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board wargame solo play?? - 1/30/2003 11:44:58 AM

Mad Cow

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http://www.multimanpublishing.com/OtherGames/prodsoj.php

Siege of Jerusalem from Multi-man Publishing is rated as "VERY HIGH" on the Solitaire Suitability scale.

How, exactly, would you play a board wargame solo?

Can anyone explain it to me?

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Re: board wargame solo play?? - 1/30/2003 2:14:32 PM

Veldor

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mad Cow
[B]http://www.multimanpublishing.com/OtherGames/prodsoj.php

Siege of Jerusalem from Multi-man Publishing is rated as "VERY HIGH" on the Solitaire Suitability scale.

How, exactly, would you play a board wargame solo?

Can anyone explain it to me? [/B][/QUOTE]

Solitaire only board wargames usually use some kind of programmed movement/fire/response system such as the famous "Ambush!" series by Avalon Hill/Victory Games. You basically move around the map, using a fancy sliderule for every hex you enter to see if anything happens.. If something does you look it up in a paragraph book by number, etc. Also controls enemy troop movements. Truth be told they were very fun in their day but seem a little silly now with computers (Solitaire ONLY boardgames that is).

The game you refer to is not solitaire only and thus, in my opinion, worthy of solitaire play to help you get better at a game that can later be played against someone else. Generally "VERY HIGH" solitaire suitability in a game such as that simply means there are not a lot of "Fog of War" type rules, "Hidden" resource allocation, or other such rules that would make playing both sides impossible or, put simply, not fun.

Perhaps its easier to think of a game like "Battleship". Could you play it solitaire? Yes... But who would want to? The entire point would be ruined. Thus I would give it "VERY LOW" solitaire suitabililty. RISK, on the other hand, would mostly be fine, except for the fact that you'd know the opponents cards though not the biggest deal so I'd probably rate that one "HIGH" for solitaire sutibility. The game you refer to has all the units on the map, probably with a fully known OOB (I use to have this game but forget)...

Also, anything that specifically mentions "VERY HIGH" solitaire suitability will almost always have a special rules section dedicated to additional rules for solitaire play.

Maybe someone else can explain it better, but thats the basics...

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- 1/30/2003 9:58:26 PM

Les_the_Sarge_9_1

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Games "designed" to be solo, use a lot of paperwork and charts to handle "what ifs".

Clearly you would have to actually look at each game designed this way to get a better idea of how the designer did it.

And like as with anything out there, some will be good designs and others not.

I have Patton's Best which is a real gem among solo type board games, although a good tank sim is going to be a heck of a lot easier to play. The computer program is basically all the charts and tables.

I have seen numerous "solo capable" board game wargames, and the defining part of a good solo possible wargame is, can you effectively play one sides turn, then get up go to the other side of the table, and realistically play the other side free of damaging any of the oppposing sides secrets.

Columbia Games has some of the finest current games out there.

http://www.columbiagames.com/index2.html

But if they have any solo worth at all, I am unaware of it. You can't play a game where the pieces identities are hidden, and play both sides. "Oh I was not aware that unit was only an infantry unit with just one step left".

ASL can be played solo, but you might as well not bother trying to gain concealment. "Damnit, how did they know that was all that was in the hex?"

The Longest Day can be played solo easily. It's a massive sized game, takes a few hours to set up, could easily eat several months of constant play at an hour or so an evening in peace in your study.
But the moves you make merely have to be the best moves you can think up given the forces and the current conditions. "Gee I would never have guessed the 12th SS was going to assault there".

How would you play a board game solo. It seems this question is getting asked a lot lately (are people not reading all the threads?).

You play a board game solo about the same way you play with yourself dude:) You get to do all the work, and you win regardless of how you do it eh.:D

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- 1/31/2003 2:39:13 AM

Mad Cow

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Well, thanks for the informative replies.

I was thinking of buying this Siege of Jerusalem, and maybe game from Columbia also. But I thik I might have trouble finding someone to play with.

And I thought of many of the same things you said, Les. Which was why I asked the question. I guess, though, that it is pretty good for learning the game on your own before moving on to play someone. Which is what I would probably have to do.

What ancient board wargames would you reccomend?

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- 1/31/2003 2:45:39 AM

Les_the_Sarge_9_1

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"Ancient" board wargames, I assume you are referring to ancient setting?

Or did you mean old long in the tooth classics?

