Multi Player games

[Jeff Conner]

I have been playing multi-player games for years and they have been some of my most memorable. I started with East Front, which had a module that allowed the commander of one side to assign troops to his compatriots when played over a network. It was hard to get everybody together at the same time, but when it happened, it was a ton of fun. I have played several Panzer Campaigns games in multiplayer. Some got close to being finished, some died in agony. But I enjoyed them all. I am currently playing a Panzer Battles game multiplayer and the turns are getting passed faster than I have ever seen before. We are averaging better than a turn every two days. It can be done with the right group of people and I strongly encourage anyone with interest to give it a try; as long as they can make the time commitment.

In Squad Battles, I have been part of two MP games. The Tarawa game was played to near the final turn before it was ended by the agreement of all of the remaining players (and the outcome was not in doubt). There were some delays in passing turns, but there was at least some communication that allowed the game to continue. Most of the angst had to do with play balance and the lack of success of the Marines. At least that's my opinion on the subject. We also completed a Red Victory scenario that went fairly well, although my side lost that one too.

As was mentioned above, there are not a lot of SB scenarios that can give each player more than a reinforced company of troops to command. I have thought about putting together a brigade sized scenario for Falklands, but have not set aside the time to do it. It would take less time to put together a MP version of the Ardennes Christmas Campaign as Mark mentioned. If there is enough interest, I will try and find time to do it. But, one of the problems with creating large scenarios is that they are a bear to playtest. I have no intention of doing so and as the Falklands tournament has shown, sometimes I am pretty far off when I "think" something is balanced.

A multiplayer game of Ardennes Christmas would be best played as 3X3. If you guys can get the teams together, I'll try and have a scenario put together by the end of the weekend. I have company coming sometime this week though, so I can't make any promises.

Jeff