Best Supporting Performance By a Minor Power
Greg Berry
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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Many games (especially war games) have "minor powers" or "minor allies" in them. Most of the time those minor allies are no more than historical window dressing or flavoring for the rest of the game. Occasionally though these "bit players" can do amazing things and make a game to remember.
Would you BGGers provide me some examples from your experience where the little guys made a big difference?
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Greg Berry
United States
Unspecified
Virginia
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I recently posted a review of the game "Victory in the Pacific" ( http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/240103) In that review I had a paragraph about, with accompanying picture of, the minor allies (British, Australians, and Dutch) where I stated:
"The inclusion of, and movement/basing restrictions on, the British, Australian and Dutch units give the allied player a sense of the US having allies but also an understanding of the fact that the US faced the Imperial Japanese Navy mostly on its own."
This somewhat dismissive comment about the abilities of the minor allies in the game did remind me of one game I played where those same minor allies won me the game against all odds.
I was the allies on the final turn of a very close game at a WBC a few years back. The game came down (in my mind) to the allied forces winning if they could defeat the IJN in a major battle in the Japanese Islands. I felt the odds were significantly on the allies side but as the dice were thrown the American Carriers didn't come through in that battle and were defeated. I prepared to shake the hand of the Japanese player when he said "What about the battle in Indonesia?" I told him that it was a loss, I only had two small British carriers against four Japanese airflots. It wouldn't be worth the die rolling I said. He disagreed and wanted me to play it out and I did. Of course, the plucky british carriers dispatched the four Japanese airflots and won the game for me.
Now I always have a soft spot in my heart for the possibilities that those usually outnumbered and outclassed minor navy ships offer.
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Steffan O'Sullivan
United States
Plymouth
NH
"There is one really important thing I must write which I have forgotten." (The final sentence in Henry Darger's Autobiograpy.)
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Denmark, as a French ally, can sometimes launch a sea invasion of northern Russia. This can cause some distress to the Coalition - not only does Russia have to divert resources away from the main (French) front, but she can't use the Holy Mother Russia Home card until the invasion is squelched. If the French are lucky, this can make a huge difference!
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Wulf Corbett
Scotland
Shotts
Lanarkshire
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Dragon pass is packed full of minor powers. Sun Dome Templars, Sir Ethelrist & his Black Horse Troop, the Wintertop Exiles, the Grazelanders - all small by the standards of the Big Two, Sartar and the Lunar Empire.
But every one of these minor nations packs a surprise. Take the Trolls... only 6 counters represent the entire nation. But one of them brings along a nuclear bomb... once a game, Cragspider can obliterate every unit in a 3-hex triangle with her Pillar of Fire. Only Dragons and Superheroes can weather the blast.
This is a game where allying a minor nation is a major event!
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Manuel Pombeiro
Portugal
Sao Joao do Estoril
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The Dutch and British small sumarine forces are present and should be used for full effect.
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Matthew Barratt
United Kingdom
Royal Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
Beware the nun of doom
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In my current Paths of Glory game the Belgians have put the Kybosh on the Kaiser by capturing Essen
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Mark Christopher
United States
Salem
Massachusetts
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The Rumanians! Those plucky little minor allies helped to keep a huge amount of Russians tied up by holding some hills on my right and by having a supply dump with them. My Soviet opponent got fixated on killing them off and so wasted turn after turn attacking them when he could have wheeled his forces around and hit my flank. The Rumanains somehow held on until my opponent realized that, even surrounding them, they were still in supply.
In a game fraught with both rules and operational mistakes, my opponent ended up winning the game by a single victory point, but those Rumanians made sure it'd be a close game.
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Kurt Over
United States
Philadelphia
Pennsylvania
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Image shows the Vassal module's India/Burma/Malaysia hexes.
British are a force that needs to be dealt with in the Indian Ocean, plus the need for the Japanese to kick them out of Singapore (and hopefully farther) early in the game.
The Dutch have a small initial army and naval contingent defending Indonesia. Often gone by Turn 3, but in one play the plucky Dutch Navy bloodied the IJN's nose a few times (including sinking a CA unit) before going down.
The Australians and New Zealanders are represented as well via air and army units under US control. Often the initial (or only) garrison preventing quick Japanese conquests in the Southwest Pacific.
- Kurt
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Posted Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:44 pm
Mannheim
San Marcos
California