Update Round 2 Games
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 1:15 am
Updates
All games are Round 2. In the following summaries, all data is presented in the order USA v CSA
Blindsniper v GraniteStater
(just underway)
FelixZ v Rudolf
Summary: Still early. Kentucky is neutral. No naval invasions. Union holds Manassas and much of Shenandoah. James blockade set up.
Pat Cleburne v Altaris
Summary: Game moving along well, having finished May 1862. Most of 1861 was spent maneuvering and reinforcing with no surprising moves. Now that the summer campaign season is here, Pat's USA forces have flanked F'burg and he took it with ease. There have been no naval expeditions - even the invasion of Suffolk was via river movement. Pat has stayed away from War Bonds, and the current VP total seems to reflect it. The CSA initially made a stand at Bowling Green, but fell back to the current line after Grant arrived and flanked the Green/Barren river line. Altaris now has interlocking corps over 200 miles from Paducah to Nashville.
Status in East as of End of May 1862
Status in West as of End of May 1862
Newman5 v Durk
Summary: Newman5 is a new player and Durk has made exceptional efforts to make the game into a learning experience (see Newman's AAR). Durk authorized me to advise Newman and he even went so far as to share his planned moves with his opponent. Durk, however, did not let up off the accelerator, and from the git-go this was a storm of Rebel units moving north. Newman did manage to send a naval invasion that took New Orleans, but he just lost it to Pemberton on the L Mar 62 turn. The CSA is north of the Ohio River, owns much of Missouri, and nearly all of Kentucky including Louisville. In the East, he's hit Washington hard several turns but hasn't yet taken it. Ft. Monroe and all of Virginia are in CSA control, as well as Annapolis and York, PA.
Rattler v Moni Kerr
Summary: By far the most exciting of the current games. Rattler is very aggressive as the Union player, and Moni Kerr has managed to riposte some of the riskier moves. However, we're only at Nov 1861, and Rattler has already taken places that most Union players don't get to until mid-1862:
he has taken Little Rock and every depot north of there except for Ft. Smith;
he did not take Manassas, but has taken Fredericksburg;
he took Macon GA and moved across Georgia to take Mongomery AL;
he took Wilmington, Lumberton, Carthage and Raleigh - and then lost them all but Wilmington to Bory's counterattack; recently he also took Morehead City
he owns all of Kentucky but the Jackson Purchase and P'burg and Grant has taken Ft. Henry. The line of defense is the Cumberland River but the line has been breached on the Eastern end and at Ft. Henry.
Much of the Confederate strength at the front has been siphoned off to deal with these incursions in the rear. As I mentioned, Bory's army was sent south to deal with North Carolina, and there is at least one division chasing Lyon in Georgia/Alabama.
However, the game is far from over. I for one look forward to watching its conclusion.
Conversations
One of the more enjoyable aspects of hosting is talking to the players about what's going on in the game. Here are some excerpts from Rattler:
"Please process a turn with no mud in the south ". (sent right after Lyon landed at Macon.)
" I think this maybe the weirdest game I've ever played, my moves seem random even to me." (I been there, bro.)
"This is about as fast as I've ever gone out west. I've made Fort Smith once or twice, but never little Rock. " (Sounds like a frat party road trip!)
"I don't know who wants winter to come first, him or me?"
"Well, I'm happy to give you an interesting show. I've noticed alot of USA players I go against totally under use not only the Ocean fleet, but the river fleet also. With the USA's huge WS and $$ I don't understand why people don't build enough gunboats to block any river movement beyond the Ohio river. " (I agree!)
"Every game I learn something new. I've never seen transports captured at sea. " (Amen, brother. Here's a screen shot of what happened. The land units were dumped on shore, probably where he wanted them anyway.)
Rattler also gave me some great monologues on what he was doing and planning, and how he thought Moni Kerr might react, but I can't show those as they are still pertinent to the game. Moni Kerr also sends me some gems. Here's one, sent right after Lyon hit Macon:
"In assessing Lyon's intentions I noticed that ocean transports have all water capability and so can travel in shallow water all the way up the many rivers. In over a year of playing this game and many pbem I had never noticed this before and no one had ever used this capability before. I don't know if it has always been this way or if this is new." (I agreed, and said I thought one reason is that frigates usually accompany transports, and frigates can't go where transport can. I am repeating all this here in hopes of it being a learning tool.)
Here are some from Pat Cleburne:
"I've captured some real estate at least. " (Sent to me after McDowell finally crossed the Rappanhannock and Milroy and others took Suffolk.)
"Lookin at all these entrenchments is depressing." (I told him to move around them! lol!)
