UBoater658 Wargaming

 I'm back. I am going to use this for posting narrative accounts of solo game play throughs on my YouTube channel. Here is the start of my solo U-Boat campaign using Minden games U-Boat Captain Advanced. U-99 Dec '40 Patrol Part 1 U-99 Dec '40 Patrol Part 1 The icy December wind howled across the North Atlantic, a stark contrast to the warmth within U-99's cramped control room. Kapitänleutnant Otto Kretschmer, eyes glued to the periscope, exhaled a plume of fog. A solitary merchant vessel, small but precious, chugged through the moonless night, oblivious to the predator lurking beneath the waves. "Auf Gefechtsstation!" Kretschmer's command crackled through the intercom, electrifying the crew. The U-boat surged to the surface, its sleek silhouette a dark apparition in the night. "Klar zum Gefecht mit der Kanone!" The 88mm deck gun, its barrel gleaming under the dim lights, swung towards the unsuspecting target. The merchantman, close enough to see...

Note: Sorry for the long pause - finally got around to writing up the narrative for the last session on my YouTube channel. Still reviewing some Solo resources just released and determining how to integrate them. Then I will get back to the campaign. https://youtu.be/-KqCEIZW2_c Bob reported that the compartment appeared to be filling quickly with an atmosphere. Carol said, "keep breathing apparatus on - let's get an analysis of the atmosphere." As the Aliens got closer, Bob reported the atmosphere had stabilized and did have Oxygen, but also other exotic elements that would prevent safely breathing it. Since the Aliens appeared to have no breathing gear Carol thought this was probably their native atmosphere. As the Aliens got closer, both appeared to have a small arm attached to a utility belt - but neither was making motions to draw their weapons. Once they were within 5 ft they stopped and produced a box-like device and then started talking. The device repeated their ...

 This is the start of a series on Microgame Design Group's MacArthur's War: "a simulation of the Korean War, simulating the historical campaign as well as allowing for what could have happened if MacArthur had been given the go-ahead to launch attacks against Communist China." This video provides an introduction to the game as well as an overview of the rules. https://youtu.be/OAu7fFa2xNk

Ney tries to push the Coalition back on the right flank in order to get a buffer between the lines and Quatre Bras. The French also try to push the Coalition forces out of the woods on the left flank to remove the threat to their lines of communication. https://youtu.be/PHaSIXCxxMQ The Coalition then attempts to surround and attack the French 6th Division on the edge of the woods outside Quatre Bras. If successful this would decimate the French and put the Coalition in a strong position to retake Quatre Bras. Unfortunately for Wellington, the attack is repulsed... https://youtu.be/Sa7Cf-9B1WQ

 The WP assault continues, although less tactical nucs were used and all airpower saved to defend against NATO airpower. https://youtu.be/IPzYt-sQPt4

Coalition Phase of Turn 1. Reinforcements moving up, will they be in time? A good bombardment result against the advancing French infantry. https://youtu.be/D4sHgHVXp_Q

 Posted the turn 1 French Combat phase. The French were relatively successfully capturing a Corps Commander,  eliminating one Coalition unit, and pushing another back. Was able to illustrate a number of rules in my quest to learn the system. As I learn/understand the rules better the turns should go faster. Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/7q6lZky_9bI Here is the situation at the end of the French player phase:

 In preparation for M+2/next turn following the WP Attack, I discuss a number of topics: 1. End game triggers 2. Victory Point Calculations 3. Short term strategy 4. Long term/escalation strategy Here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/NAdhqwHG3HA Here is a picture showing the start of the siege of Hamburg:

OSG's Library of Napoleonic Battles - it's time to learn the system. I picked up a few intro games (single battles) over the past few years but never played any of them. A few months ago I was looking at/reminiscing over the old SPI Napoleon's Last Battles. I reviewed the Decision Games remakes - I had actually made a VASSAL module for them of the 2nd Edition a year ago. This lead me to OSG and Kevin Zucker and I decided if I was going to get into the series I should start with the 'latest'. https://napoleongames.com/pages/library-of-napoleonic-battles This was about the end of last year and OSG was having a sale and I picked up Napoleon's Last Gamble (NLG - Waterloo Battles) and Napoleon against Russia (NaR). This should be enough battles combined with my 2 intro battles to keep me busy. I also had invested in a number of computer Napoleonic Battles from JTS/WDS which I may start playing in parallel - although these are at a more tactical level.  https://wargam...

Finally finished version 1 of the VASSAL Module for White Dog Games Nubia. https://www.whitedoggames.com/nubia "Nubia remained an island of peace in a sea of violent jihad. But in 1171, dynastic disputes in Arab-occupied Egypt spilled over into medieval Nubia – setting the stage for its violent decline and fall (1172-1504). NUBIA is a solitaire strategy game based on that conflict, designed by R. Ben Madison and published by White Dog Games." Below is a partial image of the map/module with the initial setup: