WWI Game Strategy Game

[JasonPratt]

I should add that I'm not 100% sure that WW1:Cent has a manual at the moment -- which might have been a big part of the copyright issue, now that I think of it! The link for the manual on Steam is dead, taking you to the main Steam storefront instead.

I'll poke around some more this afternoon; I just used the manual(s) from Matrix, and haven't checked whether any manuals exist in the Cent folder on the computer.

[Dammit Carl!]

Googled my copy of the rules up; some company with "frog," in their name if I recall correctly.  Aha!

http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/297090/manuals/WW1_Manual.pdf?t=1404200153

[JasonPratt]

Hm. Yes, anyone wanting to play the game should look at this. I don't know if it contains the Big Manual Additions, or fixes from the Errata doc that came with the most recent (and last?) Matrix update. But it's the Big Manual, including graphics, although with typesetting differences for the Froggy Cent version.

[Rayfer]

And it's a quite complex, detailed game....not saying that's a bad thing, but be warned, it has a steep learning curve requiring an investment of ones time.

[Queeg]

I'm pretty sure the manual came with my download but I'll check later. 

[JasonPratt]

I'm hard at work on a proper AAR of the Russian Grand Campaign, to complement (and somewhat incorporate) my original Absolute Newbie tutorial.

SOON ALL SHALL GAZE UPON MY WORK AND DESPAAAIIIR!  >:D

[Gusington]

Thanks all...I am going to heed Bison's advice and hold off, especially since I did not wrap my brain around To End All Wars.

Is there anything out there a little less complex but just as atmospheric and maybe a bit sexier? Please, I beg.

[JasonPratt]

I dunno, WW1G/Cent is pretty damn sexy, once you get past her librarian glasses. Like Rachel Weiz in The Mummy. Like a girl hardcore cosplaying World War One who researched ALL THE WORLD WAR ONE and not only put it all on her costume but made it truly artistic. And then insists on rubbing it up against you, because she just knows you'll like it.

Sure it's cumbersome and a bit janky in execution, and maybe somewhat insane on how it applies some of the details, and more than a little frightening in its intensity and dedication to its topic, but if you're turned on at all by the topic... well... 

I like to joke that the game (especially the map) was designed by fairies attempting to drive men mad, and while I mean that as a caution I mean it as a compliment, too.

[Dammit Carl!]

First time I've heard a wargame, much less a WW1 themed wargame, described in such a manner.   ^-^

[JasonPratt]

And yet entirely appropriate.

"Look, see this? I can make it... do things."

"Uh."

"Fascinating, isn't it?"

"...the... uh, what... what exactly does this do?"

"Try. And see what happens." {sideways smile with flirty eyes} "You know you want to try, don't yAAOUCH, NOT LIKE THAT!" {scowls}

"I'msorryI'm sorry, it's just, I don't understand--!"

"Try again." {mysterious stare} "You must. I insist."

[Gusington]

^You are a twisted individual.

Shouldn't I at least attempt to End All Wars again before trying WWI Gold?

[JasonPratt]

Heh, I see what you did there.

If you already have TEAW, then, sure, try to get the proper enjoyment out of something you've already paid for. Meanwhile, you can follow along with my pitiful attempts at an AAR for the Russian Grand Campaign, and live vicariously.

You could even try a parallel Russian AAR campaign in TEAW so as to provide a nice comparison / contrast to both AGEOD games!  O:-) O0

I suspect, for what it's worth, that WW1G isn't actually as difficult as TEAW, overall.

[Gusington]

Hmmm...not as difficult is good. But looking at the screens it definitely is not as good looking.

My kingdom for a good looking accessible WWI game!!

[Queeg]

^You are a twisted individual.

Shouldn't I at least attempt to End All Wars again before trying WWI Gold?

I've played most of the AGEOD games, so I'm already very familiar with their mechanics.  But I still find WWI Gold/CE to be a bit more accessible.  Because it is based on a board game, it benefits from having a concrete set of rules - and the manual is very good.  And since it's a mix of grand strategy and war game elements, much of what you do - like diplomacy - isn't based on tables and numbers but more on historical knowledge and common sense.  Since you also fight the battles yourself, you get an idea pretty quickly of what works and why - there's more Pavlovian feedback in the gameplay.

EAW is focused almost exclusively on warfare, with heavy emphasis on army formation and operation.  Combat is a hands-off affair, and while the game generates reams of post-battle data to sift through, it's not always clear why things turned out as they did.  There's just a lot more going on in EAW that is concealed under the hood than there is in Gold/CE.  And, for me at least, understanding the outcomes in EAW usually requires an understanding of the game system; the results in CE are more often understandable with resort just to common sense.

Bottom line is that Gold/CE does a broader range of things to a complexity level of 7, while EAW does mostly one thing to a complexity level of 10.

[Gusington]

...the discussion is starting to make me feel like your avatar looks.

*whine* WWII has games of every complexity level...why can't WWI? *whine*