Playing Solitaire
Target Arnhem: Across 6 Bridges. Free game. Wargame. Hex and counter game. World War II game. In my case, my solitaire game.
(picture from boardgamegeek.com)
Wargames are notorious for their 2 player competition and also their historical accuracy. I was watching Band of Brothers and reading up online about operation Market-Garden when I realise I have a wargame simulating the operation - Target Arnhem. Suddenly, my interest in the game piqued and I absolutely have to try out the game, to see if what happened in history is what will happen in my game as well.
What if the 1st paratroopers managed to take Arnhem and held out? What if the 82nd Airborne dropped between Arnhem and Nijmegan to help out in Arnhem and Nijmegan? What if the 101st Airborne dropped right beside Eindhoven and helped the XXX Corps to move rapidly to Nijmegan? What if?
Since no one is here to play with me, so I play solitaire. And playing solitaire with a wargame can be very interesting also! Even a small strategic change at the beginning of the operation can have a very different game ending. Some plans look good on paper but when playing, suddenly there’s a problem in your plans. And so you play, first US forces, then German forces, then back to US forces until one of them win.
Of course, my lone ranger playing must have been one-sided sometimes because it is difficult to think like a US general and a German general at the same time. But is damn fun, man!
Hmmm… now I think of it, maybe I should try dropping the 101st to take Nijmegan first… let’s see what happens…
(btw, please ask me if you are interested in playing against me. I promise not to slaughter innocent first time players… muahahaha)
