Patrick Martin
United States
Wisconsin
-
Since I wrote my "First Look at 1989" two years ago, the game has been picked up as a P500 title by GMT Games -- a development of which I heartily approve. Beyond that, he game itself has undergone some changes -- mostly changes in deck composition and scoring. Having played along through most of the changes as the game has been modified by the designer over at wargameroom.com, I think the changes have been for the better, and have bumped up my enjoyment of the game up to the 8-9 range. In an effort to get a few more people interested in what I feel is a great game, I present for your consideration a detailed after-action report of a recent game played on wargameroom.com.
While I am far from a virtuoso, I will be presenting some of my thoughts on tactics as I have them through the course of the game. They are no-doubt far from ideal, but at least offer a starting place for the newbie. In this game I took the role of the Democrats. This game was played without the most recent changes to deck composition, so there is one card play in the game that could not take place in the published game. The actual mechanics of card plays will be presented as quotes:
Quote: like this,with city locations back-colored to match their country (for the benefit of those not already intimately familiar with eastern European geography) thus:
Poland
Hungary
East Germany
Czechoslovakia
Bulgaria
Romania
and card names are color coded by their suit (Democrat, Communist, or Neutral)
Pre-game:
Democrat Strategy Hand
#38 Ops 3: Roundtable Talks
#2 Ops 4: Solidarity Legalized * (red)
#23: Hungary Scoring
#55 Ops 3: Perestroika *
#7 Ops 2: State Run Media *
#73 Ops 2: Pozsgay Defends the Revolution *
#42 Ops 1: St. Nicholas Church * (red)
#27 Ops 3: Consumerism
Prior to start of play, both players are dealt their first hand of cards, and allowed to examine them prior to placing seven influence apiece on the board. My initial hand is a nice one. Solidarity Legalized is more powerful the more uncontrolled spaces there are in Poland -- besides serving as a pre-requisite for another powerful democrat event Walesa -- so the earlier it can be played the better. St. Nicholas is another pre-req that is nice to play prior to the mid-game. I have three 3-op cards that I can play risk-free (counting Perestroika as one to be played in the last action round), and should be able to ditch State Run Media to the Tiananmen track -- since it is relatively more nasty when there is less influence on the board. My plan for the turn is to hopefully lead with Solidarity, and follow up with occupation of at least two battlegrounds in Hungary.
The initial influence placement was as follows:
Quote: 1 Communist support added to Miskolc, now at 1
1 Communist support added to Debrecen, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Poznan, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Wroclaw, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Szeged, now at 2
2 Communist support added to Debrecen, now at 3
1 Communist support added to Bydgoszcz, now at 2
2 Democrat support added to Poznan, now at 3
2 Democrat support added to Szeged, now at 4
2 Communist support added to Miskolc, now at 3
The only restriction on initial influence placement is that you cannot place in any city that already has your opponent's influence. Thus the initial two communist influence serve to secure a foothold in Hungary. A fine move to my mind since if the communists don't take those spaces with their first two influence, the democrats can potentially lock them out of any Hungarian battlegrounds. My move to Poznan serves to help safeguard Gdansk from a first round communist support check while I make sure that Budapest also has a support in the form of Szeged being controlled. Interestingly the communist deployment seems concentrated in Hungary despite the fact that I have Hungary scoring -- hence he can't be going for a first round score there.
While it is acceptable to place influence anywhere on the board, it is fairly common to see all the initial influence placed in Poland and Hungary -- the two countries that can be scored in the first three turns. While the democrats in particular can benefit from placing influence in high stability areas in other countries like Bulgaria and Germany to guarantee access, the presence of State Run Media in particular can undo that setup and leave nothing to show for it. Basically if you don't have a specific gambit in mind, I think it's a fine thing to place all your at start influence in Poland and Hungary.
Here is the situation in Poland and Hungary after initial placement.
Quote: ** Turn 1 Action Phase **
Turn 1, Communist action round 1
The Communists play the following card to place support:
#92 Ops 4: Deutsche Marks *
2 Communist support added to Bydgoszcz, now at 4
2 Communist support added to Warsaw, now at 3
Turn 1, Democrat action round 1
The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#2 Ops 4: Solidarity Legalized * (red)
Democratic support in Bialystok increased by 1, now at 1
Democratic support in Gdansk increased by 1, now at 2
Democratic support in Krakow increased by 1, now at 2
Democratic support in Lodz increased by 1, now at 1
Democratic support in Lublin increased by 1, now at 1
Democratic support in Silesia increased by 1, now at 1
Democratic support in Szcecin increased by 1, now at 1
Democratic support in Wroclaw increased by 1, now at 2
Democrat Comment:
Thankfully for me the communists go for long-term deck composition and don't use the Deutsche Marks card for the event. I am glad that I didn't give a "tell" as to my possession of Solidarity Legalized by placing two influence apiece in several Polish Battlegrounds (so as to take control of several battlegrounds in one card play by the addition of one influence apiece) . As it stands after their first play the communists control mutually supporting cities in Poland and Hungary, and the democrats have safeguarded Gdansk from support checks and are poised for having an equal number of cards in any power struggle in Poland. My plan going forward is to match communist influence in Poland and try to slip more influence into Hungary. This may not be the best plan -- Poland can potentially score many more points for either side (due to the number of battlegrounds, its ratings for presence/domination/control, and its power rating), so it may be worthwhile to control more cities in Poland at the expense of cities left uncontrolled in Hungary.
