First let me start by congratulating Ferg, ODX and the entire German side for a great game. Their strategy and execution were the best I have ever faced! Job well done.
But before I get to the game, let me take a step back and explain some of my philosophy on paintball generalship. First and foremost, scenario paintball is a game and all games have rules which provide structure, but those rules can also be used to gain advantage.
In my opinion one of the general’s primary roles is to make sure they fully understand the rules of the game. This is of help to both the game producer and the general’s side. From a strategy perspective, an in depth understanding of the ruleset can provide opportunities to develop a strategy that maximizes their side’s chances of winning. This often means challenging the game producer on rules they think are unfair and/or making suggestions on additional rules that balance the game. If the generals on both sides fully engage in this process there will be a back in forth between the two generals and game producer that results in a rule set that everyone is happy with or at least can agree to. If this does not happen equally on the part of both generals or one general misses something the other general was able to get the producer to agree to or just doesn’t understand the rules, then you can end up with a lop side result.
However, while I think it is fair and correct for the game producer to allow this type of gamesmanship to happen, it is a competitive game after all, they must make sure that they are on the lookout for rules that so skew the game that they risk players on one side having a bad experience. This should apply not only before the game as rules are finalized but during the game as they find rules that are just not working or are having a negative effect on game play. This is a fine line to tread and harder to manage the more complex and innovative the game concept.
For this the scenario, we decided to organize as a rifle company of 3 platoons in addition to stand alone scout and weapons (anti-tank) sections. Our plan was fairly simple in design.
- Establish a hard defensive line far enough forward where we’d have enough points bases to accrue points without over extending ourselves.
- Fight our AT in depth to counter the eventual Panzer break through.
- Focus our infantry on the German infantry in order to strip the Panzers of their support.
- Look for opportunities to mount local counter attacks for flag flips and missions points.
As I stated in my opening thoughts one of the general’s main duties is to understand the game rules and this is where I made my first and biggest mistake. When the rules set came out it stated that the tank rules would be the Command Decisions tank rules and referenced those rules with a link. Having generaled the Warsaw Pact to 2 consecutive victories I assumed I knew the tank rules cold and began planning without reading the tank rules in detail. You know what they say about making assumptions… Well I made a really BAD ASSUMPTION in thinking there would be no changes to those rules in the year since I was general or that I would even remember them all with perfect recall.
The primary reason we lost the game was because we could never effectively stop the tanks. In fact it took me half of the day to fully understand why we were not having more success against the armor. This is not to say we would have won the game, but I do believe the point outcome would have been much closer. The final battle was evidence of this.
The bottom line is Ferg and his command staff built an excellent strategy around the rules set that maximized their chances of winning. I on the other hand failed to read the tank rules and missed some critical points I would have most definitely challenged, given the game structure and layout of the field. I made a mistake and it cost my side. Apologies to all of Easy company and rest assured if you choose to fight with me again it is a mistake I will not repeat.
One other thing, some may say well it sucks to lose because of some stinking rules, and I agree to a point, but part of what I like about generaling is the strategy that comes from taking advantage of the rules to benefit your side, which I feel is perfectly fair as long as you are strictly abiding by those rules. Don’t bend, don’t break, and don’t cheat! Our victories at Fulda were in part due to the fact that we just understood the rules of the game better than the other side. This is why I think there at times there are allegations of cheating by one side or the other. The side that does not understand the rules almost always claim there was mass cheating.
This argument may not appeal to those who just want to shoot paint, but that’s why there are so many different styles of woods ball games. Big games such as the Cousins game in New York for those who just want to play paintball, Wayne Dollack’s role playing games for aspiring actors, mission based games from Viper and MPP that sort mix big flavor with a little tactics and planning, and the Mil-Sim style games like Fulda and Bastogne which require some effort to organize and plan for.
