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Banana Man posted:I'd have to buy a new 1st starter kit for asl, my toddler got into it and peeled the squad counters apart thinking they were stickers. If you plan on going with full-ASL, don't bother. You'll get more than enough counters with Beyond Valor. Same with Yanks.
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Jun 24, 2016 22:13
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CaptainRightful posted:Finally beat the bots as M26 last night! I have played 4 games solo now and I came closest as M26, tying up the government effectively but DR still pulled it off in the 4th propaganda round. There is a significant degree of swinginess from events, but I guess you just have to plan around that. In my case I lucked out and the first event in the deck was Che, but in the third campaign DR got Pact of Caracas just when they needed it most, and the DR bot is actually pretty effective at building up a base area if they're mainly left alone. I do think M26's best chance at winning is a western Cuba focus, like the one you had. If you can consistently get guys into Havana for terror you can potentially get a ton of opposition, and running Kidnap whenever possible is also helpful. I still don't have much of an effective Government strategy, besides liberally robbing the Syndicate whenever possible.
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Jun 25, 2016 03:54
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:I do think M26's best chance at winning is a western Cuba focus, like the one you had. If you can consistently get guys into Havana for terror you can potentially get a ton of opposition, and running Kidnap whenever possible is also helpful. I still don't have much of an effective Government strategy, besides liberally robbing the Syndicate whenever possible. Re: government strategy. Beyond always putting economy first and running cities, you can't do much beyond putting a base in las villas and oriente. But always put economy first. Civic Actions cost so drat much.
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Jun 25, 2016 08:45
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Lord Frisk posted:Re: government strategy. Beyond always putting economy first and running cities, you can't do much beyond putting a base in las villas and oriente. But always put economy first. Civic Actions cost so drat much. I just got my first solo win, as Government. I somehow spent 44 resources on the last Propaganda round buying Civic Actions, but that was enough to get support to 20. That gives me +2 over the DR's -1, M26 -5, and Syndicate at -6. The rules (8.9) say that's a stalemate rather than an outright win for the player, but I'm gonna call it pretty good! You're right that the Government resource crunch can be very nasty indeed. I still find myself doing a ton of ops right after I get Aid, and then passing for a couple turns which seems uh, suboptimal. 
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Jun 25, 2016 13:15
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Played my first game of Falling Sky and predictably, the Belgae won. This was because the Romans didn't put the boot in enough and allow Ambiorix not to get dealt the hammer blow he needs in order to be kept into check. I think this game relies a lot on that initial push, especially if you are playing the 53 BC scenario: Still; I liked the game a lot: a heck of a lot. The gameplay is very smooth and makes sense and the battles are enjoyable. Can't wait to give it another try! I think I like it more than CL!
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Jun 25, 2016 17:21
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Also I don't see how someone said that Suborn is overpowered if it doesn't activate the unit. With suborn you can't replace an ally of an enemy with your ally, and it costs you two resources to do so. With entreat you can replace for 1 resource, and can do it to allies if you have control, which is easier for you since you have 30 war bands and a bonus on rally that Aedui don't have. Playing Aedui was fun. Felt a bit like government in ADP. My Roman ally kind of screwed up by not crushing the Belgae totally, but we had a fun battle against Vincegitorix where we smashed his armies and killed him while I prevented him from escaping.
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Jun 25, 2016 17:46
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As M26 that Syndicate is a killer. I just played a really good game where I managed to keep dudes terrorizing Havana and I even managed to control Havana for two Propaganda rounds, racking up a huge score. But I didn't do enough damage to the mob so they won at the beginning of 4th Propaganda.  What an infuriating loss. So now I've played 6 solo games in 3 or 4 days. This is going to become a real habit, isn't it? I'm already looking at other COIN games even though I don't have anyone to play them with.
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Jun 25, 2016 23:40
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:As M26 that Syndicate is a killer. I just played a really good game where I managed to keep dudes terrorizing Havana and I even managed to control Havana for two Propaganda rounds, racking up a huge score. But I didn't do enough damage to the mob so they won at the beginning of 4th Propaganda. I know the feeling, I'm the same way. My best way of dealing with the Syndicate as the M26 is to use terror/kidnapping to shut down their casinos. Then again I prefer to leave Havana to the DR and Govt so they fight it out and spread myself out elsewhere.
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Jun 26, 2016 00:30
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I haven't even cracked the rule book for Falling Sky yet, because I want to beat Cuba Libre with every faction first. I approached COIN from the wrong direction, starting with FITL. It doesn't feel like a totally different game from CL, just a much more complex version.
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Jun 26, 2016 02:12
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Ithle01 posted:I know the feeling, I'm the same way. My best way of dealing with the Syndicate as the M26 is to use terror/kidnapping to shut down their casinos. Then again I prefer to leave Havana to the DR and Govt so they fight it out and spread myself out elsewhere. I've tried contesting Havana control in a couple of games now, this was the most successful time by far though. It works well in solo because the Government will always pick the train op when it doesn't have control of a city but the bot isn't farsighted enough to remove troops tied up in other parts of the island, so it won't really get around to sweeping or assaulting vulnerable guerrillas. Havana is potentially worth 12 opposition so it's worth it to park a ton of cylinders there, but you also lose the ability to act effectively in the rest of the island -- if I'd just ambushed a casino somewhere I would have won that last game.