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- 1/31/2003 4:35:46 AM

Mad Cow

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Les the Sarge 9-1
[B]"Ancient" board wargames, I assume you are referring to ancient setting?

Or did you mean old long in the tooth classics? [/B][/QUOTE]

LOL....

I mean ancient setting. Like Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, Egypt, etc...

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- 1/31/2003 5:02:14 AM

Les_the_Sarge_9_1

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Alas I know nothing of that setting or genre. I am the last one to seek input on that era sorry.

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- 1/31/2003 6:48:27 AM

pasternakski

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mad Cow
[B]I was thinking of buying this Siege of Jerusalem, and maybe game from Columbia also. But I thik I might have trouble finding someone to play with.

What ancient board wargames would you reccomend? [/B][/QUOTE]

Siege of Jerusalem is out of print. Some copies surface from time to time on eBay. I was never terribly fond of it, being a gamer with a more strategic focus, but several of my friends swear by it as a landmark in wargame design.

One of the very best solo boardgames ever produced is "Peloponnesian War" by Victory Games (a now-defunct subsidiary of Avalon Hill). The player begins the game as supreme military commander of either the Spartan League or the Delian League. Depending on how things go, at some point you have to switch and command the other side! You will go back and forth until the game ends. The historical commentary and play notes explain the reasoning behind this design. The game is absolutely magnificent in execution and about as much fun as humans are actually allowed to have. This one is also out of print.

Another solitaire ancients game is "Fall of Rome," which appeared in the old SPI wargame magazine "Strategy and Tactics." Again, it is possible to pick up a stray copy here and there. You are the Empire staving off the barbarian incursions that eventually led to the demise of the western empire (an old computer rendering of this subject is "Annals of Rome," which you can download at [url]www.the-underdogs.org[/url]).

As for two-or-more player ancients games, some of the best (though again, sadly, out of print), in my estimation, are:

-Imperium Romanum II (West End Games)
-Keith Poulter's "Barbarians" (Decision Games)
-Caesar's Legions (Avalon Hill)
-Civilization - Advanced Civilization (Avalon Hill - AdCiv was made into a computer game which is also available at the underdogs Web site mentioned above)
-History of the World (Avalon Hill - again, there's a computer version)
-Deluxe Great Battles of Alexander (GMT games - they have a number of other titles both in and out of print - see their Web site at [url]www.gmtgames.com[/url])

There are others, of course, but this is a pretty good list, I think, coming as it does off the top of my head after a day at work.

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- 1/31/2003 7:02:52 AM

Cheeks

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NOW HEAR THIS:

I've just purchased a module for ASL, Solitare. Looking forward to trying it out this weekend.

Roll low..

THAT IS ALL:

Cheeks

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- 1/31/2003 10:48:00 PM

Mad Cow

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by pasternakski
[B]Siege of Jerusalem is out of print. Some copies surface from time to time on eBay. I was never terribly fond of it, being a gamer with a more strategic focus, but several of my friends swear by it as a landmark in wargame design.

I am pretty sure that Multi-Man publishing sells the game. For $20.

quote:

One of the very best solo boardgames ever produced is "Peloponnesian War" by Victory Games (a now-defunct subsidiary of Avalon Hill). The player begins the game as supreme military commander of either the Spartan League or the Delian League. Depending on how things go, at some point you have to switch and command the other side! You will go back and forth until the game ends. The historical commentary and play notes explain the reasoning behind this design. The game is absolutely magnificent in execution and about as much fun as humans are actually allowed to have. This one is also out of print.

Another solitaire ancients game is "Fall of Rome," which appeared in the old SPI wargame magazine "Strategy and Tactics." Again, it is possible to pick up a stray copy here and there. You are the Empire staving off the barbarian incursions that eventually led to the demise of the western empire (an old computer rendering of this subject is "Annals of Rome," which you can download at [url]www.the-underdogs.org[/url]).

[/B][/QUOTE]

Great! Thanks for your time and the information.

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- 1/31/2003 11:33:02 PM

Veldor

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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mad Cow
[B]I am pretty sure that Multi-Man publishing sells the game. For $20.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Yes and No. They do sell it for $20, but it is out of print and out of stock. So in effect they don't sell it. Try to place an online order for it and you will see.

Alot of the games on their website they "intend" to eventually get around to revamping and re-releasing much in the same fashion as they did for ASL. The new "Up Front" should be interesting..

But who knows if they will ever get to it or not...

You can still get SOJ on ebay but last I checked its median price was about $45.00

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