Patton's Best

[DennisS]

I have a closet full of solitaire wargames. I just finished a week's worth of Carriers!, and segue'd into Patton's Best.

I forgot just how hard this game is. I keep telling myself that I have to use advance fire, and to call in the arty!

I ran three missions, and lost three tanks. Just like that. Idiot me thinks it a GOOD idea to shoot at a Pak-75 at medium range.

In my defense, in two of the three games, I rolled a 98 and a 99 on a main gun shot, which malfunctioned the gun. Instead of reversing out of the map section, I kept trying to repair the main gun. With a 28% chance to do so, you'd think I could do it in 3-4 turns. Nope. SEVEN attempts, no success, and it was just a matter of time before I was targeted.

This is a very good game..and for those that are interested, there are variants on boardgame geek which lets you convert this excellent game to "Panov's Best." Instead of running a "Zippo" to its destruction, let's try a little T-34/85 action!!! WOOHOO!!!

I think I will try a little World of Tanks..I have decent success there!

[Rekim]

I dusted of my copy of Patton's Best last year following a 20+ year hiatus...only to find the counters discolored by mold. It's still playable, but have been keeping my eyes open for a cheap copy on eBay, or may do up some replacement counters. I'll definitely work up the counters for the Panov's Best variant at the same time if I decide to go the DIY route. Perhaps I should take it for a test drive on Vassal and see if I still find it as entertaining as I remember.

I had a similar problem with my copy of UpFront. It was in worse shape than PB, with many of the counters disintegrating. I decided get it back in working order and think I ended up with a better product than when new. I traded a deck of cards for a partially complete copy of UpFront on BGG. Now have a great working copy with some DIY counters, a custom action deck, and many spare parts.

Most of my wargames from the early years faired worse, ending up in the landfill. Now I've turned super anal and clip/sleeve/laminate like a madman. Tossing my entire collection of Squad Leader games really hurt. Even that worked out for the better in the end as it finally forced me to embrace ASL.

[DennisS]

Nice! I have the original Up Front in absolute mint condition, and I have all the variants that are available..Banzai, etc. I have worked out an acceptable solitaire variant, and migrate to it occasionally. Nothing better than to slap down a wire card when an enemy unit is in a stream!!!

I still have Tokyo Express and Gunslinger to go through here in the short-intermediate time frame. Dunno why I am busting out all my board games. If there were better PC games than these.....I would play them.

[Nefaro]

I need to find a used copy of Patton's Best sometime, as I never played it, but my gaming backlog has put a temporary halt on my purchasing at the moment.

Would be nice to have Tokyo Express too, but I think that one tends to be pricier these days.

[Staggerwing]

^ http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pattons-Best-Avalon-Hill-Barely-punched-WW2-/171294842008?pt=Games_US&hash=item27e1f7dc98

Only about a day left. Get it before it's gone...

[Rekim]

I picked up a used copy of Tokyo Express from eBay not so long ago. Still unplayed but will be sure to get to it some day as I love the subject. Looks like it's going to be a tough one to learn.

I seem to recall Patton's Best being relatively easy to learn, which is a big plus.

[DennisS]

I have played Tokyo Express for many hours. I really enjoy the game system.

I am not a huge fan of the split cards to determine damage results. They're pretty extreme.

I really should sit down with the entire deck, determine the exact changes for each damage outcome, and develop a single chart using percentile dice for each calibre gun in the game. Wouldn't be that big of a project.

[Jack Nastyface]

The thing I most enjoyed about PB is that it is one of the few solitaire games (for its time, anyway...newer games may have eclipsed it) where your decisions were very important to your success.  Although I love(d) B-17 QotS and Raid on St. Nazaire, those games really made you feel as though you were just along for the ride, so to speak.  Sure, there were minor decisions to be made, but ultimately good die rolls were had much greater impact than your tactical choices.

I've always wondered if there was a way to play PB as a "tank squad" game, sort of like the virtual B-17 QotS squadrons....

Fond memories,

Jack Nastyface

[Nefaro]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

[DennisS]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

I will say that this, B-17, and a few others have always found room in my gaming closet. I have run many thousands of missions in B-17..and kept elaborate statistics on all of them. Best was a top turret gunner with 36 kills!!!

[Staggerwing]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

Here's another one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pattons-Best-Avalon-Hill-World-War-2-Tank-Board-Game-/310929836414?pt=Games_US&hash=item4864dcc97e

This one has 5 days left.

[DennisS]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

Here's another one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pattons-Best-Avalon-Hill-World-War-2-Tank-Board-Game-/310929836414?pt=Games_US&hash=item4864dcc97e

This one has 5 days left.

Good price for an excellent game that will never see another reprint.

[Nefaro]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

Here's another one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pattons-Best-Avalon-Hill-World-War-2-Tank-Board-Game-/310929836414?pt=Games_US&hash=item4864dcc97e

This one has 5 days left.

Yes, I'm watching that one.  I expect the bids to skyrocket a ways, however.

Good price for an excellent game that will never see another reprint.

Why no possible reprint in a time when reprints are popular?  The rights holder refusing all such propositions?

[Staggerwing]

Remember, even if you buy one in crappy condition, as long as you have the rules there is always VASSAL.

[Arctic Blast]

Gonna try to get a copy of Patton's Best at a decent price, despite things being tight over the next couple months.  I doubt I'll win any bids, though, so let me know if you guys see an inexpensive copy somewhere in the future.

Here's another one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pattons-Best-Avalon-Hill-World-War-2-Tank-Board-Game-/310929836414?pt=Games_US&hash=item4864dcc97e

This one has 5 days left.

Yes, I'm watching that one.  I expect the bids to skyrocket a ways, however.

Good price for an excellent game that will never see another reprint.

Why no possible reprint in a time when reprints are popular?  The rights holder refusing all such propositions?

This game's old enough that it's probably more a position of nobody even knowing who has the rights these days. And who knows how many people would even buy a new reprint?