Grenada

[Jeff Conner]

Gentlepeople

There were some questions asked about the new SB Demo, Grenada on one of the other forums. One of the questions was: Is there anything new? Well, the answer is yes and no. The only new addition to the rules that I am aware of is that you can now use grappling hooks to climb high walls. And while this will not have a huge impact on gameplay, I did try to include a couple of new things I have not seen in the other titles. One of these is the use of the asymmetrical scoring rules. These are vastly different than the normal scoring rules and might make you think a bit differently about what it takes to win the game. But, I found that it is pretty hard to balance the scenario (Radio Grenada) and consequently it is not recommended for competitive play. But if you and a buddy would like to try it PBEM and let me know your results and thoughts, I will continue to work on it.

A few of you may know that I spent nine years of my life working in the woods (this is a term used by people (mostly, but not exclusively men) who work in the woods to describe what most people would call a logger). I spent most of that time bouncing around on a Cat (more commonly known as a bulldozer or a track-laying dozer). I have some affinity for the raw power these machines are capable of. So, when I got a chance, they are included in the game and not just in one scenario, but in two. And they have a weapon (dozer blade) that you can use to destroy obstacles making them pretty useful.

Another question asked was does the Demo include Gunny Hightower (played by Clint Eastwood) of Heartbreak Ridge fame. Well, I am happy to announce that it does. I am not a graphics guy, but one of my requests was for a "head" that looked like Eastwood. And I got one (pretty much anyway). There are four scenarios (linked together in a campaign) that covers Recon Platoon's part of the invasion. And there are regular army Cubans (some of which have cigars) for them to fight against.

And on a last note before I run off to work, I would like to run a tournament using the Demo, in part to try and get more SB players (and to help fine tune the play balance a bit). The tournament is going to be open to recruits and new players only. The definition of a new player is fewer than ten recorded games at the time the tournament starts and an ELO of less than 2050. There will be prizes for the top two finishers. It is not going to be the standard mirror game type tournament and you will only have to play one game per round. If there is enough interest from the veteran crowd, I might run a second tournament for you (but I don't know about any prizes). I'll post more information when the tournament is officially announced. In the meantime, you might mention this possibility to some of your non-SB playing gamer friends.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask. I am on the forum almost every day and will try and get back to you as quickly as I can. As I am late for work once again, I need to ride.

Jeff Conner