Ted Raicer - 03:58pm Sep 27, 1997 PST (#741 of 779) If only to keep us ahead of the WWII crowd, here is the first two CP and first Allied card play segments of Paths of Glory (formerly We the Trenches) between myself (as the CP) and the designer of KRIEG (as the Allies). In PoG there are 6 card play segments for each player each turn (CP first, then Allied, then CP etc.). Each card can be played as an OPS card (to activate an a space to move OR fight, 1 OPS per space as a rule), to obtain replacements (RPs) which are expended the following turn, or to SR (Strategically Redeploy) units on the map, or from the Strategic Reserve box to the map, or as an Event (explained on the card-this includes reinforcements). The play of certain Events also moves the War Status Marker, triggering Limited War (at which point Limited War cards are added to the game) and eventually Total War (at which point Total War cards are added). Stacking is 3 units (ignoring any forts) per space. All units are 2 steps. An eliminated army is replaced by a 2 step corps from Strategic Reserve (if available). If there is no corps in Strategic Reserve the army is eliminated and may not be rebuilt. To give an idea of scale the distance from Metz to Paris is 3 spaces, from Warsaw to Berlin 4 spaces. If you have a decent map of WWI Europe handy, you should be able to follow our moves pretty well, and hopefully get some feel for the game. (I'm not sure how far Kos and I will take this, but I'll post our moves as far as we get). Ok-our opening in the next post. Ted Ted Raicer - 04:02pm Sep 27, 1997 PST (#742 of 779) My first card play, followed by Kos' first , then my second. MO refers to the optional Mandatory Offensive table (which we are using) that can force a certain nation to attack (sometimes on a specific front) sometime during the turn or lose a Victory Point. I roll for TU(Turkey) on the MO table, so no Mandatory Offensive. 1st CP Card play is 10th Army event card as a 4 OPS. Move: AH 3rd Army to Czernowitz. Combat: GE 1st and 2nd Armies attack Liege. Since only a fort is involved I resolved the combat. Dr of 3 destroys the fort (forts fire is ineffective) and advance both GE armies into Liege. GE 3rd, 4th and 5th Armies attack Sedan. Flank attack roll of 6 succeeds even without +1drm, and you can have no Combat Cards that could influence this battle, so again I resolve the combat. Dr of 2 on the 15 column gets a 5 result, FR 5th Army reduced. 5th Army return fire (dr 1) ineffective. Reduced FR 5th Army must retreat 2 spaces; I advance GE 3rd and 4th Armies into Sedan. 1st Allied Card Play Roll 4 for MO (Italy). Fr 5A retreats to Paris. (Nothing I could find in retreat rule to prohibit a retreat from Sedan to Cambrai to Chateau Thierry--is this what you want? I'm still going to Paris--just a design Q.) Play Rape of Belgium for 4 Ops. 1. BEF to Amiens. 2. Rus 1A to Lomza 3 & 4. Rus 4A and 5A to Plock You’re up. Kos, 2nd CP Card Play Interesting move. Good thing the rules are protecting my German eastern border this turn, since I certainly don't have the troops to do it. As for the retreats-yes, a retreat from Sedan to Chateau-Thierry would be allowed (though I agree with your falling back on Paris). My move: SUD Army as a 3OPs card. 1. GE 1st Army to Brussels, 2nd Army to Cambrai. 2. GE 3rd Army to Cambrai. 3. AH 1st Army attacks adjacent RU fort at Ostrowiec. You could use the Pleve card, but it wouldn't help, so I resolve the combat. AH dr of 3 results in fort being destroyed; AH 1st Army advances. Your move. Ted Ted Raicer - 06:13pm Sep 30, 1997 PST (#767 of 779) Back to Paths of Glory (hey-the WWII folder is closing in!). Rather than continue to post my and Kos's moves (which without the game available could be confusing and dull-but I did want to give a taste) I'm going to write a more narrative account of events to this point (we are in the middle of turn 3, Fall 1914). On the western front Kos sent the BEF to support the Belgians in Antwerp, stalling my westward drive at Cambrai because of the threat to me rear. On the other hand French attacks against the German center are at Sedan produced heavy losses and no real gains. Finally in September German attacks on Antwerp destroyed the Belgian army, and the BEF withdraw to Amiens. The Belgian forts at Antwerp continue to hold out however (largely because I've been too busy elsewhere to deal with them). The Serb front has been inactive. On the eastern front The Russians overran Galacia but were halted at the Carpathians. However, Kos executed a historical redeployment of his forces, and attacked into Silesia. An initial German success (a flank attack which destroyed a Russian army at Lodz) was followed by the Russians taking both Breslau and Thorn. But with Berlin safe for the moment (held by the newly mobilized GE 10th Army) and the Austrian front stripped of Russians, Kos must be careful of plunging farther west or risk an Austrian drive into the rear of his advance. Among the event cards played to this point was the Allied MOLTKE card which penalized German actions in the west in September (one reason Antwerp hasn't yet fallen), and my response with the play of the FALKENHAYN card in the fall, removing Moltke (and ending the effects of that card). I've also played THE RACE TO THE SEA and OBEROST cards, giving me freedom of action on both fronts. Neither side has yet played the ENTRENCH card. The War Status Marker has been moved up 2 spaces by the play of Events. 