TrimChris
11-12-2006, 05:21 PM
As the BGG.Con just ended a few hours ago and the sleep deprivation is still taking its toll, I won't be getting up everything I want to yet. But I can safely say that A&A: BotB is a rocking game.
Thursday night we were able to play the first three rounds to get a feel for the mechanics before returning for a full game on Saturday morning. The game has more angst on how to allocate your precious resources then any of the previous A&A games. And for me, there in lies a lot of the fun.
Saturday's game came down to a photo finish at the end of Turn 8. At 20 points, the Germans were set up with great odds to take one or two 3 point cities and a 1 point city (I'll edit the names in later). They also had potentially decent odds at Bastogne, a 4 point city, depending on how the Allies allocated their forces and concentrated their airforce. They decided to focus on holding Bastogne.
So with combat initiative in round 8, the Germans take their crack at the first 3 point city. It fails as the Allies manage to keep a single infantry in the city. The Allies choose to counter-attack the largest German force bordering Bastogne. This attack (in conjunction with their earlier air power) devestates the the Germans enough that Bastogne looks like the longest of shots. The Germans then attack the other 3 point target. Failure! Again the Allies hold with a single infantry surving the barrage and fleeing of his comrades. The Allied victory looks secure. They only have meaningless attacks left now against the unsuccessful German armies that bordered the 3 point cities.
Now the Germans begin the most incredible rally I've ever seen. The allies have no truck or supply but 3 infantry, 3 tanks, and 3 artillery defending Bastogne - 9 troops (almost a full army). The Germans have 3 hexes from which to attack Bastogne. These hexes will provide 9 attack dice, 3 attack dice, and 1 attack dice. First the 9 dice. 7 hits! Time to roll the distribution. 1 kill and 5 retreats! (This is realllllly remarkable as you'll soon see). Bastogne now still has 3 defenders left and only 4 more attack dice to withstand. The 3 attack dice fly. 2 unique hits! This retreats 2 more defenders so that only a single unit defends Bastogne. And now there is only 1 more attack. So the game will come down to a 50/50 die roll. The lone German infantry fires.... a hit! The defender runs and Bastogne now lies wide open. The Germans win! What a rush...
Saturday night I was able to demo the game mechanics to some other attendees. There were also several oohs and ahs whenever we had the game set-up from conventioneers walking by.
Many pictures and more commentary to come....
Thursday night we were able to play the first three rounds to get a feel for the mechanics before returning for a full game on Saturday morning. The game has more angst on how to allocate your precious resources then any of the previous A&A games. And for me, there in lies a lot of the fun.
Saturday's game came down to a photo finish at the end of Turn 8. At 20 points, the Germans were set up with great odds to take one or two 3 point cities and a 1 point city (I'll edit the names in later). They also had potentially decent odds at Bastogne, a 4 point city, depending on how the Allies allocated their forces and concentrated their airforce. They decided to focus on holding Bastogne.
So with combat initiative in round 8, the Germans take their crack at the first 3 point city. It fails as the Allies manage to keep a single infantry in the city. The Allies choose to counter-attack the largest German force bordering Bastogne. This attack (in conjunction with their earlier air power) devestates the the Germans enough that Bastogne looks like the longest of shots. The Germans then attack the other 3 point target. Failure! Again the Allies hold with a single infantry surving the barrage and fleeing of his comrades. The Allied victory looks secure. They only have meaningless attacks left now against the unsuccessful German armies that bordered the 3 point cities.
Now the Germans begin the most incredible rally I've ever seen. The allies have no truck or supply but 3 infantry, 3 tanks, and 3 artillery defending Bastogne - 9 troops (almost a full army). The Germans have 3 hexes from which to attack Bastogne. These hexes will provide 9 attack dice, 3 attack dice, and 1 attack dice. First the 9 dice. 7 hits! Time to roll the distribution. 1 kill and 5 retreats! (This is realllllly remarkable as you'll soon see). Bastogne now still has 3 defenders left and only 4 more attack dice to withstand. The 3 attack dice fly. 2 unique hits! This retreats 2 more defenders so that only a single unit defends Bastogne. And now there is only 1 more attack. So the game will come down to a 50/50 die roll. The lone German infantry fires.... a hit! The defender runs and Bastogne now lies wide open. The Germans win! What a rush...
Saturday night I was able to demo the game mechanics to some other attendees. There were also several oohs and ahs whenever we had the game set-up from conventioneers walking by.
Many pictures and more commentary to come....