Post Game Interview 5

For our seventh game of the year, I broke out the questionnaire again.  As Meara and Marin hadn't been around when I developed this I figured it would be interesting to get their opinions.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?
Marin: Experimenting with mixed HtH and DF, and piling SSRs on one Frame.
PJ Nicht: I was looking to play defense by choice for today's game.
Me: I had a fair amount of success as Primary attacker in the last game so I felt like trying it again.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?
Marin: Not going in.  Strategy evolved in set up.
PJ Nicht: Yes.
Me: Kind of.

2a.) If so, what was it?
Marin:
PJ Nicht: Control a portion of the table, and have all but one mech defending.  The not-defending mech starts off in a place to threaten an opponent's Station and force them to not move forward.
Me: My usual plan of "Hit & Spot", with a dash of Artillery tossed in.

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?
Marin: Trying to be able to pincer Meara's defenses while Mantisking took PJ Nicht on. Wanted to try to claim the spare neutral Station then push out from it.
PJ Nicht: I was looking to take up as much space and then pull back, hoping by the time people got to my Stations, the game would be over.
Me: I was trying to overload a quadrant of PJ Nicht's defensive perimeter.  In hindsight, the lone Frame I placed on the other side of PJ Nicht's perimeter prevented them from slipping out the back door and away from my assault.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Marin: Only when it became inconceivable for me to win, ha ha!
PJ Nicht: From the very beginning.
Me: Slightly.

4a.) If so, how?
Marin:
PJ Nicht: Mantisking's placement put him as the biggest threat.  But his Stations were in my perimeter.  So having my melee Frame in a place to stall Mantisking's advancement was not much of an option.  That Frame was also crippled very early on.
Me: I thought I needed more separation between Marin and myself, points-wise, so I attacked him a few times.

5.) After setup, how did you predict the game would go?

Marin: Unsure, had an impressive point deficit and wasn't as secure in my set up as I'd hoped.  If me vs. Meara and Mantisking vs. PJ Nicht kept to their lanes and I had good luck, maybe?
PJ Nicht: I predicted Mantisking would charge in and take my Stations, or try to.  I also thought Meara and Marin wouldn't be much of a threat, just because of distance.
Me: I usually don't think about this too much.  At this point of the game I'm trying to plan out my lanes of attack.

5a.) Who did you think would win?
Marin: Mantisking or Meara.
PJ Nicht: Mantisking.
Me: See my answer above.

6.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Marin: Need to make sure to remember, bad rolls really messes with a melee Frame.  Got to get it in close-quarters ASAP, even in set up.
PJ Nicht: I should have been more careful about movement and kept my Frames on my Stations.
Me: I really should have sent my lone Delegator after Marin's open Stations in the second turn instead of using it to pressure PJ Nicht.

The answers I received are under the corresponding questions.  Any mistakes in reporting are mine.  Meara declined to answer, citing aversion to paperwork.

I hope this gives some insight to the strategy and tactics of the Stone Garden 2 game.

Post Game Interview 4

For the first game of the year, I broke out the questionnaire again.  Although this one had a few questions that were suggested by Tom, so technically it's a new questionnaire.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?
Chuck: I like specialized units, as opposed to standard Soldier outfit.  Aside from that, I wanted to maximize the number of units/systems I had.
Pete: I AM LANDSHARK!  (It's the only unit I have to play.)
PJ Nicht: I wanted to try out new units I built and try out a different strategy.  Mostly wanted to try out the new units.
Occam's Spork: Small enough in number not to be starting in last place.  Three units to adapt to damage.  One unit for artillery support.
Narbey: More the merrier.
Me: I wanted to try something slightly different, so I added a Brawler to my usual Soldiers.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?
Chuck: Yes.
Pete: Yes.
PJ Nicht: Yes!
Occam's Spork: Yes.
Narbey: Yes.
Me: Sort of?

2a.) If so, what was it?
Chuck: I'm not telling you.  J/K  I have two units set up to bunker in and protect my Station and drop Yellow dice on opponents.  Two other units are hopefully going to score some points.
Pete: Kill Narbey!
PJ Nicht: My two Spots defend and spot enemy mechs to either entice other people to attack those guys .  I want to try and indirectly influence the flow of battle.
Occam's Spork: Defend base with artillery, use two units to take a base.
Narbey: Get there on time.
Me: I was aiming for first or second position and I managed second.

