[GZG] ground combat campaigns

John,

I have done several mixed FT/DS/SG weekend conventions with four 3-4
hour slots worth of gaming around a theme campaign.

The first and most memorable was the Assault on New Provindence, an
ESU attack on a NAC planet colonized by expatriate fisherfolk from the
Canadian Maritimes, the New England Coast, and a few other
fishing-rich areas of the world.

This led to the identification of my friend James Hilchie as "Comrade
Hil-Chi-Minh" (of the ESU) and the famous quote from General Sarno to
the ESU Commander, taking a page out of the Bastogne books more or
less. When confronted with orbital bombardment, ground troop landings,
and a fiercely spirited counteroffensive that was deemed to have
broken the ESU invasion force, General Sarno opened a channel to the
ESU Admiral in charge and said

"Get your a$$ back to Eurasia." (It pretty much summed up the attitude
of those in New Providence to the invasion and their spirited defense)

This campaign consisted of an FT battle (the approach) which the ESU
was going to win, but the question was how pyrrhic would the victory
be, then a DS2 game to neutralize the Planetary Defense Center, then a
Stargrunt game two sessions long where the ESU tried to take the main
starport on New Providence.

In each battle, the side that did better (vs. scenario victory
conditions) would get a reinforcement chit or two (depending on how
well they did). They started with 3 in their pool and could win more.
The chit was worth about +/- 10% to their force size and they could
choose which of the 4 time slots to spend the chit in and when during
that slot to summon reinforcements. The ESU used theirs finishing off
the PDC, which they eventually took by massive VTOL-mobile assault,
and during the starport assault. The NAC used some during the Starport
fight and I think one during the FT battle to kill a few more ESU
troops before they got to the fight.

With something like this, I found it easiest to setup an overall
storyline and let scenario outcomes impact forces and conditions for
victory in subsequent scenarios. The reinforcement chips gave
commanders a chance to have an impact in strategic asset allocation in
a dynamic way. This somewhat covered 'logistics' too.

I think you'll find most real battlefield maps are too big for an SG
board. Maybe DS could do it. But much terrain is lost below the
granularity of DS's 1"=100m. In SG, we rarely see sufficient relief on
game boards to match many fo the areas I've lived in (hilly country in
Eastern Ontario). You just couldn't capture this without some really
crazy hills (my folks place is probably 150m up from the bottom of the
hill 400m to the NE that the road comes in on... at the back of our
yard is about a 20m steep slop, at the sides about the same drop but
over 50m or so, and at the front, no drop to speak of).

So you'll be best off just trying to create 'representative' terrain
that gives the feel of your real map. Give google maps a try and pick
some place you like the look of and that can guide your board setup.

I've done this a few times with similar results with different
scenarios.

Tom B

-- 
http://ante-aurorum-tenebrae.blogspot.com/
http://www.stargrunt.ca

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy
from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a
precedent that will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine

"When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of
liberty quits the horizon." -- Thomas Paine
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