Okay, so now you’re asking, “well what were the rules you are talking about?” Okay, let me very clear before I get into the details, from my perspective this was a cleanly played game and with the exception of two problems that were quickly addressed by the Boss team there were no other major issues that I could see or heard of. Also, I have heard ZERO complaints about wiping or other types of player cheating. This is a great testimony for the Boss reffing staff.
Let me first address the two issues that were a problem that did have an impact on the game, both of which occurred early in the day when the game was still competitive from a points perspective.
The first issue had to do with the reinsertion of German troops from the German entry point. A key element of our plan was to hold the Spools area adjacent to the safety area. This task went to our 3rd platoon. The problem was that some of the German troops began to re-insert from the entry area rather going back to DZ1. The effect being their respawn time was much shorter than if they had to go back to their DZ. On the other hand our respawning troops had to go all the way back to DZ2 behind Luzery. Consequently we were never able to fully control this part of the field during the early hours of the game which in turn unsettled our entire defensive line, as our second platoon was constantly under pressure from the center and right flanks. Once the issue was identified and brought to the attention of Boss Company they moved quickly to resolve it. However, by this time our entire right flank had been pushed back across the main road behind the Spools. It was only a matter of time before our entire line was pushed back because of our compromised right flank.
I don’t blame Boss or the German command for this. It is understandable that players in the heat of battle would do this. I have had it happen to me at a game at Boss playing from the defiant side of the field. I had to post someone at the entry point to make sure players did the right thing. However, I recommend the field consider posting clear signage as to where players can and cannot respawn in areas where they are likely to become confused.
The second issue surrounded tank classes and what constituted a tank kill. When the rules were published and I saw that we would be using CDWC tank rules the first thing that came to mind was the CDWC tank classes. CDWC has two classes of tanks, heavy and medium each with different kill requirements.
From my Fulda recollection medium tanks could be killed by 1 Nerf hit anywhere on the tank but heavy tanks could only be eliminated from the sides and the rear. I wanted to be sure of which class we’d be facing because the larger tanks would definitely be harder to deal with because of the hit requirements and the fact we were limited to 1 AT per tank. I argued for more AT because I felt the 1 to 1 ratio was unfair because AT can be eliminated by any player on the field while tanks could only be eliminated by AT. To counter this, I sought rule changes such as allowing us more mines and preventing the infantry from eliminating the mines by just walking on them. I also wanted to be able to use caution tape as simulated anti-tank barriers, all of which were denied.
Well, all morning long I was puzzled as to why we could not seem to slow the tanks down, even a little bit, until sometime after mid-day when the AT teams began reporting that they were being told that a tank kill required 2 hits by a nerf to the side or rear of a tank. Now it made sense! Basically this reduced the effectiveness of our AT by half. Requiring the AT to register 2 hits meant that a single AT had to expose itself twice to kill a tank. Prior to the game I asked and confirmed with the game producer that 1 nerf hit anywhere on the tank was a kill as no heavy tanks where in play. Under a 2 hit rule I would have asked for a ratio of at least two AT per tank or would have pressed harder for more mines and the caution tape barriers. Again, keep in mind AT vs. Tank is not an equal trade off, especially when the AT has to get close to eliminate the tank and can be eliminated by a simple barrel tag or paintball hit.
To their credit the Boss team reacted to this and confirmed during the game my understanding of the rule and to my knowledge enforced the 1 hit rule for the remainder of the day, albeit it had to be a side or rear shot! However, the damage had been done since the Germans, using their tanks to great effect, pushed our entire line all the way back to Luzery (Old Town). The impact being, that 10 of the 13 points bases were now behind German lines by about 2 pm, as well as a number of missions that fell behind German lines. Game over.
There were other tank rules that came into play that I could not recollect from my Fulda Gap days.
On one occasion an Easy Co AT gunner shot a tank in the side of the turret but was told the tank was still in play because it had a hardened turret? The tank then preceded to demolish 0ur only real offensive push of the day when it took out our communications (respawn)tower.
On another occassion an eliminated tank respawned in two minutes because the AT gunner did not tell the tank driver histank was eliminated.
