Hey everyone,
I’m not much into playing this game on a screen, but this looks pretty interesting to me. Can someone tell me more about it and particularly how playable this is? thanks.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=446693914&searchtext=
I have it. I’ve played around with it but never a full game.
It’s cool, but I think actually playing it would be a beast. It’s real world physics for the table, so you click\drag\release to throw the dice. Dice can hit pieces and knock them over. You can flip the table. you count out IPC’s yourself and set them in a pile. It’s just like playing on a table. It is VR compatible though which might be pretty cool. Weird to think of playing a board game in VR though.
If I have to roll dice myself and count IPCs, I also want to be able to walk over to the fridge and get myself a beer. And if it’s a good simulation, it better damn well taste like an expensive beer.
If I have to roll dice myself and count IPCs, I also want to be able to walk over to the fridge and get myself a beer. And if it’s a good simulation, it better damn well taste like an expensive beer.
LOL
YG,
It’s good in different ways compared to playing on a real board, chips and units are easier to clean up after combat resolution and create for purchases with simple copy/paste buttons or by pressing delete so there is some faffing about saved there. Dice and other objects do interact with each other but the game master can generate boxes and other tools such as an electronic counter for casualties to assist in little ways like that. The physics can be altered for an easier game too that can reduce the scattering of pieces and there are lots of different versions so you can have proper tokens for airbases and such instead of a 2D cut out so it looks better.
Resident is right though, there can be hundreds of individual pieces on the board that can take some time to load and render but it isn’t too demanding.
If you’re looking for an alternate to play A&A on while your place is getting renovated (God, I sound like a stalker, don’t I?) this may be what you’re looking for.
By the way, I really enjoy your channel.
I’ve been keeping an eye on this thread since I had the same question.
My house is over 100 years old, the rooms are smallish and space is a premium. A few years back, we set up a table in the finished walk up attic, but you can only access it from one side, so it’s not comfortable to play on.
We use the dining room table for Global, but it can’t be commandeered for too long since it’s where we eat (kitchen is not an eat-in). My wife puts up with a lot, but after a few days of having meals mixed with a huge map covered with pieces, she understandably gets tired of it.
We end up playing more Pacific or Europe or '42 games during the cold months when eating out of the deck is not an option.
Having it kept on a screen to play an hour or two when possible would be a good solution.
Actually, I’d love to have A&A played out where I couldn’t see the opponent’s side of the map unless I attacked or reconnoitered, and then only adjacent areas.
ausf,
It sounds like this may be just what you’re looking for.
Also, I like the last thing you mentioned, about not being able to see the enemies pieces on the board as having two separate tables is obviously not a problem, not that dissimilar to the old classic Battleship, but I was wondering how that would work, say, in 1940 Global 2nd Ed. Would you have a new turn sequence where just before Combat Movement there is a Recon Move/Mission/Thing? And would that require a specific unit conducting the recon, like using a fighter/tactical bomber?
ausf,
It sounds like this may be just what you’re looking for.
Also, I like the last thing you mentioned, about not being able to see the enemies pieces on the board as having two separate tables is obviously not a problem, not that dissimilar to the old classic Battleship, but I was wondering how that would work, say, in 1940 Global 2nd Ed. Would you have a new turn sequence where just before Combat Movement there is a Recon Move/Mission/Thing? And would that require a specific unit conducting the recon, like using a fighter/tactical bomber?
Ideally, it would be the software that would show you only what you know and would keep an accurate tally of the board.
We were thinking about playing it out on maps with a plexi cover and grease pencils, where a third party would control the board itself, which the players never see. Problem is, it wouldn’t be a fun role to proctor the game, so a software version would be better.
In terms of recon, I would use it as a non combat move for either aircraft or mech infantry. You keep that piece out of battle and move temporarily in then out of the adjacent territory where an accounting of the forces will be divulged (if your force survives the equivalent of an AA roll). Of course the enemy will know what you know and since your intel will be old by your next turn, it’ll be sketchy at best.
ausf,
I see what you’re going for, a table that has a fog of war sort of deal right? It’s possible but not at this sort of level on the game that I am talking about, it is essentially just an A&A G40 2nd Ed board that everyone can see as if playing IRL. The whole point is for people to play board games with people online as if they are all in the same room. There are ways to create a sort of Fog of War in the editor tools but it might take a while and would be fiddly.
It would be entirely possible for each side to have their own table completely and the only contact with the enemy would be by Skype or something similar, where only your pieces are on your board but this would rely heavily on an honour system as there would be no way to see the other sides table. If you trust your opponent it could work. For example on your previous move a recon plane spotted three transports in the English Channel so on your combat move you may say something like; ‘I’m going to move a submarine into sea zone 110’ hoping for an easy kill. But your opponent could just move a trio of destroyers in that you know they bought but have no idea of their location and then say; ‘I’m scrambling two fighters from England’.
