Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Smoke Stains the Sky

Chris and I have been playing a fair bit of John Tiller's Campaign Series PBEM the last week or so, and it has been a lot of fun!

The battlefield for the scenario Tanker's Holiday. My tank battalion moves up from the south toward the objectives and Gotha.


Some initial combat involving recon forces. The red and blue lines are range rings.
Tanks start to brew up as Chris and I begin to grab objectives and our forces trade fire.
In the scenario Red Steel at Fedorovka I move a company of Tigers to secure a bridge and overwatch and objective while a second company of PzKfw IV aufs H act as advance guard for the battalion HQ. South of Fedorovka.
Overview of the Fedorovka battlefield. Hexes are 250m.
German Panthers and PzKfw IVs clash with Soviet T-34s and assault guns to the northeast of Fedorovka as Chris unleashes a substantial attack on the village.
I can't recommend this game highly enough. It's very playable, has a massive number of scenarios available and an editor, and it tactically very deep. I've avoided online play of most games for years due to some of the "personalities" you can run into, but Chris and a few others I've started playing with are excellent, courteous opponents. Playing against another person really adds to the fun! PBEM is also really convenient as it allows us to carry out moves as we each have time. Very enjoyable.

5 comments:

  1. It has been great fun even though those are mostly my tanks burning in these pics!

    And as someone new to John Tiller games, I should say it is easy to pick-up! And it is a new favorite of mine because of the depth!

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  2. John Tiller games are underrated, I guess due to the UI which looks like the 90's - but quite functional actually. Also the AI in this game is pretty good which is a rare thing in tactical wargames.

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    1. I completely agree, kineas. Very strong AI that makes sensible moves and provides some challenge. It may not be Red Dragon sexy to look at, but the UI provides good information and the gameplay is actually tactical, not an RTS click fest!

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    2. This game has been on my various computers since the 90's, i have most of the more modern games from graviteam and battlefront, etc but the Campaign Series is the best of them all, love your blog keep posting all the best.

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    3. Thanks for your comment John. You are right - this one is a classic. Hard to beat the value and replayability of the current Matrix incarnation of the game, too. I'm really looking forward to the Middle East game when they release it.

      I'm glad you like the blog! I need to get my act together and get back to posting. I've been lazy the past couple of months.

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