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OPENING MOVES
1942
Fleet Commander Nimitz
This is my first play though of FC Nimitz so I am not sure I will go all the way through and I am bound to over look something, however I am going to do a quick AAR. If you do not like moving and keeping up with a lot of counters, this will probably not be your game.
Jan/Feb 1942
Here is the opening situation Jan/Feb 1942
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My first order of business is to Secure Midway and try and strike the Gilbert Islands while there is only 1 Battalion defending the Island. This turn we have 20 Supply Points (SP) and 7 Reinforcement Points (RP) to spend. Currently stationed at the Hawaiian Islands we have:
Carriers:Yorktown
Enterprise
Lexington
Saratoga
Cruisers:Louisville
Chicago
San Francisco
New Orleans
Honolulu
Portland
Pensacola
St Louis
Phoenix
4 DD Groups
3 Sub Groups
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We also have 11th Bomber Group, 18th Fighter Group, Marine Air Group 21 and the 25th Infantry Division.
I am looking at splitting my forces into two groups. I also need more boots on the ground so I may spend points on Infantry or Marine Reinforcements. Solomon Islands are exposed and what worries me most is the mass grouping of Naval ships currently anchored at Japan. We will need more ships for sure....
I am open to feedback on what to do next....
does this game treat the entire Pacific as one big theater, or does it recognize any of the strategic planning split between the War Dept and the Navy Dept?
Quote from: bayonetbrant on December 15, 2014, 10:04:43 AM
does this game treat the entire Pacific as one big theater, or does it recognize any of the strategic planning split between the War Dept and the Navy Dept?
You assume the role of Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CinCPOA), for U.S. and Allied air, land, and sea forces.
PE
It reminds me, in a way, of Silent War, although the scope is much broader here.
I'm anxious to get my copy (hopefully today). A game that I very much enjoy (but isn't very solitaire friendly) is Fire in the Sky by MMP. That game abstracts much of the combat and ship/plane capabilities (there's some distinction) but what it really hits hard on is the use of oil for the Japanese. If they don't secure oil resources and in turn run out of oil, they are sunk (pun intended). I realize that you don't play the Japanese in FCN, but does it give you the player the ability to hit the Japanese oil reserves? I'm guessing not since the Dutch East Indies are cut off the map. Maybe it's modeled in some other way?
I see some subs (SS), that's cool.
How about losing Australia? Lose that in most PacWar games and the Allies lose. New Guinea only has a couple of air squadrons to protect it? It would be nothing for the Japanese to hit NG from the Caroline Islands and then move on to Australia. Got to protect that southern flank!
Hoping my copy arrives soon, too! 8)
Quote from: GJK on December 15, 2014, 02:50:36 PM
I'm anxious to get my copy (hopefully today). A game that I very much enjoy (but isn't very solitaire friendly) is Fire in the Sky by MMP. That game abstracts much of the combat and ship/plane capabilities (there's some distinction) but what it really hits hard on is the use of oil for the Japanese. If they don't secure oil resources and in turn run out of oil, they are sunk (pun intended). I realize that you don't play the Japanese in FCN, but does it give you the player the ability to hit the Japanese oil reserves? I'm guessing not since the Dutch East Indies are cut off the map. Maybe it's modeled in some other way?
I see some subs (SS), that's cool.
How about losing Australia? Lose that in most PacWar games and the Allies lose. New Guinea only has a couple of air squadrons to protect it? It would be nothing for the Japanese to hit NG from the Caroline Islands and then move on to Australia. Got to protect that southern flank!
There are certain areas that are restricted to both sides
US Forces may move to any Map Area except Japan and East Asia.
Japanese Forces may move to any Map Area except the US West Coast and Australia.
You can send your Submarines to raid to disrupt Reinforcements by a modifier of -2 per sub. It cost 1 SP for each sub assigned.
The South is in big trouble if that large mass of Ships decide to sail straight south from Japan. I may have to split and converge, however I may need start using Scouts after my first turn....
PE
So if you can't invade Japan and Japan can't cut off Australia and Oil isn't taken in to account in any way, I'm guessing that the only way to win as the Allies is to destroy all or a certain percentage of their navy. Is that correct?
