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Overview
I am a firm believer in conducting ALOT of playtesting prior to offering a game for sale. Accordingly, ToC has been subjected to some "brutal" {my playtesters have been very blunt) playtesting. The game has undergone significant revisions to simply game dynamics and maximize playtesting.
HOWEVER, ALL of the card driven games that have been published (except probably the masterpiece Wilderness Wars), have witnessed significant revision once thousands of gamers and the "sharks" start playing the game - the nature of the beast when us lowly game designers do not have extensive playtest staffs that can just test games for a living. I can assure you that the game design works (as evidenced by the results of playtesting) and that we have yet to see a perfect plan. The games have varied significantly do to the strategic options each side has, a multifront war and the political subgame in ToC.
With ToC, a few card sharks have played it, a number of game designers and developers, card driven gamers and novices to the genre.
Below are summaries of 3 games
from Triumph of Chaos (ToC) playtesting.
ToC has been playtested in four groups
in 2004.
Two new play test groups have just started in September.
Game 1
September 2004 - Yudenich's Near Glory
TOC Vinny Frattli (WHITE) & Rob Robertson (RED)
AAR Turn 1 Vinny (WHITE)
Just
a quick note we started again last night ( Rob who does better at AAR I hope
will post a detailed one soon) Starting Spring 1919 and White has a VP lead
(2VP). We both realize now how important Astrakhan going Red in the last game
early give Red a huge advantage. We made no changes to the Mutiny card. Peasant
revolts have worked on both sides but neither one of us has played the switch
side card as an event yet. But I still see that as a good play for the Red
against Sev. ( I think Rob was kind? not to play it against Sev early). Both
sides operating under infighting with White getting the worse Rob has 2 turns
of no effect while it seems the Siberian chit has superglue on it for me I have
picked it every time ( what are the odds of that)
AAR Designer
Yep,
Astrakhan can be a huge advantage to either side, if you get it early - even
more powerful if it falls to WHITE. Historically, Germans provided some aid to
"nominally" white forces in the area and the Brit's had a plan to
seize the area and the RED fleet based there (March 1919). Astrakhan was not an
independent republic, just a city, but, again, it worked best to treat it like
a Republic
AAR Turn 2 onward Vinny (WHITE)
Just
wanted to post this AAR from last night. We completed through 1919 except the
last turn. VP stands at 9 for Reds. Current political situation In the Red camp
Turkistan,Belrus,Lithunia, Ukraine, Makno. In the white camp Estonia,
Finland,Latvia,Khiva. All Major Powers have withdrawn. I as the white have not
played AC 2 so Poland remains as white influenced. Pre- Haller card has been
played.
If 1918 was the
battles in the South, 1919 has become the battles in the North and Central. Rob
continues to pressure the Siberians back to the Urals. However the combination
of the British before they withdrew put pressure on the Reds. The climactic
summer of 1919 saw Yudenich arrive in friendly Latvia. The Latvia and Estonia
army marched on Petrograd and Yudenich feinted toward Petrograd and raced to Moscow!
The climactic turn was this with the Estonia army next to Petrograd and the
remnants of the Latvia army holding the supply line for Yudenich Yudenich was
also adjacent to Moscow. I played white partisan card in the North as this play
if successful would cut of supply for the Finnish red forces. and forces
arrayed against the British from Murmansk and isolate Petrograd . So the
climactic die roll was a 6! Red places a partisan in the North which cuts off
supply for Yudenich! AAAAAHHHHHH! Yudenich is forced to fall back, as well as
the Estonia army. Yudenich is forced to satisfy himself with destroying Belarus
army and attacking Lithuania both with heavy losses. Red forces enter Belarus
retaking the capital and Poles do not intervene. Again Partisan, switch side
and peasants all have played big roles in our game more than I have talked
about.
I forgot the important thing. I can't tell you if I'm
winning or losing as the whites. But the 1919 turns were great gaming fun!!!! I
had a blast so far in this game.
