American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

OK, I refuse to admit to being OLD, but...

I remember way back when I first saw BG Gettysburg in the computer store. Immediate sale! I had seen the first one, the Bulge one, but hadn't picked it up for some reason. It wasn't long before I was the master of the ZOC-kill, and of course casualty rates in all the games far exceeded what happened on the actual battlefield.

Then along comes the Campaign series. And soft ZOCs! As I was getting a bit tired of ZOC-killing (was wanting something a little more true to reality), I was really excited by this. And yet very quickly found myself wholly adapted to blitzkrieg tactics and blowing through lines and surrounding units as often as possible. I remember one poster a few years ago who stated he'd like to play more laid back, but if you didn't ZOC-kill you'd never win a game!

Anyway, it's all to say I've noticed a definite change in how I play these games over the years. Where once I was a champion ZOC-killer, now I don't like it. Where once I was a blitzkreiger, now I ask for the "embedded" melee phase concept.

So that's the change for me, and I'm really excited with those games coming out with shorter timescales (10 or 15 minute turns) that limit movement rates. That in and of itself works well with how I now like to play. But I'm also sure that there are many here who have gone the other way - started trying to play "historically" and now play to kill everything in site. Neither's right or wrong - it's up to each one to find out how it plays for the most fun!

So my question - have you found your play style changing over the years??

(And yes, I know phrases like "more historical" and "truer to reality" are loaded!! But then, so's my musket... [8D])


Maj Gen Sean Turner
3rd Cavalry Division, "The Bishop's Men"
I Corps
Army of Alabama

I'm with you Sean. I much prefer playing with the embedded melee phase rule.


[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/acw/acw.htm"]General Antony Barlow[/url]
[url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/a.r.barlow/aoc/Western_Theater.htm"]Commander, Western Theater, Union Army[/url]

I've gone back to playing phases about two-thirds of the time. I just can't stand watching the insane AI firing in the one-turn. I like the HPS disks, and I buy every one; I just can't take the random firing bit.

As far as my style of playing goes, I find I like winding up on the offense a lot more than I used to. Now, being saddled with a straight defensive mission drives me crazy!

Sincerely,
Brig Gen Dwight McBride
V Corps/AOP/USA

For those players who feel that melees play too big a role, why not try out a scenario at the company scale instead?

See http://www.brettschulte.net/ACWCGDC/richwhite.htm

and also the company level scenarios included in Campaign Atlanta.

The different ground scale and increased close range fire factors should encourage players to rely more on firepower than melee tactics. Of course this scale is only really suited to small scale engagements rather than full scale battles.

Brig. Gen. Rich White
3rd Brig. III Corps
Phantom Cav. Div.
ANV

Are those company level scenarios designed for Corinth 101a?



Gen. J. Cuneo, CSA
Army of Alabama, Cmdg



"I have seen the faces of men, who had dared death so often, it lost its' terror." -J.S. Mosby

I am lucky that in Nik Butler, Gary McClellan, and Paul Ayers, I have opponents who rarely melee ( I rarely do and only play for surrounds if I am rolling up a flank or stopping a penetration attack or random oportunities- I too have toned down on this).

I second the recommendation for the company level games. I've only ever played one, but really enjoyed it. Of course, I'm still waiting on company level Gettysburg!!! [8]

One thing about the HPS engine is that melees have been cut down by default - if you don't have 3-1 odds, don't bother, and even then it's risky. One failed melee can mean a unit is finished for the day, such is its fatigue hit. Much better, IMHO, than in BG where you only needed 1-2 odds and a flank, especially if you held fire and had a morale advantage.

Maj Gen Sean Turner
3rd Cavalry Division, "The Bishop's Men"
I Corps
Army of Alabama