Armageddon 2015 - playtest screenshots

[Mark Stevens]

Not really an AAR as such, but some shots from turn 4 of my playtest with Bob of 'Armageddon 2015'. Pretty self-explanatory, but the Central Front shows Belorussian, Ukrainian and Russian forces advancing across Poland towards Germany; the Balkans shows the same forces moving to relieve the beleaguered Serbians and Montenegrins (and the sole Russian brigade formerly serving with KFOR/IFOR); while the Middle East covers the Egyptian, Syrian and Jordanian attacks on Israel, and the Iraqi army, backstopped by the US forces still in Iraq, holding the line against the Iranian's regular army Western Corps, and Revolutionary Guards. Before you say to yourself'This looks like a piece of p**s for the Russians and Arabs', do note that this still qualifies as a significant NATO victory, and that the Russians have just lost their initial air and shock bonuses that simulated a surprise attack. The shots are taken from the Russian point of view, so there are considerable numbers of unseen NATO units.

 

[L`zard]

Who's playing which?

 

[Mark Stevens]

I'm the Russians which - to be fair to Bob - given that I designed the thing and have been playing against the AI for months, gives them a huge advantage. So you wouldn't expect to see this against two equally matched players.

 

[L`zard]

Well, then! I can see your point about Elmer....the run I'm doing as Nato doesn't look anything like that, LOL!

Was this befor or after combat rounds?

 

[Mark Stevens]

That turned out to be a crappy idea, in response to one overheated AAR posting on the Matrix website. Playing like this, with the default setting (is it 99?) you get two or three turns as the Russians early on, presumably due to their initial shock bonuses, then one or two afterwards. That's fine by me given the scale of the game. When Larry and I tried one turn having adjusted the MRPB (?) to 'one', he got seven combat rounds in one turn, and still had some time left when he ended the turn out of sheer embarrassment. So b******s to that particular suggestion.

Merry Christmas

(Incidentally, although I've done my best with the Objective Paths, a game of this size and complexity really is much better against a human player, if you can find one.)

 

[sgtsnell]

Does this mean no changes or tweaks and you're sticking with original version?

 

[Mark Stevens]

As far as the MRPB goes, absolutely: the default's giving the results I want with my playtests against Bob, Larry and Elmer (see above). More than willing to consider changes to shock and air bonuses, VP allocation, formation proficiencies, Events &etc, but I'm not going to post the scenario as a finished design allowing an experienced player to tease out seven or more combat phases per turn, as that just doesn't produce the sort of game that fits this scale.

 

[Mark Stevens]

Another series of screen shots from T10 of this playtest, i.e. about a quarter of the way through the scenario. All fairly self-explanatory, both airforces - at least in Central Europe - seem to have more-or-less shot each other down. The Serbs in Belgrade have been relieved and Russian forces have just about reached the Adriatic, but the main NATO line along the Oder is largely intact. Heavy going in the Balkans and Asia Minor, Mosul has fallen but NATO and Iraqi forces still hold Baghdad and Kirkuk, and the Jordanians, Syrians and Egyptians have pretty much battered themselves to exhaustion against the Israelis (never mind the raw numbers, the latter have far higher proficiencies so it's too risky to go for an all-out assault or the Arabs are likely to disintegrate)View attachment 32131View attachment 32132View attachment 32133. Some progress in Norway but the terrain's very difficult. A Russian landing in Iceland is being mopped up, with a NATO naval blockade preventing reinforcements, and the Spanish and Portuguese are staring at the Moroccans and Algerians at Gibraltar. Do note that this still qualifies as a NATO marginal victory.

 

[Mark Stevens]

View attachment 32134And where's the Israeli View attachment 32135one you may ask?

 

[Mark Stevens]

View attachment 32137And in the Balkans