AAR
Designer
Vinny
- that sounds GREAT! Love hearing about the Partisan card - for those of you
out there, this card allows a side to place a variable number of partisans -
just don't roll a 6 - in that case, the opponent gets to place his partisans and
you can find yourself in a world of hurt. I'd have to say the
"craziest" front is usually in the Baltics/North - with a whole cast
of characters and stuff happening.
Glad to here you are having a blast with ToC.
Game 2
August 2004 - Communist Treachery
TOC Vinny Frattli (WHITE) & Rob Robertson (RED)
AAR Turn 1 - Rob (RED
We
just got started (1 Turn plus political phase of turn 2) as we spent most of
our time putting on the new cards, etc. The political phase flow is smoother.
The first turn was fairly even - with the Whites getting Finland, Britain, the
US, the Czechs, and Latvia (which doesn't matter yet) while the Reds got
Turkistan and Astrakhan. Much bloody fighting in the South - Mik. changed hands
twice. In the East Stalin retook the southern objective city from the Czechs.
Net was one red victory point. Second turn political phase had Britain and
Finland move out of White control. We will reconvene on Tuesday the 24th.
AAR Turn 2 Vinny (WHITE)
Well
- this was a fast game - it ended up an automatic Red Victory at the end of
turn 5. Here are the highlights:
Turn2 - Action: The Reds take an Army and a couple of corps and smash the
American corps advancing from Murmansk, and the Reds advance an Army through a
couple of Siberian Corps to take Orenburg in the Urals. The Whites launch
offensives in Finland and virtually wipe out the Red Finns (with one army
permanently destroyed out of supply -the other in combat but since Vipurii
wasn't taken they return as a replacement). Whites also build up in the South.
Net is 4 VP's for the Reds. The CP does not withdraw.
Turn3 - Politics: The Whites regain Finland - and get Estonia and Latvia, while
the Reds get Belarus. Ukraine moves to White influence.
Turn3 - Actions: Here is where the game took some unexpected turns. The Whites
bring in Kolchak and a Siberian Cossack Army to stop the Reds in the East.
Denikan is removed to influence the Ukraine. The Reds used a peasant uprising
event in the Kuban to put peasants threatening both Sev. and Krat. The whites respond
by SRing corps in to defend. The peasants attack and take Krat while they are
repulsed at Sev. The whites then try a switch sides card against the Army in
Orenburg and fail. The Reds then play their switch sides on the corps defending
Sev and succeed - replacing the corps with Gregoriev's Army (so far as we could
tell that was legal based on the wording on the card). Thus preventing the
whites from using replacements. We also judged that since Sev is a victory city
that Gregoriev would be in Limited Supply so long as he occupied it. The Reds
also retreat from Mik and from Kolchak in the North on the last action phase to
prevent being clobbered by the large White forces around (and draw forces away
from the South). Net 7 Red VPs (12 total now). The CP does not withdraw.
Turn 4 - Political: The Reds lose control of Astrakhan. The Whites gain control
of the Ukraine (too bad the CP is still in play), but lose control of Latvia.
Turn 4 - Actions: It's Winter so movement and attacks are effected. Whites play
support for Yudenich and send armies south to retake Krat, but are only able to
move over to Sev (too weak to attack), and also move into Mik. Kolchak moves
forward and bloodies Boronz. The Reds play Partisans in the Urals North and one
Partisan appears next to an undefended Ekaterinburg - no whites are close
enough to move there while the partisan blocks the rail line - so the partisan
walks in. The reds spend 2 cards on replacements to bring their armies pretty
much up to full strength (nothing in the dead pool). Mannerhiem moves to
threaten Petrograd from the North. The CP and the Czechs withdraw (depriving
White of a VC). Net is 8 Red VPs (total of 20).
Turn 5 - Political: Red plays big cards and has the most picks: so the Ukraine
returns to White influence while the Transcaucus and Astrakhan join the Reds.
The whites get France and Britain moves to white influence.