Quote from: GJK on December 15, 2014, 04:27:33 PM
So if you can't invade Japan and Japan can't cut off Australia and Oil isn't taken in to account in any way, I'm guessing that the only way to win as the Allies is to destroy all or a certain percentage of their navy. Is that correct?
Oil is not taken into account, there are supply and reinforcements levels that are assigned based on the scenario and are consistent regardless of what happens on the map for the allies. The only way I can see to disrupt Japan's reinforcements is though the Submarine raiding.
There are a set of objectives based on each scenario and they are to be in possession of certain Territories. So by the end of the Turn counter you should be holding a certain level of Objective Territories and then look at the corresponding evaluation table. You can also run concurrent scenarios for a overall Campaign.
PE
ALLIED TURN JAN/FEB 1942
I have split my forces up at the Hawaiian Islands into 2 Task Forces.
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First, The Midway Task Force Comprised of
Carriers (CV) - Yorktown, Enterprise, Lexington
Cruisers (CRU) - Chester, Pensacola, Portland
Destroyer Squadron (DD) - Desron 6
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Their Primary mission at present is to secure and defend Midway Island. I will on next Turn send scout planes out to determine my next course of action with the Task Force.
From Our Alaskan base we are sending the 11th BG, ignore the 343rd FG as Midway can only support 2 Air Groups.
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Second Task Force will take control of the Gilbert Islands which by Intel's reports is being held by 1 Japanese Battalion. The Task Force is comprised of:
Carriers (CV) - Saratoga
Cruisers (CRU) - Chicago, San Francisco, Honolulu, New Orleans
Destroyer Squadron (DD) - Desron 1
Transport Ships - 25th Infantry Division
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The 25th Infantry Division will land and secure the Island.
We are also Transferring 2 Battalions from the West Coast to the Hawaiian Islands
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With my 7 Reinforcement points I went back and forth... we need Infantry to secure the Islands, however the Japanese have a lot of ships... so I decided to Commission the Battleship (BB) USS North Carolina and the 32 Infantry and the 2nd Marine Divisions.
With my remaining SP, I send 2 Sub groups to begin disrupting their Reinforcements, hoping to delay them while I can get some momentum.
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Great work as usual, PE. O0
@ Banzai_Cat
Thanks O0
JAPAN MOVEMENT JAN/FEB 1942
It appears that the Japanese Fleet anchored at Japan is on the move.
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They have made a move to take Borneo and New Guinea. Ships and planes have moved into both areas and the Battle seems all but lost.
They have also fortified the Iwo Jima, however that is probably just a stopping station.
We now have 3 Battle to Resolves
The Battle of Borneo
The Battle of New Guinea
The Battle of Gilbert Islands
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I was cautious when moving my fleets and with good cause, I will send scouts out next and strike with with my Midway Task Force while brining in new forces from the West Coast.
For now, it is time to resolve the Battles.
PE
I knew that NG was too wide open for an assault. When that falls, Australia is cut off and could be starved to death or invaded outright....er, well, that should be an option.
Does the programmed "a.i" take in to account where you are or have moved to? I would hope that some of that is factored in for the Japanese intel gathering.
Quote from: GJK on December 16, 2014, 07:07:19 PM
I knew that NG was too wide open for an assault. When that falls, Australia is cut off and could be starved to death or invaded outright....er, well, that should be an option.
Does the programmed "a.i" take in to account where you are or have moved to? I would hope that some of that is factored in for the Japanese intel gathering.
For the 1942 Scenario the Strategic Objectives are Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Midway Island, Gilbert Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. So it is imperative that you control and hold as many of this objectives by the end of 1942 as possible.
The Programmed a.i. does not take into account your moves, it is purely a roll on the Japanese Orders table, and then the Move To and the # of Ships, Inf, and Land Bases A/C that accommodate that order. You can however send out scout planes for 1 SP per plane, in which you can scout a area out which causes you to do the Japanese Orders phase first for that area. Then you can plan accordingly if you would like to attack or make other plans.
PE
Quote from: PanzersEast on December 16, 2014, 08:55:19 PM
Quote from: GJK on December 16, 2014, 07:07:19 PM
I knew that NG was too wide open for an assault. When that falls, Australia is cut off and could be starved to death or invaded outright....er, well, that should be an option.