Quote: Turn 1, Communist action round 2
The Communists play the following card to place support:
#32 Ops 2: Peasant Parties *
2 Communist support added to Tatabayna, now at 2
Turn 1, Democrat action round 2
The Democrats play the following card to place support:
#27 Ops 3: Consumerism
2 Democrat support added to Szekesfehervar, now at 3
1 Democrat support added to Budapest, now at 2
Democrat Comment:
The communists follow their strong start in Hungary with more influence there, trying to gain an edge on areas that support Budapest. I match that gaining a second support to Budapest in Szekesfehervar, and preparing to seize the capital itself next turn. I anticipate that Hungary scoring may easily end badly for me if the communists continue to pour influence in. Consumerism can be a powerful card, and I'd love to use it on Tatabayna or Miskolc, but without Budapest's support the odds are against me, and I'd like to hold Roundtable Talks to use as an event if need be in Hungary.
Quote: Turn 1, Communist action round 3
The Communists play the following card to place support:
#6 Ops 3: Brought in for Questioning
1 Communist support added to Tatabayna, now at 3
2 Communist support added to Budapest, now at 2
Turn 1, Democrat action round 3
The Democrats play the following card to place support:
#38 Ops 3: Roundtable Talks
3 Democrat support added to Budapest, now at 5
Democrat Comment:
The communists are aggressively challenging in Hungary, gaining their second support on Budapest and matching me for influence in the city itself. I'm worried that the communists may hold "Gorbachev Charms the West", but there's little I can do to prevent a nasty support check if that is the case, so I simply seize Budapest outright.
Quote: Turn 1, Communist action round 4 The Communists play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track: #5 Ops 3: General Strike ** Tiananmen Square (6 needed) die roll: 3 +3(card) Communist progress on the Tiananmen Square Track is now at Reformer Discredited Turn 1, Democrat action round 4 The Democrats play the following card as an Event: #23: Hungary Scoring Spoiler (mouseover to reveal):
************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 6(1st city) +4(2 each additional city) = 10 cards
Communist: 6(1st city) +4(2 each additional city) = 10 cards
The Democrat attacks with a Petition 6
The Communist does not match the Petition 6:
** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Hungary!!! ** ** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 4 -2(Petition) = 2 -- 1 support to be removed Communist support in Szombathely reduced by 1, now at 0 ** Power Struggle VP die roll: 5 -2(Petition) = 3 -- 1 VP awarded VPs up 1, now at 1 *** Scoring in Hungary *** Communist: 1(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 3 Democrat: 1(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 3 The Communist scores power in Hungary for the 1st time: VPs down 1, now at 0
Democrat Comment:
General Strike is actually a card that can be even more useful than Bear Trap/Quagmire are in TS as a way to ditch opponent's events -- since the chance of the Strike ending is directly related the ops value of the card you play to it, it can help dodge 3 and 4 op cards with a decent shot at only missing one turn. Still, it can be annoying and its three ops are good for the Tiananmen Track. Still paranoid about Gorbachev, and not anticipating a real chance of improving the odds in Hungary before the end of the turn, I decide to take the chance now. The mechanics of power struggles are such that when both players have fewer cards in hand, the variance of the results is higher. In his case we both have a moderate number of cards, and no support other than workers, so the winner will likely be whoever didn't draw any useless leaders... having multiple Petitions, I start with one despite the penalty for the victory dice rolls. I can't be sure whether or not the communists could have blocked it and chose not to for that reason, or whether they genuinely had no match. The result eliminates the communists from the elite space (a good choice for them since "Nagy Reburied" removes communist influence there anyway, and the scoring ends up as a wash. I am pleased enough with the result. Hungary is not likely to make or break the game for either of us at this point.
Quote: Turn 1, Communist action round 5
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #89 Ops 2: Eco-Glasnost *
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
Democratic support in Ruse increased by 4, now at 4
The Communists use the Eco-Glasnost card to place support:
2 Communist support added to Stara Zagora, now at 4
Turn 1, Democrat action round 5
The Democrats play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#7 Ops 2: State Run Media *
** Tiananmen Square (5 needed) die roll: 4 +2(card)
Democrat progress on the Tiananmen Square Track is now at Reformer Memorialized
Democrat comment:
I'm glad to see Eco-Glasnost come out before a bunch of communist support is played in Bulgaria -- I'm fairly certain of a foothold there now. Interestingly the communists move to block any democrat move towards the western battlegrounds in Bulgaria by seizing the Bulgarian elites space. Presumably this means he's not holding Poland scoring, so I take the opportunity to try and keep up on the Tiananmen Track.