Turn 5 - Actions: Weather is mud so not much movement, but the West now comes
into play and the French. Since the Ukraine moved back to White influence the
Reds played AC 37 - Poles declare war on the Ukraine - so the Reds got the
Ukraine, the Whites the Poles, and the die roll for the West Ukraine went Red.
The Whites bring in Yudenich and move forward, the Reds clobber Mannerhiem and
in two successive action phases manage to kill him. The whites take several ops
to move and attack Sev but are repulsed. The French withdraw. Net Red VPs: 11
(all the increase due to neutrals joining - Ukraine, West Ukraine, Belarus,
Astrakhan, Transcaucus vs Poland and Estonia) for a total of 31 and an
automatic victory.
So the Reds won by taking objectives in the backfield (with partisans, peasant
uprisings, and mutiny armies) far from the front lines plus neutrals - and the
Whites couldn't respond quickly enough in the bad weather. As the Reds it
certainly didn't feel like an overwhelming victory (since the majority of the
White armies/forces were still intact).
AAR Designer
THAT'S
an interesting outcome. I've seen early RED victories before, but never one
that was won via a big difference in VPs by end of turn 5. That peasant
uprising, sneaking a green corp next to Sevast and then pulling off a Mutiny is
a nasty (and new) tactic.
It looks like WHITE never got rolling (in the south or in the east). Both
places are a source of Victory Cities and hence Victory Points. It is quite
common that if the political situation goes significantly against the WHITEs
early - that side is probably doomed unless they can make enough military
progress to blunt the VP effects. Historically, I'd say this is fairly accurate
- because as poorly as WHITE played the political situation, they did
"neutralize" some of the actors and enlist the help of others (Brits,
France, USA, Czech Legion, etc) in order to at least put up a decent fight.
Regarding achieving a victory with most of the armies still on the board for
the WHITEs, I'd say that WHITE has a "time schedule" it must meet to
win the game. During the early game, it must either win or build up enough of a
VP cushion to survive the RED military build up in the mid game and consequent
RED offensives that then occur.
Game 1 June 2004 - Polish Miracle
TOC June 2004 Vinny
Frattli (RED) & Rob Robertson (WHITE)
(note: this was the first game played by Vinny and Rob)
Turn 1 AAR Vinny (RED
Started
first game Tuesday and I am reporting the action of the first turn. I am the
Red player and Rob Robertson is the White. I hope to get Rob to post here on
his view of the game, as the White player Turn one begins in 1918 with the
political phase my goal here was to try to keep Finland out of the White camp.
After the smoke cleared I can only say it was disastrous for the Reds. Due to
one card which flips all your Influence points to the other player only the Red
side was affected ( this is random roll ,but as it turned out the minor countries
that were affected were all only Red influenced)! So play starts with Estonia,
Kiva, USA,Britain, France , and Finland in control of the White player. I ended
the phase only with Belarus and Makno in my control( both of these are
worthless on Turn one due to Central Power occupation of the Ukraine. Things
are more bleak with the start of action card play. One Red Army starts in
danger of being cut off by Kolchak Siberians and 2 face cutoff in the Don area.
The White player decides not to try to force the issue on these 3 armies but
instead plays Czech Legion control which gives the White control of all of
these forces. Faced with powerful forces in the East (the Czech Legion can't be
used for offensive action this turn) I pull back the exposed 3 armies (Don ,
Ural). Whites open with offensives in Finland capturing Helsinki and another
drive in the South with Deniken, with moderate success. I play 2 cards for
reinforcement armies for the coming hammer blows I am likely to receive on Turn
2. I play 1 card on Green/Peasant uprising in the Urals attempting to cut off
supply to Kolchak Siberians. The whites respond by attacking the peasants ( Rob
must think he's the Tsar incarnate ), trying to relieve supply pressure on the
Siberians. 1 card was spent on movement and my last card as event on white
infighting to start on Turn 2 ( may mess up Rob's plan for Turn 2). Plan for
Turn 2 try to get Finland out of white control. Mass reinforcement armies in
the East to battle Siberians and the Czech Legion. My Western flank is secure
as long as the Central Powers remain in the Ukraine. I end the turn only down 1
victory point. I consider myself lucky it was only this bad. The last positive
note Rob played a 5 card to Rescue the Tsar. The Central Committee is happy to
report that the Tsar and his family met an unfortunate death before Tsarist
forces were able to reach him. All Power to the Soviet!
AAR Turn 1 Rob (WHITE)
Moderate
Success? I don't think so. First an attack against Helsinki is repulsed (losses
3 to 3), and the Reds abandon Helsinki to avoid Mannerhiem coordinating a
two-army attack. Denikin attacks toward Tsaritsyn and is repulsed (losses 5 to
5), and the follow up the next phase barely wins (losses are 4 White to 5 Red)
and the remaining corps (from Army reduction) are too weak to advance adjacent
to the Red Armies occupying Tsaritsyn. Vinny rolled maximum causalities (a 5 or
6) in every battle fought except the last. From my point of view the turn felt
like the western front - lots of causalities - very little progress. The Brits
did move one area out of Archangel - so they may become more of a nuisance next
turn. I gave saving the Tsar my best shot but rolled a 6.
Turn
1 Comments Dockter (Designer)
The
Political Phase.
There are 57 PCs (Political Cards). Each one contains a matrix on the bottom of
them - giving 0,1 or 2 IPs (Influence Points) to the Reds or Whites with the 18
factions. Among the 57 cards, there are 6 cards which produce various levels of
chaos. One card is "A Switch in Positions" - which depending on 50/50
die rolls conducted separately for the 8 Russia Republics - causes your IPs
with a faction to be replaced by the opposing side. Another PC, "The Best
Laid Plans", causes all IPs to be reversed in a phase - but the Faction
Control Markers (FCMs - which track control of each faction) are limited to
moving only 1 box on the Faction Control Track. There are five boxes ranging
from White Control to White Influence to Neutral to Red Influence to Red
Control.
Regarding what happened to our unfortunate RED player, it is not unusual for
the Whites to gain control of one or more of the Allies, probably the Czechs
and another faction or two. Reds usually manage gaining control of Belarus and
one other (Mahkno - which can be very valuable as a real thorn in the side to
the Whites). But each game varies greatly.
The Whites reap'd a big windfall this time - but they didn't get the Czechs
{until they played WHITE AC#5 - the tradeoff with that card is that Mahkno goes
RED early, and that the Czechs can't attack for the turn).
All of the factions in the west (Baltic countries, Poland, Belarus, all the
Ukrainian factions and Transcauc) are essentially ignored {except during the
Political Phase} until the Central Powers withdraw from the action (anywhere
from turn 2 to turn 5).
VPs.
The difference between WHITE and RED control of Victory Cities (VCs) each turn
generates VPs (Victory Points). White starts with 8 (6 in white Russian
regions, and 2 for Kazan & Samara since White's begin the game with the
Czech Faction under their influence). Normally, a side only receives credit for
VCs they directly control, but having the Czech Legion in the White Influence
or White Control generates the VC credit.
Red starts with 9 (Helsinki {on going Finnish civil war there} + 7 in Red
Russian regions + 1 in white Russian region {Migulinskaya - north Don region}.
SO, if nothing changes the first turn, the REDs get 1 VP. But, that almost
never happens
Comments on AAR - part 2
Initial
Strategic Situation.
WHITE has the strategic initiative - they go first, there are no immediate
death threats to their position, they have some units with real punch and a
number of RED armies have they rear ends swinging in the wind. Both sides have
a number of important Action Cards (ACs) that need to get played early.
Finland
1 White Finnish army, some corps and a leader (Mannerhiem) vs 2 weak Red
Finnish armies. Entry of any other forces by WHITE allows RED to bring in other
forces. WHITE will almost always get Helsinki - just a question of when they
can spare the "ops" (activations of spaces generated by the Action
Cards).
The North
Quiet - unless the Brits enter early. However, the Brits don't have the punch
in 1918 to do much of anything. A sideshow, but under the right conditions a
thorn in the side of RED.