One rule the Germans just killed us with was the on the spot tank respawn. Basically an eliminated tank could just stay in place for 15 minutes before respawning. This meant that we could never clear the tanks from any area of the field. Either their infantry would wait for the tank to respawn before continuing their attack or even if we pushed the infantry back the tank would respawn in our rear. This, more than anything else sank any chance we had of stopping the German’s. Again keep in mind the 1 to 1 ratio of AT and the rules above. In most cases our AT was eliminated after taking out a tank, which meant the AT gunner had to go back to our DZ. In effect our AT would then have to fight their way back to where they were while the tank just sat in position for 15 minutes, respawned and then continued on its way.
This is one area where I think the Boss team missed a call. The Germans were able to just shove us backwards using this start-stop strategy for which we had no answer. If you consider this from a historical perspective, the German’s did not have an unlimited number of tanks nor could they teleport replacement tanks to the exact spot of a previously destroyed vehicle. Note, one of the reasons used for limiting our number of mines was that in the real battle the Paratroopers had less than 30 mines all together. This combined with the fact that our AT was usually eliminated getting the kill (because of the two shot rule) meant the tank was able to move unopposed once it respawned. I think Boss should have changed this rule when we raised the issue in the early afternoon, but they did not allow a change in the rule until the final battle when any hit to the tank eliminated it from play.
This rule makes sense at CDWC where the field is much larger and spread out and travel times to and from respawn areas for tanks can be substantial. On the Boss field it makes no sense, especially in a game where one side does not have tanks and AT guns are in a 1 to 1 ratio.
The nut of all of this is I think Boss is very cutting edge in their game concepts and rules sets. They have introduced some of the most interesting game rules I have seen in a long time. However, being on the cutting edge means you have to be able to quickly figure out when something is not working as intended or is really altering the game play in a way that unbalances the sides. Then you have to be willing to make changes to get things back to some semblance of order.
On the other hand, as I stated at the top, since I did not re-familiarize myself with the CDWC tank rules I completely whiffed on this rule and the impact it would have on the game. Ferg did not. Great strategy on his part.
There was one other area in planning where I missed the boat and that was in the use of the spy. After reading the Boss rules set and considering how I thought the game would play out I did not give the spy role any real thought. Basically, given our strategy was to keep in constant contact with the Germans, I thought having a spy would be of little help given they’d know where we were and we know where they were, and this was the case for the most part. We did have a spy, of sorts, but his presence on the German side was more of a goof and for psychological reasons than for real intel. Our spy was an easily recognizable member of our team, Terminator, who pretty much announced himself as the spy through his actions.
On the other hand the German spy was very effective in his ability to infiltrate our command team. What he did was very, very cool, and something out of a movie. First he attached himself to our 1st platoon which was also providing a two man security team for me throughout the game. So the early intel he was feeding Ferg was coming from his interactions with 1st Platoon. I know this because my initial security team had clear unit identifiers and uniforms that marked them as 42nd Legion and Team Wemow. So this is where Twitch, the German Spy, really earned his pay. About 12 or so I realized that my initial security team had not had a chance to play for most of the morning, so I called down to Dave Atkins the 1st platoon commander and suggested he send up some replacements so the two guys currently with me could get some trigger time. He agreed. So the call went out amongst 1st platoon for volunteers for the Commander’s security detail. Having attached himself to 1st platoon, and I guess not arousing anyone’s suspicion, he simply raised his hand and ended up as part of the Praetorian Guard! When the new security detail showed up, I noticed that one of them had a uniform that was slightly different than the other 42nd Legion guys, but did not really spend any more time thinking about it. I mean he was sent by my trusted lieutenant! Well, the rest is now part of Boss paintball lore.
Great work on the part of Twitch. Kudos to Ferg for putting someone in that role who could maximize its value and shame on me for too quickly discounting the value of the role in the game.
My advice to aspiring generals:
1. Always read ALL the rules!
2. Every role in the game should be maximized to its full potential!
Here endeth the lesson.
