Got to try out a game I have long been curious about: Nemo’s War. Luckily, you can play it for free on Tabletopia, so I did not need to buy it. It is definitely an interesting game, very thematic, and rather difficult, at least after one play. I was one card short of Act III when I rolled poorly and lost my last Nemo resource, ending the game. It is amazing how fast the ships start filling up all the ocean spaces if you don’t crack down on them quickly. It did not help that about 75% of my differential rolls to get my action points for the round resulted in 1’s.
I did not like how some of the treasure tokens just upped your notoriety, without any kind of bonus at all. I did like that exerting your resources did not cost you anything if you succeed at the roll, but did find that to really have any hope of succeeding at most rolls, you pretty much have to risk a resource, and the penalty for failure is harsh.
Definitely want to try it again, now that I have a better idea of how it works.
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The AI is a great foil to practice against, but so are other new players! captbnut, sianus, and LaLunaVerde are all names on the app of SUSD friends new to the game (but LaLunaVerde is already much better than the AI). I’m also happy to play if you don’t mind (probably) being crushed =P
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Have you tried the TTS mod for Twilight Struggle? I picked up the steam edition in the Asmodee humble bundle, but there’s just something lacking trying to learn the game with it. I’d probably do best learning in person with the components palpably in front of me, but a near-ish second may be a TTS experience.
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No, no point for me, with the app being so much better. I did have a hand in making the PBEM Vassal mod for Twilight Struggle, and I could use that to teach the game. The other Vassal module is fully scripted, which might defeat the point of using it for you, but on the other hand it does visually match the physical game exactly, so that might make it a viable alternative to the app.
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Well, perhaps I’ll give the app’s tutorial another try and see if the game sinks in a bit more.
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I would say that rule enforcement helps considerably in learning the game. Some of the card event text can be a little ambiguous.
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Yeah; I get overwhelmed by card text (and really any complicated component) when I can’t hold them in my hand. If I was already familiar with the game I’d certainly have less problems. I was feeling inadequate about it until Matt mentioned something about it in the Watergate stream and I realized it’s probably pretty common.
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I have played the app a few times and I pretty much always lose to the AI, usually due to a stupid mistake. I am still learning all the cards and often will overlook something as I am trying to figure out what I am doing. Usually it is letting the Defcon level get too high and the AI does something to make me raise it to the last level, resulting in my loss.
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That is a common way to lose when learning, and a viable way to force your opponent to lose at any level, if you can identify the right moment and get a little lucky.
Each Turn you can normally assume starting at Defcon 3 and usually going to Defcon 2 in USSR AR1 or the headline. So, identifying “Defcon suicide” cards in your hand, i.e., cards that can degrade Defcon or give your opponent an OP or battleground coup, and ways to get rid of them, is the first thing I do each Turn.
Holding the China Card is a great way to protect against a hand-size reduction that could force you to play a Defcon suicide card that you can’t otherwise get rid of and planned to hold until next Turn.
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Which proves I am definitely still learning. 
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Oh, God, me too… @Benkyo, if you need a new punching bag, by all means I am happy to oblige.
Up till now, my main issue is trying not to spread to thin with influence, and the AI beats me by concentrating on one area and slaughtering me with points, or by doing the opposite and the AI completely dodging me and getting scorecards where I am weak.
I think I still don’t have the grasp of all the concepts, but I am keen to learn.
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Add me as Benkyo on the app, or let me know your username.
I enjoy playing every time, even against “punching bags”. Of course, sometimes punching bags become opponents over time, which makes things even more interesting =)
Some deck-related things that aren't immediately obvious in the app
Europe, Asia, and ME are in the early war deck, while Africa, C America and S America are in the mid war deck.
The app shows a target symbol for a region if that region’s scoring card is in the discard pile.
The mid war deck is added for Turn 4, but in the Turn 3 deal, the remaining early war deck is fully dealt out and then the discard will become the deck to continue the deal. So if Europe hasn’t been played in Turn 1 or 2, and it isn’t dealt to you in Turn 3, you know it is in your opponent’s hand. Further, because Asia and ME are back in the deck, while Europe is going to the discard in Turn 3, Europe is being scored less in this game.
