Re: [FT] Huge games? Yikes!!

-MWS- wrote:

> I've been reading posts on the list about games with 20, 30, and even
60 > (!!) ships *per side*, and I'm starting to wonder if anyone
actually
plays 
> the games out to completion. :)  

If you include "until one side breaks off into FTL" into "to
completion",
yes.

> Also, how many of you playing these huge games
> are taking an entire weekend to run these monstrosities?  

I don't. 20 ships per side (roughly equal mix of capitals, cruisers and
escorts) usually take about 2-3 hours to play using pre-written orders
if
both players are reasonably used to it; if there are newbies present the
battles tend to be smaller but still take as much time. Large battles
take longer, of course, but not that much - I've never seen an FT game
run more than 6 hours, and the thing that took the most time then was
moving all the d*****d missiles (MT-style, about 50 of them; there were
approx. 80 ships on the table all in all).

[On playing small battles, 500-1000 FTFB points]

> Part of that *is* determined by alloted game time - I'm normally
limited to > gaming after hours during the week, so our normal maximum
game 
> length is in the 2.5 to 3 hour range.  It *is* rather difficult to
play
a good 
> game with a large number of ships per side when you run out of time >
after the 2nd or 3rd turn .

See above. I find it somewhat surprising that you can't finish bigger
battles in that time, but then I've been playing for the past five years
or so - it may be routine, I don't know.

Regards,

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry