A few days ago, after sharing the results of our research on the various wargaming conventions held before Operation Barbarossa, we started telling you about another wargaming convention.

Do you remember it?

In 2016, during a con, a game champion arrived who had found a way to win every game at Moscow '41.

If you missed it, you can find the first part of the story at this link:

https://ventonuovo.voxmail.it/p/hgfch4/c-ed1427de

So what happened next?

What happened was that the Moscow '41 designer, Emanuele Santandrea, and the wchampion sat down and started playing Moscow '41.

It was just a few minutes before noon and what was about to unfold had all the makings of a classic high noon.

While Emanuele, who was playing the Germans, took a pen and wrote a note inside the palm of his left hand before starting the first impulse, the champion began to arrange a laptop and an iPad on the large table and then  started taking photographs to document the event with one of his smartphone, while employing his second smartphone to either calling or messaging his friends to join and follow the event.

The match seemed to be of a high level and the deployment of the latest technologic tools seemed to turn the tide.

Suddenly the table was surrounded by people watching and taking pictures with their own smartphones.

The designer was challenged on his playing field by the gaming champion of the convention.

The latter was assisted by powerful computers and claimed to have developed a series of moves that always guaranteed the Soviet a simple and certain victory after few impulses. His fans from anywhere in the world were all either there or directly connected through one of his numerous social networks, and all were ready to celebrate the easy win with songs and dances that could have lasted until and beyond midnight.

The former could just count on his Moscow '41 gaming experience and he knew that the existence of his own small company, which he had made from nothing with so many sacrifices to create unique projects made in Italy, would depend on the outcome of that epic event. Many jobs were at risk, and certainly the first was his.

How would the epic challenge have gone? Would the young designer have managed to survive the plans of the world champion? Or would the challenge have been quickly won by the tech assisted champion?

Unlike Waterloo 200 and Germany at War that are diceless, in Moscow '41 strategic skills, logistics and memory may not be enough because the die can influence the results of the combat.

But a solid system should be able to not be unbalanced by alea.

There are also other elements that can determine success: Analytical and bluffing skills are important to develop stratagems and lead the opponent into error.

"My opponent showed great confidence and seemed determined to win quickly" explains Emanuele "and even if at the table it is not usually allowed to disrespect the opponent or cheat, a gentlemen style bluff can have unexpected results. I therefore decided to pay close attention to the subliminal messages that came through the behavioral syntax."

"Moscow '41 can be opened by the German in various ways. But the two most effective openings are the G2 and G4 openings" explains Emanuele.

"Each has advantages and disadvantages and they are certainly not the only two possibilities. But in my experience in over two hundred games these two openings are the best.

G2 offers the possibility of pushing immediately towards Ukraine, while G4 guarantees the closure of the center. Napoleon would have preferred G4, but in this game I decided to use G2.

G2 presents risks because it opens the German center and exposes it to counterattack. But the observation of some elements and of the behavior of my opponent suggested to me that I could take the risk" - says Emanuele Santandrea

"So I opened with G2, surrounded the Soviet forces around Smolensk, crossed the Sozh and headed straight for the rear of the Central Front."

This may seem exceptional.

But it is not at all, as this is an easy goal to achieve during the first impulse and nothing to brag about.

Basically the opening for the first impulse is the one showed in the following video uploaded in 2016 by Emanuele himself:

"My opponent - Emanuele continues - did not seem surprised at all and as soon as the combat was resolved, he began to play his first impulse.

The champion replied with a Pass.

It wasn't exactly what I expected because my G2 opening had created at least two very dangerous gaps that couldn't be managed with a simple Pass. But I couldn't know what the fearsome champion had in store for the occasion. "

Here you can see the typical Soviet second Impulse in response to G2:

So the second German impulse arrived and Emanuele chose to play another Tactical Impulse.

Now... Something unexpected happened...

So what?

We will tell you in the next newsletter, so stay tuned!

The Expansion for Moscow '41 is funded, live, and kicking!

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