The same applies for Turn 7, but with a twist. It is possible that if a low number of cards are played in Turns 1-6, the discard does not become the deck in the Turn 7 deal. The Late War deck is added in Turn 8, and every card in it played before the discard becomes the deck in a later Turn.
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@pillbox @COMaestro I’m happy to play with new players.
@Benkyo is too good for me (I’m going to say at the moment), so I’m letting him have a break from thrashing me while I’m warm up against @lalunaverde (who destroyed me even quicker than @benkyo in our last game), the AI, @Chewy77 and a non forum friend.
I think the app is fantastic, to the point where I sold my physical copy last week. I think it needs the rule enforcement. I’ve played TS more in the last fortnight than in the last 5 years. I’m never going to know the deck and I’m sure I’ll always let out a small sigh when I draw two scoring cards of regions I’m behind in.
I think if you can get 5 plays in a short amount of time it’ll set you up for life, just to know what you’re doing.
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In fact, if there are a lot of us learning, would it be possible to have a thread with an annotated game? You could screenshot your app and post your decision and your thought process.
The image quality might be a bit naff, but it would be interesting to observe.
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In some kind of record of late, I played two games this evening due to the generosity of my wife. She offered an hour of the evening dedicated to whatever Inwanted, so we played games. And not just any games, but new games!
Started with Santorini, a gift from her for Christmas. Rules explanation went pretty quickly since we were not using the god cards. At first, I thought it was going to be a very quick game as I managed to construct a good set of steps, slightly ahead of her, but it is amazing how fast your opponent can get a worker close enough to dome off your victory. Eventually, I managed to trap one of her workers, and with my two against her one, I aas able to outmaneuver her and get the win.
Then, we broke into my new copy of Unmatched, purchased just before the stay at home orders kicked in. She played Medusa and I took King Arthur. Things did not go my way as she rapidly won attacks which let her draw more cards and soon I was left with no defense cards for Arthur, who she focused on. Right when I finally got some cards that I felt would help me stage a comeback, she hit me with a Stone Gaze, which I could not defend against, hitting me for a total of 12 damage and defeating Arthur, giving her the win.
I enjoyed both games and hope we can get them to the table again.
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I would be happy to do this, but screenshotting the app would be super fiddly because the screen is so cramped. Playing in Vassal, or reproducing the game in Vassal would make it easier.
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LaLunaVerde is already giving me a run for my money. In fact, I think I was losing our last game until I got a Defcon win.
I was USSR, and far enough ahead on the Space Race that I saw the US headline before selecting mine. LaLunaVerde played Olympic Games, so I played Duck & Cover (a US headline!) Higher OP value triggers first, so D&C degraded Defcon to 2, then I boycotted the Olympics to take it to 1 - so the US lost.
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In my games against you two, I’m so wary of making a mistake that I just keep panicking, especially with scoring cards. The Defcon defeat I had against you was a great example of the app enforcing the rules, because I’d assumed that as you took the DEFCON down it would be your loss - I’d forgotten the phasing player rule.
I’d also forgotten that non Battleground coups don’t decrease DEFCON.
I’ve beaten the AI twice since our last game. A couple of games ago though, I was USSR and was ahead by 14 points in mid war and comfortable in Africa, and Central America and was getting cocky. It was then I realised I only had 3 DEFCON suicide cards in my hand and lost!
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It would be great if we could see both sides. I’d have no problems with losing to you in public (maybe the wisdom of crowds would help!), but I’m not sure if my computer would handle Vassal - it really didn’t get on with Steam and I had to delete it.
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Tell you what, I’ll run a game on Vassal and set up a pbf versus the forum. I think I can even do it while dealing you cards and playing them as you specify without me seeing them. I’ll start two threads, one that no-one else playing should view, and one that I won’t view for the forum to discuss plays. I’ll send you a screenshot of each of your hands and the board after each move.
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