Best Solitaire Wargame!

Started by DennisS, September 20, 2012, 08:51:44 PM

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DV8

#15
Thanks, good read.  After looking a little deeper I noticed several of the games listed above as favorites are in fact single player games such as Ambush and Patton' Best.  This makes more sense since the rules and game play are built exclusively for solitaire play.

Since I play primarily play ASL & FC, I think this is why I'm having a hard time getting my head around the why and how.
"Most of my cliches aren't original." - Chuck Knox

Arctic Blast

The only ones I've played are :

Ambush!
Phantom Leader
Hornet Leader
Field Commander : Napoleon

bob48

I find that LnL's WaW games are gernerally not too bad for solo play, and the same applies to NaW, since in most scanario's there are pretty clear 'Attacker / Defender' objectives. Its still not as good as F2F, but not bad.

One game that I have played solo quite a bit is Storm of Stalingrad, which does lend itself quite well to single player games.

I guess there are any number of multi-player games that you can play solo in a sort of left-hand-againt-right-hand way, provided you maintain some sort of objectivity. Most of my wargaming is played this way as the number of times that I can do F2F stuff with buddies is limited.
'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'

'Clip those corners'

Recombobulate the discombobulators!

besilarius

Still not awake yet.  West End Games had a solitaire Battle of Britain game that was really pretty good.
You played Fighter Command, set up your forces and reacted tot he German moves.  Luftwaffe was played by the game.  Could be very tight, and the germans had a good chance of pulling out a victory.
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Master Chiefs are sneaky, dastardly, and snarky miscreants who thrive on the tears of Ensigns and belly dancers.   Admiral Gerry Bogan.

smittyohio

The Barbarossa Campaign by Victory Point Games is a lot of fun, though if you get out of the gates badly because of bad chit or card pulls, you stand little chance.

ABD

Fields of Fire by GMT is brillant but has major growing pains, if you don't have patience dedicate to a learning a system I would wait for second edition.

GJK

Quote from: ABD on October 08, 2012, 08:45:14 PM
Fields of Fire by GMT is brillant but has major growing pains, if you don't have patience dedicate to a learning a system I would wait for second edition.


I so want to give that game a try but I've heard about the horror stories with the rules (though I hear the newest version is a big improvement).  I read the AAR's on CSW from FoF players and it sounds pretty detailed and very intense.  Maybe I'll meet somebody some day that has the game and wouldn't mind walking me through a few turns.
Clip your freaking corners!
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Blood Bowl on VASSAL - Ask me about it! http://garykrockover.com/BB/
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"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

-Dean Vernon Wormer

DennisS

I have read through this thread, and I have every single game mentioned, with the exception of the DVG Napoleon game, and the twins hornet leader/phantom leader.

I am not in any great hurry to spend 100 dollars on a board game. The missus would shit.

Which of the three DVG games is the best? Rommel, Alexander, or Napoleon?

Oh...Patton's Best is excellent, if it wasn't for the German 88's that kill you, first time, every time.

Raid on St. Nazaire is pretty fun..although much of the fun is ramming the docks with your destroyer!

Ambush is not a super good game. Step right ... THERE, and a German machine gun fires from right THERE. So..don't step there, and step at the most advantageous position to set off the enemy.

Tokyo Express is a very elegant system, that generates some extremely difficult battles for the Americans. Savo Island, and Ironbottom Sound, and sometimes, your light forces are screwed!

If you want a fun solitaire game, Mosby's Raiders is very good. Stir up the countryside, get the Union forces stirred up and moving all over the countryside, and when it gets too hot, skedaddle! I used that term at work, years ago, and we here highly amused to read that it meant "to flee in a panic." Awesome!

GJK

I broke out my copy of Ambush a couple of weekends ago because of this thread.  I too wasn't impressed.  Paragraph checks for every hex you enter (less Event hexes) just got very old, very quickly. 


I'd still like to learn SASL one of these days, though all of those chart look-up's may get tiresome as well I'd suspect.