Game Summary
Given I have spent a ton words on strategy and game rules I’ll try to be succinct on what happened from my perspective during the game. Interestingly enough, the game seem to follow very closely the real battle events.
Just as in the real battle when Team Desobry (a task force comprised of 1st Bn, 506th PIR and 4 M18 Tanks Destroyers from the 705th Tank Destroyer Bn) deployed north of Bastogne to Norville to block 2nd Panzer, we initially deployed our 3 platoons to the north along a line from the Downed Cargo Plane to the Spools. Our goal to gain control of the forts on that line and secure a base for points.
With control of those forts we would have one less base under our control than the Germans but our phase 2 was to then try and take the Ark and/or Georgetown. With those bases in hand and completing missions with the occasional flag flip we felt we could stay in contention and squeak out a win.
Although our platoons were not quite at full strength at game on we seemed to be in good shape. 2nd platoon, anchored by AFC in the center, was able to achieve its objectives of taking the abandoned barn and Fox Hole 13 as well as the Ark which also held the Germans communications tower.1st platoon, built around 42nd Legion and Team Wemow, on the left flank was able to take the SPT (Spools Fort) but had to fight to take the downed cargo plane. 3rd platoon, comprised primarily of Boxer with walk-ons was in trouble from the start although it took about an hour for us to fully understand how bad the situation was and it wasn’t until late morning we discovered the issue with some of the Germans respawning incorrectly.
We did eventually secure a line from the cargo plane to Foxhole 13 but because we could never gain total control of the spools we could not solidify our defensive position and transition to the offense. Then the German tanks really began to hammer us and it was an uphill fight for the rest of the day. By about 1pm it was clear that mounting anything but the most limited offensive action was going to be impossible, given the German tanks, so we began discussing how we could just keep the game close and not get pushed off the field. I remember the point this became brutally clear. I asked each one of the platoons commanders if they thought they could do anything offensively, and each came back with the answer “no, we are barely hanging on to what we have now.”
It is at this point that the psychology of the situation becomes real clear. In every scenario game I have ever been in where one side is dominating there is always a point where the will of the other side is broken. This is typically measured by the number of players from the losing side who are in the parking lot. Sometime after my call to the platoon commanders Phantom went to the parking lot and stated he saw at least 80 yellow arm bands. I’m sure he did not count everyone in the parking lot and perhaps 80 may be high, but I could just feel the air slowly leaving our sails as the ship went dead. I suspect this is no different than any other head to head sport where victory is black and white. You either win or lose, there no in between. Just take a look at the losing side of a Super Bowl or World Series. The losers always look shell shocked and in games that are blowouts, that shell shocked looked starts while the game is ongoing.
I must admit that, for a few seconds defeatism even entered my mind, I mean the tanks are kicking our butts, its clear troop morale is tanking, and I’m thinking crap, I’m out of ideas. But I’m Boxer and if I’m going to lose it won’t be with a whimper. I took a few minutes to compose my thoughts and then called the one man on the field I know I can go to for ideas and energy, Wendell “Runaway” McInnis. I’m like “Bro, they are kicking our butt’s what is going on?” Although Runaway is the captain and leader of team Boxer, we have a unique working relationship on the field. I sort out the big picture, strategy, and organization and he is all about tactics and the point of attack. Not to mention he has a pretty good head for strategy as well. After getting a read on the situation from him I decided the best thing to do was collapse our lines to a more manageable front, not that the Germans were giving us a choice, but we decided to fall back to Phase Line Yellow. A line demarcated by the road that bisects the field from the safety area/chrono station entrance to the far left tape line. This would give us a chance to regroup and come up with a plan while we kept the Germans at Bay.
