Washington starting point and reinforcements

[rasnell]

I'm resuming play after a long absence and have forgotten some basics.

As the Americans in the 1776 campaign, is Washington randomly generated as far as his starting point? He began this round in Louisiana/Florida and it's taking forever to get him to the Deep South -- no ships available.

Is this always the starting point?

What is the single biggest factor for getting the maximum number of available reinforcements? Number of strategic cities controlled? Controlling an entire region?

I moved from easy to normal and I'm really getting pushed out of everywhere. Do you have any hope of recovery if you lose all strategic cities early in the campaign?

Get an idea of how badly it's going for me?

I'll probably restart, but need some basic strategy tips here. Obviously, you want to avoid head-on confrontations with the much stronger Brits. But, at a minimum, do you ever concede an entire region so you can focus on strategic cities elsewhere? Or should you try to hold at least something, even a non-strategic city, just to avoid losing an entire region?

[PhilThib]

Regarding Washington, he is appointed CinC of the Continental Army (CA) in July 1775...wherever the CA is..

The event procedure indeed checks where the largest "US" stack is located and places G.Washington there... Therefore if you have the CA mauled / destroyed at Boston early on, this may mean Washington travelling around a bit

Re: reinforcements, to get maximum CA is to have no strategic town controlled by the Brits within the whole area. To get a good mix of CA & Militia is to have the Brits there with all strategic towns yours (a real British blunder)... if the Brits hold some towns, you get average of each type.
The worst is when the Brtish have all towns: no CA and limited militias...

The check is done every 6 months (Feb and July). The amount of reinforcements is directly linked to our assessment of the area population and economics at the time, i.e. demographics, and you get more troops in New England than, say, in the West.
Unfortunately, we had no time yet to provide players with that kind of DB...yet leure:

[Hidde]

Do you have any hope of recovery if you lose all strategic cities early in the campaign?

It can be done. Last time I played it was on very hard and the AI(forget her name) had some detection bonus.
At one point the only town in my possesion was Pittsburgh!
Washington holed up there for a whole winter and then I managed to turn the table even if it took several years. I think I wasn't sure of victory untill the last year of the campaign.
It was a couple of patches ago so maybe it's even harder now.
Best strategic wargame I've ever experienced.

[Hidde]

The above story isn't totally true I remember now
I also had one or two militia in Boston. The British had a huge army(15-20 units)
besiege it but never attacked. In fact that glitch in the AI might have been one reason why I could make a comeback in the campaign.
I believe the AI is more willing to attack towns now if it has such a big advantage.

[PhilThib]

Also do not forget the task is now much more difficult for the British (AI or player alike), with the new "Minutemen" rule introduced with patch 1.10 leure:

Indeed, when the loyalty is too high in favor of the US, cities will have to be garrisoned lest some militia appears in your back and retake them...

[rasnell]

Thanks for all of the replies. This game is so deceptively simple because of how great the interface is, so it's always a pleasant surprise to find out just how much is happening behind the scenes.

Now I fully understand the significance of getting completely booted out of Boston and almost all of the Northeast region so early in the 1775 campaign. No wonder Washington started almost completely off the map.

Since my post, I also did something outrageous: I actually read the updated manual which explains very well what I haven't been doing.

I must be in a 2+ city or fort plus hold some strategic cities to get the best number of replacements.

A Patriot leader greatly increases the number of reinforcements in a 2+ city where this leader should be positioned before troops are levied.

Charismatic leaders restrict the number who muster out in the winter.

Partisan leaders provide bonuses with irregular units.

Frankly, I like how the AI is kicking my butt once I moved from Easy to Normal settings. Just adds to the challenge.

Thanks again.

[flintlock]

This game is so deceptively simple because of how great the interface is, so it's always a pleasant surprise to find out just how much is happening behind the scenes.

I agree wholeheartedly. There are many aspects that make this great, but the developers have really done a tremendous job on hitting the sweet spot on your obsevation above. Definitely a special game, no question.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I absolutely love the art! It truly captures the feeling of playing on a high quality board game.

[rasnell]

I can't wait for how they do the American Civil War. The issues of rail and supply should be interesting.

I'm sure the artwork and music will be outstanding for that era just like how everything is done in this game.