Twilight Struggle on Vassal anyone:?

2 live games, and now 3 email games (4 if southern accepts the recent file) and I have never evenr SEEN the mid-war cards! So I assume you are correct SG

Crikey - I thought all the mistakes were ironed out in the Deluxe edition ... and then I saw card 103 'Defectors' and have been chasing my ass trying to work out WTF the story is. The card says EARLY WAR but is numbered after the LATE WAR sequence but is not one of the optional cards. The Player Aid with the game listed it in the LATE WAR group.
So off to searching the BGG forum and found a post that said the 'Defectors' card was thrown in late in the 1st Edition and was always an EARLY WAR card, so I think why is it wrong in the Deluxe Edition. So back to my box, look through it and notice that the two sets of Player Aids - 2 paper and 2 cardboard - are different with the card ones still listing 'Defectors' in the LATE WAR but now with text saying EARLY WAR.
I wish they would post all this somewhere (the reprinted optional cards as well) - I haven't seen it on the GMT page - to save people having to troll BGG. In this case I wonder how game owners who have never heard of BGG (not a small number, BGG isn't that well known) would sort it out.

Defectors is definitely early war, Southern. If you have othe questions, just put them in this thread --- I imagine that there are a few of us around here that can answer most of them. I am working up a strategy article for TS per request of Matt.

Space Ghost wrote:

Defectors is definitely early war, Southern. If you have othe questions, just put them in this thread --- I imagine that there are a few of us around here that can answer most of them. I am working up a strategy article for TS per request of Matt.

Jason Matthews has a short 'US Strategy' guide published with some tips for beginners.

Would anyone be willing to play a game of TS with me? I've read the rules but never played before. I've used Vassal but am a bit of a dunce with it still.

I've just started a Vassal game but have only played it twice (2 years ago) so may not be the best person to teach you. It is a simple game to play but quite difficult to know when to do what and why, so I'd keep away from the experienced guys here for a few games (I intend to!).
After being warned that the Vassal implementation for it is a bit messy for PBEM after a few rounds I find it actually is probably one of the better modules out there because a lot of it is automated, so even if you are unsure what to do the module usually tells you. We just did a 4-player game of Arkham Horror on Vassal PBEM and that was a lot less automated but still relatively easy.

Once you load up the latest module have a quick look so you recognise most things and see what buttons there are and mouse-click options on objects, but because you can't do a solo and play both sides don't experiment to much more and just get someone to walk you through a game - you only have a few options and clicks per turn and they can easily give you concise instructions in the logfile of what you need to to that turn.

Stonecutter wrote:

Would anyone be willing to play a game of TS with me? I've read the rules but never played before. I've used Vassal but am a bit of a dunce with it still.

Given that it's my favourite game ever and that I feel the need to proselytize on its behalf I'd be happy to show you the ropes even though I'm already up to my eyeballs in PBEM games . Have to be ACTS though not Vassal.

Get on over to acts.warhorsesim.com/ and get yourself an account if you want to play.

OK - admittedly I'm only 2 action rounds into a Vassal game - but, apart from a couple of extra emails during the headline phase, what are the card issues (that I may experience) with TS using Vassal ?

If Stonecutter hasn't used ACTS before I could do a Vassal game with him - assuming Ozjesting hasn't any spare slots left - as any probs I encounter I can just ask Oz on my next turn with him. Plus he will have a very good chance of winning his first-up game playing me, I'm expecting a quick and brutal game against Oz especially since I let him start as the USSR.

Southernman wrote:

OK - admittedly I'm only 2 action rounds into a Vassal game - but, apart from a couple of extra emails during the headline phase, what are the card issues (that I may experience) with TS using Vassal ?

Basically it can be a lot more than a couple of extra emails. The sequence runs

* US player ends round and selects headline
* USSR player selects headline
* US player reveals headline
* USSR player reveals headline
* If US player is going first, he resolves headline
* USSR player resolves headline & takes first AR

Each step requires a log file load, record, save and email - six in all. It's an awful lot of work to resolve a simple step. Plus it looks as though you can't "take back" very easily if you click on the wrong card, which I did during my game with Oz.

You have added an extra step there Matt.

Us ends round and selects headline.

USSR selects headline and flips his card

USA Flips and either resolves or sends back.

So there is a speed hump in headline, but not quite that bad

I am digging ACTS mind you...but the time I spend being extra careful to get board state right, move all markers...fill in influence for messages....likely balances out a bit

But the real dragis when the file errors! So I am hoping the 4.0 email mod soon appears! If nothing else I like the mod better for the pictures on the cards

I've used ACTS before with Here I Stand... but doesn't that only take care of the cards, how do you handle the board without Vassal?

Stonecutter...you have to handle the board yourself. So you could set up a real board in your room...or you can use vassal mod

I am playing Matt and I just adjust everything on a vassal board and than "save game". It works pretty well.

But if you are still angleing for an email game and are happy with a move or 2 a day (or more on my quiet days) I am hapy to get another one going.

Trash mail me your email and side you would like to be and Ill set one up on vassal.

Personally I use an excel spreadsheet to track the game. There's one to download on TOS and it's a lot easier than Vassal if you can run excel. I *think* this is the file but there's actually several available in the file section. Some are easier to use than others.

www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/51332/exc...ng-twilight-struggle

pm sent

OK, after having my ass handed to me in 4 turns by Ozjesting in our game (which went the same as my previous two attempts) I had decided that TS was just not for me. It was just too frustrating reacting to your oppnents move while at the same time working out how to limit damage from all his cards you had to play - just far too much thinking and not enough action for impatient bastards like me.

But I decided I should at least play one game with my new shiney game before trading it so I found one of the guys at the club who was interested, set him up as the Rooskies and sat back ready to be wiped again. And then the funny shit happened - my hands suddenly weren't full of red cards so I could actually do a bit of planning, my dice rolls (apart from the Space Race where I only moved 1) were coming off much better than average, resulting in the VP track staying on my side in Early & Mid war. We only got 8 turns played before it was time to close up (shit - this game takes a long time to play) but I was happy as the last card I played removed influence from USSR european countries which left him with no countries controlled. My mate dealed up two hands just to see what we woudl have had as I packed up and he had dealt me two scoring cards including Europe, I suddenly realised that if I had played it in my Headline phase I would have had control of Europe which would have meant insta-win.

So the game has risen in my expectations, mainly because my terrible luck on getting all my opponents cards every turn seemed to have left )
Don't know if I'll keep it though as the time it takes to play a game right through may make it hard to find time to play it, how long does it take others here in face to face games ? Admittedly the other guy was learning and I wasn't that sure on most my moves but we did 8 turns in about 3.5 hours. (A quick count shows that a full game involves around 150 card plays).