Does the programmed "a.i" take in to account where you are or have moved to? I would hope that some of that is factored in for the Japanese intel gathering.
For the 1942 Scenario the Strategic Objectives are Alaska, Hawaiian Islands, Midway Island, Gilbert Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. So it is imperative that you control and hold as many of this objectives by the end of 1942 as possible.
The Programmed a.i. does not take into account your moves, it is purely a roll on the Japanese Orders table, and then the Move To and the # of Ships, Inf, and Land Bases A/C that accommodate that order. You can however send out scout planes for 1 SP per plane, in which you can scout a area out which causes you to do the Japanese Orders phase first for that area. Then you can plan accordingly if you would like to attack or make other plans.
PE
Hmmmm, so it almost sounds like you could grab a cheap copy of the old AH "Victory in the Pacific" and then make up an "Orders" chart for the Japanese and play using that chart and ViTP's combat mechanism and reinforcement schedule, no?
I was just thinking yesterday that this game had a big 'Victory in the Pacific' feel.
Quote from: GJK on December 17, 2014, 04:44:38 AM
Hmmmm, so it almost sounds like you could grab a cheap copy of the old AH "Victory in the Pacific" and then make up an "Orders" chart for the Japanese and play using that chart and ViTP's combat mechanism and reinforcement schedule, no?
That maybe possible... one of the biggest things about the game is the random fleet compositions. You are suppose to shuffle the ships starting at each location and then when move orders are rolled, take off that number of ships from the top. You could possible have 3 Carriers with 0 Escort ships..... so, for me some house rules have to apply. That can seriously affect your AAA rolls and protection from the carriers as the fighters from the Carriers maybe in a different zone.
Need to play though some more, but I can for sure see some house rules being implemented.
PE
^ Good point - thinking there needs to be a priority list of ship draws. Maybe even a blind pool to draw from and use chits to represent Japanese naval forces in general, and not have them on the map?
Yeah, I read on BGG somebody mention their issue with the possibility of having a carrier group with just a couple of carriers and someone responded with a bunch of hypothetical "well just suppose that...." and that the carrier counter actually represents auxillary ships, etc. But yeah, I think that a house rule or alternative manner for dealing out what you face may be in order. Likely I would take the charts from "Carrier" who has a random draw mechanism where you draw a "fleet type" chit and that chit will then have a TF composition so you may draw "1 CVL" and then the associated chart lists what goes with a "1 CVL" chit and then you randomly draw the ships that make up that 1 CVL TF.
Good idea, but to be fair to FC:N, it
does state in the rules that the individual ship counters are assumed to have escorts with them.
Under Ship Forces, pg 5, second column:
QuoteThere are several types of Ship Forces in the game. For game purposes, larger Ships are assumed to have several escort ships built into their counters.
So if you say, draw Akagi, it's not just Akagi but the carrier plus escorts. How many, who knows. But they do address that - I only just read the rules halfway through right now.
PE, what's your experience with the rules?
I'm finding a few things that seem to be clear, but then later in the rules it's made unclear.
For example, take airfields. On page 4, under Airfield Capacity, it says "One Land-Based Aircraft counter can operate from each Airfield." Which is odd considering Airfields can have different numerical values, and one would assume that the numerical value has a relation with the number of aircraft that field can hold. But whatever.
Moving on to page 12, at top left, it says "Place a value of Airfield counters on the Island equal to the number of US Land-Based Aircraft counters." Then in the example, it says "The US has 6 Land-Based Aircraft. Place Airfield counters totalling 6."
I know the Airfield points are hit points for battle, but that's kind of vaguely admitting that a 6-size Airfield can hold 6 Aircraft, whereas the rule on page 4 says only one per Airfield.
Am I missing something?
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 17, 2014, 05:59:38 PM
PE, what's your experience with the rules?
I'm finding a few things that seem to be clear, but then later in the rules it's made unclear.
For example, take airfields. On page 4, under Airfield Capacity, it says "One Land-Based Aircraft counter can operate from each Airfield." Which is odd considering Airfields can have different numerical values, and one would assume that the numerical value has a relation with the number of aircraft that field can hold. But whatever.