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Jun 26, 2016 06:08
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Cuba Libre is rad. That's really all I've got. My mom was tearing it up as the government.
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Jun 26, 2016 20:55
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T-Bone posted:Cuba Libre is rad. That's really all I've got. My mom was tearing it up as the government. I first read this as "my mom was tearing up as the government", like crying. I was thinking drat, it's a good game but it's not THAT good.
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Jun 26, 2016 21:56
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COOL CORN posted:I first read this as "my mom was tearing up as the government", like crying. I was thinking drat, it's a good game but it's not THAT good. Unless maybe she lived in Cuba at the time and the event cards triggered some memories of Batista's brutality.
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Jun 26, 2016 22:21
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:I've tried contesting Havana control in a couple of games now, this was the most successful time by far though. It works well in solo because the Government will always pick the train op when it doesn't have control of a city but the bot isn't farsighted enough to remove troops tied up in other parts of the island, so it won't really get around to sweeping or assaulting vulnerable guerrillas. Havana is potentially worth 12 opposition so it's worth it to park a ton of cylinders there, but you also lose the ability to act effectively in the rest of the island -- if I'd just ambushed a casino somewhere I would have won that last game. The problem with Havana from my perspective is that it eats up too much else and 12 opposition isn't going to net a win. If I can leave a couple pieces there to drop Terror and Kidnap then I'll do that, but otherwise try to get to the Syndicate and squash them. The Govt AI is probably the least dangerous of the three and if DR and Govt can get into a phone-booth knife fight in Havana I can focus on the mob. It's like Saigon in FitL, when you're playing as the NVA it seems like it's really juicy, especially when you have a clear opening with Easter Offensive, but is actually a death trap that will result in your entire army being eaten at the start of the next Coup round.
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Jun 26, 2016 23:13
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loving Belgae won again. The Arverni player was the kingmaker, chose Belgae over Aedui. The Roman player got absolutely wrecked, had like 10 fallen / off map legions by the end, and the only reason the Arverni didn't win was that he left his allies in the west undefended and lost them all near the end. I think the biggest mistakes the Roman player made were not scouting (allowing ambushes), and battling in regions with citadels while evenly matched. But I'm not sure what I could have done as Aedui to help him, other than giving him cash and suborning occasionally. Tekopo posted:Also I don't see how someone said that Suborn is overpowered if it doesn't activate the unit. Like I said, looking back on the game I don't think it's overpowered. But during the game I was on the receiving end as Belgae, the Aedui had the double Suborn capability and I kept bleeding allies so I was pretty annoyed.
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Jun 27, 2016 10:41
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Scouting is very essential. It prevents the Gaul from retreating without having to leave the region, which means that they can then ambush to get rid of Romans. The Roman player in our game under-utilised it, as well as not dispersing a single tribe and he lost because of it. Seize is crazy powerful (loads of resources, two whole years without having to worry about that particular tribe etc), and he didn't use it at all. The fact that Gauls gain warbands out of it is negligible.
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Jun 27, 2016 10:47
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Tekopo posted:Scouting is very essential. It prevents the Gaul from retreating without having to leave the region, which means that they can then ambush to get rid of Romans. The Roman player in our game under-utilised it, as well as not dispersing a single tribe and he lost because of it. Seize is crazy powerful (loads of resources, two whole years without having to worry about that particular tribe etc), and he didn't use it at all. The fact that Gauls gain warbands out of it is negligible. Not only that, Seize does nothing bad in regions the Arverni and Belgae can't rally in. If they've already gotten all their troops on the board, or are not eligible to rally in the adjacent regions, Seize is nearly all Roman gain. I wouldn't have characterized the warbands from the free rallies as negligible -- it is saving the Arverni and the Belgae precious actions in every region they can rally, giving them Hidden Warbands in regions surrounding the Romans -- but the Roman player can definitely mitigate its effects. kalthir posted:Like I said, looking back on the game I don't think it's overpowered. But during the game I was on the receiving end as Belgae, the Aedui had the double Suborn capability and I kept bleeding allies so I was pretty annoyed.
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Jun 27, 2016 14:14
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A Thought: It surprised me how much CL reminded me of Pax Pamir. I mean, there are key differences, but a lot of shared mechanics (Action/Special Action, the Card Play, Propaganda wins, and the way in which diplomacy is conducted).
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Jun 27, 2016 14:15
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Tekopo posted:Played my first game of Falling Sky and predictably, the Belgae won. This was because the Romans didn't put the boot in enough and allow Ambiorix not to get dealt the hammer blow he needs in order to be kept into check. I think this game relies a lot on that initial push, especially if you are playing the 53 BC scenario: It seems like whether the Belgae or Romans go first makes a huuuuge difference in the 53 BC scenario. If the Belgae get the first action they can take out 3 legions on the first turn with Battle and basically boot the Romans out of Belgica totally.
