10-08-2018, 11:34 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lancaster, PA
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After Action Report: October 7, 2018
While up visiting family, I got to break out Ogre again...still not asked for by name, but asked for all the same.
Managed to get in 2 games with my nephew...one a heavily-stilted Mk.III Attacking [he's 7, so I gave him a Mk.V defensive force to insulate against uncooperative dice and ensure he'd take out a Mk.III], the other Dogpile. For Mk.III he played the defenders, and took a very eclectic mix...two MHWZ, one HWZ, one SHVY, and then a smattering of MSL, LT, HVY, and a single GEV. He completely ignored my guns unless I pushed him in that direction...which to my surprise, worked out better than I'd expected. I really enjoy playing with him, because it forces me to think about the game in terms of "What should I do to make the game look close, without ever being a real threat to him", plus he's constantly doing "random little kid is random" so relying on "A clever opponent will, so I'm going to..." doesn't work, and that can be pretty eye-opening. For example, If I was playing to be competitive I would've done a lot more playing the odds instead of going for outright kills, and spent more time nibbling at the edges instead of gleefully scooting up a lane he left wide open then showing him how to box me in and bring the pain. It was also nice to get to play the Ogre for once, most times when I'm showing the game off I end up as the defenders, as the appeal of being a terrifying juggernaut is oh so tempting. In the end, the withering assault was way too much to bear, especially paired with 'screw around so he feels awesome'. The Ogre had 1 primary and 3 secondaries left when it finally ground to a halt, but he had MSL still in play and out of reach so that was game over. ---------------- The second game, Dogpile, he wanted to be the Ogre and have me show him what I was talking about with ganging up on parts and etc. It was...savage. I've never seen an opening salvo go that poorly for the Ogre; he concentrated fire and managed to get a few troops, but was stripped down to less than half his starting armament on turn 1. By turn 3 it was all gone, and at that point it was a game of "spread out so he can't crush us all" and hammering on the treads until it stopped moving. Poor kid was having too much fun trying to squish things to take advice such as "take out a big gun or two in the corners to get yourself places to hide" and "Break out and nibble at the edges, don't dive into the thick of it". But he went into it knowing he was supposed to lose, so there was lots of "Oh no!" but no pouting / being sore in the end.
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Andy Mull MIB Agent #0460 Ogre 134th Battalion Lancaster, PA Imgur: https://agent0460.imgur.com/ |
10-08-2018, 04:49 PM | #2 |
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: Tokyo
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Re: After Action Report: October 7, 2018
I hear ya! Last few times I've demo'd the other person always (understandably) picks the Ogre.
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10-09-2018, 11:18 AM | #3 |
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Austin, TX
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Re: After Action Report: October 7, 2018
Getting youngsters into wargaming is a Good Deed. Well done. :)
Out of curiosity, what does he call it, since he doesn't ask for it by name?
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Play Ogre? Want an interactive record sheet? Want a random dungeon? How about some tables for that? How about a random encounter? |
10-09-2018, 12:13 PM | #4 |
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lancaster, PA
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Re: After Action Report: October 7, 2018
He usually tries to describe something about it...the gameplay bits he remembers, or parts of the map / the units through a little kid's eyes, or etc. If little kids are great at one thing, it's creating complex descriptions of things they don't know the actual word for out of things they do know the words for.
One time he asked about the game with the lava pools (meaning the craters), once it was "the helmet dice game" (meaning the Paneuro logo), another time he asked about the great big red box that took up the whole table (meaning ODE), but the cutest had to be asking for "Pipe Beasts"...when pressed to explain, he started talking about the monster with Mario pipes on its back [meaning the Secondaries, with the flared ends]. It's a good one for getting them into it. The rules are simple, the math is simple, and it's so easy to throw the balance out of whack (because he's starting to wise up to people letting him win) as a handicap. I'm looking forward to when he's starting to learn division, will be able to engage him with calculating his own CRT odds. At a con this weekend, I'm hoping to have enough free time for a rematch against another friend's son, same age. They have a copy of the game and play on the regular, so he's a savage one...turning rampant disregard for his treads and gleefully squishing anything that gets too close into an art form. I've tried turning that against him, but didn't bring enough firepower and got clobbered.
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Andy Mull MIB Agent #0460 Ogre 134th Battalion Lancaster, PA Imgur: https://agent0460.imgur.com/ |
10-09-2018, 01:52 PM | #5 | |
Join Date: Oct 2005
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Re: After Action Report: October 7, 2018
Quote:
And makes me feel like a little kid. |
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