Closing letter to playtesters
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Bill Thomson
Mar 27, 2012, 8:08:54 PM3/27/12
to recon-i...@googlegroups.com
Dear Play-Testers of Recon in Force (A):
I wanted to thank each of you for participating in the event and providing your AARs and evaluations of the scenario. The information you provided was the basis for the modifications we made to the scenario and we simply could not have done it without you. Most importantly, we hope you had fun.
We believe a balanced scenario has no more than 60/40 split in victories with good to excellent play by both sides. We considered both game-play results and Play-Tester opinion in making our judgement and we believe these provide a reasonable basis for the scenario modifications.
We reviewed the results and Play-Tester opinions and concluded that...well...this one still needs some more work. The game-play results were 5 German wins, 1 American win and 3 incomplete games providing a 83/17 split. Furthermore, 5 games ended on turn 5 suggesting the Americans lacked sufficient force for a final turn 6 push.
Play-Testers agreed with this imbalance including one comment that it was simply “A Building Too Far.” Furthermore, not one believed the Americans had an advantage.
We made two significant modifications to the scenario, most importantly the reinforcements were delayed until turn 4. Also, we made hex W6 woods in addition to the two already allowed to the Americans. Finally, we clarified the wording of the Victory Conditions, Setup and SSRs.
These modifications should move the scenario closer to balance and certainly improve the clarity. This scenario has taken a large step forward in its beta development thanks to you, the dedicated Play-Tester.
You may visit the updated RIF (A) homepage for the full analysis and the modifications.
On a side note about the medium of the Play-Test...
When I started playing SL during the golden age of board gaming in the 70’s, Game Clubs were very popular. One would sit with friends, playing, talking, drinking and smoking. You followed the game at your left and the one at your right. You gathered around an interesting moment and discussed it afterwards. That sense of community and sharing were an important part of the board game experience.
Alas, the golden age of board gaming faded, the clubs closed and the players fell into silence.
For the first time since those golden years, I felt i could look over at the other virtual table to see other players’ games and share mine. The active participation of Play-Testers in posting AARs and providing their opinions in evaluations seem to indicate many agree. I expect we’ll see more of this medium for future tournaments and events.
As a final act of this play-test, i invite you to post any closing comments about the Play-Test and your desire to participate in future events and tournaments.. After a week or two we’ll close the Q&A forum and move forward to the next Squad Leader event...
Kind regards,
Bill Thomson, Founder
Squad Leader Academy
Play-Tester Accolades and Acknowledgements
Resources:
Recon in Force webpage
https://sites.google.com/site/reconinforce/
Recon in Force Forum (Google Groups)
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/recon-in-force
Squad leader Academy
http://www.wargameacademy.org/sqla/
I wanted to thank each of you for participating in the event and providing your AARs and evaluations of the scenario. The information you provided was the basis for the modifications we made to the scenario and we simply could not have done it without you. Most importantly, we hope you had fun.
We believe a balanced scenario has no more than 60/40 split in victories with good to excellent play by both sides. We considered both game-play results and Play-Tester opinion in making our judgement and we believe these provide a reasonable basis for the scenario modifications.
We reviewed the results and Play-Tester opinions and concluded that...well...this one still needs some more work. The game-play results were 5 German wins, 1 American win and 3 incomplete games providing a 83/17 split. Furthermore, 5 games ended on turn 5 suggesting the Americans lacked sufficient force for a final turn 6 push.
Play-Testers agreed with this imbalance including one comment that it was simply “A Building Too Far.” Furthermore, not one believed the Americans had an advantage.
We made two significant modifications to the scenario, most importantly the reinforcements were delayed until turn 4. Also, we made hex W6 woods in addition to the two already allowed to the Americans. Finally, we clarified the wording of the Victory Conditions, Setup and SSRs.
These modifications should move the scenario closer to balance and certainly improve the clarity. This scenario has taken a large step forward in its beta development thanks to you, the dedicated Play-Tester.
You may visit the updated RIF (A) homepage for the full analysis and the modifications.
On a side note about the medium of the Play-Test...
When I started playing SL during the golden age of board gaming in the 70’s, Game Clubs were very popular. One would sit with friends, playing, talking, drinking and smoking. You followed the game at your left and the one at your right. You gathered around an interesting moment and discussed it afterwards. That sense of community and sharing were an important part of the board game experience.
Alas, the golden age of board gaming faded, the clubs closed and the players fell into silence.
For the first time since those golden years, I felt i could look over at the other virtual table to see other players’ games and share mine. The active participation of Play-Testers in posting AARs and providing their opinions in evaluations seem to indicate many agree. I expect we’ll see more of this medium for future tournaments and events.
As a final act of this play-test, i invite you to post any closing comments about the Play-Test and your desire to participate in future events and tournaments.. After a week or two we’ll close the Q&A forum and move forward to the next Squad Leader event...
Kind regards,
Bill Thomson, Founder
Squad Leader Academy
Play-Tester Accolades and Acknowledgements
- “MVP” - Mike A for giving the Germans the VC to win.
- “Double L” - Scott B for proving he is just as skilled losing as the Germans as he is losing as the Americans.
- “Pass Me the Crayons” - Mike J., Mike A., BTrap, Raphael, Tim S, Scott B, Phil G and Jamie for posting AARs.
Resources:
Recon in Force webpage
https://sites.google.com/site/reconinforce/
Recon in Force Forum (Google Groups)
https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/recon-in-force
Squad leader Academy
http://www.wargameacademy.org/sqla/
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