The West
Quiet - unless the Whites gained control of the Central Powers and decide to
use the troops on the REDs - I haven't seen this happen very often in the
playtesting, but it can.
The East
"Unbalanced" by a lot of space, many possible lines of attack, tricky
lines of communication and too few units. Whether or not either side can press
things somewhat depends on how the first Political Phase goes regarding the
Czechs. There has been one change since Vinny started, and that is that the
WHITEs now need to play an AC - "Kolchak assumes commands" - in order
for Kolchak to appear. The card is a prerequisite to some WHITE reinforcements
- tradeoff is that the Czechs politically move away from WHITE.
Anyways, if the WHITEs can somehow, early in the game, capture Saratov - RED is
going to be under a lot of pressure. RED attempt to prevent this. Ditto with a
WHITE northern thrust, in attempt to link up with Allied units entering from
Archangel. Another avenue of WHITE attack is towards the center. In most cases
the REDs are just trying to bide time, waiting for the big reinforcement cards.
If WHITE can ever link up their Eastern (Kolchak) and Southern (Denikin)
forces, a major restriction on the WHITEs is removed (WHITEs may only activate
more than one space in one region in a given round - they may activate spaces
in as many regions as they wish, but only one region is allowed multiple
activations). The effect of this restriction means that WHITE can only hammer
in one area in any given round.
The South:
This is where the first turn or two military fireworks primarily occur. WHITE
has the following priorities: make a strong push towards Tsaritsyn, recapture
Migulinskaya, eliminate the OOS (out of supply) RED armies in the extreme
south, get some reinforcements on the board and apply pressure towards Voronezh
- loss of which opens up the road to Moskva.
WHITE needs to make a decision regarding Denikin. His removal from the game is
required to allow WHITE gaining control of Belarus, Ukraine or the West Ukraine
Faction during the Political Phase.
RED would like to get reinforcements on the board, hold Tsaritsyn and Voronezh
{shouldn't be too difficult}. Rescuing the OOS armies would be a BIG bonus, but
that seldom occurs. Wise use of the Trotsky in the region can help blunt some
of the WHITE's advantages.
Regarding Vinny's VP total - yes, WHITE usually jumps to a VP edge early in the
game.
I'll wait till the next player AAR to comment further.
Comments on AAR - part 3
Forgot to mention the Southeast front. There are
restrictions on armies operating there before the play of certain AC (Action
Cards). WHITE getting Khiva should give him the early jump.
Losses. Both the RED and WHITE sides operate under the "Equal Distribution
Rule". Essentially this means that replacements must be spread out among
the various regions of the map. For example, if a side gets 6 replacements,
they must take 2 in 3 different regions (although the Strategic Reserve can
take any amount - the same with Moskva). Each side does have various
Concentration ACs, that allow it to disregard the rule - providing they play
the card as an event.
Replacements are generated by playing an AC for replacements. Each side has
various bonuses (Ukraine VCs, Turkistan for the REDs, Capturing a home VC, the
Tsar (if he lives) and selected Political cards and penalties (WHITE loss of
control in Don/Urals Central region, RED loss of Tula, etc).
Surprising how Vinny failed to mention the bloody losses on the first turn.
Guess the cannon fodder doesn't mean much to the glory of the Party! WHITEs are
more brittle than the REDs; and a frequent tactic in the playtesting has been
to pound on the WHITEs. But, that assumes, that WHITE has lost the initiative.
The WHITE position is somewhat similar to CSA in the USA Civil War: once the
REDS/North gets rolling, there is probably no stopping it.
A big part of the design of TOC deals with Ukraine and Poland. My personal
view, reflected in the design, is that Ukraine held the geographical key to the
RED victory. WHITE completely misplayed the situation in Ukraine - and paid the
price.
Play of ACs allows entry by the WHITEs (assuming WHITE gets control of Poland)
and entry of RED units into various regions (ex: Lithuania) may trigger a
Polish Response. Additionally, the REDs can play a card, "Poland Violates
Ukraine", creating the invasion of Ukraine by Poland.
