Game in Progress - Duel #02 Skandinavia

Post by **Hannibal** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:25 am

I thought I'd shift our posts about our Duel #02 game to a new thread for it, away from that thread which started out as "[Poll]Wanna play Duel".

One good thing about Duel (the 2-player variant of standard WOK, same rules) is that you can talk/crow/complain about your clashes on the last turn in public, because you both saw the results in your Turn Reports, and there are no third parties that you're giving away info to...

So we can comment, moan and taunt in the open! Only in fun. Maybe it will add fun for any watchers - there were 8 guests as well as me when I logged on...

First I'll import here the few relevant posts so far:

Han Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 12:58 am
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Yay! Duel#02 is underway, Hannibal vs Eagle Eyes. Ouch. Round One to Eagle Eyes. We both went for neutral #13; he got there first and I bounced off - by one army. So it goes. There's a long way to go ...

Now, those naps mean we're restricted to what we can do ....

Han

By the way, EE, in the last game of beta-testing, Trewqh had me beat all ends up till I got lucky with a long-shot and turned the tables. So I'm definitely beatable. Though you might wanna ask Trewqh for tips on how to get ahead in the first place; he was very good at that and probably deserved to win.

Eagle Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:02 pm
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that was a good first found for me but there is still a long way to go i hate these rodo colours i think they are going to piss me off

Han Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:47 pm
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Yep, those Robos are secretly on my side, I'm relying on them to come to my rescue! Mind you, it sure doesn't look like that at the start, cos my Yellow is being seriously squeezed and restricted by two of the b*****s.

EE, they're kinda "moving terrain features" we have to work round, offering more variety and complexity. At least they are 100% predictable, to take them into account. As a rule of thumb, they are just too powerful to take on in the first few rounds, just get out of their way. But they never ever replenish their EFF, so their EFF declines sharply. So at some point they become easier to beat than the neutrals, which get stronger as the game goes on. And, you'll have noticed, they attack out with ALL armies, and then MOVE 5 armies back ... so for just a moment, OOP permitting, the prov they attacked out of is vulnerable ... They've added fun and options in previous beta-tests. As well as being a pain, you're right.

Anyway, you happy to play on and we both put in orders before the deadline?

And thanks for giving it a try.

Eagle Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 2:59 pm
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i think you can say goodbye your B player this turn he is outahere i think this is a good idea for a game if only i had worked out what the rodos were doing i would be in a much stronger position

Han Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:53 pm
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Haha! As I said, the Robos are on my side and might yet rescue me from your onslaught. Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have disguised that so much by having them all come and crush me at the start ...

My orders are in now. I guess yours are. Don't write off my Han B Light Greens just yet ... I'm mounting a rescue! Well, a try at least ...

Great fun.

Han Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:04 pm
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Aha! Turn #2 has run, has it? Time to go see whether the fighting went your way, Eagle, as it did in Turn #1, or whether I came back atya ...

Three Turn Reportss to go through - great!

I'm expecting they'll tell me of a big battle in #43 ...?

Post by **Hannibal** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 11:54 am

Hmmm. Been through my 3 Turn Reports for Turn 2.

So there was no battle in #43 after all. Phew! Those pesky neutral defenders in #42 and #43 fought like tigers and reduced my armies, so I went from hoping your Browns WOULD attack into #43 to hoping they wouldn't... I'd probably have lost and you'd have taken #43 and easily #42 that cost me so much to win. Of course, I'm not saying #43 is weak NOW!

No, you sent your Browns WEST, I guess to join in where the clashes were happening in the west. But your Browns and my Yellows are napped for a while yet, haha, so no way through there for you now - except through Roboblue...who is still strong.

Instead, the only clash between our hordes on Turn 2 was your #21 attacking my #11... Sweet, since you bounced off heavily. I was pretty much bound to have the max of my yellow armies there in #11 for you to bump into : Roboblue and Roboviolet had scheduled routes which would soon encircle my Yellows and cut them off completely, so my only chance to use my Yellows against you was, on Turn 1, to get PAST Roboblue's path, into #11, BEFORE his progress cut my Yellows off, and move all recruited armies to #11, the other side of Roboblue's path. Then I pretty much, on Turn 2, HAD to carry on out from #11 through your Orange #21 or your Orange #23. I was lucky with the OOP: you attacked me and bounced off BEFORE I moved out into your #23. Otherwise I might have had to just sit tight in #11, missing a turn, in case you attacked.

So, one clash on Turn 1, which you won, one clash on Turn 2, which I won. About even, except for my good spying, hehe. What? No missiles or armies moved to #13 to TRY to take out my poor Light Greens?! They might survive!?

