Query the First: What'd you actually DO?

[Cyrano]

I will confess to having found the conversation re: PC and non-electronic gaming intriguing.  There is one thing that grew out of this that I wanted to set on the record:

What is the biggest, meatiest, groggiest, most monstrous non-electronic wargame that you've played to completion against a human or humans in the past six months?

Games played on Vassal or similar do not count for the purposes of this inquiry.

I proffer mine own:

Napoleon (4th ed.)....seriously...although I will say in my defense that I added the option of resolving battles using the "Eagles" card game.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[BanzaiCat]

Hoo-boy. It's been more than six months (more like 20+ years), but I STILL remember a game of 'Struggle of Nations' that was ridiculous.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5021/struggle-nations

The pieces are teeny-tiny and since it's Napoleonics...well, this game burned me out from Napoleonic games, at least until Bonaparte At Marengo came out.

[bayonetbrant]

Orange Crush at Origins

[bob48]

Like B-C, its been a good few years, but the biggest one, by far, was 'Fire in the East' + 'Scorched Earth', although I admit that it never went to a conclusion, even after several weeks of one or two sessions per week. Just too damn big.

However, my buddies and I we would play Wacht am Rhine through to a conclusion, usually getting it set-up and beginning the game as near as we could to 16th December. Again, we would play over several weeks.

[Martok]

I'm sure it's not very meaty compared to a lot of titles out there, but I still remember a game of Twilight Imperium from 6-7 years ago that took an entire weekend -- starting on a Friday evening, and finishing on a Sunday -- to play out.  Including setup time, it took a total of ~25 hours IIRC; excluding setup, it still took something like 22-23. 

[Tinkershuffle]

Nothing monstrous finished in the last six months. But last year we played GMT's Battle for Normandy (though we called it quits a bit early because german lines were so heavily breached) and now we are in the middle of MMP's Devil's Cauldron campaign.

[mirth]

Not meaty really, but a bunch of us played GMT's Supreme Commander over a weekend this summer. Two solid days of gaming.

[Rekim]

I love monsters. Play them all the time. Two on the go at this very moment.

<6 months, to completion, and no Vassal = nothing to report from my camp

[Cyrano]

@rekim:  If I may, do you play them F2F?  You mention having two up at the moment, are those Vassal only?

All for science!

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[Bison]

I read the manuals on the ivory throne, which unfortunately for me that's as close to playing a game as I'll get most days, weeks and months.  :(

[BanzaiCat]

I read the manuals on the ivory throne, which unfortunately for me that's as close to playing a game as I'll get most days, weeks and months.  :(

Install a gaming station on the ivory throne.

Problem solved.

[Rekim]

@rekim:  If I may, do you play them F2F?  You mention having two up at the moment, are those Vassal only?

All for science!

Well I have one plus sized ASL match on the go. Started it in June and just finished our tenth session at 1:30 this AM using Vassal ;D
This may sound slow paced, but if it weren't for the convenience of Vassal there is no way we would have scheduled as much F2F time in the same period. Not having to keep the 32''x44'' map setup all this time, plus the fact that both players have full access to the game setup at all times really make Vassal the best option for games that can not be comfortably finished in one or two sittings. Vassal support is almost a prerequisite for me  when purchasing big games.

I'm also tinkering with Blocks in the East at the moment. I just finished a solo run through of the Road's to Leningrad scenario using the most basic rules. Seems this battle has become the hello world of the ww2 east front gaming. I have an opponent in mind for this series, who likes the really big Axis & Allies games. This is a tiny bit like that, with blocks and hexes. I also intend to try it solo as I'd like to try the grand campaign with Blocks in the East combined with Blocks in the West and Blocks in Africa. I can't picture getting through that campaign F2F.

[Rekim]

so purdy

[mirth]

^damn. That is purdy.

[bayonetbrant]

it's not quite as pretty at Blocks in the East, but I think Columbia is planning on running a full-up 8-10 hour Eurofront monster game at Origins next year