Then it hit me, let’s at least take some of the initiative from the Germans and get them responding to something we were doing rather than the other way around. By this time our AT plan was a shambles. With the Germans pushing us back, defense in depth became a joke as they ate up territory. Also, our AT could never coordinate effectively. So I decided reach back to a technique the Germans pioneered in WWII, forming an AT assault squad that would be offensive as opposed to defensive in nature. So I consolidated all of our AT at DZ 2 under Run’s command so that if the opportunity arose we could strike in a concentrated and coordinated manner. This also made sense since our lines were collapsing back towards Luzery and that’s where the German armor was coming anyway.
Our lines along Phase Line Yellow were holding and it gave me a chance to consider a plan of attack. After conferring with Runaway and the platoon commanders I decided an attack up the left tapeline had the best chance of success since it appeared the Germans were concentrating in the middle of the field and around Georgetown. I told 2nd and 3rd platoons they would have the too hold the line while 1st platoon with Run’s AT task force hit the left flank. In truth, by this time the collapse of phase line yellow was only a matter of time.
But Runaway, supported by Sith1 and 1st platoon, hit the left flank hard and the next thing I hear is that they have re-taken the spools and cargo plane! I’m like hot @#$&! Here’s our chance to break out! However, once again those pesky tank rules hit us in the face. This is where we lost our communications tower because the tank respawned and when the team shot the tank again they were told the tank had an hardened turret and was not dead and it preceded to eliminate the squad.
That was the last offensive action we would mount for the rest of the day. At that point with 1st platoon and the AT task force mauled and 2nd and 3rd platoons under pressure I decided to order everyone back to phase line Red, the defensive line before our Alamo (final) defensive line, in order to avoid a general route and keep what forces I had left intact. Phase Line Red ran through Luzery and then dog legged at right angles to the opposite tape lines.
Basically, just as in the real battle, Easy Co was conducting a fighting retreat back towards Bastogne, our main goal to run out the time before the Germans could push us off the field. During the real battle the 101st basically fought a delaying action from Norville, through Foy, eventually ending up encircled in Bastogne. The Panzers made several hard attempts to take Luzery from us, at one point overrunning the base and threatening to completely collapse our defense at Phase Line Red. It was at this point I decided to nuke Luzery to try and get some of that dang armor off the field, if only for a few minutes. More importantly, nuking Luzery had the effect of shortening our defensive lines and constricting the front on which the Panzers could attack. This gave us a chance to concentrate our forces, sort of like the 300 at the Thermopylae. This bought us some more time as we moved towards the final battle.
At this point something happened and I’m not sure why. I noticed a small trickle of our players re-entering the game through Bastogne and gradually that trickle became a little bit larger. For some reason it seemed like Easy company troopers where returning to the field in greater numbers. Maybe it was just that we had been pushed so far back that that was the easiest place to re-enter the field. Maybe a few folks got their second wind and decided to finish the day strong, I don’t know, but it sure was welcome!
As larger groups came on I began to stop them to give them directions to the hot spots on the field and a brief pep talk. Basically I told them the truth, that winning the game was out of reach but that one final battle remained and that was to deny the Germans Bastogne. That would have been the final cherry on top, because taking Bastogne would mean the Panzers had driven us from the field, also from a historical perspective it would represent the real measure of success, who held Bastogne at the end of the day. I reminded them that like us, battered and bruised and push to the brink of defeat, it was Easy Co and the rest of the 101st that owned Bastogne when the fight ended and are celebrated as the victors today.
Honestly, I don’t know if this resonated with anyone but it sure sounded good to me!
And so the final battle began. Our strategy was simple hold Bastogne from 4 until 5 pm. Just before the final battle began Jeremy, the lead Boss guy came up and asked me what I thought would be fair for the final battle. It seemed like he was offering me a straight infantry fight since the tanks had been kicking our butts all day, but in my mind in order to truly have held Bastogne the final battle had to include their armor. I just made one request. No funky AT rules. One hit and the tank was eliminated for the rest of the day, to which he agreed. With that the final confrontation was set.