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Jun 27, 2016 14:56
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MikeCrotch posted:It seems like whether the Belgae or Romans go first makes a huuuuge difference in the 53 BC scenario. If the Belgae get the first action they can take out 3 legions on the first turn with Battle and basically boot the Romans out of Belgica totally. What sequence of commands gives the Belgae three legion kills? I see one assured kill in Morini if they use rampage, but the legions in Nervii and Treveri look safe to me (max 2 losses in both which can be covered by available auxilia).
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Jun 27, 2016 15:27
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Yeah don't think there is any way to get rid of that many Legions on a first move. Forts are really good.
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Jun 27, 2016 16:14
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ADP, FS and CL all at the FLGS. gently caress I'm broke.
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Jun 27, 2016 19:50
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I keep hearing good things about Triumph and Tragedy, is it worth picking up?
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Jun 27, 2016 20:26
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von Metternich posted:I keep hearing good things about Triumph and Tragedy, is it worth picking up? I dislike it for many reasons. I think it's too fluid; too much room for wooliness. I'm not sure I agree with its world view, and most importantly, it's bucket o' dice.
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Jun 27, 2016 21:07
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von Metternich posted:I keep hearing good things about Triumph and Tragedy, is it worth picking up? The game itself goes is basically a big sandpit which is only nominally attached to WWII and there's nothing to drive conflict apart from the fact that if there is no conflict, the wallies win.
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Jun 27, 2016 23:04
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Who wants to play in a PBP Falling Sky game with light narrative elements (like I ran for Cuba Libre). Any takers?
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Jun 28, 2016 10:53
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I'd be up for it, specially if I can roleplay as Obelix.
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Jun 28, 2016 11:26
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I got a pretty decent victory in Cuba Libre as Government, with a +6 victory margin over the second place faction. This time I focused on keeping Aid and the US alliance as high as possible, and spent a lot of my resources on robbing the Syndicate. I always seem to reach a point in the game where I don't have enough time or money to really smash the other factions like I'd like to, but realistically the best I can hope for is just to keep them contained. The aid and the cash got me to maximum resources, and I won only by spending it all on building support in the last Propaganda round.
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Jun 28, 2016 11:43
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I found a guy in Illinois who has tons of out of print ASL stuff for reasonable prices including For King and Country and Valor of the Guards oh god I am dead my poor wallet this is terrible.
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Jun 28, 2016 12:58
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kalthir posted:What sequence of commands gives the Belgae three legion kills? I see one assured kill in Morini if they use rampage, but the legions in Nervii and Treveri look safe to me (max 2 losses in both which can be covered by available auxilia). I think the answer is the Belgics got an event that let them bypass forts (or something similar) or in a much more likely scenario, I hosed up the rules  Also the Falling Sky bots seem pretty good so far, but holy poo poo some of those flow charts are impenetrable. Looking at you, non-player Roman March. It also seems like the bots have a really high priority on sitting tight and spamming warbands until they get below ~3, and only then going out and expanding. Does this translate into the way things play out in face-to-face play?
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Jun 28, 2016 13:49
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Tekopo posted:Who wants to play in a PBP Falling Sky game with light narrative elements (like I ran for Cuba Libre). Any takers? I think I'd be up for that. It'd give me a reason to read more about the conflict. Dibs on Vercingetorix!
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Jun 28, 2016 13:50
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Well, that's two, any more? I can play as well if you guys trust me with the deck 
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Jun 28, 2016 13:56
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I'd be interested but I'd have to reread the rules and probably solo a game or two to figure it out
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Jun 28, 2016 13:59
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It's not too difficult to be honest. The Gaul factions have a lot of overlap, for example, and the combat system is relatively easy. I think the thing I like most about FS is the combat system: it is almost deterministic in its simplicity, and only casualties are resolved using rolls. Fortunately, like most other COIN systems, the system has ways to avoid the randomness altogether through the use of Besiege and Ambush actions (apart from going against Ceaser). It really works well IMO.
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Jun 28, 2016 14:28
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Tekopo posted:Who wants to play in a PBP Falling Sky game with light narrative elements (like I ran for Cuba Libre). Any takers?
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Jun 28, 2016 14:35
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Tekopo posted:It's not too difficult to be honest. The Gaul factions have a lot of overlap, for example, and the combat system is relatively easy. I mean it's always a good idea to reread the rules- I just won a game of WSDV the other day since my brother entirely forgot economic collapse victory was a thing
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Jun 28, 2016 14:36
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Alright I'll get the thread up tonight then. Call out which side you want, first come, first served.
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Jun 28, 2016 14:40
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Tekopo posted:Alright I'll get the thread up tonight then. Call out which side you want, first come, first served. Arverni
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Jun 28, 2016 14:51
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StashAugustine posted:I mean it's always a good idea to reread the rules- I just won a game of WSDV the other day since my brother entirely forgot economic collapse victory was a thing Confirmed for historically accurate 
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Jun 28, 2016 15:31
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Tekopo posted:Alright I'll get the thread up tonight then. Call out which side you want, first come, first served. Picking a faction based on facial hair awesomeness has worked for me since Pax Porfiriana. Ambiorix seems to have the best moustache, so Belgic.
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Jun 28, 2016 15:36
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