It is also important to note, again, that political control of a particular
Faction, does not necessarily mean that a particular side obtains use of that
Factions forces (ex: RED control of the Brits, or WHITE control of Mahkno). It
just means that the political winds in that Faction are in line with the
controlling side (ex: in the case of RED control of the Brits, Lloyd George has
won the argument vs Winston "After having defeated all the tigers and
lions, I don't like to be defeated by the baboons" Churchill.
Comments on AAR - part 4
What's
a decent WHITE start?
1) Control of the Czechs
2) Taking all the VCs in the Don
3) Eliminating the RED armies that are OOS or in precarious situations
4) Playing some key events
5) Either not getting beat up, or taking enough replacements to fix the
problem.
6) Working the political situation favorably
7) Most importantly, retaining the initiative
Tsaritsyn is a real decent start. Vorenezh is a great start. Helsinki is nice,
but still not sure if it is worth the first turn trade off in position in the
east or south.
Enough babble, turn 2!
AAR for Turn 2 & 3 Rob
(WHITE)
Vinny
said he would post something here, but since he hasn't yet I'll give my view of
the second and third turn. First - there were a couple of things that aren't
explicit in the rules that we ironed out.
1) We are assuming that at the end of the political phase that all excess IP's
are removed - so that you don't need to keep a running total, and that IP's
placed as the result of an event are added into the next turns political
results. Thus unless an event specifically states that the faction control
marker is moved, the faction control markers are moved only in the political
phase resolution.
2) We also assumed that the rules for a Faction going neutral (that the forces
of either side must vacate the territory or declare war) did not apply to the
White and Red Finnish forces fighting their civil war.
Turn 2 - Vinny played some big cards in the political phase and he was able to
pick 7 of the 9 cards, I got to pick 1 and one was random. As a result,
Turkistan and Belarus joined the Reds and Finland moved from white control to
white influence (hence point 2 above). The white in-fighting chit was Other
Siberian - so other than one attack by the Czech Legion (a 4/4 tie) and one
attack by US vs Green Peasants the east was quiet. In the north the Brits
attacked and threatened open a hole so that a corp and an Army were diverted
north to stop them. Then the switch sides card was played by the whites and the
corps defected, leading to 2 peoples armies being sent north to stabilize the
situation. In the south Denikan launched an attack on Trotsky (who tried to
withdraw and failed) which was won (6 Red/3 White). Denikan pursued
successfully, then Trotsky withdrew into the victory city, Denikan pursued,
Trotsky failed to withdraw, a battle was fought (5 Red/4 White), and Denikan
decided to be happy with a victory city (he had only 2 corps left vs Trotskies
reduced army).
Turn 2 notes - The Whites were able to replace a Russian Volunteer Army in
Migulinskaya to consolidate their hold for action. At this point the Reds had
lost 4 armies in the south while the Whites were down 2. Red-Infighting was
played as an event this turn. The first 2 VP for the Whites. (We actually only
had 0 VPs the first turn because we counted Estonia on the white side since it
was unoccupied by the Germans - we caught that this wasn't the case since until
the Central Powers withdraw no VCs count and adjusted the marker back)
Turn 3 - This turn the fireworks started happening - though no victory cities
changed hands. The police phase had 2 cards picked by the whites and 7 random.
The Poles moved to white influence, the Ukrainians and Transcaucasia to red
influence, the Finns came back into white control, and Latvia joined the
Whites. In Finland the Whites utterly destroy the Red Finns and advance to the
Finnish Border for the cost of the Finland Faction Army (for a total of
something like 10 red losses versus 7 Finnish). In the north the Reds destroy
the traitors and the British expeditionary force (causing the whites to play
faction replacements to bring them back). The reds had the Stalin/Trotsky chit
so only the Lenin faction could attack (and most of this faction was in the north).
