Patton's Best

GJK · June 02, 2015, 03:36:30 PM

Yeah, PB would make a good game for one of those forum based co-op AAR's ala B-17 and Ambush.

Staggerwing · June 02, 2015, 06:32:45 PM

Do tell!

bayonetbrant · June 02, 2015, 10:25:54 PM

Quote from: GJK on June 02, 2015, 03:36:30 PM
Yeah, PB would make a good game for one of those forum based co-op AAR's ala B-17 and Ambush.

and you're starting up when...? ;)

BanzaiCat · June 03, 2015, 06:15:24 AM

Explain to me how PB can be a good multi-player game.

I immediately thought it would be good as a story, to put five forum members into a Sherman and go for it, but giving them control would only make it interesting for one, maybe two, of the five. I can't imagine it would be fun to play the Loader.

Commander: "Load AP."
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Game Ref: "Well, as soon as whatsisname says "I load AP," we'll be able to continue."

:D

GJK · June 03, 2015, 06:26:36 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on June 03, 2015, 06:15:24 AM
Explain to me how PB can be a good multi-player game.

I immediately thought it would be good as a story, to put five forum members into a Sherman and go for it, but giving them control would only make it interesting for one, maybe two, of the five. I can't imagine it would be fun to play the Loader.

Commander: "Load AP."
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Game Ref: "Well, as soon as whatsisname says "I load AP," we'll be able to continue."

:D

I was going to give examples of how the loader could portray a soft-porn version of their actions with the large shell going in to the gun breech but I'll save that.

How well have the B-17 QoTS interactive AAR's been going? I imagine that it would suffer from the same lack of interactivity as well.

BanzaiCat · June 03, 2015, 06:30:50 AM

Nice segue into calling me out on an AAR I haven't started yet... 8)

But good point.

In the AAR I was just going to tell the story of the bomber and crew. I wasn't going to play this like Barth's excellent Ambush! forum game, but instead, just use forum members' names to bring a little more life to it. I kinda did something like that in the B-29 Superfortress AAR I started/stopped and want to do something similar with the Hell Over Korea expansion (eventually).

For this, I was seeing it exactly the same way. With the first post say "Who wants to serve in this Sherman tank?" and name it "Pun-inator" or something stupid. Guys sign up, I fill in the roster, and away we go.

I guess I could see this as a multi-player game; it just seems like it would be dull for some (like the Loader) and more interesting for others (Commander, Gunner).

Jack Nastyface · June 04, 2015, 08:37:17 PM

So when you said "forum based AAR" I thought you meant something like the virtual B-17 Squadrons for QotS, where everyone flies a mission, reports back, and the "moderator" weaves a bit of a story together.

BanzaiCat · August 04, 2017, 07:03:50 AM

Could be that you let the forum members serve as the 'spirit' of the tank, in the sense that, the first forum member to post a legitimate instruction makes it happen. So it doesn't have to be on just one person to take a specific role...someone states an action, the GM does it, someone states another action (perhaps the same person, maybe someone else), etc.

I'm pretty sure (could be wrong) that this would be ultimately limited to two or three forum members regularly giving instructions whereas the rest of the viewers will just be along to watch and see how long it takes for the Sherman to brew up.

The point is, the GM person gives complete control to the forum members, answers questions about what can and cannot be done, and otherwise regulates game play (including die rolls), and gives the narration/updates. As long as the instructions are clear and legitimate (e.g. not "Open the top hatch, raise the white flag, head towards German lines while singing Deutschland Über Alles" at the top of our lungs), it might actually work.

BanzaiCat · August 04, 2017, 07:07:48 AM

I guess I should ask, is there any interest in doing that?

It might take me a few weeks to get started - I need to read through the rules and wrap my head around the game again.

Barthheart · August 04, 2017, 07:09:09 AM

Fire it up! Let's go blow shit up! :bd:

Bardolph · August 14, 2017, 08:33:32 PM

I've got a version of Patton's Best by John Salt that he calls Churchill Troop Commander and he runs it as a coop multiplayer game. Basically John and perhaps an assistant or two take care of running the Germans and events while players each run one tank. I'll try to find the issue of the Nugget where he describes it, and that issue should be available online for free at this point (Nugget is the journal of Wargames Developments Group). It requires players to behave with a certain amount of "culturally appropriate behavior" to pull it off. They don't have to actually be tankers, but it helps if they have some basic understanding of real world tank operations at a tactical level.

His description of the game in action is inspiring, with tales of commanders broadcasting platoon orders on their tank's internal comms or vice-versa and the reaction of wargamers used to "traditional" wargames to an empty battlefield.

Staggerwing · August 14, 2017, 08:52:53 PM

Interesting variant. I'm guessing that the issue you mention should be somewhere here: http://www.wargamedevelopments.org/nugget.htm

Bardolph · August 14, 2017, 11:08:43 PM

Yep, not sure which issue off the top of my head though.
Will try to find it.

Staggerwing · August 15, 2017, 05:27:53 AM

Yeah, it was too much to look through last night. I figured that some one with more free time than me might take up the challenge.

DennisS · August 15, 2017, 01:34:58 PM

I have this game out on my gaming table now. It replaced Thunderbolt/Apache Leader, and that is darned difficult to do.

I have played this a LOT over the last 30 years. Not as much as QotS, but a lot. Rule number one...don't shoot at the Pak40's, unless you are head on, and hull down.