Hello All,
I recently purchased BoA2 and am in need of guidance. I am new again to military strategy games, having long ago played 1776, the hex-based bookcase game from Avalon-Hill. So far I have read through dozens of informative posts, pored over the manual several times, and followed the excellent AAR “how-to” by Narwhal and Loki100. Based on advice from several posts, I have played both sides of the short Carolinas and Saratoga scenarios and am currently playing the Northern campaign to gain familiarity with movement, postures, ROE, supply, etc.
As I play the Northern campaign, I find that I am struggling to develop a feel for strategic plans for either side. As the rebel commander, I joined the Northern Army to the Continental Army, sent a force to capture Oswego (with an eye on Niagra as well), and took Newport. When the French appeared I sent them to Philadelphia, which at the time had kind of a light garrison. Despite a breach, I was unable to take it quickly before reinforcements arrived from New York. Currently the armies are hunkering down as December has arrived.
I guess I'm just not sure how to make progress when Spring arrives. Both the British and the Americans have Phila, NY and Albany as objectives. I don't have insight into how to pry open some sort of advantage. How should I be thinking (say as the rebels) in this situation?
As a related question, how do you decide on the command structure, troop constitution, and numbers for expeditionary forces? I feel like my decisions are random e.g. “Mad Anthony Wayne is cool – I think I'll have him and Lafayette take 2,000 men and try to sneak around Howe in NY and join the French in attacking Philadelphia.” That strategy actually seemed to turn out okay – until I got the battle report where Lafayette was killed in action! I guess I'm just wondering how others go about deciding when/where to send troops, what command characteristics and stats are important in leader choices, etc.
I have many more question, but this post is already quite long, so I will save them for a future one. I appreciate any help that might be provided, and am looking forward to improving my skills and experience. Thanks!
Scott