The Red Armies (one is left as a garrison) are then called away from the North
to defend Petrograd and the East. The White in-fighting chit was Siberian
Cossacks - as far I could tell no Siberian Cossacks are on the map yet (unless
the Siberian Cav Corps count). So the east came to life, with Kolchak combining
with the Czech Legion to strike down the Moscow highway with subsidiary
operations just north and south with the US Army guarding the flank. Since
these were all Elite troops and since the dice began to balance out (Vinny
rolled low, I rolled high) the offensive was an immediate success (three cards
used as Ops on this front). The reds had several Armies reduced to Corps and
the next turn those corps was eliminated. Overall losses were on the order of
18 steps for Red and 6 for White. The remaining two reduced armies (along with
an army from the North) have consolidated just north of the railroad along the
Central/East border. This caused Vinny to use two 5 cards as replacements (for
11 total with the Turkistan freebie). In the South the Reds tried to
counterattack and failed miserably (5 Red losses versus 3 White), then Don
Cossacks launched an offensive against the only remaining Red force in the Don
and wiped it out (7 Red losses versus 6 White) - so another Red Army and White
Army lost in the south. No replacements for the whites but I figured I had to
strike while everything was in my favor. At the end of the turn the Central
Powers withdrew, but this was a wash Victory point wise (Estonia and Latvia
versus Mahkno and Belarus). We immediately set up the forces for these 4
factions plus the French (since they were already controlled we figured that
unlike a newly joining faction they are eligible for action immediately). Vinny
brought back 3 full strength Armies, 2 Reduced Armies (the Red Finns in
Petrograd) and 3 corps. Another 2 victory points to the Whites.
Turn 3 notes - the amount of bloodshed in this turn was amazing compared to
previous turns, I think that is because the forces started adjacent to each
other for the most part (so not many moves compared to attacks) and the use of
leaders to create Multiple attacks really allowed for significant gains at
moderate cost. The number of uncontrolled factions is dwindling (only the
Trancaucasia, West Ukraine, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania are left) and with 6
political cards out of each deck the need to be able to pick the cards you want
may be less - especially since I don't think there are any Free Replacement
cards left to choose.
AAR Turn 4 - Springtime for
Lenin Vinny (RED)
Well
the action picked up last Tuesday with the winter on 1919. Little change on the
political front. The action card phase produced more fighting with little
results I began to reinforce Turkistan in hopes of opening a front versus Kiva.
Spring 1 turn in the political phase (coupled now with void of Central Power
collapse) produced amazing results for the Reds Estonia and Latvia went neutral
while the Ukraine, West Ukraine went to the Reds. In the action phase the Reds
went on the offensive striking with Makno, and the Ukraine armies. The
resulting bloodbath in the Don basin killed Denikin as well as his whole force.
The French also were pummeled by the Ukraine forces and withdrew on Spring 2
Turkistan now reinforced launched a offensive at Omsk. Central Russia forces
attacked Kolchak and inflicted heavy losses on him as well. Spring 2 saw more
of the same as the Whites were forced to take massive reinforcements to make
good their losses. Ukraine forces captured Sevastapol from the war weary French
which would withdraw this turn. The Czech Legion withdrew also. The Vp total
has now gone to the Red player ( 4-5 ) writing without the board in front of
me. As the Spring 2 turn end the Whites are in trouble in the south and the
Siberians are unable to advance due to inadequate flank protection, we will see
what Summer brings.
A final note Comrade Bonch was found guilty of treason for not dealing with
traitor Kolchak. The Central Committee ordered the Comrade Bonch be executed
for lack of revolutionary zeal!
Whew, this was one of the greatest turnarounds I have seen in any game David,
and the game continues on Tues. We are going ahead without changing any cards
until we finish this one. We both want to get a feel for card progression in
the whole game and so we can have a better playtest game when we start the next
one. I will email some questions to you shortly ( or Rob will)
Comments on AAR - Designer
Thanks
Vinny. Your "amazing turnarounds" are consistent with other playtest
results - very fluid. Again, I think that is a result of a lot of space and
things unbalanced rapidly by the political situation.
