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In the Trenches: Playing a Team Game - Printable Version +- Forums (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards) +-- Forum: The Firing Line (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=1) +--- Forum: Tiller Operational Campaigns (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=11) +---- Forum: TOC Articles (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards/forumdisplay.php?fid=291) +---- Thread: In the Trenches: Playing a Team Game (/showthread.php?tid=73968) |
In the Trenches: Playing a Team Game - HMCS Rosthern - 10-11-2020 Having played to completion 1 team game and in the middle of another, here are few things that I have learned. Note there is an article on playing team games, see http://www.theblitz.org/message_boards/showthread.php?tid=72305. There are many out there that have already completed team games and I hope that they will give their input. Forming Teams I strongly recommend that team members have experience playing the game. Having a member new to the game system may lead to frustration as a mishandled sector could lead to a game-winning break through or a mishandled offence that is key to keeping the game competitive. Having said that, one could consider giving nubes a small portion of the game in an inconsequential sector so they can learn the ropes. Remember, though, the more players on a team the longer the game will take. One of the interesting aspects of a team game is mapping players to the historical command structure. This gives the players a meaningful context of their role in the overall game, and to history. My recommendation is to avoid dividing multiple commands among multiple players. For example, two players commanding portions of two corps is not typically historical and can lead to confusion on the field. On the other hand, forming kampfgruppes from different corps is an alternate option, and there is always the option to adjust the command structure using corps attachments at the beginning of the day. Following the historical command structure may lead to unbalanced roles. One player could end up with a quiet sector with nothing to do, while another player has the bulk of the action. One player could have all the armour while the other has to slog through with infantry; alternatively, having mainly infantry to command may be very instructional and be in line with historical role the player assumes. This can be offset if releases or reinforcements give them something to do in the future. Be open to give units to other players through corps attachments. Select games that are conducive for force division. One game may be more suitable for a team game then another. Carefully consider the game you select. Should you have a team captain? The team captain or designate should be responsible for forwarding the completed move to the opponents. A team captain is recommended for large games because there needs to be coordination. The team captain could solely provide high level commands with few units to move or be given some portion of the game. They should be responsible for overall strategy (of course in consultation with the team members), for the decisions that have to be made, and give out orders that the rest of the team follows. In smaller team games a team captain is less important. Either way, a good game plan is necessary, drawn out, and constantly updated. Selecting a game Selecting a game depends on what the teams want to get out of a team game. A team game does not have to be a monster scenario. A smaller number of counters and turns may lead to a better success and satisfaction, and lead to faster turn-around time with better odds of completing a game. A small number of counters may be a turn-off for many, but for some games the organization of the armies may make the division amongst players meaningful even with a smaller number of counters (e.g., operation Crusader two Axis players German and Italian). Turn length should be considered. Short game lengths, e.g., 50-100 turns, give a reasonable chance that the game will be finished, and in a reasonable period. But if a shorter game is bungled early there may be no chance to pull it out of the fire. For games >100 turns the players need to be committed to completion, but at the same time be open to terminating the game if the game goes off the rails. For longer games, e.g., Indragnir’s Kharkov '42 449 turn game, the players can consider taking checkpoints to determine whether they want to continue, although that particular scenario is divided into phases which provides natural checkpoints. If a player wants to quit, think of gang pressing another player into your game. The longer the game is the more likely for game not to be completed. Logistics of playing the Game. There should be a file with a fixed name that is passed between teams. As recommended in the referenced article it should be sent to all players. The email subject line should be something like "Turn xx Russian Move”, where xx increments every turn. Avoid creating large emails chains with multiple attachments, each attachment containing different turns. Also, replying to an email entitled "Turn 29 Russian Move" when it has turn 30 will lead to confusion. Once the fixed file name is received from the opposition, every player should review the replay. Valuable clues can be missed if you ignore the replay, e.g., a tank unit doing hit and run attacks and ends its turn out of LOS. The first player making their part of the move should save it to a file name with the side and turn number that is passed amongst team members, and when all players have completed their moves, save the file under the fixed name and advance the turn. Example, if the