It looks as if your Orange are now as vulnerable as my Light Greens ... But Robogreen and the OOP help you this time: Robogreen blocks me at #25, and doesn't attack out of there till AFTER my Yellows' turn, so I can't get through to your #34; and Robogreen smashes into my #24 this turn, so IF I had any armies poised there for #34, they would be smashed by Robogreen before they could attack out and into your #34. Darn Robos ...

Fun. Pretty even now. Happy to play on or giving up!?

Post by **Hannibal** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:32 pm

Next turn in the game. This is for all those good folks following the fortunes of Eagle Eyes and me in Duel #02. OK, maybe only for me. (Feel free to chip in there from time to time, EE).

As I write, I've just been notified that Turn 3 has run. But 2 of my sons are not yet back from football to share opening the TR's with me ... so I haven't looked at the T3 results yet, though I'm drooloing to do so.

But since the turn, T3, HAS run, I can now reveal what my thinking was for that T3, without fear of my opponent quickly changing his orders ....And be seriously embarrassed when T3 goes nothing like this! Still, it might help a current or future reader to see some right or wrong thinking on "plans" in Duel. So, in theory, if there IS anyone following this, you should prob read this post before you look see how Turn 3 actually turned out ...

After a very bad Turn 1 and a fairly good Turn 2, my main preoccupation was whether (map after T2), EE would now take out my poor one-province Lt Greens in #12. Now that the two turns of grace (no attacking start-provs) are over. I thought he might try it with his Reds, but I'd spied that he had no armies or missiles in #13, so it would have to be through his Orange #21. I thought he might have created some new armies in #21, but the OoP meant that they could attack out and leave #21 empty just in time for his Reds to attack through #21 and take #12.

Just as likely was that he'd try to take my last, vulnerable, Lt Greens in #12 with his BROWNS. Those Browns last took neutral #48; and they didn't move to #47 or #46, according to my spies. Maybe they are still in #48 heading west where the action is. They can't come through my Yellows (napped). In which case, given the OoP, they could crash through RoboBlue's #10, sail through RoboBlue's #09 just after he's attacked out into #07, and then take my Lt Green home of #12.

Hmm. Not much I can do about it? I can basically either stay put and cost him as much as poss with my 25 new armies there in #12 with a good Def for the fight; or else, since I move first in the OoP, I grab some other provs first so thst I am not ripped, and then you never know... Especially since I spied his Red #13 as undefended with 37 workers making missiles ....OK, compromise: I'll send about half to grab #13 and scout into 17 and 15, leaving about half to defend #12 in case he only sends a light force for it ...

Meanwhile, big decision around neutral #27. My best guess is he'll leave crushing my Lt Greens to his Browns (who have little else to do), and use his Reds to take neutrals for more Population. Maybe by going 20-27-28-30. Hmm. That's what my Yellows were going to do, since the OoP has cut them off from blazing through to Orange's start-prov #34. Darn OoP. My Yellows have to go before his Reds. So if I go for 27-28-30, killing all the neutrals and losing armies as I go, there's a good chance his Reds will just follow me, freely nicking 27 and 28 that I just took, and prob having the edge if he went on to #30, given that I'd have lost maybe 20 armies actually fighting the neutrals in 27, 28 and 30. That'd be bad. I do all the fighting, I lose my army, he ends up with the 3 neutrals and their POP. No way to risk that. Darn the OoP. I'll just take #27 and sit. If he then comes for #27, it should be a very close battle, so at least he'd probably fail to defeat the neutrals in 28 and 30, so I've lost less. And if he doesn't come for #27, then I've got it, a lot better than not trying at all. What the h. .... I'll try a few at #21 as well, even though it weakens #27 if he DOES attack it!

Meanwhile, my Lt Blues in the north will do to his Orange (#34) what he's trying to do to my Lt Greens, ie RIP!

OK, now I get to go look at what REALLY happened .....T3 of Duel #02. Hmm, I have a bad feeling here ....

Post by **Hannibal** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:27 pm

Right. I've been through the Turn 3 TR's. Looks like game over after T3. I've ripped his Orange (he couldn't avoid that), saved my Lt Greens, and taken lots of workers and Pop in his Red's hinterland, nothing he could have done about that either. And he didn't do me the damage that HE could have done if he'd tried.

Maybe I was lucky.

OK, Eagle Eyes, thanks for playing; are you happy to concede? No big deal, it was practice-game really. Want to try again now you've seen how crucial turns 2 and 3 are? Want to play someone else?

Han