Memoir '44 On-Line with Vassal: Awesome
I spent a little time recently playing Memoir '44 via Vassal. For those nights when getting out of the house is just not in the cards, dice, or whatever, Vassal is a great tool, particularly for wargames.Memoir '44 seems to be particularly well suited to Vassal, as its quick, easy, and has a relatively simple set of things to keep track of. A recent upgrade to the program even added all of the recent expansions and scenarios. Apparently this program is unofficially approved by Days of Wonder, under the theory that the more people play their games, the more people will want to buy them.
Hammer of the Scots and a few other games that seem to be of interest to the group are also on Vassal. If anyone ever wants to play some Memoir '44 or any of the other Vassal games, either real-time or PBEM, just let me know.
posted by Ben @ 8:08 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
My feelings for boardgaming programs like Vassal, F2F, Brettspielwelt, and BGG.com games like T+E, have always been lukewarm. Granted, I've only tried BSW and T+E on BGG. Maybe Vassal and/or F2F are really better.
Instead of rambling, in a nutshell: I feel that in general, games that work really well in one platform, should stay in that platform.
Age of mythology? Civilization? Doom? Meant to be played on your computer.
T+E? Hammer? Memoir? Meant to be played in front of your opponent. Nothing like the smell of a new boardgame... the moving of a bunch of wooden pieces on a piece of cardboard. You just don't get that same sensory feedback from your keyboard, mouse, and monitor.
Yes yes...you can argue that it is a solution to the problem we all share: lack of time, and there's nothing I can say to that. I'd still rather play in person.
(plot twist)... still, Ben when do you want to try Hammer on vassal?
I wholeheartedly agree Vassal is definitely not nearly as good as having the opponent, board, pieces, and cards in front of you, but it is much better than playing solitaire or not playing at all.
Time and opponent availability is the key advantage here. I played a game this evening against a guy in Kentucky. We played the Dieppe scenario and it came down to the last roll of the dice. A very good game, and it took about 20 minutes, start to finish, including set-up.
Combat Mission: Afrika Korps (see previous blog post) either PBEM or TCP/IP totally rocks. I'm currently in an intense PBEM game against Joe Steadman of The Dice Tower podcast.
I'll play Hammer of the Scots on Vassal as soon as I've played it a time or two face to face and feel I understand the rules... I'm ready to learn!
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