West or Mediterranean Front

[Kool Kat]

Gents: 

Here's my decision making process when I purchased my first PzC title - Sicily 43

(1.) Decide on favorite theater (Eastern, Western, or Mediterranean)

(2.) Decide on preferred early, mid, or late war time frame.

(3.) Search available titles that meet your criteria.

(4.) Purchase and download PzC title.

(5.) Load favorite mods (if necessary). Gold versions are making most mods obsolete. 

(6.) Back-up game on a CD.

(7.) Join the TOC Ladder and advertise for PBeM opponents on the Tiller Operational Campaigns (TOC) Forum - that's this one!  Many players own several different titles, so finding an opponent for a game is usually easy.

(8.) Enjoy! Note - be prepared to lose your first PBeM matches to more experienced PzC vets... but once you grasp both the fundamentals and nuances of play, your wins will happen too!

So, for me. I had little knowledge of the Mediterranean theater, was interested in learning more about the campaign in Sicily and decided to purchase Sicily 43. I played around with various mods, settled on the ones I liked and then backed up my Sicily 43 game copy with installed modes on a CD. I advertised on the TOC Forum and within 24 hours found PBeM opponents. I promptly lost my first 2 matches out of the gate, but then quickly started to grasp the game fundamentals and play nuances. My wins came in and I discovered an interest in playing the larger (100+ turn campaigns).

NET - Pick a favorite theater and time frame. Search available titles. Pull the trigger on the purchase and start enjoying hours of fun and exciting operational game play! 


Final thoughts:

For me, my historical interests are the primary driver in my PzC game buying decisions followed by a review of the game scenario database (Balance, number of times a match has been recorded, number of small, medium, and large scenarios, etc.) What other players think of a game helps round out the data points.

However, if a number of players agree that a specific game has a lot of "balanced H2H scenarios," but I don't have an interest in that war period, it's doubtful I would purchase it. Why? Simply because I see myself not as a collector of PzC and MC game titles, but as a player of them! I've got to enjoy what I am playing especially given the time investment needed for a PBeM match.    

Hopefully, you will be able to make a purchase decision and move forward with it shortly.

There's too much gaming to get done... and it's tough to do it while you are sitting on the fence!