Quote: Turn 1, Communist action round 6
The Communists play the following card as an Event:
#11 Ops 2: Dissident Arrested
Democratic support in Czech Writers reduced by 2, now at 0
Turn 1, Democrat action round 6
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #73 Ops 2: Pozsgay Defends the Revolution *
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
Communist support in Debrecen increased by 1, now at 4
Communist support in Miskolc increased by 1, now at 4
Communist support in Pecs increased by 1, now at 1
Communist support in Tatabayna increased by 1, now at 4
The Democrats use the Pozsgay Defends the Revolution card to place support:
1 Democrat support added to Krakow, now at 3
1 Democrat support added to Gdansk, now at 3
Democrat Comment:
A potentially nasty communist move to block the democrats from the important Czech intellectual and student battlegrounds -- made somewhat less menacing by the fact that Intelligentsia (and Jan Palach Week for that matter) is still in the deck somewhere. With Hungary out of the way until turn three at the earliest, I get Pozsgay out of the deck while seizing two more Polish battlegrounds. I take Krakow instead of Wroclaw in the hope of moving to Lodz next and limiting the communists to only one battleground in Poland.
Quote:
Turn 1, Communist action round 7
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #29 Ops 1: Jan Palach Week *
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
Democratic support in Charles University increased by 6, now at 6
The Communists use the Jan Palach Week card for 2 support checks:
Support Check attempt in Charles University (stability 1):
** Charles University die roll = 4 (+1 ops) = 5
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 3.
Democratic support in Charles University reduced by 3, now at 3
Support Check attempt in Charles University (stability 1):
** Charles University die roll = 5 (+1 ops) = 6
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 4.
Democratic support in Charles University reduced by 3, now at 0
Communist support in Charles University increased by 1, now at 1
Turn 1, Democrat action round 7
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #55 Ops 3: Perestroika *
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
The Democrats use the Perestroika card to place support:
2 Democrat support added to Lodz, now at 3
1 Democrat support added to Wroclaw, now at 3
Democrat Commentary:
Ah, so there is Jan Palach. This is an interesting move by the communists focused on the long game. Unfortunately for him, he ends up with one influence in the stability-one student space -- a prime support check target to get the democrats back into the area. Since Helsinki hasn't been played yet, this is a fairly nice move for an otherwise weak 1-influence placement somewhere. I play Perestroika painlessly as planned to seize the last two uncontrolled Polish battlegrounds.
At the end of turn 1 the score is at "0".
Turn 2
Democrat Strategy Hand
#42 Ops 1: St. Nicholas Church * (red)
#22: Poland Scoring
#12 Ops 2: Apparatchiks *
#15 Ops 3: Honecker *
#1 Ops 2: Legacy of Martial Law *
#85 Ops 2: Common European Home
#30 Ops 1: Tear Gas *
#96 Ops 1: Helsinki Final Act * (red)
Turn 2 Starting Commentary:
As nice as my first hand was, this is not a great hand for me. My only two suited cards are both 1 ops that I really need to play as the event. I've got not 4 ops cards, and my one 3 ops card is my preferred Tiananmen discard due to its ability to add 4 communist ops at the end of the turn. The one bright spot is that I have Poland scoring and should be able to time it optimally, possibly as my first play of the turn.
Quote: ** Turn 2 Action Phase ** Turn 2, Communist action round 1 The Communists play the following card as an Event: #62 Ops 4: Prudence Opponent -1 Ops for the rest of the turn, to minimum of 1. -1 to Ops value of Democrat cards this turn (minimum 1 OP) Turn 2, Democrat action round 1 The Democrats play the following card as an Event: #22: Poland Scoring Spoiler (mouseover to reveal): ************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 6(1st city) +10(2 each additional city) = 16 cards
Communist: 6(1st city) +2(2 each additional city) = 8 cards
** The Democrat discards 3 Battle Cards to Raise the Stakes **
Card discarded: Strike 3
Card discarded: Intellectual leader 3
Card discarded: Elite leader 3
The winner of the Power Struggle will receive a +1 drm to his VP and Support Removal die rolls
The Democrat attacks with a March 6
The Communist does not match the March 6:
** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Poland!!! ** ** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 5 +1(raised stakes) = 6 -- 3 support to be removed Communist support in Lublin reduced by 1, now at 0 Communist support in Bydgoszcz reduced by 2, now at 2 ** Power Struggle VP die roll: 4 +1(raised stakes) = 5 -- 2 VPs awarded, plus Power VPs up 2, now at 2 *** Scoring in Poland *** Communist: 3(presence) +1(battlegrounds) = 4 Democrat: 6(domination) +5(battlegrounds) = 11 VPs up 7, now at 9 ** The Poland Scoring card is permanently removed. **
Democrat Commentary:
The communist play reduces my ops potential for this turn to an absolute maximum of 7. That being the case I don't anticipate my position in Poland improving at all through the turn so I score it right away. With a 16-8 card advantage, I'm comfortably able to discard three cards for the winner’s dice roll modifier, and win the power struggle straight away. The communists remove the logical influence in Poland , leaving them control of one battleground. Obviously they wouldn’t remove an influence from each city they control, since that would cost them 3 victory points for presence in Poland. Retaining control of Warsaw nets them another point since it is a battleground. A net score of 9 is a decent amount of padding that can probably protect me from two poor showings in the middle-game, so I feel comfortable going forward.
