American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

I have been watching a lot of MP games recently. I think I enjoy watching the three on three games the most even though they take a bit longer to move along. Any more than that and things can potentially really bog down. a 2 on 2 game is also fairly fast but doesnt quite have the teamwork factor of a 3 on 3.

Anyone have any preferences?

I'd agree that a 3 versus 3 is the way to go. I think it's the best possible gaming experience you can have playing one of these scenarios. Any bigger and you risk things becoming very boogged down by slow file exchanges. Any smaller and things can be a bit to "easy" as far as team firction goes.
You do need players that are serious about the game and keen to stick at things and keep up a prompt file exchange. Once you have that on board the results can be very enjoyable.

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Brigadier-General Jim Wilkes.
2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division, XX Corps.
AoC. U.S.A.

After a slow start, our 4 on 4 MP game is moving along nicely.
Ideally, with 4 members, one can command and have minimal movement responsibilities.
J Ferry
2lt 2/20th Corps

I would say it all depends on the size and members playing.

I am currently involved in a 2x2 where the battle designed, (and may I say excellently by Gen. Blake), is perfect for a 2x2.
I am also involved in a 3x2, (once again a battle excellently designed by Gen. Blake), that is well suited for at least the 3 side, (three wings).

We have good members on both sides, (though the stubborn Acorn heads of the CSA still refuse to accept the inevitability of another Glorious Union victory), and the games are moving nicely along.

I would not mind a large 4x4 and with the current crew of MPs that I am forming would like to try that.
Larger than that though and I too worry that it would become too delayed.

Still, patience is a virtue.

All in all it depends on who is involved.

Respectfully

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Brig. Gen. L.T. Korotko
1/1/VI/AotS
The Bucktails

Are there seven adventurous souls out there who woult like to join me in an MP game of the Overland MONSTER scenario?????
J Ferry
2lt 2/20th Corps

count me in

regards

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Very good, young man. Reb or Yank? Any others?
Roles would be Ewell, Hill, Longstreet and Lee; Warren, Sedgwick, Hancock, and Grant/Burnside.
J Ferry
2lt 2/20th Corps

i believe i'll be fighting for the union

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To answer Gen.Blake original message, I will briefly tell you about the MP rules we develop in our French wargaming club :

we defined 1 commander in chief for both sides (ex Grant/Lee);
this player don't have access to the file.
He is responsible for giving orders and can only rely on the other players report ...
it can be a rather frustrating position ...

then it is a classical MP but players are not allowed to talk to each other.
further more they don't know who was in command of the other corps or divisions

to increase fog of war a referee was appointed. The referee was the only one to know who was playing what. All files were sent to the referee who redispatched the file to another player
etc ....

we had extra rules. when a commander was out of command (didn't pass his command test for the turn): all his messages were kept by the referee and only dispatched the following turn when he was in command, introducing delays for orders and reports ...

We played this way on a few games, including a Antietam on 4vs4 and a El Alamein with 20 players !!! 10 on each side commanding one or 2 divisions ...
The duty was enormous for the referee (more than 1 hour a day) but we managed to play about 35 turns before I had to give up (I was the referee) ... our pace with a good organisation was about 5 days for a full turn...

another way to play MP games

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Lt. Gen. Francois Chatain
CO XX Corps and Adjutant, AotC, USA
Red Badge of Courage Tournament Deputy Director

Still looking for candidates for a monster mp game
Those en Francaise rules are scary!!!
J Ferry
2lt 2/20th corps

The problem for me in playing the 'Monster' campaign is I would quite literally be deceased prior to it's end. There are 1390 turns in the scenario. Assuming a three day real time cycle (which is actually quite rapid), this means 1390 turns will consume 4170 days to complete. That comes to 11.43 YEARS real time to finish. An old fart in ill health like me probably does not have that much mileage left. The young whippersnappers will have to play this one!

Awww-c'mon, Jim! I've got one foot on a banana peel myself. For one, I picture guys handing off their role to someone else when they start to flatline. I understand that the powers that is, are planning an awestome medal to award for completing even a part of this scenario!
J Ferry
2lt 2/20th Corps

I do admit to being tempted. After all, were else can one play a game on such a massive scale. Except perhaps SPI's epic multi-year masterpiece covering the Eastern Front?

Are we, as middle-aged white men on the forum, permitted to say "OMG!!!"""???
OMG!!! Jim! I have such fond memories of SPI's Eastern Front! I have been tempted to get Grigsby's game, but I fear it would pull me in and I would never play anything else, ever.
Guys, consider your role in the Monster scenario like it was a time-share. You could sell it to someone else when you got tired--or died. Well, not sell it actually, but maybe give it away with some fanfare. What ever.
OMG! Eastern Front...
J Ferry aka Zhukov
2Lt 2/20th Guards Mechanized Korps

I believe the common term for the MP games was the Tessier version.

They were a lot of fun and some were played here in the ACWGC.

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General Ernie Sands
President ACWGC -Sept 2015- Dec 2020
7th Brigade, 1st Division, XVI Corps, AoT
ACWGC Records Site Admin

"If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there."