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?
Chuck: I wanted two units to go on the offensive and two to hang back and place Spots.
Pete: I don't know ... Mantisking?
PJ Nicht: I wanted to control as much of the table as possible and get everyone in close proximity to each other.
Narbey: No reason.  But -- put double artillery and Station at corner as usual -- Used trees as cover -- Units were spread.
Me: I wanted to attack PJ Nicht because he was Defender.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Chuck: Doesn't it always?
Pete: Yes.
PJ Nicht: Yes, at the very beginning.
Narbey: No.
Me: Yes.

4a.) If so, how?
Chuck: I got bum rushed at my Station by Chris and chose to give it up.  My other forces still kept up the offensive.
Pete: When Occam's Spork moved off his Station, I pounced.
PJ Nicht: My strategy turned into staying alive and having my base out in the open to try and use it as bait and capture someone else's base.
Me: I thought I could attack Occam's Spork and remove him as a threat.  Which turned out to be a mistake.

5.) After setup, how did you predict the game would go?

Chuck: I had no idea except that there would be mayhem.
Pete: I always look for where the pile-up is going to be and move away from it.  Half the table was too dense with mechs, and I wasn't a threat on that side, so I sat out (at first).
PJ Nicht: Not as I hoped.  My two Spotters were too far out to do anything but Spot.
Narbey: Pete!
Me: I'm usually too busy running through the "Start of Game" checklist to think about this.

5a.) Who did you think would win?
Chuck: Chris or Pete.
Pete: Me!
PJ Nicht: No idea.  I thought Mantisking might have it , moving in to protect his base and capture my base.
Narbey: Pete!
Me: See my answer to question five.

6.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Chuck: It is now late and I am tired, but this was a fun game.
Pete: Great game!!
PJ Nicht: Had a blast.  Wished I passed more and moved my mechs more.
Narbey: Pete!
Me: A really fun game, I just have to do something about getting things started on time.

Post Game Interview 3

I broke out the questionnaires at the last game because Narbey hadn't had the chance to fill one out yet.

Here are the questions I asked.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?

Chuck: I thought I should try to optimize a bit for points.
Narbey: I like artillery.
Tom: Wanted to use my new guys, wanted to be offensive, went down a System to try and squeeze an extra PPA point.
Me: I wanted to test a theory about a new squad composition we had discussed after the game at Greenfield Games.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?

Chuck: Yes, of course I did.
Narbey: No.
Tom: Yes.
Me: Yes.

2a.) If so, what was it?

Chuck: Don't suck.
Narbey: It involved dragons but dragons are not allowed.
Tom: All out offense, utter destruction.
Me: Run Away.

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?

Chuck: Tried to keep them somewhat together, but I don't think it will work very well.
Narbey: Put most Frames behind cover.  Should have put Station and artillery behind cover like Chuck.
Tom: I attempted to set up close to the center, so I could make a ??? ??? to all players, but Occam's Spork stuck some guys behind me requiring me to place guys back there to deal with him.
Me: I wanted to push everyone out as far away from me as possible.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Chuck: Yes.
Tom: Not really changed, but I wasn't able to execute it well.
Me: Not really

4a.) If so, how?
Chuck: I tried to take the center Station, and was able to hold it, but I lost too many Frames for it to make a difference.
Tom: Occam's Spork rolled really well in the 1st round, dealt damage to my guy and I didn't really do much to him.  That slowed me down and I spent the whole second round ??? at his guys.  So I wasn't able to attack other players like I needed to do.

5.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Me: This was a very interesting game with a lot of idiosyncrasies.

The answers I received are under the corresponding questions.  Any mistakes in reporting are mine.  Occam's Spork declined to answer, citing it would give away his secret to victory in this game.

I hope this gives some insight to the strategy and tactics of the Sand & Trees game.