game file passed between teams is "Kharkov43" the German team should pass the file internally with the name "Kharkov43 Gnn" where nn is the turn number, and the Russian team passes "Kharkov 43 Rnn. This avoids mix ups in files. (I’d be interested if there are alternate email/turn naming conventions) If you are not the first person on a team making a move, make sure you have the right file when you make your move. Look at the units for the person before you and make sure they have expended movement points. In one game, I looked at the replay, and forgot to use a file that my team mate sent me. I completed my move on the replay file, and dropped my team member’s move. This was caught after the opposition made their move. So, we had to redo the turn. Be flexible! Unless the teams have agreed to play hardball in advance, and accept only what is sent, the teams should be flexible and allow re-dos of turns. Also, some games may have fixed units that force players into unwanted situations. In one of our games some fixed units were left them vulnerable as the movable units fell back (in a game the fixed unit happened to be the highest HQ on the side!). Our opposition self-imposed a house rule not to cash in on fixed units and allowed the units to escape to make the game better. Watch the junctions between your units and your team mates' units. Make sure the seam is sealed. If the team is unable to close the gap the hole can be exploited and result in a collapsed line. This is totally historical and part of the fun of a team game. On the other hand, on the offence, use intelligence to figure out where the seams are and attack there. Look for clues for who on the other side is commanding the forces; a weaker player may be a tempting target. If you start a team game I recommend that you return your move within 24-48 hours. This keeps the game flowing. Think of this. A four-player team game with 100 turns where every player completes their move every 48 hours will take 4 * 100 * 2 = 800 days! Be prepared for real life. Vacations, illness, etc. may delay turns. I also recommend a fixed order in which players make their move. This avoids confusion - did my team mate make his move? One might break this recommendation if a player indicates that they are on vacation so all the rest of the team could make their move while waiting for the vacationer. If you can’t keep the turn rate up don't start a team game. Having said that I am notorious for delayed moves because of my life  , where as our opponents are true grognards returning their move usually within 24 hours. In conclusion, I have had a blast playing team games. Having a portion of a larger game fits into my life well. I recommend it to anyone. RE: In the Trenches: Playing a Team Game - Mr Grumpy - 10-14-2020 Nice article, I assume you have no issues with me copying this to the articles area for future reference? You raise some very good points, I always have a team game on the go as they are so enjoyable to participate in, it can take some time and a number of games playing different opponents to find a bunch of guys who you can rely on to stay the course to a point you either finish the game or it becomes obvious that the result is certain and so you stop by mutual consent, I now only play team games within this group and while is a little sad that you don't get to play new people, for me the reliability of the group is the most important consideration when you are committing so much time and effort. It also helps if the players are all of a similar ability and it can be a tad tricky if one of your team is still not 100% comfortable with the game functions, however if this player is happy to follow the advice of his teammates and is happy for the captain to reposition some of his units if necessary, then you can accommodate a newer player who you hope will learn and grow in confidence as the game progresses. We always play in the same order to avoid confusion and if someone goes on holiday/vacation then the others cover their moves to keep the game moving, we also have a team captain who is the last person to play the file and he checks that everyone has moved and the turn can be ended and returned to our opponents, we don't do anything clever with the file name, not that we think any other system is wrong it is just that we rarely see any confusion with files being mixed up, that IMO is why sticking rigidly to the same playing order is so important. Having watched our opponents replay I then have to wait for the first part of the turn to be played and passed to me, before I play anything I select "Used movement points" feature to double check that you are looking at the correct file with the first players units having expended movement points, this is REALLY important to prevent you playing your portion of the turn using the wrong file and having to reply it when (hopefully) the team captain spots your mistake!  The seams between players units can be a cause for concern as if two players move in different directions it can cause gaps to appear that your opponents can exploit, so a constant dialogue will be needed so everyone knows what their teammates intentions are in these areas. I could go on but time is short, I do recommend trying a team game if you can find a reliable group of players, but be wary of committing to a big scenario with players you have no experience of playing with, it might work but almost certainly players will drop out before the game is concluded. RE: In the Trenches: Playing a Team Game - HMCS Rosthern - 10-14-2020 (10-14-2020, 08:02 AM)Mr Grumpy Wrote: Nice article, I assume you have no issues with me copying this to the articles area for future reference? |
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