I’m sure it would be possible to do it how you describe:
‘Ideally, it would be the software that would show you only what you know and would keep an accurate tally of the board.’
But that isn’t really possible as far as I am aware on the software that YG is asking about…
ausf,
I see what you’re going for, a table that has a fog of war sort of deal right? It’s possible but not at this sort of level on the game that I am talking about, it is essentially just an A&A G40 2nd Ed board that everyone can see as if playing IRL. The whole point is for people to play board games with people online as if they are all in the same room. There are ways to create a sort of Fog of War in the editor tools but it might take a while and would be fiddly.
It would be entirely possible for each side to have their own table completely and the only contact with the enemy would be by Skype or something similar, where only your pieces are on your board but this would rely heavily on an honour system as there would be no way to see the other sides table. If you trust your opponent it could work. For example on your previous move a recon plane spotted three transports in the English Channel so on your combat move you may say something like; ‘I’m going to move a submarine into sea zone 110’ hoping for an easy kill. But your opponent could just move a trio of destroyers in that you know they bought but have no idea of their location and then say; ‘I’m scrambling two fighters from England’.
I’m sure it would be possible to do it how you describe:
‘Ideally, it would be the software that would show you only what you know and would keep an accurate tally of the board.’But that isn’t really possible as far as I am aware on the software that YG is asking about…
I think the Steam sim will work for my space needs. I didn’t mean that I could use it for my hidden enemy idea, it was just a wish.
I have a buddy who is a software engineer and board gamer and passed the idea by him. He thought it would be relatively simple to pull off, but he just moved from the East Coast to West (works for Google) so face time, etc. would be limited to hash it out.
I play mostly with my son and we also play Bismarck, Midway and other games that rely on your opponent’s honesty, but Global is such a huge commitment in time a little troop shifting may be too tempting to resist. We’re loose with allowing some minor changes if you forgot to non-combat something somewhere to move an Anzac ship or something similar as long as it isn’t in reaction to the next move.
I can give the best answer, as I helped Fritz and Schroeder set that up (well, the layout at least).
So, its a boardgame simulator (Tabletop Simulator). The ‘game’ is saved at the start of Germany Turn 1. So you don’t need to spend 2 hours setting up the board.
The Dice Towers and ‘counters’ are were you do all your rolls, using the ‘counters’ to keep track of how many hits you’ve made. Pretty simple to use. Dice are colored red for attacker, blue for defender, along with their corresponding towers for the rolling.
Units are in ‘infinite’ bags, so you just drag them out as you need them, or do the Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V on a unit to duplicate it on the board.
Gray chips = 1
Green = 3
Red = 5
You can also shrink and enlarge the unit models at will, so easier to fit them in Europe when things start to get crowded.
The Host sets the options, so you don’t have to worry about some troll flipping the table (which is locked in place so it can’t be moved). Very rarely have I seen units knocked over and its usually when dropping them down on the combat table.
Easy to save after each session and everyone can save the game - so you can look over the board on your free time before playing again.
Income Tracker Chips for each country are how you keep track of income, along with using the notepad to write down how much each country has.
Feel free to add me on Steam (same name) and I can either broadcast it to show you, or go over in better detail and answer questions.
For some one like me who lives in area where boardgame clubs don’t exist, its the only method I have of playing boardgames like this.
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For some one like me who lives in area where boardgame clubs don’t exist, its the only method I have of playing boardgames like this.
I would be very interested to know why you favor this over TripleA?
I get to play with other people - usually on voice chat with them via Discord. Discuss strategies and also teach new players how to play (though I am no expert) which exposes more people to the game. Plus the visuals are much better.
I get to play with other people - usually on voice chat with them via Discord. Discuss strategies and also teach new players how to play (though I am no expert) which exposes more people to the game. Plus the visuals are much better.
Play with other people ist what we do here in this forum using TripleA, see the ‘play by forum’ section. Also you can play together online using the so-called “lobby”. For playing purposes TripleA appears to be superior, IMHO.
But I agree that for teaching purposes setting up and removing different scenarios or theatres quickly appears to be easier using the steam simulator with it’s “close-to-reality”-look.
Thanks for the answer.
Play by forum looks more like a PBEM game…several hours before the opponent does their move, and looks to typically be 1 v 1.
On Steam, I get to make new friends…I get to talk to them over the 2 - 4 hour session we play the game. We often try and get 4 - 5 for a game as well. We can discuss strategies or moves players made during the week before our next session. And the visuals are much nicer as well, when we are playing. Its also easy to experiment with scenarios, or ‘delete’ the pacific/atlantic side to show players one theatre over the other.
I also mostly play the Global War 1939 game as well, which I believe is not on TripleA - so there is that ^-^
Well, enjoy it!
I was just curious of similarities and differences. :-)
