Well, I got two runs through the first learning scenario of Diffraction's TSWW Singapore!, "The Fall of Rangoon". This had been sitting on the table since January partly by lack of time, but mostly fear of the rules. The rules are the longest set I've ever used since AH's Empire of the Rising Sun, 120 pages, and badly organised. I reformatted the rulebook in 2-column format to cut it to 90 pages, colour coded the pages so I could jump more easily over the airpower and naval parts while looking for rules. The system is basically Super-Europa with icons on naval and air counters, so quite a bit prettier. It would be completely insane in Europe, but in the Pacific you don't have that many land units (The TSWW series, always opting for excess, has individual ships down to destroyer level.) I also copied the 20 sheets of charts on differently coloured paper so I could pick out the combat or terrain charts (there are three pages of terrain effects tables) without rifling through the victory point or weather charts. The main concern is as with ASL that you overlook some important rule that affects the situation. So I was greatly relieved when someone on the TSWW yahoo group posted a version of the ground combat CRT that fit on one table while listing all the modifiers. Oh yeah, all modifiers are decimal and troop quality (Combat Effectiveness Value, or CEV) implies strength modifiers like 1.3. I had decided at the beginning I would not join that cult and just wing it by estimating the collective modifier as a fraction before applying it. In this scenario the Japanese are CEV 2, the Commonwealth 1.3 (which I would round to 3/2), but the Japanese are all mountain troops (x1.25), which gives 2.5 vs 1.3 so I rounded it to 2. Theoretically you are clearly supposed to use a calculator for every combat and then use decimal dice to work out if you end up on the higher or lower odds column. I think that's nuts. I just rounded normally. As far as I can tell, it worked.

So why did I go through the insanity of this? Because Singapore! contains a number of rarely-covered battles (such as the invasion of Java, or the 1945 invasions of Borneo) that you'll likely never see anywhere except in some DG pipeline flush-out product that doesn't work. The only remote competition was GR/D's "Glory" series which only ever made it to the Philippines (didn't work) and the first half of the war with China (might work, we'll see).

The counters are handmade because I didn't want to punch the counters on an insanely expensive game before having played at least the three basic learning scenarios (ground, air, naval). In terms of learning scenarios, the game is really well-endowed, at least theoretically. Except they left out the fourth and fifth (which both deal with the 1942 invasion of Burma, the scenario everyone would likely try first if they don't do Malaya), partly due to a version hiccup, partly because "there would have been too much paper in the box". Ahem. Fortunately they are now in the files section of the yahoo group.

Long intro to a short scenario, but commensurate with the money I paid. Anyway... First photo: set up.

Jan II, 1941 (You roll for weather every turn, and there are three weather components. But the Monsoon area's weather modifiers meant that I never got any result but "Good, Hot, Calm" through any of the two plays.)

1st turn, the 2nd Burmese brigade is eliminated as the Japanese cross the Gyaing (really?) River and take Moulmein.

The British 16th Regiment falls back towards the north. The Burforce HQ crosses the Sittang to sit at Kyaikto.

Feb I The 112th and 143rd Japanese regiment attack, in Offensive Supply. After strength modifications 14:3 across a minor river into paddies.

(True to the principle of excess, many terrain types modify both strength and apply DRMs. Turned out last week when someone asked on the yahoo group that the rules don't say what happens when a hex is attacked via multiple hexsides with different modifiers! They launched a flurry of bizarre solutions, one more complex than the other, including fractional modifiers [I kid you not]. Clearly, penalising the Japanese fully for the river and escarpment if the main strength doesn't attack across them makes no sense. I'm just playing that the hexside modifier of the strongest attack hex counts.)

The Japanese attack rolls badly again, DR1 (this is a d10 mind you), AQ ("Attacker Quartered". That's not as bad for the player as it sounds, it means the attacker loses 1/4 the defender's strength). A Japanese cavalry recon Bn is eliminated. There is no defender retreat, a painful defeat. The British jubilate. Clearly they have the measure of these attackers!

Feb II The flanking Japanese 214 Regiment has reached the Billin River <sic>. The rest of the units attacks across the river into Kyaikto.

March I The Japanese reach the Sittang but do not get across.

The Commonwealth armour reinforcements arrive, the British defend the river along a front of 60 miles.

March II The Japanese now attack the CW flank across the Sittang. Now 11:2, final CEV 2, -4 DRM, final +1 DR5->6, forcing a retreat. The Japanese are across the Sittang at Daik-U, but too late to have much effect in the time remaining.

