Situation

32 miles west of Vinnitsa the 49th Panzer Corps awaits the outcome of the air battle raging overhead before launching its attack. Air support is essential for success as the odds stand at 2.62:1 W). An Me109F and a Hungarian Re.2000 are escorting a bombed-up Me110E and two He111Hs.

The VVS appears with an 1-16 engaging the Me109F while a LaGG-3 bypasses the Hungarian Re.2000, going after the juicy Me110E. This ground attack is key in order for flanking attacks to be successful.

Time

O-dark-thirty.

Location:

HQ OKH. A bleary-eyed OKH communications specialist sits at his keyboard, consulting the Grand Europa CRT from Europa #18, while General Staff Officers attend the situation map, moving counters and carrying out results as they are announced. A link has been established for face-to-face (FTF) combat between an Axis team in Rockford, IL and a Soviet team in Opelika, AL 1000 miles apart. In spite of the distances involved, the bitter combat mirrors FTF play perfectly.

The specialist types on his keyboard "/rol 2d6' and the dogfight begins. The answer from GEnie is a computer-generated random number coded as "2d6 = 2+3=5'. "Kill!" yells out one of the General Staff Officers as he flicks the I-16 into the ever-growing Soviet EFT pile. Across the screen rolls the next message "2d6 = 6+5=11". Grins all around as the dying 1-16 missed the Me109F. Tension mounts, however, because the next combat is between the Re.2000 and the bypassing LaGG-3. If the LaGG-3 gets by the Hungarian it will have a +3 attack against the helpless Me110E.

The specialist types in the code; the answer "2d6 = 4+5=9' appears. The staff officer groans out "Miss' as we await the bark from the LaGG-3 against the Me110E. "2d6 - 1+2=3".

Kill screams out the officer as the Me110E is gently set into the near- vacant EFT box. Another staffer blurts out, OWe should have jettisoned bombs." The air phase continues for several more rounds of combat; once finished, the ground attacks begin.

The battle 32 -miles west of Vinnitsa is labeled #6 on the ground combat file. There are three die rolls associated with this one combat: DR#6a, DR#6b, and DR#6c. The ground odds are 21:5. The Soviets have a Pe-2 supporting the hex while the Axis got four ground support factors through the VVS interceptors.

DR#6a will be rolled first: The 49th Panzer Corps fires 4 pts of AA. A "6" is rolled, missing the Pe-2 and leaving the odds at 25:8, which computes to 3.12:1 (+1).

DR#6b will determine whether there will be an incremental odds shift (the chance of this occurring is 12%, obtainable by rolling "12" or less on a 100-sided die). A 1d100" results in a "74"; the odds remain at 3:1.

The third die roll, DR#6c, is the actual combat roll: the roll... 02" +1= "3" for an HX. Due to the type of attack (full AECA) the 16th Panzer Division is cadred while the 16th Motorized Division takes the hex. At the bottom of this page is an excerpt from the battle file showing how Battle #6 appeared to the players.

Combat that night took one hour and thirteen minutes. The flavor of FTF was definitely in the air as the players from my team crowded around the computer screen and watched the battles unfold. As each roll appeared across the screen players would go to the table and execute the results.

The Red Army's retreat sometimes changed our intended advance. When using the PBEM Conference Area, it's real time play with fast action and minuteto-minute decisions. PBEM is the future of Grand Europa!

Those of us on GEnie are the fledgling vanguard of Europa to come. Locally our FTF match has taken a back seat to the PBEIVI match, which involves our entire local gaming community. Europa requires more map study and preplanning than any other game I've ever seen. When playing FTF, conversation between opponents usually leads to giving away too much information, so conversation is stifled. However, when all locals are on the same team playing against another team many miles away, discussions become intensel Especially when only one engineer regiment is available...

For those of you out there with several local opponents, PBEIVI is definitely for you. A PBEIVI game of Scorched Earth takes on a completely new dimension when the team gathers for map study and planning. No longer do players have to leave the room so others may speak freely. No longer do players have to sit for long hours watching an opponent move. No longer are players stuck with poor moves because of time constraints or an imperfect knowledge of a unit's starting position.

So what is Computer Europa?

Computer Europa is... Europa. A computer is used to manage the play of an Europa game: units, hex locations, etc. Miscellaneous markers are recorded as well, such as rail breaks, airbases, resource points, and so on. Computer Europa is not Europa played on a computer, but through a computer against another team many miles away.

