DC: Case Blue Is In My Head And May Never Let Go

[Cyrano]

So, emboldened by the new year, I decided to do something I'd never seen through to the end, viz.: play the "stock" Case Blue scenario in the eponymous game.

I gave PanzerDe the Heer.

Now, I am not a particularly facile DC: CB player.  Also, I know Doug to be a worthy opponent.  I also knew that, as a matter of history, I would have to trade real estate for lives and time.

All that said, sweet, fancy Margaret but there are a lot of f-ing Germans, most of whom seem to excrete tanks.

In recent days I've taken to smoking unfiltered cigarettes made from the floor sweepings of western tobacco plants, drinking vodka distilled from tar paper refuse, and trying my hand at fashioning rifled with broom handles and the pipes that used to carry my home's water supply.

All the while the scene from "Enemy at the Gate" is in my head:

Red Army General : I carried out my orders. I sent in all of my boys. But the Germans engulfed us. They have, artillery, aircraft, tanks. And me! What did I have?!

Khrushchev: Sacred duty to resist! I have to report back to the boss. [hands him a pistol] Perhaps you'd prefer to avoid the red tape.

I'll be in the other room...

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[Slick Wilhelm]

Whoa, that's ambitious! Are you doing a single player or PBEM game?

[Cyrano]

Doug and I.  PBEM++

System works well...

[panzerde]

Ja, we are enjoying our bold march into the Russian steppes! Except...boy, are there a lot of steppes. Full of Russians. I wonder if I have enough gas?

And while it's beginning to look a lot like Blitzkrieg, I'm ever mindful that at the end of this there's Stalingrad...

Jim is right, DC: Case Blue is a ton of fun, and what a great game system! Very playable and not nearly as intimidating IMHO as WitE. I really, really like what they've done with leadership in this game, and the card system adds a nice twist. At first it was taking me a couple of hours or more to play a turn, but as I've grown more familiar with the game I've managed to cut that down. I've played a couple of the shorter scenarios solo, but as with most wargames, playing against someone adds an entirely different, and much more fun dimension.

[fabius]

I so get your opening post Cyrano. I've not has that all consuming feel for a game for a while. Great when it happens.

I've keep looking at Case Blue- it's still in sale- and War in the East for my East Front fix.

With play by email do you get to see the opponents moves and attacks, fog of war allowing?

[sandman2575]

I've keep looking at Case Blue- it's still in sale- and War in the East for my East Front fix.

Just my opinion, but DC Case Blue is a far superior game to WitE, if you want to get that Ostfront fix.  Case Blue lacks some of the fine-grained realism of WitE, but as a game experience, I just don't think there's much comparison. I'll take Case Blue every time.

[Tinkershuffle]

I've keep looking at Case Blue- it's still in sale- and War in the East for my East Front fix.

Just my opinion, but DC Case Blue is a far superior game to WitE, if you want to get that Ostfront fix.  Case Blue lacks some of the fine-grained realism of WitE, but as a game experience, I just don't think there's much comparison. I'll take Case Blue every time.

I'd also like to give this one a shot but the number of units looks really huge, how long does it approximately take to finish one turn?

[panzerde]

Now that I'm into it, probably about an hour.

[Cyrano]

Fabius -- The simple answer to your question is yes, when you download your turn from the server, you receive a series of reports regarding the past turn and that up-coming, any taunts sent to you by your opponent, and the option of watching the previous turn step-by-step.  You can click each incremental action or you can just have it play out...I strongly recommend the latter as turns between Doug and I have run to 400+ steps.

Assuming you've selected FoW, it will observe all the game's FoW rules, viz.: you only get as much intel on an opposing unit as your spotting rating on a particular hex.  More and better eyes = more and better information.  It's interesting to watch the believed strength of a particular unit shift as you get more and more spotters looking at it.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

[fabius]

Fabius -- The simple answer to your question is yes, when you download your turn from the server, you receive a series of reports regarding the past turn and that up-coming, any taunts sent to you by your opponent, and the option of watching the previous turn step-by-step.  You can click each incremental action or you can just have it play out...I strongly recommend the latter as turns between Doug and I have run to 400+ steps.

Assuming you've selected FoW, it will observe all the game's FoW rules, viz.: you only get as much intel on an opposing unit as your spotting rating on a particular hex.  More and better eyes = more and better information.  It's interesting to watch the believed strength of a particular unit shift as you get more and more spotters looking at it.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

Appreciation to you and Sandman. You know I was just looking again. Your descriptions and feedback have pushed me over the edge to go try for myself. I like the idea of various levels of opponent turn playback. And taunts  O0

[Bison]

I've actually been playing Decisive Campaigns: Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris, which is the first of the two DC games.  The unit count is less dense compared to Case Blue, which is nice and a good way to get into the system.  I'm not sure that it uses the PBEM++ servers for PBEM, however. 

For $20 right now you get an excellent game covering Case White, Case Yellow, and the theoretical Sealion plus 4 smaller scenarios.  And of course full campaigns for the invasions of Poland and France.

[panzerde]

+1 to that, DC: From Warsaw to Paris is also a great game. No PBEM++ though, at least last time I checked. The basic game mechanics are the same (or pretty close) as DC:CB

One thing that surprised me is that the Polish campaign is a lot less of a walkover than I believed it would be. Sent me off to do some reading on it and play a number of Tiller Campaign Series scenarios set during the invasion.

[Bison]

+1 to that, DC: From Warsaw to Paris is also a great game. No PBEM++ though, at least last time I checked. The basic game mechanics are the same (or pretty close) as DC:CB

One thing that surprised me is that the Polish campaign is a lot less of a walkover than I believed it would be. Sent me off to do some reading on it and play a number of Tiller Campaign Series scenarios set during the invasion.

No question on the execution of Case White being more challenging then my understanding of the history of the invasion of Poland would suggest.  I think for me some of the challenge is attributed to the timeline to capture 40VP, which means Warsaw and the majority of VP hexes, before 12 September.  I also know that I tend to like to maximize my attacks and no leave Polish units with freedom of movement behind my lines, which most likely isn't always necessary to conduct a high speed Blitzkrieg.

[Cyrano]

DC:BtP's Fall Weiss is ultimately a scenario design decision, and I think it's a good one, viz.:  it's not so much that the German's can win, but can they win quickly enough to equal the historic victory?

I think it also points up the ugly significance of the stab in the back...

Another great game.

Best,

Jim
"Cyrano"
:/7)

P.S.: I've now taken to reading my reinforcement schedule in Case Blue like a big-haired, lunatic History Channel host of a show on Nostradamus scrying it for an omen of hope...

[panzerde]