Apr I Another attack is attempted, but now the British tanks have congregated on that end of the front as the Japanese can't simply swing back to the other end. 8->16:6 ASE -2, -1 DRM, 3:1 is -1 DRM. DR1->0, AE, and the Japanese are thrown back across the Sittang, leaving a bunch of fanatic remnants instead of their regiments. (Final picture. The rules for the fanatics are a bit silly and I mostly ignore them and just take them off except if they happen to be right in contact again on the next turn.)

That wasn't so painful (except for the Japanese). In fact it was harmless fun once I had the grasp on the terrain types. The ZOCs are not strong, there is reaction/exploitation (sorry, called pursuit), so it is fairly mobile given the few units. Took me 1 to 1 1/2 hours and I played it again right away.

Another thing worth mentioning: we found the Japanese faction, with their ability to hold any number of patents, to be extremely powerful in the Advanced game. Perhaps it was our cautious play style, but their ability to always be in on any auction and their ability to have a contingency set of patents ready for things like rescue missions was very useful.

Very good to know. They have certainly been underused in our games so far.

I can't even fathom using the Diffraction CRT/terrain on the Eastern Front with so many combats to resolve per turn.

I got two runs through the first learning scenario of Diffraction's TSWW Singapore!, "The Fall of Rangoon".

You get an "A" for effort and an "A" for patience. I got an email ad about this game and I was tempted enough to actually take a look. One look was enough. A couple of decades ago, I might have been tempted to try this. Now, not a prayer. I'm a sucker for game topics like this but I refuse to sanction the murder of so many trees for so little result. :sillygrin:

The only game I ever used a calculator for was Empires in Arms. But given how few combats there were per turn - some turns had none, others were so small/simple you didn't need to use one - it was no big deal.

The main concern is as with ASL that you overlook some important rule that affects the situation.

Interestingly ASL does have a rule (A.2) to address that very situation.

What if you overlook that one?

What if you overlook that one?

Just in case carry a knife to ASL tournaments.

What if you overlook that one?

See rule Q.3.2 "Mandatory Latrine Cleaning".

What if you overlook that one?

The game self-destructs.

I can't even fathom using the Diffraction CRT/terrain on the Eastern Front with so many combats to resolve per turn.

<shudder>

I'm a sucker for game topics like this but I refuse to sanction the murder of so many trees for so little result.

You can get a version that has all the rulebooks only on CD. :-)

Interestingly ASL does have a rule (A.2) to address that very situation.

I forgot about that.

It's the last refuge of scoundrels.

You can get a version that has all the rulebooks only on CD

Put 'em on 8-track and maybe there's a sale.

I fear Bannerman might just do that.

On the Table at work (with some modifications): MechWar 2

ON THE TABLE, a solo run at POSTHUMAN: Survive/Evolve.

POSTHUMAN is a recent release in the survival genre. Players are humans in a future post-apocalyptic wasteland where the majority of humanity has “evolved” into deadly mutants (a marginal improvement on zombies, I suppose). Anyway, your goal is to move along the Journey track until you make it to “The Fortress”, the last bastion of safety in a dangerous world. A deck of event cards acts as a clock in solitaire mode, so you can’t be too pokey trying to optimize your pantry.

Visit here for the full report: Scott Muldoon, "Citadel of Blood (Scott Muldoon | Astoria, NYC)" #524, 1 Apr 2016 2:58 pm

Another session of Blood Rage.

There does seem to be a whole lotta raging going on there.

I enjoyed my two solo plays of Posthuman and was sad to see the KS computer version of it failed to fund.

Well, here's the second play of the Singapore scenario. This time I paid more attention to the Japanese rate of advance, and using every opportunity to sideslip across rivers.

Jan II Attack on the border militia. (first photo) They are eliminated and Moulmein falls. The pursuit phase sees the Japanese moving forward. (second photo)

Feb I The CW units are trying to form a line behind the Bilin river, but the Japanese can now slip across the coastal mountains and attack from the SW. On a DR of 10, the 16th and 46th Brigade are eliminated. In the Pursuit phase the Japanese cross the Sittang.

The 48th Brigade falls back hurriedly towards Rangoon, trying to build a line behind the Bago river.

Feb II The 48th is easily eliminated, the Japanese have crossed the Bago before the freshly landed armour units could enter combat. The CW, with a total of 7 defensive combat factors left, hurriedly moves everyone north, leaving Rangoon free for the taking. (last photo)

What's the scale of the hexes?