Moving on to page 12, at top left, it says "Place a value of Airfield counters on the Island equal to the number of US Land-Based Aircraft counters." Then in the example, it says "The US has 6 Land-Based Aircraft. Place Airfield counters totalling 6."
I know the Airfield points are hit points for battle, but that's kind of vaguely admitting that a 6-size Airfield can hold 6 Aircraft, whereas the rule on page 4 says only one per Airfield.
Am I missing something?
I missed the assumed escorts, but to me that still feels a little awkward. I am going to go back and re-read the rules. I thought the movement explanation could used a little more detail. Warfighter was by far their worst rule book....
PE
I think I have most everything figured out and now I can do a proper AAR..... this was one of my Battles when all of a sudden the Japanese decided to come in and smack me.... when I moved in they had limited assets in the area and I thought I could do a quick grab, NO SO!
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Let me guess: they're now speaking Japanese on that island? ;D
So far I played through a second time with the 1942 Scenario and I am holding pretty strong through 4 turns. I have sunk 2 CV, BB, several Cruisers and DD. I have been using scouts and then jumping on fleets when I can. There is such a huge build up at New Guinea I have conceded it at this point. One of their BB strained into the Marshall Islands which I held and I dispatched a killer group and destroyed it.
Another was 2 Carriers with a Cruiser and BB that attacked Midway with no Infantry. I dispatched a Hunter/Killer Taskforce with 2 Carriers, several DD Squadrons, 2 Subs and 3 Land based Air Groups. I lost only 1 DD Squadron and 1 Cruiser Damaged and 1 Infantry Damaged... they lost all of their Ships. Right now I am playing defensively from the Marshall Islands East. The ships I destroyed above where from Scouting.... it has been handing to learn where they groups are heading, however I have been lucky because if some of those ships went to where my Hunter Task Forces where, it could have been a different story because they could have joined the battle..... I also pulled the Battalion Battle Plan that adds one straight to the Fox Hole.
PE
So, does the game feel balanced at all to you?
Seems that the randomness of the Japanese attacks would be a major turn-off for people. However, it's an effective way of managing a solitaire-driven, grand-strategy wargame in a simple no-fuss manner. At least that's my perception; I've yet to play it.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 19, 2014, 11:18:32 AM
So, does the game feel balanced at all to you?
Seems that the randomness of the Japanese attacks would be a major turn-off for people. However, it's an effective way of managing a solitaire-driven, grand-strategy wargame in a simple no-fuss manner. At least that's my perception; I've yet to play it.
I have seen some anomalies... for example I caught one BB that moved to one of my Controlled Areas and I spend a group in to destroy it. By the rules, it just sat in the coastal area while I bombed it for several rounds.
I don't mind the randomness, however it is difficult to program a solitaire game on this scale. In the 1942 campaign you are heavily outnumbered in ships, so the natural course of action is to be on the defensive and strike where opportunities present themselves. This is where scouting come in handy, I can scout and then react. I do feel like it should not be an automatic each time.... there needs to be a chance you do not have any intel. Even when I move in to strike a target, because I have not scouted all the areas, a Japanese force could swoop in and things can get heated.... for now, the 42' scenario is for sure a defensive one and I am just trying to hang on to my Objectives until 2 more turns end the campaign.
Over I do enjoy the game, however I can see how some would not like the randomness and the sometimes weirdness of how the game throws things at you.
The rules state
QuoteSolitaire Decisions
There will be times during the game when you need to make game decisions for the Enemy Forces. The rules provide you with procedures to guide your decision making. If the rules leave you with more than one equally valid option, you are free to choose from the available options.
Example: You inflict 1 Hit on Japanese Ships in an Area. There are several Ships in the Area with the same value. You get to decide which Ship to Damage.
I think there are times where you need to go beyond that and decide that moving that BB to a enemy held objective with no support is just not a good idea :D
PE
That's another thing...I think they recommended newbies start with the '42 scenario, though that one has to easily be the most challenging of the four. Maybe that's a trial by fire intent there.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 19, 2014, 11:44:37 AM
That's another thing...I think they recommended newbies start with the '42 scenario, though that one has to easily be the most challenging of the four. Maybe that's a trial by fire intent there.
