The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Valmy]

New ACW game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1241910/Victory_and_Glory_The_American_Civil_War/

My initial review after being dumb and buying this because it is ACW and strategic and I really really really really want there to be a playable strategic ACW game....

So I am sitting at home and very bored, and I love ACW games, so I decided to give this a try. My first impressions after two games!

Game 1, Union. Turn 3 sees the fall of Washington. Hmmm.

I send McDowell south with his army of 12 or so, and he is promptly attacked by a Southern army of 11. OK! First Bull Run! He gets absolutely crushed - loses 8 of his 11 units, and the south loses 2 units.
4:1 casualty ratio in a major battle! Wow! That's impressive, since nobody ever achieved that during the war ever!
The South marches to Washington, and attacks again, but I am clever and play my reinforce battle card! Hah! That 9 to 6 battle is now 9 to 11!
Doesn't matter, I get crushed, and all my units are killed between the battle and pursuit. Washington falls on turn 3 or 4.
OK, so that went poorly. Lets try this again....

Start over, and this time, I am getting some leaders, damnit! We sent Grant to Washington right away, and get him a couple more leaders so at least when we fight we will have leaders in every spot. Surely this will matter!
I reinforce, and on turn 3? 4? Both sides have max sized armies in Virginia. It's 1864, except in the spring of 1861.
The CSA attacks Grant and his 20 with their 20, except they have Lee (who is much better than Grant) and Jackson (who is also better than Grant), and the battle is just silly. I do like 1 point of damage, and every shot the CSA fires destroys a unit. On round 3, Grant is killed, and I've lost like 8 units to zero CSA losses
.
So far, the game doesn't feel like it has any resemblance to the American Civil War.

But it's only been a few hours of play....

1 Southern Gentleman really can whip 20 Yankee hirelings

All these gamers who insist the South was so superior militarily have to explain why they did so poorly in the West.

[Berkut]

My condolences.

Have you played Gary Grigsby's War Between the States?

Oh, yeah, Berkut and I played that a decent bit. It's better, but still generates weird results.

Its much more complex as well. This has the framework for a pretty damn good, modest complexity ACW strategy game.

[Berkut]

The game feels like it was just rushed. It has a pursuit mechanic, for example, that is pretty obviously a holdover from the Napoleonic Wars game, and makes no sense in a ACW game.

I think somewhere one of the help texts about reserves mentioned that it might be a good idea, for example, to hold back your Imperial Guard.

[Valmy]

The game feels like it was just rushed. It has a pursuit mechanic, for example, that is pretty obviously a holdover from the Napoleonic Wars game, and makes no sense in a ACW game.

I think somewhere one of the help texts about reserves mentioned that it might be a good idea, for example, to hold back your Imperial Guard.

Yeah I cannot think of any ACW battles that had significant pursuit casualties, whereas in the Napoleonic Wars those would often be where most of the killing took place.

[Syt]

So what is the best ACW strategy game at the moment (or historically) on PC? Not counting tactical games.

[Valmy]

So what is the best ACW strategy game at the moment (or historically) on PC? Not counting tactical games.

I did think that the Slitherine game was pretty decent...I mean it has all the problems their games normally have but it kind of felt like the Civil War. That is getting kind of old now though.

[Syt]

You mean the AGEOD one? I or II?

[Valmy]

You mean the AGEOD one? I or II?

The second one.

[Tamas]

FYI when the PC version of Labyrinth (early access) came out I  found it too confusing and not pleasant to play.

Today I tried it again after a new update and had a great time. Has improved a lot. Lost out to the Islamist bot in a long game.

[Valmy]

FYI when the PC version of Labyrinth (early access) came out I  found it too confusing and not pleasant to play.

Today I tried it again after a new update and had a great time. Has improved a lot. Lost out to the Islamist bot in a long game.

Did the Goblin King get you?

[Syt]

FYI when the PC version of Labyrinth (early access) came out I  found it too confusing and not pleasant to play.

Today I tried it again after a new update and had a great time. Has improved a lot. Lost out to the Islamist bot in a long game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1210830/labyrinth/

[Tamas]

FYI when the PC version of Labyrinth (early access) came out I  found it too confusing and not pleasant to play.

Today I tried it again after a new update and had a great time. Has improved a lot. Lost out to the Islamist bot in a long game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1210830/labyrinth/

Yes.

[Syt]

Googled a bit more and presume you mean this? https://store.steampowered.com/app/931950/Labyrinth_The_War_on_Terror/

Full titles would help people like me, you know?

[Tamas]

Sorry I thought you were joking 

Yes, it's sort of like a cross between Twiligh Struggle and a COIN game. Designed by the same guy later creating the COIN system.

It's fun.

[Solmyr]

I was actually thinking of getting Labyrinth as a boardgame, too. I'll ask about it in the boardgames thread.