The players in our current game are sticking to their strategies and carrying the game forward. I find myself hamstrung in explaining a lot of the details, because the players read these PBM reports, looking for intelligence. These are crafty gamers! Turn 11 is now completed. Each turn equals one day in the 20-day campaign, and each turn takes about a month to complete. So we are more than halfway through the campaign and well over a year into the game. But this one shows no signs of dying away -- the fate of too many previous campaigns. And this game still hasn't produced a major battle, though that could happen any time. Instead, we have had numerous clashes between the screening cavalry forces on both sides. The Confederate commander has been steadily destroying the bridges between the east and west sides of the map. To finish one of the last remaining bridges, he had to allow a substantial mounted force to be trapped between advancing Federal troopers. The Confederate cavalry burned the bridge and was able to smash its way out of the encirclement. They had just enough of a numerical edge to slip away. Otherwise, it could have been disastrous for the Rebels. They lost several unescorted guns in a similar encirclement a few turns ago. The Federal aim is to capture the Confederate depot. The Rebs must prevent this or take the Federal depot. So far, the exact outlines of either side's strategy has yet to become clear to the opponent. But that should change shortly. Time begins to run out, and a forceful strike will have to come soon enough. This campaign has been unusual in the amount of maneuvering, as opposed to smash-mouth battling. One previous game left both sides virtually exhausted long before they got close to their objectives. Here, the players have both been patient, feinting, developing their strategies over the long haul. It's been a good game, and I'll be as interested as anyone to see how it turns out. More details next time. Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #126 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com