From: "Grossman, Stan" Subject: [consim-l] We The People -- First Impressions Hi, I just completed my first solo game of "We The People", and thought I'd share some of my impressions of the game. I must admit that this was my first go at an American Revolutionary War game, and I don't have a strong background on this topic. Rules and set-up were a breeze, and I was into the game in no time. A lot happened early on: The British lost their "Regulars" bonus, Benedict Arnold was disposed of for treason before he could make a move, and the French intervened, all by the first card plays of 1776. For my solo battles, I decided on the following method to "play" the battle cards: The Attacker's dealt cards were arranged in order from the "most of one type" held to "the least". If he held the same number of the same type, then they were placed in order from those most likely to do damage to the enemy, to those less likely (i.e., the hand would be sorted as 3xLeft Flank, 2xRight Flank, 1x Double Envelop., 1xBombardment, 1xProbe, etc). To create a little suspense, the Defenders cards were left face down, and were revealed one-by-one to check if they matched the Attackers. I always rolled for CA where practical, and if successful, the original Defender's cards that were left were arranged in the same manner for Attack. Anyway, it worked for me, and eliminated any type of "guesswork" and seemed fair to both sides. The British focused on the North, mostly using Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton to battle Washington and Greene in several hard battles. With French assistance, both Quebec and Montreal were captured. However, I lost them both in 1777 to Gen Howe, with the French stacking arms in surrender in Montreal. Quite dreadful ! play on my part to let them get trapped that way.... I really liked the player decisions the Strategy Cards represent -- whether to place PC markers to gain control, move Generals to battle or conquer PC spaces, or to bring in reinforcements. Some really tough calls had to be made, though I think I tended to attack too much, so that the CU's on both sides tended to be meager. Between the French Fleet, a British fascination with New England, and very poor PC placement on my part, the South was under complete American control, and the British were never able to make a landing or conduct any campaigns there! I am sure an experienced player would have ripped me apart in this respect. The British slowly pounded away in the north, in campaign after campaign, taking control of New H., Mass., R.I., & Conn. by 1780. In 1781 & 1782, Howe (still in command!) and Cornwallis fought several battles in New York against Washington, Greene, and Lafayette, slowly taking control of this colony mostly by attrition of Amer. CU. I noticed 2 key things along the way: Having enough PC markers to have militia advantage in an colony is key -- once the British had enough Tory support in NY, it proved too hard for the American depleted armies to hold on. Secondly, ports are great spaces for the British -- combine that with local militia and a General, and you have something. And despite his "3" strategic rating, I tended to favor using Howe in battle with his "3" battle rating. Overall, the British had better luck in drawing plentiful operations cards (and less Event cards best discarded) than the Americans. Lord North's Gov. was not set to fall until 1783, and at this time I realized the British needed just one more colony to win -- and the battleground would be Maryland, under Patriot militia control, but lightly defended, as both Washington & Greene had few CU left to them. Spaces between Howe & Washington were traded back and forth -- until -- the British gained control -- on this last turn, with the last die roll, with the last battle card played! I really enjoyed the subtle nuances & simplicity of this game. It's easy to see that each one should play out differently, and quickly, making "replayabilitly" a big plus. I've even talked a "non-gamer" into giving it a go, and by turn three, was hooked. I'll be looking at "1776" and "End of Empire" hopefully before too long, but WtP has set the bar pretty high in a lot of areas. Regards, Stan