From: "C. HENDRIX" Subject: Re: First Impression: Bastogne or Bust John and cohorts- thank you for the feedback! I appreciate the depth and honesty of your report, and hope others will chime in. I noticed your first design question dealt with the weather rules. You would have preferred to have an extra chart which would have modified all the different unti type's movement depending on terrain, etc. I purposely left this out because I felt that the weather conditions of the 18 days of the Bulge that BoB covers had more of an effect on the Allied air operations (and, hence, THEIR effect on German movement) than on the actual ground movement of all units. Grunts on both sides tended to grit their teeth and go where ordered because of the desperation of the whole battle. This was chrome I felt I could let go of. Your next question dealt with the ENGAGEMENT rules. These are designed more to reflect the 'pinning' effect of units engaged in combat having a tough time DISENGAGING. The loss of ZOC shows small disasters where pinned units lose their ability to control ground (read: overextended attacking units) and be able to move when ordered (ENG markers are removed AFTER the movement phase) and also deals with retreats after combat. No eratta required. And hope that helps next time. I'm glad you enjoyed the Off Board Movement Chart. The reason it plays such an integral part of the Victory Conditions is because all these areas represent territory the Germans never got hold of. If you can do better than Runestedt, you should be rewarded (and vice-versa). You mentioned that the map became peripheral to the OBMC, but remember- the map was the BATTLE AREA- the OBMC Zones represent the OBJECTIVES of the attack. I tried to show by integrating the two, that either one by themselves doesn't give the feel of what the Bulge was all about. I was a bit puzzled by your expectation that a WWII game without overrun or a mech movement phase doesn't quite measure up to 1996 standards? I purposely left these out because the Bulge is one battle where a squad or company well placed (say at a crossroads) not infrequently held up a regiment or two for half a day or more (one or two game turns). One way to simulate this is to NOT HAVE overrun rules OR a mech movement phase. Without them, you get the feel of frustration at your advance being halted by green troops thrown in your way (who happen to dig in better than ANYBODY expected). Sure, you blow away the unit as a cohesive force (eliminate the counter), but the remnants stop you cold (no more movement until next turn). Try it with overrun (say 10-1 odds allows you to expend half your movement points to eliminate any unit) and a mech movement phase (3 movement points per armor unit after combat) and see if it still plays as a balanced game. I don't think it will. I predict a boring cakewalk. The biggest distinction between mech units vs. leg units is the 'bullet' next to the movement factor. Virtually all German & Allied armor have it (as well as Allied infantry- most units had adequate truck capability), but none of the German infantry do. The 'bullet' reflects much greater road movement capacity (as it should). Increasing one or decreasing the other would skew the relative abilities of both. During playtesting we tried giving leg units 1/2 and mech units 1/5 (we ended up with leg units at 1/3 and mech at 1/4), plus various combinations. 1/3 & 1/4 worked best. I'm sorry you don't feel 'the mechanics don't feel like a big step forward', but I wasn't trying to produce a game that would dazzle with chrome and fancy mechanics/added complexity. I wanted to produce a game that would foster repeat play without burnout that gave the feeling of the campaign. Your first comment "...the game mechanics all worked very well and we particularly liked all the special rules and how victory conditions tied into variable reinforcements." jives very well with what I was aiming for- you enjoyed yourself! I hope you give it another try soon, and thank you again for your kind words. P.S. If you ever decide to play BoB by regular postal mail, I printed up a ton of preprinted OOB sheets when I self published the first edition. If you would like a set, just send me an SASE: Chester E. Hendrix 1054 Lewis Oak Road Gridley, CA 95948