Monkeys with Typewriters Scenario 13

[Bigkayeh]

MwT13 "Prelude to Caen" by Michael Dorosh is now available in the downloads section.

Kerry

 

[Honza]

What an ambitious scenario. Michael I like the thinking process that has gone into this. I hope the scenario 'pulls it off' and plays well.

 

[MrP]

To reiterate what i said in another thread, this one really split the judges. Some saw it as a magnum opus that might just pull something off, others...well, didn't

I agree though , hugely ambitious in scope, I hope someone plays it.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

By way of designer's notes, I'll start by saying that I chose to depict the machine gun support of the Camerons of Ottawa not by MMG counters, but by giving a higher SAN for the Canadians matching that of the Germans. I thought it was a more elegant way of depicting this, given the already high piece densities. Or something.

I also wanted desperately to avoid at all costs:

• terrain changing SSRs
• complicated VCs

Mostly because I knew the SSRs were going to be longer and more complicated than normal and that layering barrage rules and complicated reinforcement stuff on top of terrain changes and mutliple layers of complexity would really sink me. I see from some of the comments that the reinforcement schedule helped do me in or at least may have been the final straw in at least one judge's case. I knew this was a gamble but I figured I would go all out and see how far I could push the envelope. I did hold back from publishing full battalion orders of battle - each infantry group only represents about a 1/3 of a full size battalion, which I thought was manageable, and the armour here is a tiny fraction of that actually employed in the actual battle. The battlefield is also a fraction of the real size of the battlefield, and is dramatically scaled down. I'm aware there are a LOT of SSR's and special rules that will really bog this down but - like I said - I went for it. My chances of "fooling" the judges were 50/50, looks like I got 2 out of 5.

Am I the only one to treat French troops as "Allied" in relation to the anglophones of the other battalions? I suspect this is as chrome-y as the sun blindness in Steven's entry, but it seemed fun to throw in.

I think what it came down to partially was guessing what the judges would hate least. Judges are human. Show them a scenario with a dozen overlays and a couple of confusing set up instructions, and it's going to have them question your abilities, and I think rightly so - and the contest was about - our ability! Not our potential or innate talent, but our ability to get it from inside us to the printed document. So when I hear I came this close with the ASLSK entry but for a minor glitch in the VCs excluding one of the boards - I say congrats to the five guys who kept their head in the game and had more than just potential, but actual ability to stay the course and show the follow through to the end that I didn't have.

Really interesting reading through the other scenario cards - and your comments on these, Pete Shelling. Looking forward to the judge's comments in the coming days of all the scens up for public comment.

 

[wrongway149]

By way of designer's notes, I'll start by saying that I chose to depict the machine gun support of the Camerons of Ottawa not by MMG counters, but by giving a higher SAN for the Canadians matching that of the Germans. I thought it was a more elegant way of depicting this, given the already high piece densities. Or something.

Clever thought, Michael.:yummy:

Always good to limit density.

 

[sswann]

AS a stand-alone scenario I don't know. The number of AFV available to the Canadians seem a little on the weak side, but with a split-map setup, who knows?

BUT! In my humble opinion, this scenario design is just begging to be turned into a mini-CG for a magazine entry.

 

[pward]

Very interesting with the 3 separate fights going on.

I'm interested in why you declared it a two part scenario, since there isn't anything done in between. The SSR about reentering another map based on exit could just as well have said "on turn 7" along with the part 2 turn 1 reinforcements.

Question about snipers. It makes sense to use one sniper per "battlefield" but the question I have is how do you decide which sniper is activated? dr/3? player choice? only the "battlefield" where the activation happened?

 

[Tork]

Where was the BFP-B map published?

Very interesting use of large numbers of dummy counters. There is some serious fog of war taking place on these maps.

This would make for a fantastic team competition at a weekend tournament. Well done!

 

[pward]

BFP should be Bounding Fire Productions, I'm not sure which pack/product...

 

[wrongway149]

Very interesting use of large numbers of dummy counters. There is some serious fog of war taking place on these maps.

Very much so--Are there enough '?' to represent adequately?
Guess nobody will be going CX in this one :laugh:

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Very interesting with the 3 separate fights going on.

I'm interested in why you declared it a two part scenario, since there isn't anything done in between. The SSR about reentering another map based on exit could just as well have said "on turn 7" along with the part 2 turn 1 reinforcements.

Never occured to me to do it like that. Wanted a distinct uncertainty as to where to commit the reinforcements, and a definite decision point - one single do-or-die moment halfway through where you had to commit your reserves to finishing off the job. For the Canadians, that meant calculating which map needed the extra push to get the last VC buildings, for the Germans, maybe that meant sacrificing an entire board or even two in order to hold on to one.

Question about snipers. It makes sense to use one sniper per "battlefield" but the question I have is how do you decide which sniper is activated? dr/3? player choice? only the "battlefield" where the activation happened?

It never occurred to me that this question would come up - the natural choice, to me, would be to resolve it on the board where the activation happened, but now that you mention it, it's a legit question. One hates to add more SSRs though, but it could be a simple half a sentence explanation. Good point.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Very much so--Are there enough '?' to represent adequately?
Guess nobody will be going CX in this one :laugh:

I actually cracked open my counter trays, kind of a rarity around here, and was counting these out by hand one night; I think I covered all the angles with this but am open to correction...

Actually, you dufuses turned me into one of you. About two weeks before the deadline, I had a two-day business conference out of town, and I actually packed an ASLSK "travel kit" with counter tray (didn't want to punch my ASLSK 2 and 3, so I sat there counting out "real" ASL counters in matching numbers, Germans before I left, and there on my trip doing the British) and maps and rules, and sat in the hotel room writing up MwT12 on foolscap one evening, figuring out map configurations and OOB and VC. Just as well, the owners of the bar in the hotel had upped stakes and fled with the cashbox about a week prior and closed down the restaurant - no room service either.

 

[JRKrejsa]

BFP should be Bounding Fire Productions, I'm not sure which pack/product...

The Into the Rubble Pack

 

[Ronnblom]

What sources are used for the German OB? I would expect the 12. SS to have no StuGs (especially not in the Panzer regiment), nor any PaK 43/41 or PaK 38.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

What sources are used for the German OB?

My fevered imagination, and whatever Mr. P let us look at.

I would expect the 12. SS to have no StuGs (especially not in the Panzer regiment), nor any PaK 43/41 or PaK 38.

What sources are used for your German OB?

 

[wrongway149]

I. Just as well, the owners of the bar in the hotel had upped stakes and fled with the cashbox about a week prior and closed down the restaurant - no room service either.

For getting the ASL creative juices flowing, I always find a nice fattening meal at Denny's to do the trick...:yummy:

 

[Michael Dorosh]

For getting the ASL creative juices flowing, I always find a nice fattening meal at Denny's to do the trick...:yummy:

It would have put me to sleep; a small bag of Cheezies is more my usual hotel fare. I sent some to Psycho a while back but he must have hated them or the border guards ate them 'cause I never heard if he liked them or not. :yummy:

 

[Michael Dorosh]

It would have put me to sleep; a small bag of Cheezies is more my usual hotel fare. I sent some to Psycho a while back but he must have hated them or the border guards ate them 'cause I never heard if he liked them or not. :yummy:

I think the five finalists need to post a magnum opus on the snack foods that fuelled their drive to the finish line. At least until someone posts a link to the actual scenario cards; the suspense is still killing us!