From a tactics perspective the fight was straight forward the Germans would have to attack on a narrow front and their armor could only move along the flanks because of the terrain. My primary concern was our left flank because the tapeline opened up towards the back of Bastogne and if they got back there I knew we’d lose the town. Also, by this time unit cohesion had broken down and our platoon structure was pretty much gone. We just had a mass of troops fighting on a narrow front. So to make sure we had command and control I had Runaway on the right flank with Big Six. MGB with Sith1 in the center, Phantom commanding the left flank, and me in the rear directly behind MGB and Sith1. We then separated the troops into two lines of defense. The plan was as the first line of defense was thinned to push the second line into their place while the troops from the first lined respawned to the second line’s rear position. My intent was to make sure we could keep the front lines stocked with troops while conserving paint and air through a rotation system.
When the storm came it came with a vengeance. Ferg and his Panzers hit the front lines hard and it seemed like a massive spray of paint as paintballs crisscrossed and exploded on targets. I kept moving back and forth between the flanks and communicating with the troop commanders to see where they needed reinforcements. As the first defensive line thinned out, as planned, the second line rushed into place and filled their positions. This rotation worked for two attacks. Also as expected the Panzers began pushing down the flanks but now they were at a disadvantage since they were moving on narrow single track on the low ground, and with our AT firing from high ground we had the first fair fight of the day. One by one the German armor was knocked out.
By the third attack we were pushed so far up the hill that our first line was almost too where our second line was staging which made that tactic mute, plus the troops were so close to the fight keeping them restrained was impossible so we just started funneling respawning troops to the middle of our lines where they could be funneled quickly to wherever the greatest needed was without a lot of coordination.
Even though our defense was holding we were slowly getting pushed back towards Bastogne. However, with about 20 minutes left in the game there seemed to be a lull, either the Germans had run out of steam or just pulled back to re-group. I instructed the troop commanders to tell the troops to hold their fire until the next push came rather than trading paint at long distance which only served to waste resources, which were clearly dwindling as more and more players were beginning to leave the field because they were out of paint and air.
With each successive German rush our line was pushed a little closer to Bastogne proper, but my main concern remained the left flank as that was the one place the German’s could flank us but Phantom was doing a great job of keeping that section of the line intact. During the lull we began discussing a spoiling attack, the thought came to me from a recollection I had of the 56th Maine’s charge down little Round Top during the battle of Gettysburg, maybe if we could get a punch off first we could catch them off guard and push the German’s back. The catch, however, is if we went too early and our attack stalled we’d be open to a counter punch that could take the base so we wanted to time our attack so that even if it stalled the Germans would have no time to punch through. We debated for a few minutes when to go and actually started the countdown with two minutes left. However, our troops had exhausted themselves holding the Germans off and we could not get enough of them moving forward to attack anything so we just decided to hold in place and run the clock out and that is how the game ended.
There was no loud cheer as the final horn sounded, just lines of tired paintball warriors as they headed back to the parking areas. I think both sides had exhausted themselves in the epic final battle and had little left to cheer anything.
For Easy Company the final horn sounded the end of what had been a long, tough day but one that had ended with the moral victory of denying the Germans a crowning achievement, the fall of Bastogne. For the Germans, the final horn sounded a resounding victory in terms of the points, but one that fell just short of the ultimate goal. From a game perspective the Germans had clearly dominated from start to finish. But from a historical perspective, Bastogne remained in Easy Company’s hands.
Great Game Moments and Personalities
One of the enjoyable parts of paintball, for me anyway, are the war stories. Those innumerable tales of valor and folly that come out of every game. Twitch’s gambit will be one long remembered by those who attended this game.