PBEM: Play By Electronic Mail. PBEM supersedes PBM, Play By Mail. The difference... PBEM is fast and exciting, reaching the speed of FTF. PBM is slow, waiting for the mail to arrive (which always seems to be on Monday rather than Friday when you have free time). With the help of your team, an opponent's move can be executed in two hours, less than the time it would take for you to watch your opponent Move.

CA: Conference Area. GEnie provides users with 10 conference areas where people can interact on a real-time basis. When a player hits Ocarriage returriff, his message is flashed across the screens of all users in that particular conference area. Type "/rol" and the following message will appear: "1d6 = x". The "x' stands for any number 1 through 6. Type 0/rol 2d6" and the following message will appear: "2d6 = x+x = xx"; the 'xx' stands for any number 2 through 12. Get the idea? Random number generation on a real-time basis.

Computer Europa, then, is PBEM gaming on a FTF basis.

Presently, the PBEM game of Scorched Earth Rick Gayler and I are playing is moving at a rate of one player turn per two weeks. Our local FTF game of Scorched Earth is actually moving slower than the PBEM game! Why? When a player begins to execute a move, the details of the move must be worked out to some degree before counters start leaving their hexes. Otherwise, after several dozen counters are moved the exact start location of any one unit becomes a bit hazy. So if a move isn't very well thought out a commander may be stuck with an ineffective move, something the Axis can ill afford during the frantic summer of '41.

PBEM allows players to develop moves to the utmost in unit utilization. Once a move is worked out, refinements are easy; the polish comes quickly. This is due to the fact that each unit's start location is known.

Moves actually are accomplished quicker, as less map study is required. And players will spend less time at the map because it isn't necessary to watch your opponent move.

PBEM works best between teams of players due to the bookkeeping involved. A team can check its own move for accuracy in 20 minutes, or execute their opponent's move in 1 hour. Each local player is responsible for recording in pencil on a worksheet his units' moves and actions. An example of such a worksheet appears below.

Typically a turn follows the sequence of play very precisely. This is due both to the nature of the file transfers and the requirement that the non-phasing team execute their opponent's move and declare it free of illegalities. The time allotted for each phase ends when the non-phasing team is ready for the next step in the sequence of play. Following is a general PBEM sequence for Scorched Earth (a smaller game suckas Balkan Front will have fewer' steps).

1. The Axis player completes his ground and air movement files. The files are sent to the opposing team either via E-mail or direct transmission by modem. Time of transmission is roughly 20 minutes. At this point the nonphasing team executes the move and resolves any illegalities. If none are found, the non-phasing team declares patrol attacks and interceptions. The players then assign die roll numbers to the air combats. Once this stage is completed, the move stands, regardless of any illegalities found later.

2. The Axis player has the option of completing the air combat phase prior to declaring any combats.

3. The Axis player sends his combat file. All the die rolls required will the listed and prenumbered. Due to AA fire, some combats may have numerous rolls required. Once the non- phasing player agrees with the content of the combat file, play proceeds to the conference area.

4. Once in GEnie's Conference Area the excitement of rolling for combat ensues. With my team in attendance we sometimes trade off typing in the die roll code depending on whose front is up for combat. As each battle comes up the phasing player states the die roll number and, if necessary, the final odds. The roll is made and the results are declared immediately. Any retreats and losses are declared prior to moving to the next combat.

The die rolling is recorded and saved in the modem software, and the results can actually be printed out later for verification. This usually makes interesting reading, as players are prone to bragging or slanderous comments along the way. However, since these are public air waves, there is no profanity and rarely are electronic dice thrown at walls as in FTF play.

5. With combat over, the next step is the exploit phase. Once it is completed, the turn ends. We have agreed to a 24-hour grace period after a turn's completion to ensure the paperwork matches the board. Play then reverts to the Russian team. Note that while in the conference area during combat, all repair die rolls are also made for the soon-to-bephasing team along with any supply elimination rolls for U4 units, or any other miscellaneous rolls.

At present there are 2 games running on GEnie. Gary Dickson is taking on Robin Roberts in a game of Kasserine Crisis using Macintosh worksheets, and there's also our close match of Scorched Earth using Lotus 123 worksheets. These worksheets can be found in the Europa library on GEnie.

Leaving a message in the Opponents Wanted Topic on GENie should be all you need to get started in PBEM. Hope to see you on-line soon.