Romey-Tuomey Smackdown: Smashing The Third (in progress)

[Tuomo]

Matt Romey and I are doing J24 Smashing The Third live on the VASL 4 server, partly because we hate each other's guts but partly and specifically to let new players watch and kibitz.

The first installment was Monday Feb 24th, kicking off the game and getting to the end of the German turn 3 Rally Phase. Here is a 100% screenshot of the VASL map at this point:
www.mindspring.com/~tqr/images/St3Pause1.gif

If you'd like a 50% version that might fit on your screen better, try this:
www.mindspring.com/~tqr/images/St3Pause1_50pct.gif

FWIW, 44M9 is the Russian 76L Gun and 17Q4 is a T-34.

So. Who's winning, the Germans or the Russians? I'll clap my hands over my ears and sing "LA LA LA LA" for a while so's I don't pick up any tactical tips.

Next live session will be during the first week of March. Stay tuned for times.

Tom

 

[SamB]

This is a great idea, Tom...

Like the "Game with a View" from long ago...

I've offered to play a "newbie" - with his permission, we'll invite others to watch as well.

I just hope I can win.

Sam

 

[Matt Romey]

Tom, you surprise me again. This is great!

Tom and I hashed out some half-baked plans to do AGWAV about 6 months ago, which never panned out. Now the Forum is here, we can do it here. Not a 100% play-by-play... which is probably better. BTW, you guys are all welcome to watch us on VASL next time we play (next week).

Neither Tom or I will be visiting here untill after we finish. So, fire away with tactics and ideas. But remember, we'll be back after the game is over so don't trash us too bad.

Matt Romey

 

[Matt Shostak]

Too early

It's way too early to talk about who's winning. This scenario in particular can swing back and forth so much that it can seem to seesaw with each fire phase. The Germans can go a very long way toward their goal just by destroying all of the T-34s, and that's very doable. See my article in J4. Enjoy.

 

[Tuomo]

Smackdown Continues Tuesday March 4

Matt Romey and I will continue our game of J## Smashing The Third tomorrow (Tuesday March 4) around 7 PM Pacific Time (10 PM EST).

Be there to watch the carnage, witness the foul language, cringe at the trash-talking, and perhaps even pick up an ASL trick or two.

Tom

 

[TankDawg]

Where, how do we watch??

I am new to VASL.

 

[Tuomo]

March 5th update: end of Russian turn 3

Here's the current board status of the Romey-Tuomey Smackdown:

http://www.mindspring.com/~tqr/images/ST3_R3end.gif

http://www.mindspring.com/~tqr/images/ST3_R3end_50pct.gif

It don't look good for the Bad Guys. What a difference a turn makes. At the start of German turn 3, (see previous posts for the url's), the Germans were poised to beat on the board 17 defenses while putting the coup de gras on the bd 44 farmhouse. As it turned out, the board 17 attack suffered from a lack of armor support (didn't get smoke from the tanks and Bog Immobilized the one on the wire in 17V4) while the board 44 attack ... uh.. suffered from a lack of armor brains (ESB immob'd the one in 44R6, X'd out the MA on the one in 44L4, Recalling it).

That wreck you see in 17P5 is all that's left of One Brave Tank who ran the gauntlet all the way from the BB hexrow, forcing an intensive fire gun duel which he lost (ok, we were stupid on bd 17 too).

Matt is being overly kind when he considers that I'm still in it. The Germans need 100 VP to win. At this point, it looks like they're gonna get 23 CVP of Russian infantry, 23 CVP of Russian tanks and Guns, and 22 VP of buildings (oh yeah, gotta run back and take some buildings!). That's 68, which is way less than 100. However. There's still 4 game turns left, and the path seems clear: the only way to recoup the remaining 32 VP is by going tank hunting. Which won't be easy considering that there's 2 Good Order PzIV's left, 2 T-34's left, and 5 more T-34's to come on. BUT. Let's not underestimate the power of the German infantry to take out tanks with panzerfausts, panzerschrecks, and the tried-and-true Grenade In Da Hatch.

So yes, the game does look effectively out of reach, yes, largely due to some unfortunate armor decisions which were hammered home with unfortunate ESB and Bog DR's and the uncalled-for and ungentlemanly coaching from the Studio Audience ("But didn't you stop?"), but let's look at the bright side. The remainder of the game should be entertaining as hell, as Cap'n Tuomo, not one of your more stable armor commanders in the best of times, goes Balls Out to hunt Russian armor. WEEE Doggies!

We'll let you know when the next live round is scheduled. Stay tuned.

Tom

 

[Tuomo]

Where, how do we watch??

I am new to VASL.

You need to go to www.vasl.org and download VASSAL and VASL. Install them and then listen up for announcements about this game, or just connect up to the VASL server and meet others.

VASSAL is the game engine that drives the VASL module. You need them both. They work on Macs, Unix, and Windows machines.

Tom

 

[Tuomo]

Smackdown Continues Tonight

The Romey-Tuomey Smackdown continues tonight, March 11, at 7 PM PST (10 PM EST), on the VASL 4 server (if it cooperates). As the Germans are teetering on the brink, this may be your last chance to see this scenario in action!

Tom