Then there is Runaway, who with out fail at every game does something where you just say, how the heck did he do that and Bastogne was no exception. Sometime after his attack on the left flank he calls me on the radio and asks “Request permission to conduct a reconnaissance?” So knowing when he calls me with something like that I don’t even question it, I just tell him to get ghost. Well about 15 minutes later he comes on the radio and says “Have the referees confirmed a flag flip at Georgetown.” I’m like, “Where?”, “Georgetown.” All I could do was start laughing! He call’s a few minutes later asking me to have the reffs confirm another flag flip. By now I’m just giddy, “GO BABY, GO!” He then calls me and recommends an airdrop in the German rear which I’m like cool, let’s go score some points! I coordinated the jump with a squad of 12 or so including SeoulBro with AT to the location Run indicated. The plan is once they get back there to have them split up and hit as many flags flips as possible. The next time he calls he is out of breath and I hear sounds like he’s moving real fast. He saying something about another flag flip but I can’t quite make out what he is saying when his transmissions suddenly stop. Not too long after that I found the air drop was slaughtered (Hmmmmmm, not the first time this has happened to me. Czech Paras anyone).
Well first, I don’t know how Run got back behind the German lines but he was there flipping their flags. This could have been a big points bonanza for us except that Twitch’s Gambit cut Runaways Foray short as the German Spy was able to pass on this critical intel to Ferg and the German high command, who quickly dispatched none other than Greenman to track Runaway down. I swear, it sounded like an episode from the Fugitive.
Then there was what was the highlight of our day, when two intrepid and sneaky warriors from the Bulldogs somehow allowed the German attack to pass them by only to get a barrel tag on Ferg. Sweeet!!!!!
Then there was Chaos from Phules Gold who was just a dynamo everywhere on the field. If I asked him to do something it got done no problem. The thing is I had never met this young man before but his energy, enthusiasm and take charge attitude is very infectious. He is a big reason we were able to organize an effective defense of Bastogne. If the game had an MVP he was easily it.
Then there was Team Wemow, our Most Valuable Team, who came down from Virginia with 42nd Legion. These guys were hard hitters all day long. Every time I looked up I saw those black Jerseys moving to the attack!
And of course I can’t leave out Reese, my hidden Ref. He was my primary companion for the day (of course I probably have to include Twitch in my little traveling band as he was obviously never far behind). Reese was very responsive to my questions and issues. I think this is a great idea as it makes communications with the game producer during the game so much easier, especially when it comes to rules clarifications. Reese did a GREAT job!
Last but not least was the final defense of Bastogne, where our guys put up one heck of a fight and were unwilling to let the Panzers get to that high point. I mean they just dug in and would not surrender that final yard and in a way it was apropos that the game ended as it did, as in my mind our representation of Easy Co was true to form, we got beat down but in the end American paratroopers still owned that small Belgian town.
Closing Thoughts
Well, what can I say I now have one MAJOR defeat under my belt, but it was worth the experience and in the end it was fun? From the early feedback I have heard from Easy company players, most people enjoyed the game despite the way the points worked out. I also had the opportunity to connect with some old friends (AFC and 42nd Legion) and make some new ones (WEMOW, Bulldogs, and my man Chaos!)
For Boss Company I do have a few suggestions.
The Battle of Bastogne is a great concept and I would play it again but the tank rules need to be seriously revised. The game presents some really great challenges to both commanders and players but care needs to be taken to make sure the game remains balanced even though the two sides have very different capabilities. Tank rules that work at Command Decisions are clearly a bad fit for this field.
I would also suggest that you flip the field in this type of game so the Paratroopers (or whomever) do not get cut off from points as they get pushed back as they most likely will. Had the field been reversed the points spread would have been more realistic since the Paratroopers would have had to fall back under the circumstances. Also, the field set-up forced the Paratroopers to have to go onto the offensive in order to win the game. Not sure that makes a whole lot of sense given the scenario.
Since I did not have to register I cannot talk to the how that went but I really want to urge Boss to consider expanding prior day pick up of paint and registration at the store. This may require a little more logistical planning but I believe it is a real differentiator and builds good will with the players who may reward you with additional store purchases.
As usual I thought the Boss reffing staff was superior with the exceptions I have noted.
Not much more to say but Great field, Good game (with a few minor tweaks to the rules it would be Great), Great time!
See Ya Out there!
X-Man
