I decided to play the allied side while Ray coordinated the German counterattacks in an attempt to stop my offensive and cut my supply lines. I definitely think the Allied player has more work to do in this game and I seemed to spend most of the game fighting and winning battles continually. During the first turn of the game the Allied player has a +1 to the initiative rolls for for each of the random number of battles to be fought. Despite this advantage I constantly lost the initiative to the Germans (I can honestly say I have never rolled so many 1's in any game in my life). It was uncanny, and not at all funny. Having said that I definitely had the upper hand for the first couple of turns as I pushed up the board and extended my offensive.
By the end of the game I had failed to secure the Nijmegan Bridge and link up with my Paratroopers at Arnhem. Between them the town of Nijmegan and the Bridge zone were worth 110 points and failing to secure them meant that Ray retained these points and we ended the game with a decisive win for the Germans.
The game lasted about two and a half hours but probably an hour of that was taken with reading and interpreting the rules. Subsequent turns went much quicker and the next time we play I expect we could easily finish in the 90 minutes the rules suggest. The Allied player certainly has his work cut out and despite the superior number of Firestorm troops at his disposal - and the bonus to initiative in the first turn - victory is most definitely not a foregone conclusion. Considering the outcome of this first game I have to say I thought it played very well and emphasised the ambitious nature of the Market Garden offensive.
Looks good,would like to have a go, it definitely would go well with a couple of beers and nibbles.
ReplyDeleteSeems like great game.
ReplyDeleteMy little group of FoW players started with Firestorm: Market Garden campaign some time ago. But we stopped halfway because there were only 3 of us playing which is to few and didn't made it fun to play.
I think the rules are a little too complex to pick up and play straight from the box. Having said that I'm sure a second game will be much quicker (the box suggests an average game length of 90 minutes).
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it and can definately see this being played reguarly.
Looks like an interesting game, we may have to try it!! beer & nibbles too!
ReplyDelete