Post Game Interview 2

I brought along the questionnaires to the game at Greenfield Games a few weekends ago.  I figured I'd get some interesting answers as I was going to be sharing the table with both Joshua and Vincent .

Here are the questions I asked.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?

Vincent: Soldiers are eeeasy.
Tom: I made new guys.
Liam: Even balance of weapons.
Joshua: Wanted to start in the middle then capture.
Me: I wanted to try a new squad composition.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?

Vincent: Nope.
Tom: Kinda.
Liam: Not really, it's only my second game.
Joshua: Yep.
Me: Yes.

2a.) If so, what was it?

Tom: Overwhelm and destroy.
Joshua: Capture and hold.
Me: Be Primary attacker.

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?

Vincent: I was crowded on to the edge.
Tom: I group more on the corner because then ?? ?? ?? ?? space, I tried to concentrate firepower and take advantage of my double Blue systems.
Liam: I was very restricted on where I could.
Joshua: Keep formation, add fire support.
Me: Short answer, because I got screwed by a die roll.  Long answer, I tried to push everyone to the edge of the table to get as much room to maneuver as possible.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Vincent: Sure!
Tom: Not really.
Liam: Yes.
Joshua: Yep!
Me: Yes.

4a.) If so, how?
Vincent: I changed enemies in Turn 1, I think?
Liam: Try to get the unguarded stations.
Joshua: Had to alternate offense and defense.  Had too few viable targets for capture.
Me: After losing two-thirds of my forces in the first turn it became about survival and possibly getting control of open Stations to build up points.

5.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Vincent: Yay!
Tom: This was a crazy game with huge swings.
Liam: It was fun.
Joshua: Vincent hit me!

The answers I received are under the corresponding questions.  Any mistakes in reporting are mine.

I hope this gives some insight to the strategy and tactics of the Ice 9 @ Greenfield Games game.

Post Game Interview

I'm trying something a little different today.  After the last game, due to this discussion on the Hangar, I handed out a questionnaire with a few simple questions on it to try and get some insight into the choices made before the game started and while we were setting up.  I did this because I wanted to do something new on my blog and I wanted to take a look at the strategy and tactics used in Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack.

Here are the questions I asked.

1.) Why did you choose the squad composition and size that you brought to today's game?

Tom: See 2a.
Chuck: I have no idea, really.  I went with the max loadout minus one System, because I didn't want a unit disadvantage.
Occam's Spork: More units are more fun.
Stevenik: Try to start at a higher position.  Less guys, more systems.
Me: I crunched the numbers on past games and saw a trend in squad sizes, so I tailored my squad size to take advantage of that.  Squad composition was my normal Soldiers plus one Brawler.

2.) Did you have a strategy for today's game?

Tom: Yes.
Chuck: Yes.
Occam's Spork: No, strategy falls apart as soon as other units are put down.
Stevenik: Yes.
Me: I thought I did but it all fell apart when my anticipated position in the battle order changed.

2a.) If so, what was it?

Tom: Try to get 6 PPA.  If not Defender, use Artillery to provoke fights between other players then use Melee to claim a Station or two at the end.  If Defender, deny as much area as possible during set up and place Station forward for other players to fight over.  Then apply previously mentioned strategy.
Chuck: Try not to suck.
Stevenik: Attack Tom.
Me: My backup plan became steal 1 - Tom's Station,  2 - ????, 3 - profit?!?

3.) Why did you place your squad on the table the way you did at the start of the game?

Chuck: I have no idea, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Stevenik: Place my Double Spot/Double Artillery at furthest point on the table which was changed in the first round.
Me: It was the closest spot to Tom's Station and the only really open area on the table.

4.) Did your strategy for today's game change at any point while we were playing?
Tom: No, things went entirely to plan.
Stevenik: In the first round.
Me: Yes.

4a.) If so, how?
Stevenik: Artillery was attacked first round.
Me: In the last turn I saw open Stations and I went after them in an attempt to win.

5.) Any personal comments you'd like to add?
Tom: Despite everything going to my plan, this was a strange game as there were a lot of ways I could lose.

The answers I received are under the corresponding questions.

I hope this gives some insight to the strategy and tactics of the Missile Base Omega game.