some results:

Just finished Tannenberg 1914 as Germans, with a marginal victory ... I think we'll see a draw in our mirror game.

Kasserine '43 ended w/ German victories on both sides, as would be expected.

I am looking now at starting some more games, probably Germany South 1990, as that is a good scene to play (I hope), North is being interesting so far.

One thing about Germany North 1990: not sure about the start up variability, but I found that WP SF can (if they spawn) take out multiple NATO points in the North scene, making that scene very unbalanced if that happens. If so, beware!

Ok, going to spawn a few more games, I would ask kindly that if you are already playing a scene w/ me, to allow another novice player to have a go at me until we finish our game.

So far, I am getting trounced (as shown in below)! Great fun, keep up the TOAW good times, fellow Grogs!!

[Hellen_slith]

Germany South 1990 now open ....

[Hellen_slith]

ORIGINAL: mdanz

This is a great idea. I hope it sticks. I already started a Tactics and a Anonymous heroics games. They are both good, well balanced and fairly small scenarios that should have fast turn exchange.







And thanks to the experienced players who accepted those..

I tried Anonymous Heroics in hot seat for a few moves, that is a hard scene to get a handle. But, it seems like a fun scene to play. That is one that I would like to try in future.

[Hellen_slith]

Battle of Adua 1896 is now open ...