Maybe they don't expect you to do amphibious operations. Just learn naval and air combat in a challenging setting.
I just laid out FC:N to give it a run-through of a few turns. I tried out the 1942 Campaign scenario.
I had to quit after two turns (actually 1.5 turns) because I realized how badly I had screwed up by the time I moved US forces in Turn 2.
In Turn 1, the Japanese moved a massive invasion force to...Borneo. Yes, Borneo. Where we had exactly one battalion of infantry and nothing else. The Japanese brought eight ships (one a CVL, so it had two aircraft) and two LBAs plus one infantry to there. What happened? The US battalion melted like butter on a Texas sidewalk in June.
The only other battle was in New Guinea, which only lasted 1 round and resulted in a stalemate. This is when I realized US ships must return to port every turn; they don't stay on station. So you're essentially needing to repeat your attacks each turn.
You also need to form a 'ring of steel' around the Japanese and slowly squeeze it. Otherwise they will slip through cracks and get to islands they historically never did.
On my Turn 2, I had a large return to port stack and I created two massive fleets to go after the Carolines and Wake. The Carolines had a stack of six Japanese ships, but did they stay? Noooope, they left. That's when I realized I screwed the pooch and needed to reboot my play. And again realized if you want to ensure you catch the Japanese in a battle, you have to have strong units covering just about every possible advance.
One thing that kind of bothers me is that Japanese units will never be allowed by the game system to go after the West Coast of the USA, nor Australia. The West Coast I can kind of understand, but Australia was always in their sights. I could understand a rule that says the Japanese have to control Borneo, New Guinea, and the Solomons, for example, before they can advance on Australia, but whatever. The game's victory mechanics are good enough - if you lose too many Objectives, you'll get fired. The USA/Australia are not invaded, but instead, you lose your job and are replaced. An interesting idea.
It also caught me off guard that you are essentially playing one year of the war, not the entire war. To be fair, there is a way to connect the Campaigns, but you're essentially selecting the 1942, 1943, 1944, or 1945 Campaign Games and playing that year from January/February through November/December (each turn is two months). So there is an option - I just thought it was strange. I assumed each Campaign game was a start off point for the game and it would be fought until the bitter end. I thought the horde of units with 42, 43, etc. on their counters meant that was the year they appeared in-game...this is true, but I was thinking of the latter years being reinforcements. Not the case.
I enjoyed what I saw, I just totally flubbed my strategy and screwed up my enjoyment of it. Not the fault of the game at all. It's been eye-opening but enjoyable. I will try it again once I'm off work next week.
I'm kind of surprised that Australia is off the table as well but I gather that Dan wanted to keep it strictly US forces and thus that's why the southwest area is missing key strategic locations on the map that the British were protecting but were vital for the Japanese war effort. An invasion of Australia would obviously include Australian ships and troops and that goes against the design decision so I get that.
I'm still waiting on my copy. Mad Russian has asked Dan if my copy was ever sent and so I think he's trying to track that down.
In the meantime, we had a nice visit at the Nimitz museum yesterday and that has me brushing up on the rules for Carrier while also playing a game of Tiller's Midway game (which is actually quite good and very much like Carrier but on the PC).
American only makes sense. It's Nimitz after all.
Hope that arrives for you soon, GJK. They gotta be going nuts over at DVG with Christmas in a few days - I would imagine the shipping nightmares might end soon, but who knows - maybe you can at least get a tracking number out of them. UPS delivered a package of mine to a neighbor across the street - they definitely screw stuff up but at least they knew where they screwed it up.
FCN arrived yesterday; just in time for Christmas...so I "unwrapped" it this morning. I haven't removed the shrink yet to inspect (too busy dealing with everybody else's presents and getting them all situated) but I noticed that there is a strategic board that was outside of the box. Is that a bonus or an "oops!" or a corrected board or just extra wrapping?
The mounted Battle Board and the counter tray are both bonuses for their successful Kickstarter campaign. Everything will fit back in the box, even if you have to temporarily use Ziploc bags to do so. The counter tray itself does not lend near enough space to store everything.
Check this out and let me know what y'all think...
http://grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=12276.0