2 more spaces and we go to Limited War (adding the 20 LW cards each to our respective decks). So far a very tense and even game. Ted Ted Raicer - 07:06am Oct 17, 1997 PST (#825 of 829) After a long pause for my move, Kos and I are about to resume our PoG game this Saturday. We are at the start of 1915. When we left off the Russians had taken Breslau and cleared the German forts guarding the Reich in the east. But an offensive by the Austrians into Poland and the Ukraine has forced the Russians to send troops there, and for the moment the situation appears to be a standoff (but for how long?). In the west the Germans have taken Antwerp, and hold a line Antwep/Brussels/Sedan/ Metz/Strasbourg/Mulhouse. Ostend and Cambrai are currently in a no man's land between the two sides. Heavy French offensives have caused high losses on both sides-the question now is whether the attrition will continue or both sides be forced to call a halt to rebuild. Ted Steve Kosakowski - 10:43pm Oct 18, 1997 PST (#826 of 829) "War without fire is like sausages without mustard." --Henry V What Ted doesn't mention is that the French attacks stopped the German drive dead in its tracks, and that the Russians went after the Austrians because there wasn't a pickelhaub in sight this side of Berlin. What I'm not mentioning are the two Russian armies that disappeared without a trace in Conrad's Cauldron in the summer of '15. Ouch. Liberated Belgium though. And all that noise woke up the Italians and Bulgarians. Kos From: TDRAICER Subject: Re: Paths of Glory Coming Xmas 98 In a message dated 97-12-11 17:45:35 EST, you write: << It is out of your hands now, or do you expect to have some input into the development process (and hence could feed us some tidbits, since we have to wait a year...)? >> Avalon Hill has PoG-I have no idea how much I'll be consulted in the development process since I've never worked with them before. I believe (hope) that the design I sent them is sound enough that relatively few changes will need to be made. PoG uses a single point to point type map, divided into two sections, Europe and the Near East. Units are armies and corps. Armies are your combat power in most theaters, but in the Near East only a few armies can operate-there most actions will involve corps. Game turns are seasonal. Each turn consists of 6 card play segments for each player. Each card allows you to do one of several things: perform Operations (move/fight with units in from 2 to 5 spaces-not units in a single space can be activated to move or fight, not both), strategic/sea move units (corps are easier to move this way), take replacements (which are added to a track and spent at the start of the next game turn), or play as an event (events include reinforcements, new weapons and tactics, entry of neutrals, political events etc.). Many events cause the card to be removed from the game after use. Each player has three groups of cards: Mobilization, Limited War, Total War. Players start with just the Mob cards.The play of certain events moves that player's War Status marker up a track. When it reaches certain levels he adds in his LW, and later his TW cards. Unlike We the People and Hannibal, the linear nature of the war, and the multiple uses of each card, make PoG quite suitable for solo play. Any specific questions I'll be happy to answer. Ted From: TDRAICER Subject: Re: Paths of Glory Coming Xmas 98 In a message dated 97-12-12 12:44:23 EST, you write: << TDRAICER wrote: > Any specific questions I'll be happy to answer.<< What are the victory conditions? -DaveT; >> Well of course these might get changed in development, but basically you get VPs for taking key spaces on the map, the play of certain event cards, and through Peace Offers. A peace offer may be made in place of a card play by the player currently ahead. If the other side accepts the offer the game ends immediately in a draw. If not, you roll a die: there is a 1/3 chance World Opinion will consider your offer reasonable and you'll get a VP. There is a 1/6 chance your offer will backfire and you'll lose a VP The rest of the time there is no effect. A player making an offer has to be ahead in points, but not so far ahead the other side is tempted to accept and take a draw. A sudden death victory is possible (though not probable) at the end of any turn if one side gets far enough ahead in VPs. Ted From: TDRAICER Subject: Re: Paths of Glory Coming Xmas 98 In a message dated 97-12-13 18:57:34 EST, you write: << This (and your previous post) sounds interesting. Are there a set number of game turns? >> Barring a sudden death win, the game is 20 turns long (through winter 1918-19) but there are two shorter scenarios. Ted