I've been contemplating actually trying out my copy of FFW which I purchased a lot of years ago. I tried once before but life interceded and I never had a chance to get back to it. So I'm wondering, how does the game play? For those who have actual experience, how close does it come to mirroring the "historical" events described in JTAS and SMC? Thanks.
Fifth Frontier War - Actual Play
- Thread starter Vargas
- Start date
Vargas,
FFW takes a great deal of time and doesn't lend itself well to solitaire play.
As for recreating the events of the war described in JTAS and SMC, the game's map doesn't cover the entire threatre and FTF play wouldn't allow the strategic misdirection that led to both the Zhodani Abyss campaign and Norris' ambush which defeated it and won the war. (Although actions like that could easily occur in a double blind game.)
All this being said, I enjoy FFW very much and in large part due to it's command rules. Wargames too often place the player in the role of the 500 Meter General who sees everything and has perfect control over all their counters. Among other things, the weekly planning function mechanism found in FFW give the game a more "realistic" feel just as the communication strictures in Striker do for that game.
Regards,
Bill
FFW takes a great deal of time and doesn't lend itself well to solitaire play.
As for recreating the events of the war described in JTAS and SMC, the game's map doesn't cover the entire threatre and FTF play wouldn't allow the strategic misdirection that led to both the Zhodani Abyss campaign and Norris' ambush which defeated it and won the war. (Although actions like that could easily occur in a double blind game.)
All this being said, I enjoy FFW very much and in large part due to it's command rules. Wargames too often place the player in the role of the 500 Meter General who sees everything and has perfect control over all their counters. Among other things, the weekly planning function mechanism found in FFW give the game a more "realistic" feel just as the communication strictures in Striker do for that game.
Regards,
Bill
Double Blind you say...
I like the double blind idea, I could see how you could do it, but you would need three rooms essentially. One for the central clearing house, where in lies the main map, and one room each for the Empire and Coalition forces (who get paper maps, made in the other room)...
Yeah, that sounds fun as all get out.
Thanks.
I like the double blind idea, I could see how you could do it, but you would need three rooms essentially. One for the central clearing house, where in lies the main map, and one room each for the Empire and Coalition forces (who get paper maps, made in the other room)...
Yeah, that sounds fun as all get out.
Thanks.
I think the double blind is best done on a PBM/PBP situation with each player given a single admiral counter and only gets to know what that counter would know. Would be a big burden on the ref but likley a lot of fun.
I've only played a few turns FTF, and it did not work out, due to a differance in understanding of the play sequense in regards to fleet movement plots.
I've only played a few turns FTF, and it did not work out, due to a differance in understanding of the play sequense in regards to fleet movement plots.
Yeah, I keep hoping....
Yeah, but after my encounter with the one TCS/HG game I was going to play dieing due to a bad case of Life in a lot folks , I have serious doubts about it happening here...
I keep hope alive...
Yeah, but after my encounter with the one TCS/HG game I was going to play dieing due to a bad case of Life in a lot folks , I have serious doubts about it happening here...
I keep hope alive...
That's doable under Vassal...
I ran a double-blind PBEM game of FFW back in 2004. In my game, each player served as a Fleet commander, with one additional player on each side serving as CinC. All communications were run through me, with no direct communication between the players permitted. We only got to about turn 10 or so before circumstances forced me to shut it down. Some of my periodic "TNS" updates as well as a series of AAR posts are here in this forum and can also be read on the TML archives.
TNS updates: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=12098
AAR: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=12107
I used Cyberboard to keep track of the fleet movements - there was a Japanese "gamebox" out there already and I just converted it to English. The trickiest part was keeping track of communications; I kludged a solution together with text files and a spreadsheet. I also wrote up a 2-3 page document adapting the game to PBEM / double-blind / limited-intelligence / limited comms format.
Right off the bat I'll say that the "fortress worlds" and years-long sieges found in canon simply won't take place in this game. Competent Zhodani players will stomp Jewell, Villis and Efate flat in short order. However, at least one if not two Zhodani fleets disappeared off the map from the Imperial's perspective once the war started (both sides had limited intelligence about their opponent's starting positions) and naturally, the Zhos had no clue about which way the first Imperial reinforcements were headed. Things were just starting to get interesting - read the AAR and you'll see what I mean.
I'll see if I can find my rules document and post it.
TNS updates: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=12098
AAR: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=12107
I used Cyberboard to keep track of the fleet movements - there was a Japanese "gamebox" out there already and I just converted it to English. The trickiest part was keeping track of communications; I kludged a solution together with text files and a spreadsheet. I also wrote up a 2-3 page document adapting the game to PBEM / double-blind / limited-intelligence / limited comms format.
Right off the bat I'll say that the "fortress worlds" and years-long sieges found in canon simply won't take place in this game. Competent Zhodani players will stomp Jewell, Villis and Efate flat in short order. However, at least one if not two Zhodani fleets disappeared off the map from the Imperial's perspective once the war started (both sides had limited intelligence about their opponent's starting positions) and naturally, the Zhos had no clue about which way the first Imperial reinforcements were headed. Things were just starting to get interesting - read the AAR and you'll see what I mean.
I'll see if I can find my rules document and post it.
I had several times the idea of refreeing a PBM/PBEM campaign about FFW, and even began with a set of rules ( I also thought about adapting it to the Solomani War), but I found several promblems wich, with lack of time for my part, always fustrated the idea:
- I wanted a system of ship combat wich allowed a quick resolution while giving more detailed combat than th oficial in FFW (I was trying to adapt the naval combat system from SPI's ETO/PTO systems)
- I find quite 'irreal' the system of planetary combat, wich usually conquers a planet in 2-3 weeks at most (quite contradictory with Invasion Earth)
- I wanted a way that the systems could surrunder to siege/interdiction to allow the strategy planned by Provincial Goernor Shtaliatjlas of having Efate and Jewell surrundered without having to occupy them a chance
- I needed about a dozen or so players per side wich I could trust whould not talk among themselves about the game and wich accept the autority of their respectives CiCs
And, of course, I needed being able myself to referee it (family and work use also my time) to avoid the fustration of several players whould have should I leave the game in the middle of the war.
