[ASLML] A88 Surprise Encounter Question

[Bruce Probst]

On Sun, 21 Mar 2004 22:06:46 -0400, David Olie <daveolie at eastlink.ca> wrote:

>The bottom line is that you're playing on board 34 A-P and board 32 R-GG,
>and board 32 is to the north.  The Russian can set up just about plumb in
>the middle of the playing area, and as far north as 32Y7.  It looks like
>you'll have to redeploy a fair bit on your first couple of turns, but being
>Cloaked you have 6 MF for all units.  So do the Finns, but since the frozen
>stream is treated as a gully, crossing it is going to slow him somewhat.

Don't forget that since this is a day scenario, LOS is normal.  Units won't
stay cloaked for long at all.  It's worthwhile for the Russians to set up a
couple of genuine units forward to strip the Finnish cloaking ASAP.  That
keeps their speed down to something theoretically containable.  (It also means
that Finnish dummies have a fairly minimal effect, although there are some
clever uses that they can be put to.)

>I've never really looked at this one before, but it looks kinda cool.  Must
>give it a try sometime.

It's an interesting exercise, but I'm not sure that it's all that fun.  The
Finns have no reason to be cautious, and they are quite capable of fulfilling
both VCs (kill lots of Russians AND exit lots of troops).  Of course, their
aggressiveness can backfire horribly if the Russians decide to stay put and
shoot straight, which explains how the Russian can win.  I played it twice
last year, was crushed as the Finns and then crushed as the Russians.
Ultimately I think it boils down to how lucky the Russians are.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Probst              bprobst at netspace.net.au
Melbourne, Australia      MSTie #72759
"Omaha beach, June 5.  I was early."
ASL FAQ              http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/mantis/ASLFAQ