All games are Round 2. In the following summaries, all data is presented in the order USA v CSA
Blindsniper v GraniteStater
(just underway)
FelixZ v Rudolf
Summary: Still early. Kentucky is neutral. No naval invasions. Union holds Manassas and much of Shenandoah. James blockade set up.
Pat Cleburne v Altaris
Summary: Game moving along well, having finished May 1862. Most of 1861 was spent maneuvering and reinforcing with no surprising moves. Now that the summer campaign season is here, Pat's USA forces have flanked F'burg and he took it with ease. There have been no naval expeditions - even the invasion of Suffolk was via river movement. Pat has stayed away from War Bonds, and the current VP total seems to reflect it. The CSA initially made a stand at Bowling Green, but fell back to the current line after Grant arrived and flanked the Green/Barren river line. Altaris now has interlocking corps over 200 miles from Paducah to Nashville.
Status in East as of End of May 1862
Status in West as of End of May 1862
Newman5 v Durk
Summary: Newman5 is a new player and Durk has made exceptional efforts to make the game into a learning experience (see Newman's AAR). Durk authorized me to advise Newman and he even went so far as to share his planned moves with his opponent. Durk, however, did not let up off the accelerator, and from the git-go this was a storm of Rebel units moving north. Newman did manage to send a naval invasion that took New Orleans, but he just lost it to Pemberton on the L Mar 62 turn. The CSA is north of the Ohio River, owns much of Missouri, and nearly all of Kentucky including Louisville. In the East, he's hit Washington hard several turns but hasn't yet taken it. Ft. Monroe and all of Virginia are in CSA control, as well as Annapolis and York, PA.
Rattler v Moni Kerr
Summary: By far the most exciting of the current games. Rattler is very aggressive as the Union player, and Moni Kerr has managed to riposte some of the riskier moves. However, we're only at Nov 1861, and Rattler has already taken places that most Union players don't get to until mid-1862:
he has taken Little Rock and every depot north of there except for Ft. Smith;
he did not take Manassas, but has taken Fredericksburg;
he took Macon GA and moved across Georgia to take Mongomery AL;
he took Wilmington, Lumberton, Carthage and Raleigh - and then lost them all but Wilmington to Bory's counterattack; recently he also took Morehead City
he owns all of Kentucky but the Jackson Purchase and P'burg and Grant has taken Ft. Henry. The line of defense is the Cumberland River but the line has been breached on the Eastern end and at Ft. Henry.
Much of the Confederate strength at the front has been siphoned off to deal with these incursions in the rear. As I mentioned, Bory's army was sent south to deal with North Carolina, and there is at least one division chasing Lyon in Georgia/Alabama.
However, the game is far from over. I for one look forward to watching its conclusion.
Conversations
One of the more enjoyable aspects of hosting is talking to the players about what's going on in the game. Here are some excerpts from Rattler:
"Please process a turn with no mud in the south ". (sent right after Lyon landed at Macon.)
" I think this maybe the weirdest game I've ever played, my moves seem random even to me." (I been there, bro.)
"This is about as fast as I've ever gone out west. I've made Fort Smith once or twice, but never little Rock. " (Sounds like a frat party road trip!)
"I don't know who wants winter to come first, him or me?"
"Well, I'm happy to give you an interesting show. I've noticed alot of USA players I go against totally under use not only the Ocean fleet, but the river fleet also. With the USA's huge WS and $$ I don't understand why people don't build enough gunboats to block any river movement beyond the Ohio river. " (I agree!)
"Every game I learn something new. I've never seen transports captured at sea. " (Amen, brother. Here's a screen shot of what happened. The land units were dumped on shore, probably where he wanted them anyway.)
Rattler also gave me some great monologues on what he was doing and planning, and how he thought Moni Kerr might react, but I can't show those as they are still pertinent to the game. Moni Kerr also sends me some gems. Here's one, sent right after Lyon hit Macon:
"In assessing Lyon's intentions I noticed that ocean transports have all water capability and so can travel in shallow water all the way up the many rivers. In over a year of playing this game and many pbem I had never noticed this before and no one had ever used this capability before. I don't know if it has always been this way or if this is new." (I agreed, and said I thought one reason is that frigates usually accompany transports, and frigates can't go where transport can. I am repeating all this here in hopes of it being a learning tool.)
Here are some from Pat Cleburne:
"I've captured some real estate at least. " (Sent to me after McDowell finally crossed the Rappanhannock and Milroy and others took Suffolk.)
"Lookin at all these entrenchments is depressing." (I told him to move around them! lol!)