Digglyda wrote:
Go back and read the manual and do your best to understand exactly what the various factors will allow and prohibit: You need to forget trying to fight-the-battle and learn to play-the-game. I think that the best players in the club look at the map and see a mathematical puzzle rather than a military situation?
"Chaos" factors are hard to fairly represent in a game. Take Little Round Top: Historically that was 20th Maines day but it's very difficult to create memorable moments in game terms. The parameters allow a certain amount of variation in results but extraordinary feats of soldiering don't really figure. The solution is to make different units different qualities so you get the 20th Maine always figuring as an "A" class Regiment, but other circumstances could have seen 20th Maine defeated easily on the day and we'd consequently be viewing that unit as an average "C" or "D".
I don't know what the answer is to try and represent luck and chance. Introduce something to represent physical fatigue similar to the night movement fatigue modifier. That would encourage players to not march crazily round the map at 12 hexes per turn right from turn #1. Straggling was a massive factor during the ACW but you won't find it here.
In these games it can be a great challenge to try and commad poor quality troops competently but it is almost impossible to command good quality troops poorly. Those "A" & "B" quality guys are always just that no matter how bad your generalship is.
Opponent experience and gaming style can be a big factor. If I have a favourite Reb opponent then Gen. Paul Kenney would be mine. We've played each other a number of times in the past and had a mix of wins, draws and losses. The important factor was that we had very similar command styles so each game developed a nice balance of movement and action. The rapport you can build up with an opponent can make or break your enjoyment of these games I think.
I also feel some type of rule that simulates "stragglers" would be a nice addition. For units that move rapidly across the map, they could be penalized by losing cohesion that would effect their performance in combat. Units could then regain cohesion by not moving, in effect regaining stragglers. The old AH game "Fury in the West" had a straggler rule that worked well I think.