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 2
The Communists play the following card to place support:
#28 Ops 3: Factory Party Cells
2 Communist support added to Bydgoszcz, now at 4
1 Communist support added to Prague, now at 3
Turn 2, Democrat action round 2
The Democrats play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#15 Ops 3: Honecker *
** Tiananmen Square (5 needed) die roll: 1 +2(card)
No effect.
Democrat commentary:
The communists use most of their turn to repair the damage in Poland and try to ensure they don't get entirely blown out by a +2 democrat support check on Warsaw. Taking control of Prague is a decent move towards the mid-game. I ditch my one remaining 2-op card for the turn in the hope of advancing to the 1 ops for 2 ops space on the Tiananmen track, but don't get lucky.
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 3
The Communists play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#3 Ops 3: Walesa *
** Tiananmen Square (6 needed) die roll: 3 +3(card)
Communist progress on the Tiananmen Square Track is now at Students Dispersed
The Communists may now play all Ops 1 cards as if they were Ops 2s.
Turn 2, Democrat action round 3
The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#96 Ops 1: Helsinki Final Act * (red)
+1 VP for every Support Check by the Communist Player in Student or Intellectual
spaces the rest of the game.
Democrat commentary:
No one seems eager to seize the initiative so far this turn, with the communists ditching an enabled Walesa that would still threaten to blow them out of Poland. Meanwhile I take advantage of the lull to play the essential Helsinki card. (I say essential since in league play this season, the democrats win about 30% more games when they manage to play the event -- whether this is causation or not I can't say, but why take the chance? Anyhow, the psychological value alone makes the card worthwhile -- it is a "must-play" event for the democrats if they get it in their hand, and if I am dealt it as the communists I am generally tempted to hold it until the turn 3 reshuffle and then Tiananmen it -- despite its low odds of advancing you on the track. The longer the democrats have to operate without it, the greater the advantage for the communists.
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 4
The Communists play the following card as an Event:
#37 Ops 3: Nagy Reburied *
** The Nagy Reburied card is permanently removed. **
All communist SPs removed from Szombathely
2 Communist support added to Szombathely, now at 2
2 Communist support added to Szeged, now at 2
Turn 2, Democrat action round 4
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #1 Ops 2: Legacy of Martial Law *
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
Democratic support in Krakow reduced by 1, now at 2
Communist support in Krakow increased by 1, now at 1
Support Check attempt in Lodz (stability 3):
** Lodz die roll = 2 (+2 ops) = 4
The modified roll does not exceed the doubled stability -- no effect.
The Democrats use the Legacy of Martial Law card to place support:
1 Democrat support added to Eotvos Lorand U., now at 1
Democrat Commentary:
The communists use the second pro-communist Hungary event and threaten Budapest by taking away one of my supports. Since my one op is insufficient to repair the damage in Szeged, I take the student space supporting Budapest instead, at least trying to ensure I don't get hit by a support check their. Since Poland scoring is out of the deck Martial Law is no longer a danger, but the communists make the best of it, trying for their one reasonable shot of taking away two battlegrounds.
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 5
The Communists play the following card as an Event:
#78 Ops 4: Gorbachev Charms the West
Democratic support in Eotvos Lorand U. reduced by 1, now at 0
Democratic support in Szekesfehervar reduced by 1, now at 2
Support Check attempt in Budapest (stability 3):
** Budapest die roll = 2 (+4 ops, +2 mod) = 8
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 2.
Democratic support in Budapest reduced by 2, now at 3
Turn 2, Democrat action round 5
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #30 Ops 1: Tear Gas *
Place in front of the Communist Player. In his next Support Check roll in a
Student space he receives a +1 drm, then remove this card from the game.
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
The Democrats use the Tear Gas card to place support:
1 Democrat support added to Szekesfehervar, now at 3
Democrat Commentary: The communists continue the offensive in Hungary, first removing my supports from Budapest and then making a +2 support check against it. Thankfully they roll poorly and I don't get blown out of the city. My feeble attempt to repair damage is limited to restoring one of the supports to Budapest. In retrospect this may be a potentially wasted move if the communists take Budapest outright and are then able to support check an unsupported Szekesfehervar.
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 6
The Communists play the following card as an Event:
#108 Ops 3: Heal Our Bleeding Wound *
VPs down 3, now at 6
Turn 2, Democrat action round 6
The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#42 Ops 1: St. Nicholas Church * (red)
Democratic support in Lutheran Church increased by 4, now at 5
Democratic Commentary:
And suddenly the communists let up the pressure for a moment and grab some victory points. In response I take the breather to play another of my prerequisite cards. I'm not a huge fan of playing Bleeding Wounds in the first two turns, just because it seems like early influence stands to garner more than 3 points over the course of the game, but perhaps the communists are worried about an early democrat auto-victory?
