"Mad Colonel" Build (Now TWICE As Long!!!)

[seabolt]

Don't everybody step up at once. Is it really that opaque?

The points of this exercise were:

1. Make the OOBs more important. The only way to load up on mortars, MGs, and such is to pick an OOB with really healthy support companies. Even so, there's often a tradeoff, given the support company must match the infantry companies. Bottom line is it makes it very difficult to just cherrypick the best gear/people. Great OOBs build great battalions. (WW2 Germany fans can buy me a beer. No, really, I've been known to imbibe.)

2. Keep the "historical simulation" players happy while not crippling the game's positive features. Any good game design will offer each player a chance to state "I'm unique!" by customizing his assets. (That's right, I'm looking at you, chess. Let me arm my knights with flamethrowers, I might still be throwing down on the 8*8 grid!) SP variants do this in spades; in fact, they do it too well for those who've read a book, by allowing players to field Tiger+SS SMG squad+Nebelwerfer, rinse and repeat. The trick is to keep the kewl customization while enforcing a (fairly loose) sense of proportion.

I haven't had a chance to use this too much in PBEM play, but I might illustrate with my latest bout once it's over (my 1986 West Germans vs Splintex's Soviets). I bought infantry companies riding Fuch APCs and the weird West German "armor -" company with an integral mech platoon, giving me precisely 3 Marders in my vast battalion and a half. Once the Marders finally showed up in the fighting, it took Splintex precisely 1 turn to dub my force the "MarderFuchers" :P.

-- 30 --