Patrick Kovaleski - Dec 15, 2003 1:10 pm (#19 Total: 29)   
   
Neppagames has a winner! 

Here is my AAR from the first game we played. I apologize for the
length, but I wanted to include as much as I could. 

Game: 1939 Scenario. I played as the Axis, one friend played as Britain,
and another friend played as France. As the Axis, I had to conquer
Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and France while not
losing control of Rome, Sicily, or El Aghelia. 

Length: 5.5 hrs - We started around 6:00 p.m. and finished up around
11:30 p.m. We also took a pizza break during the game of course! 

Fall of 1939: I decided to be aggressive and attack as many countries as
I could. The only way you could lose a 2-1 attack is by rolling snake
eyes. I launched a string of 2-1 attacks against Poland, Denmark, and
the Netherlands. I rolled a Defender Eliminated against Denmark and the
Hague, but I rolled a Defender Eliminated Full Exchange against Poland.
Attacking those 3 countries in the Fall of 39 was ahistorical but I was
happy to knock 3 of my objectives out of the way on my first turn.
However, little did I know it at that time, but the Full Exchange I took
in Poland would haunt me down the road. 

Italy remained neutral and built the remainder of her ground forces. I
put the bulk of her forces in Libya to force the Brit to do the same
thinking it would be easier for Germany in France not to have a strong
British presence in France. Britain and France spent that turn building
their available forces. 

Winter of 1939: I launched another string of 2-1 attacks against Norway
via an amphibious invasion and Belgium. I rolled a Defender Eliminated
against Norway, but rolled a Full Exchange against Belgium. I also
exploited with my remaining armor in Calais and attacked 4 British
infantry there at 1-1 odds. The 1-1 exploitation attack was risky, but I
thought what the hell. I rolled another Full Exchange and that combined
with my losses in Belgium really left a mark. I couldn’t rebuild all the
armor and air I lost which meant my Spring attacks would not be as
potent. I decided to redeploy the Italian armor and air from Libya to
Italy so I could use them in my attacks on France in the Spring. This
was not my original plan, but I had to compensate for pissing away my
forces unnecessarily. 

France launched a counterattack against my 2 remaining armor in Calais
and destroyed them. My economic situation is very dire now. The Brits
redeployed an artillery and armor from Egypt to France and sent 4 more
infantry to hold the line in France. And the Brits still had a potent
force ready to strike from Egypt. 

Spring of 1940: I had to have Italy declare war against the Allies in
order to use their forces in my attacks. I attacked Metz 2-1 and rolled
a Defender eliminated (Hallelujah!). I then exploited north into Calais
again and attacked 2-1. I rolled another Defender eliminated and left my
3 remaining armor there. I didn’t have any casualties this turn and was
able to spend 56 WPPs on rebuilding my army. It looks like N.Africa is
my achilles heel right now. 

The French launched a 1-1 counterattack against my forces in Metz and
were destroyed. Since Italy declared war, the Brits took it upon
themselves to launch an offensive in N.Africa. They mowed through token
Italian resistance and stopped short of El Aghelia. 

Summer of 1940: The last turn. I launched a 2-1 attack on Paris and
rolled a Full Exchange (****!). I then exploited with my 2 remaining
armor into Lyons and attacked at 3-1 odds. I rolled a Defender
Eliminated Partial Exchange which meant I still had to lose 1 armor. I
finished my turn with only 3 armor in Paris and 2 armor and 2 infantry
in El Aghelia. 

The French were able to launch a 1-1 counterattack on Paris (which only
happened due to my stupidity). I believe the French had 28 attack
factors to my 27 defense factors. Mark rolled a 6, which is Attacker
Eliminated on the CRT. I was able to exhale only momentarily. Then the
British launched a 1-1 attack on El Aghelia. The Brits had 13 attack
factors to my 10 defense factors. Steve rolled a 7, which is Defender
Elim Full Exchange. So, he destroyed my garrison, took 10 factors in
losses, and then moved his 1 remaining armor into El Aghelia. 

Summary: I would say the first 2 turns were pretty slow as we muddled
through the rulebook and familiarized ourselves with the gameplay.
However, once we became more comfortable with the game system the turns
flowed very well. This game requires a lot of thought. I lost because my
strategy was not sound. I think my best chance for success would have
been to follow a more historical route. There is a strong economic
undercurrent in this game. You can’t just attack everything in sight
just to attack. I think it might be best to secure as many 3-1 attacks
as you can instead of 2-1 attacks. There is less chance for casualties,
which makes for a strong economic base. Oh well, it was only my first
game. My friends were impressed enough to buy the game. We are looking
to play a campaign game via email.