Quote: Turn 2, Communist action round 7
The Communists play the following card to place support:
#9 Ops 1: The Wall *
2 Communist support added to Dresden, now at 4
Turn 2, Democrat action round 7
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #12 Ops 2: Apparatchiks *
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
1 Communist support added to Berlin, now at 3
2 Communist support added to Budapest, now at 4
The Democrats use the Apparatchiks card to place support:
1 Democrat support added to Eotvos Lorand U., now at 1
Democrat Commentary:
Dresden is an important space for the communists in Germany, so seizing it now before the democrats can use it to access the south-western interior of the country is a good idea. I meanwhile give Budapest one more support, making any support check there an even proposition.
Quote: ************************************************************
** The deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
At the end of turn two there will always be a reshuffle (it's a function of how many cards are in the early year deck). Looking at what events have been removed from the deck at this point can give a feeling for how the deck is being shaped to the advantage of one side or the other for turn three and the rest of the game. Because of the reshuffle, any scoring card that was played and not removed during turns one or two can potentially come back again in turn three -- this can be dangerous for the democrats if e.g. the communists win a big power struggle at the end of turn two in Poland and then draw and score Poland immediately on turn three.
In this particular game, Poland won't be coming back since the Democrats took power. Looking at the permanent discards, there are five democrat cards worth nine ops total permanently removed, while seven communist cards worth sixteen ops have been permanently removed -- meaning the deck should be somewhat enriched in Democrat ops. The Democrats are doing well on getting their "red" (prerequisite) events played, having managed to play both Helsinki Final Act, and St. Nicholas Church as events. St Nicholas really helps the Democrats in East Germany, while Helsinki indirectly helps keep them in the valuable student and intellectual spaces in every country.
At the end of turn 2 the score is at +6. This seems like a comfortable enough margin for the Democrats, but if I can't establish myself in the middle year scoring countries (Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria) I could find those points disappearing quickly.
Turn 3
Democrat Strategy Hand
#85 Ops 2: Common European Home
#95 Ops 3: The July Concept *
#16 Ops 2: Nomenklatura *
#91 Ops 3: Dash for the West *
#13 Ops 1: Stasi *
#31 Ops 2: Intelligentsia
#23: Hungary Scoring
#27 Ops 3: Consumerism
Democrat commentary:
A better hand than last turn, although I am again without a single 4-op card. Hopefully the communists didn't draw Prudence in the reshuffle. I'll be glad to get Nomenklatura out of the deck, and I should be able to play Stasi towards the end of the turn to mitigate its effects. Dash for the West may be an event for me if the communists Tiananmen a valuable card, and I think I will try to Tiananmen July Concept, just to keep my influence in Bulgaria from being overwhelmed. I anticipate using a couple of cards to stabilize the situation in Hungary before playing the scoring card, although I am somewhat resigned to another communist victory there given that he would likely be able to match me influence for influence should he choose to.
Quote: ** Turn 3 Action Phase **
Turn 3, Communist action round 1
The Communists play the following card as an Event:
#78 Ops 4: Gorbachev Charms the West
Remove 2 opponent SPs and make a support check using the Ops value of this
card.. May not be played as an Event after Breakaway Baltic Republics.
Democratic support in Eotvos Lorand U. reduced by 1, now at 0
Democratic support in Szekesfehervar reduced by 1, now at 2
Support Check attempt in Budapest (stability 3):
** Budapest die roll = 1 (+4 ops, +2 mod) = 7
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 1.
Democratic support in Budapest reduced by 1, now at 2
Turn 3, Democrat action round 1
The Democrats play the following card to place support:
#27 Ops 3: Consumerism
1 Democrat support added to Szekesfehervar, now at 3
2 Democrat support added to Szeged, now at 6
Democrat commentary:
No Prudence, but the communists do get Gorbachev again, and once again go after Budapest, removing my two supporting cities and then getting unlucky again on the dice roll. Incredibly poor rolling leaves Budapest contested, and since I actually have ops this turn, I can restore two supports to Budapest -- this time including the farmer battleground of Szeged. I'm feeling a bit of pressure over Hungary now since I am down two cities to three at the moment, but I do hold the scoring card myself.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 2
The Communists play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#10 Ops 3: Cult of Personality *
** Tiananmen Square (7 needed) die roll: 1 +3(card) +1(own event) = 5
No effect.
Turn 3, Democrat action round 2
The Democrats play the following card as an Event:
#31 Ops 2: Intelligentsia (Democrat)
2 Democrat support added to [BGCOLOR=#FF6600}Hungarian Writers[/BGCOLOR], now at 2
1 Democrat support added to German Writers, now at 1
1 Democrat support added to Bulgarian Writers, now at 1
Democrat Commentary:
The communists once again relent at an opportune moment for me, ditching one of their own cards for the bonus drm on Tiananmen, but rolling their second  in a row and failing to advance. I counter with a move that both bolsters my position in Hungary and gives me some additional access in mid-game countries. My plan is to take the student space in Hungary next turn to set up a +1 support check against Budapest.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 3
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #34 Ops 2: Fidesz *
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
Democratic support in Eotvos Lorand U. increased by 5, now at 5
The Communists use the Fidesz card to place support:
2 Communist support added to Budapest, now at 6
Turn 3, Democrat action round 3
The Democrats play the following card for Ops:
#95 Ops 3: The July Concept *
They also play Common European Home to cancel the Communist event
Support Check attempt in Budapest (stability 3):
** Budapest die roll = 6 (+3 ops, +1 mod) = 10
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 4.