Carrier still tops my fav solitaire game.  Yes, lots of charts there too but it gets more and more intense with every chart reference.  A game that truly had me on the edge of my seat each time that I played.  The learning curve is fairly steep however and it's been years since I've played so I'd have to start the programmed instructions from scratch.  Would be worth the effort though from what I recall.
Clip your freaking corners!
----------------------
Blood Bowl on VASSAL - Ask me about it! http://garykrockover.com/BB/
----------------------
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

-Dean Vernon Wormer

Arctic Blast

Ambush's fatal flaw is the amount of time it takes to play the damn thing. All of those checks and status changes and everything else...4 and a half hours later, you MIGHT be done the scenario.

Rekim

Quote from: GJK on October 09, 2012, 10:50:08 PM
Carrier still tops my fav solitaire game.  Yes, lots of charts there too but it gets more and more intense with every chart reference.  A game that truly had me on the edge of my seat each time that I played.  The learning curve is fairly steep however and it's been years since I've played so I'd have to start the programmed instructions from scratch.  Would be worth the effort though from what I recall.

It is true that Carrier has many many charts, second only to ASL in my experience. It also includes a turn sequence chart, which is more than just a reference, it is a working feature of the game (even includes chits for use with the turn sequence diagram) and does an exceptional job of simplifying both learning and playing of the game. While there are piles of charts, most are fairly simple to understand and use. Organizing their use is the bigger challenge.

Field of Fire is the only solitaire game that comes close to generating the atmosphere and suspense I've experienced with Carrier. Both games require you to keep a copy of the rule book in arms reach. FoF has a lousy index, which can be a real burden with a complex game. The bigger issue was that many times the rule being looked up was absent from the rule book altogether. Many times I had to resort to parsing through 3rd party examples of play or forum posts to find an answer. I should mention that the game designer is exceptionally good about answering questions (and is an active Marine officer if I remember correctly).

jomni

#26
For those overburndened by FoF rules and bookkeeping, you will be glad to know that there are digital versions (iOS and PC) in the works.  Hope they see the light of day.

DV8

Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.   

Would also love to get Carrier back on the table.  It's been years since I last played it. 

I'm also looking forward to the release of "The Hunters: German
U-Boats at War, 1939-43" coming out fairly soon from GMT Games.

Where did you find this and what was the cost?  This is impossible to find.
"Most of my cliches aren't original." - Chuck Knox

GJK

#28
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 02:02:34 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.   

Where did you find this and what was the cost?  This is impossible to find.

A number of years ago, MMP found a bunch of parts in their warehouse and had a fire-sale.  All were missing the boxes and some they had to include a scanned copy of the rules, but otherwise they put them in ziplock bags and sold them off.  I was lucky and got the actual Ch. S pages.  Oh, they also did this for Red Barricades- and I was lucky enough to get a copy of that one as well during this same sale. :)
Clip your freaking corners!
----------------------
Blood Bowl on VASSAL - Ask me about it! http://garykrockover.com/BB/
----------------------
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

-Dean Vernon Wormer

DV8

Quote from: GJK on October 15, 2012, 05:10:45 PM
Quote from: DV8 on October 15, 2012, 02:02:34 PM
Quote from: GJK on September 21, 2012, 11:50:30 AM
I have a brand new copy of SASL2 that I've barely looked at. I'd love to finally grok those rules and play the thing.   

Where did you find this and what was the cost?  This is impossible to find.

A number of years ago, MMP found a bunch of parts in their warehouse and had a fire-sale.  All were missing the boxes and some they had to include a scanned copy of the rules, but otherwise they put them in ziplock bags and sold them off.  I was lucky and got the actual Ch. S pages.  Oh, they also did this for Red Barricades- and I was lucky enough to get a copy of that one as well during this same sale. :)

Lucky man.

Does anyone know of any third party SASL rules or a simplified conversion from ASLSK or ASL?
"Most of my cliches aren't original." - Chuck Knox