What a strange game!

[Georgia22]

Hello,
A strange game indeed. I have been bravely fighting away for days now trying to figure out how to play this game and have come to the following two conclusions, bearing in mind they hold only for me:

1) The game is needlessly overcomplicated. Now I know that the playability vs realism argument is as old as war games. Indeed, it is the central theological argument thereof, like the centrality of Free Will vs Predestination in Christianity. But even the staunchest advocate of realism must admit that, like Clauswitz's culmination point in an offense, beyond which it is unwise to go. After all, given enough computer power, and it may come to that, you could make a war game in which you could see what Lt. Hans Steiner of ID12 ate on 8/16/43 and how it impacted his command abilities that day (I suspect Gary Grigsby's (henceforth GG) soul would shine at the prospect. And you could do this for every soldier in every army of WWII. And you would have a game that you could spend a lifetime and not finish one turn. So the question is when to stop. I suggest that a good place would be somewhere between War in the East and Strategic Command War in Europe but closer to War in the East.

2) Far, far too much takes place under the hood and the player is given far too little discretion in what to control. The reason for this, I suggest, is that GG is a TOTAL CONTROL FREEK, and hates to let go on anything. Indeed, I get the impression that, give his choice if he did not have to sell the games to make a living, he would not let the player do anything but observe his marvelous creation playing itself!

Now, all this being true (for me only, of course) a curious question arises. And that is, why is the game still fascinating? The answer is: I don't know. It is a mystery. But, as a wise person said: Life is a journey from mystery to mystery. Here the charm is elusive but real. If I had to guess I would venture that if you have read a great deal of history of the war on the Eastern Front the game gives a marvelous feel of that. In all events I suppose that if I live another 10 years there I will be, trying to learn the rules for fifty-leven different kinds of supply.

Bless you GG. No one will ever accuse you of lack of energy.

If anybody actually reads this rambling, thanks

[CapAndGown]

Don't even touch WitE2!

[Georgia22]

CapandGown,
Oh no! Not War in the East 2. We are well on the way to Lt. Steiner's breakfast.