Communist support in Budapest reduced by 4, now at 2
Support Check attempt in Budapest (stability 3):
** Budapest die roll = 5 (+3 ops, +1 mod) = 9
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 3.
Communist support in Budapest reduced by 2, now at 0
Democratic support in Budapest increased by 1, now at 3
Democrat commentary:
The communists do my job for me with Fidesz, but seize Budapest in the process. My dice rolling is as hot as the communist's was cold, and I look like a genius seizing Budapest in one stroke. My position in Hungary is now assured. Had I felt like less of a gambler, I could have placed all 3 influence in Gyor instead, but with the +1 modifier I didn't feel that the support check was TOO much of a gamble. I needed the 3 ops though, and decide to use Common European Home on a somewhat marginal card, just to avoid getting behind in Bulgaria.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 4 The Communists play the following card for Ops Card: #64 Ops 2: Papal Visit * They elect to have the Democratic event occur first. Democratic support in Czech Catholic Church increased by 3, now at 4 The Communists use the Papal Visit card to place support: 2 Communist support added to Plzen, now at 4 Turn 3, Democrat action round 4 The Democrats play the following card as an Event: #23: Hungary Scoring Spoiler (mouseover to reveal): ************************************************************
** The Battle deck is being shuffled. **
************************************************************
Democrat: 6(1st city) +8(2 each additional city) = 14 cards
Communist: 6(1st city) +4(2 each additional city) = 10 cards
The Democrat attacks with a Rally in the Square - auto CA
The Communist does not match the Rally in the Square - auto CA:
** The Democrat wins the Power Struggle in Hungary!!! **
** Power Struggle Support Loss die roll: 5 +2(Rally) = 7 -- 4 support to be removed
Communist support in Pecs reduced by 1, now at 0
Communist support in Tatabayna reduced by 1, now at 3
Communist support in Miskolc reduced by 1, now at 3
Communist support in Debrecen reduced by 1, now at 3
** Power Struggle VP die roll: 2 +2(Rally) = 4 -- 2 VPs awarded, plus Power
VPs up 2, now at 8 *** Scoring in Hungary *** Communist: 1(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 3 Democrat: 1(presence) +2(battlegrounds) = 3 ** The Hungary Scoring card is permanently removed. **
Democrat Commentary:
The communists continue their preparation for the soon-to-arrive mid-game by taking control of the Czech elites space. I match their play with my selection of the Czech Catholic Church for the Papal visit influence. The Czech church space is a key space for the equilibrium in Czechoslovakia just as the Church in Poland is... control of the church makes it likely that the democrats can end up controlling all three worker battlegrounds in Czechoslovakia due to positive support check modifiers. The power struggle in Hungary is the third in a row to be won by the first card play, and awards the democrats power -- two countries down, only the middle and late game countries left.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 5
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #88 Ops 2: Sajudis * (red)
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
VPs up 1, now at 9
Democratic support in Razgrad increased by 4, now at 4
The Communists use the Sajudis card to place support:
2 Communist support added to Brno, now at 3
Turn 3, Democrat action round 5
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #16 Ops 2: Nomenklatura *
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
1 Communist support added to Dresden, now at 5
1 Communist support added to Stara Zagora, now at 5
1 Communist support added to Cluj, now at 3
The Democrats use the Nomenklatura card to place support:
1 Democrat support added to Czech Catholic Church, now at 5
1 Democrat support added to German Writers, now at 2
Democrat Commentary:
Communists move to seize another battleground in Czechoslovakia, with the implicit threat of seizing the Czech "worker triangle" (That is to say the mutually supporting worker cities of Ostrava, Bratislava and Brno). He uses Nomenklatura to over-control in Bulgaria and Germany -- a prudent move in case of an early power struggle loss in either country come turn 4. I control the Czech church to counter the communist move in Brno, and seize another space in Germany.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 6
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #4 Ops 1: Michnik *
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
Democratic support in Polish Writers increased by 3, now at 3
The Communists use the Michnik card to place support:
2 Communist support added to Bratislava, now at 2
Turn 3, Democrat action round 6
The Democrats play the following card for Ops
Card: #13 Ops 1: Stasi *
For the rest this turn the Democratic Player must reveal the card he will play
this action round before the Communist plays his card.
They elect to have the Communist event occur first.
** The Stasi card is permanently removed. **
The Democrats use the Stasi card for 2 support checks:
Support Check attempt in Charles University (stability 1):
** Charles University die roll = 3 (+1 ops, -1 mod) = 3
The modified roll exceeds the doubled stability by 1.
Communist support in Charles University reduced by 1, now at 0
Support Check attempt in Krakow (stability 3):
** Krakow die roll = 3 (+1 ops, +2 mod) = 6
The modified roll does not exceed the doubled stability -- no effect.
Stasi: The Democrat sets the following card aside to be played next:
#91 Ops 3: Dash for the West *
Democrat commentary:
I don't like the communist move here... if the democrats have not taken control of Silesia in Poland, I prefer to move to Ostrava before Bratislava. As it is, it will be trivial for me to take control of Ostrava and have a +1 support check modifier against Bratislava.
By holding Stasi until my second to last card play, I reveal virtually nothing of use to the communist. My move is an attempt to match the communist expansion in Czechoslovakia and get back into the student/intellectual battlegrounds, but I roll the worst possible result and knock the communists out without putting any of my own influence in. Now I don't even have a potential target for a future support check. Hopefully Czech scoring will not arrive on turn 4. Sometimes it pays to not occupy a student or intellectual space at all if you can't afford to over control it and/or react to any support checks your opponent makes -- just to deny access to your opponent.
Quote: Turn 3, Communist action round 7
The Communists play the following card for Ops
Card: #60 Ops 3: Hungarian Democratic Forum *
Place 3 Democratic SPs in Hungary and make one Support Check in Hungary.
They elect to have the Democratic event occur first.
** The Hungarian Democratic Forum card is permanently removed. **
3 Democrat support added to Miskolc, now at 3
Support Check attempt in Tatabayna (stability 3):
** Tatabayna die roll = 2 (+3 ops, +1 mod) = 6
The modified roll does not exceed the doubled stability -- no effect.
The Communists use the Hungarian Democratic Forum card to place support:
3 Communist support added to Karl-Marx-Stadt, now at 3
Turn 3, Democrat action round 7
The Democrats play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#91 Ops 3: Dash for the West *
** Tiananmen Square (5 needed) die roll: 5 +3(card) +1(already attempted) +1(own event) = 10
Democrat progress on the Tiananmen Square Track is now at Students Rally
The Communists may no longer play all Ops 1 cards as if they were Ops 2s.
Democrat commentary:
Not seeing anything sufficiently juicy in the discard pile to justify a 50% chance of failure, I decide to keep up on the Tiananmen track instead with Dash for the West. Heading into the mid-game, I feel that I have a decent position in Bulgaria and Germany, but a weak position in Czechoslovakia. I would have hoped to have more influence in mid-game scoring countries at this point, but that turn 2 damage control didn't leave me with much room for that. Still, having the democrats in power in two countries is not bad at all for turn three.
Victory points are at +9.
The situation in the mid-year scoring countries is as follows:
Both sides have a presence in Germany, although the communists would seem to have an advantage. The only cities the democrats can expand to directly (Leipzig and Walther Ulbricht Academy) are subject to potentially devastating support checks, while the communists can continue to expand to worker spaces in the south and the north without any particular danger. A lot may hinge on whether the democrats draw Monday Demonstrations (which allows five powerful support checks in a row) soon, or whether the communists draw the card and are able to negate it (via Tiananmen or Common European Home). If the communists are able to take control of all of the worker spaces, the mutual support they lend each other will make Monday Demonstrations less effective.
The communists have done a good job of removing one of the democrats advantages in Czechoslovakia by removing all democrat access to the student and intellectual battleground spaces. They also have a head start on occupying the triangle of worker spaces in the middle of the country, controlling Brno outright and nearly having control of Bratislava. If the communists can take control of Ostrava too, the democrat control of the Catholic Church will not matter – if the democrats can take Ostrava though, they can make support checks against Bratislava with a +1 modifier, and after taking Bratislava, can make support checks against Brno with a +1 modifier. Thus, the worker spaces may be subject to a rapid cascade with a few support checks.
Bulgaria is fairly even at the beginning of the mid-year, although the geography of the country makes it difficult for the democrats to expand past the elite space in Stara Zagora; often they must content themselves with the minorities’ space the eastern worker battleground cities. If Bulgaria scores before the communists put any more influence down, they risk losing even their presence there, although that is only a one point difference.
The middle-year turns will follow. Please feel free to chime in with both questions on play and (if you’ve already played yourself) suggestions or elaborations on tactics.
You can find part 2 (the Mid-year) at this link:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/720909/a-demonstration-game-...
-
Judit Szepessy
Canada
London
Canada
-
What a great article, Patrick! I myself still have to develop a better strategy as to how I can bring myself in a position more often when I can play cards for Support Check.
It is always a pleasure to play with you.
-
quelf elf
Spain
North Pole
-
Thank you, Patrick. I'm on the P500 list, and have never been so anxious about a game. Your session has been a wonderful read so far (and educational, as I've never played TS).
-
Ted Torgerson
United States
Chicago
Illinois
-
I was the Communist in this game. I'm going to give some thoughts on my play. I did make a couple mistakes as Patrick points out, but some other moves are justifiable and differences in style, and in some ways I really got unlucky.
