Battle for Moscow - free online game

[Neilster]

For anyone who missed this in the General Discussion forum, this is a cool, free, online game about Operation Typhoon (the German drive on Moscow in 1941).

It's a port of the classic 1986 game designed to teach wargaming and to be fun and relatively quick to play. At the moment you can only play the Germans against the AI but the developer is planning net play and a German AI, as well as other games concerning Operation Barbarossa, depending on demand.

It's at about half WiF scale, so if you have a hankering for some 1941 Eastern Front action against a Soviet AI, give it a go. It generally follows wargaming conventions and the easiest way to learn it is just to fire up a game against the AI and follow the onscreen prompts. There's no takeback function, so be careful about your moves but it's a beer and pretzels game anyway that can be played in less than an hour once you get confident with its mechanics. It has an autosave function, so you can come back to a game anytime (even if the tab was closed) and it remembers the position.

The AI is quite strong and I haven't been able to win a game yet, although I've gone close.

https://oberlabs.com/b4m/#

[Joseignacio]

Thanks, nice.

[Neilster]

Well done. It's not an easy game to win for the Germans. I've worked out the CRT favours attacking.

In wargaming, I normally avoid attacks at odds of less than 3:1 but in this game I think you have to or you'll never take Moscow. It's a bit of a meat grinder after the initial couple of turns.

[Joseignacio]

Thanks. Yes, the CRT helps attacker, however the land helps the defender, with lots of rivers in the difficult area, plus fortresses and woods, besides of the 7 turns you almost cannot move 2 of them and you get 1 replacement for their 5 per turn.

Wouldn't say attackers are the strong side, but wont complain anyway because when you switch sides it usually looks the other way round. Of course by now you cant, so...

[LossRevolutionary]

Now you can! [;)]

I have just pushed an update incorporating various enhancements addressing a lot of the great feedback I have received over the past few weeks. The new version includes an additional option to play against a beta German AI in addition to the existing Soviet AI, a much requested Undo feature for the movement, replacement & reinforcement phases and several bug fixes.

Please check it out and, as always, feedback is very much welcome.

[Neilster]

Thanks for the update. I just had a go as the Soviets and managed a win.

[Magpius]

Games looks and plays a treat.

[Joseignacio]

I still believe the game is still rather unbalanced, favouring defense.

[AxelNL]

Works nice, did not read the instructions and plays very easy. Missed a replacement because the redo of that did not work.

Used a flanking maneuver in the south and got 3 panzers behind Moscow that way.

[Courtenay]

I tried it. After setting up the game, the game takes you to the German combat phase. According to the rules, you should go to the German panzer movement phase

After setting up the game, the German player begins his panzer movement phase.

Was this changed in the errata somewhere? It makes a huge difference, as one German unit has already snuck through. Or did you adjust the setup so that the Germans are considered to have already moved in the panzer movement phase?

[Courtenay]

Another rules error: The Russians attacked in mud, and were not halved. All units, on both sides, are halved in mud

All units' combat strengths are halved when attacking (not when defending).

[Courtenay]

On turn 4, the Germans made 4 attacks. In the first three, their attack strength was correctly halved. In the fourth one, it wasn't.

[Courtenay]

I tried it. I won, but the game came down to a 4-1 against Moscow on turn 7. I roll a one or a two and I lose, 3-6 and I win. My pure skill won. [:)]

The defenders let me get across the Oka at the eastern edge of the map; turn 6 I cleared the two hexes to the east of Moscow, letting me get a 5 hex attack on Moscow turn 7.

Interesting game.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

I tried it. After setting up the game, the game takes you to the German combat phase. According to the rules, you should go to the German panzer movement phase

After setting up the game, the German player begins his panzer movement phase.

Was this changed in the errata somewhere? It makes a huge difference, as one German unit has already snuck through. Or did you adjust the setup so that the Germans are considered to have already moved in the panzer movement phase?

The game omits the first movement phase (armor only) the first impulse, maybe because units are already close to each other, since the early armor movement is effective mainly to reach the russian retreating units and force combat or pocket them if you are lucky.

According to the rules , after combat all german units may move, so that part is correct. I assume the game starts where the panzer have already moved, it's a way to see it.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: AxelNL

Works nice, did not read the instructions and plays very easy. Missed a replacement because the redo of that did not work.

Used a flanking maneuver in the south and got 3 panzers behind Moscow that way.

Although the rules don't state it, there must be a ruling on how you cn get replacements, because I have been several times unable to get them, usually or always when I was sorrounded (what would be OOS in wif).

Edit: the rules say it, I had only seen the excerp of the rules included in the game help.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

On turn 4, the Germans made 4 attacks. In the first three, their attack strength was correctly halved. In the fourth one, it wasn't.

Being German, I think this happened at least once by the Russsians. I thought it was an error of mine, that I calculated wrong.

[Courtenay]

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

On turn 4, the Germans made 4 attacks. In the first three, their attack strength was correctly halved. In the fourth one, it wasn't.

Being German, I think this happened at least once by the Russsians. I thought it was an error of mine, that I calculated wrong.

I figured it out: The game only halves panzer attack factors in mud. Infantry is unaffected. That is not what the rules say, but is what the game does.

Other changes noted: The Russians may bring in replacements on the northeast and southeast edges of the map. The places they can do this are indicated by a red border on the map edge. Also, units may not be placed as a reinforcement on the edge of the map if they are in a ZOC

[Courtenay]

I played a game as the Russians and one more as the Germans. Playing the Russian, the Germans never came close to winning. At the end of the game there were no German units within three hexes of Moscow, and the Russians had to throw away replacements because all their units were on the map and at full strength. (Except one cut off and roaming around the west of the map.)

The second game the Germans won easily when for some reason the Russians pulled a full strength unit out of Moscow and replaced it with a half strength unit. The resulting 3-1 German attack on Moscow turn 6 had a 100% chance of taking Moscow.

I suspect that if I were to play myself solitaire, the Germans would lose.

[Joseignacio]

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

ORIGINAL: Joseignacio

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

On turn 4, the Germans made 4 attacks. In the first three, their attack strength was correctly halved. In the fourth one, it wasn't.

Being German, I think this happened at least once by the Russsians. I thought it was an error of mine, that I calculated wrong.

I figured it out: The game only halves panzer attack factors in mud. Infantry is unaffected. That is not what the rules say, but is what the game does.

Other changes noted: The Russians may bring in replacements on the northeast and southeast edges of the map. The places they can do this are indicated by a red border on the map edge. Also, units may not be placed as a reinforcement on the edge of the map if they are in a ZOC

I knew that rule, but I probably didn't when I saw this supposed flaw, earlier.

[LossRevolutionary]

Thank you both for your feedback.

The rules I have implemented are actually the more recent and more comprehensive ones from the Victory Point Games (VPG) and C3i editions. And I haven't updated the link in the game to point to those updated rules yet. Apologies.

They cover all the points you have raised above (no special movement phase upon the first German turn, only panzer units being halved during mud turns, all replacement rules, etc.)

In the mean time, you can find them in the excellent C3i Nr25 eBook available for free (I cannot post a link here but easy to find from the Library on the C3i Magazine website).