I'm making up so new playtest kits - although I think yours is just about
up-to-date given that I've been sending you the updates. Ukraine is a big swing
state - I've toned it down a little in the latest faction rules (Ukraine gets
about 60% of their force if a side wins it in the Political Phase - they get
100% of their force if a side gains control when the enemy side declares war on
it).
I've had Stalin killed before by the Central Committee - just as an aside if
Stalin or Trotsky gets executed, it does not effect in-fighting (some bum is
assumed to take over their camp - you don't get a replacement leader and you still
suffer the effects).
There are a few places on the map for an easy Victory City or two - Finland
(for the Whites - assuming they win the Finnish civil war, which Mannerhiem
should be able to do) - and Turkistan - and then Khiva - for the Reds. Getting
control of a single VC and keeping it for a long time - can reap a significant
VP windfall.
The Baltics is another source of relatively cheap VCs - and thus VPs. Winning
in that area means either getting von der Goltz (for the Whites) - the great
Yudenich (for the Whites), lining up a decent sized strike force for the Reds,
either side winning the political situation.
Red moves on Belarus, Lithuania and Ukraine can all trigger the Polish response
(ranging from limited intervention to full scale war).
I've also made another change recommended by Charlie H and his group. That is
if a side controls a major power, and that major power withdraws, that opposing
side gets 1 VP for each of those major power armies currently eliminated. For
example, WHITE controls the Czech Legion. The CL withdraws. There are currently
1 dead Czech army and 1 permanently eliminated (Out of Supply - was cutoff).
Red gets 2 VPs. This will mean that the Whites will need to be cautious with
those armies (historically, very much the case).
I've added a few more chrome units (that's it!!!):
1) Polish - Ukrainian Legion - Poland gets use of this force in Ukraine under
some conditions
2) RED Belarus army - if Red meets some conditions in Belarus, they get this
extra army - at the risk of trigger a Polish Response
3) German Mutiny army - still working on the conditions under which it is
generated
4) 3 Red corps - Red Art, Red Air 1, Red Tank 1 - Instead of taking the 15th
Army as reinforcements, they can take these 3 corps and no replacements for the
turn
5) 2 Polish corps - Polish AF 1, Polish Tank 1 - still working on the
conditions
At this point, 196 corps, 132 armies, 27 leaders - and that's it. Again, the
definition of what constitutes an army varies greatly. In some cases, there are
3 "army counters" representing 1 historical army.
Will be interested to see if White can recover. Our experience is that once
they fall down, it is tough to "get back up". HOWEVER, the Poles can
change things in a hurry.
AAR Final Results - Vinny
(RED)
Just
finished last night our first game, sorry didn't post last week. Poland arrived
and captured Kiev and Minsk. Red counterattacks recaptured Kiev, and while I
was pushing the Siberians back to the Urals I was unable to drive the Poles back
enough. We decided not to play the last turn as the result would not change,
Red Victory points were at 24 at end and at best might have gone to 27 if we
finished the last turn, but there was no way I was going to capture West
Ukraine by the End of the game. [WHITE Victory]
AAR Final Results - Rob
(WHITE)
As
to the Conditions of the Whites. In the South they held three victory cities
and while under threat at Rostov (and having recaptured Sevastopol - and
temporarily Makno's VC) were holding their own against the Ukrainians and Makno
and a few Red Armies they faced. In the East the Siberians barely hung on in
the North since the Elite Siberian armies rushed south to stop the Turkistan
invasion (so 3 Victory Cities still held by White here as well). The Poles came
in the Winter of 1920 and conquered West Ukraine, Belarus, liberated Latvia
(where Van der Golz promptly appeared) and took Kiev - being pushed back out by
Red reaction.
Had the Poles not intervened and quickly reduced the Victory City differential
from 8 to 1 (to a White positive for three turns before the counterattacks
restored a Red advantage) the Reds would have won with over 30 victory points
in the Winter of 1920 - the Reds had 23 VP's at the end of 1919. As it was I
believe the Reds gained a net 1 VPs during all of 1920.
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