Set up:
I am going pretty balanced here. Often I will place in Tatabanya and Miskolc instead of Debrecen because that gives me better odds of taking Budapest. Even though it is a worker BG, Debrecen is a secondary space because it only has 2 connections. In Poland I am again playing not to lose big. I have D Marks to use for Ops first AR to cancel Domination.
Turn 1:
Poland
I would not trigger D Marks even against a known Solidarity (3 or 4 worker spaces with 2 Dem SPs at Set up) with this Commie set up. I want D Marks to grab a big Event in Middle or Late Year.
Hungary
I am building support along the worker line in the north and then moving into Budapest. Probably I could have set up better in Tatabayna and took Debrecen after Budapest.
General Strike: Pat's right that it is a Dem event that the Commie can find useful. However I'm not too scared of any of these events and as Pat notes in another context the first couple turns are all about tempo so I don't want to get caught in a strike right now. If it is useful to dodge a 4 Ops Dem event, sort of as a 2d TS track attempt, well then I hope to draw it later in the game when the events are much worse for me. I am playing the long game and the TS track is more than a safety valve if I can make it over the hump.
Hungary Scoring:
I had a petition here, but I did not have any leaders and I was happy to lose the Power Struggle with a weak attack. The VPs from Hungary will have to come later, once I have secured Domination.
Eco-Glasnost and Czech
Looks like I am going for limiting damage in Bulgaria while I push hard in Czechoslovakia and East Germany. As Commie I am looking for 1 Early Year country and 2 Middle Year countries.
Turn 2
Prudence is a decent 1st AR as the Commie. Poland Scoring again I choose not to match because I am way down in cards and at least I am not losing to a Rally. I agree with Pat that he gets a good result there (9 VPs and Power) for pretty minimal investment. A pretty bad, but not terrible, start for me.
Helsinki:
I think this is a critical card, but I have won without it as the Dem and won against it as the Commie. It may be the winning correlation represents that there are some skills in avoiding it being played, beyond just the luck of the draw: not putting it in the discard pile too soon for Dash for the West, not putting it in the discard pile too late to avoiding losing it to Goodbye Lenin! or Kiss of Death, keeping up with the TS track to dodge Reformer Rehabilitated, etc etc. regardless Pat has drawn St. Nicholas Church, Solidarity and Helsinki Accords, so he is living the Life of Reilly.
Nagy Reburied:
I will always play this as the event if Hungary scoring is still in play. My mistake is then not taking the Elite space before fighting over Budapest.
Heal Our Bleeding Wound:
Maybe Pat is right I should have played the Ops.
Turn 3:
Gorby Charms the West:
Not much I can do about this. I set up a +2 and then choke the roll twice. A little frustrating.
Cult of Personality
Quote: The Communists play the following card for an attempt on the Tiananmen Square track:
#10 Ops 3: Cult of Personality *
** Tiananmen Square (7 needed) die roll: 1 +3(card) +1(own event) = 5
No effect.
Misclick! Misclick! Trust me, I never play Personality Cult for the Tiananmen Square as Dem or Commie. Misclicks happen once in a while. You don't do takebacks in friendly games. You play on.
Insult to injury I roll another 1. Now my hand is somewhat screwed as you will see.
Ostrava vs. Bratislava: Good point but I am also forcing pat to spend 2 Ops to get Katowice (Silesia on our playtest map) in order to move into Ostrava, or I will have my own +1 against him (from Brno and Bratislava). That costs 2 Ops to place into an non-BG of a country that won't score again. Pat has other priorities I would think. Regardless I have not locked down the Czechoslovak worker triangle and he has controlled the Church so although I am ahead in spaces, I am a step behind where I want to be here as elsewhere on the map. The Commie needs to lock things down; the Dem needs to contest things. I'm interested to see what I do next!
-
Patrick Martin
United States
Wisconsin
-
quelf elf wrote: Thank you, Patrick. I'm on the P500 list, and have never been so anxious about a game. Your session has been a wonderful read so far (and educational, as I've never played TS).
Glad to hear that, I was hoping that it would at the very least be intelligible to someone who wasn't coming in with Twilight Struggle experience.
-
Patrick Martin
United States
Wisconsin
-
1989Game wrote: I was the Communist in this game. I'm going to give some thoughts on my play. I did make a couple mistakes as Patrick points out, but some other moves are justifiable and differences in style, and in some ways I really got unlucky.
Thanks for chiming in. I actually couldn't remember with whom I had played this particular game, but I figured there was a decent chance it might have been you. Didn't want to wrongly attribute it though.
This is a good point about style. While there are certain tactical tricks that are almost always useful, there is definitely (in my mind at least) a great deal of room for players to develop their own styles as to how they try and create tempo for themselves and how they try to win the game. Some may be inclined to fight tooth and nail for everything while others may cut and run in one or more countries in the expectation of gaining even more in the remaining countries. Both routes can be dangerous.
-
|
|
Quote:** Turn 1 Action Phase **
Posted Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:05 am
