[Consim-l] Alsace '45

[Pat Collins]

I recently purchased Alsace '45 and since this year's "Bulge game" is 
America Triumphant, I decided to play them combined. Each year about this 
time I will play a Bulge game - last year's was Bitter Woods, before that 
Ardennes.  This year I have played already a Bulge scenario from the ASL 
SK#2, "over open sights".

Alsace '45 is a game on the operation launched in, of all places, Alsace 
when the Bulge operation started to look bad. Historically it caused Ike 
some bad moments when it looked like Strasbourg might be retaken. In the 
end, it didn't come to that, and eventually France was cleared to the Rhine.

The system is the same for both games - activation of units via chit pull. 
HQ chits are placed in a cup, if that chit is pulled, you can activate and 
use all units within range of that HQ. You need not put all your chits in 
the cup, in fact, if you REALLY need to activate some units you might well 
choose to put only that HQ in the cup.

The reason is that the turn can end early. The more chits that are pulled, 
the more likely it is to happen. Worse, "turn end" can happen for one player 
but not the other!  So there is a fair amount of uncertainty built in to the 
system.

When playing both games, you can choose to use a reinforcement for one, on 
the other's map, with some delay. So if the Germans can't break open the 
Bulge, they might choose to send stuff south. And vice versa. There are 
limits, no Brits going south or Free French going north, but other than that 
the players have a fair amount of flexibility.

It's all set up, and so more to come later....

Regards, Pat
Last Played: DAK, MSH, ASL "Over open sights"