by Game Empire Chuck » Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:41 am
Thanks for the update, Bruce. I would like to make a few comments about how I would like to see things develop in Tank Aces. One of the issues we're facing is a lack of German players. This creates two problems. First, I would like to see some of the players who resist running/building Germans reconsider this practice. It forces others, like me, to run Germans only. I can handle it, but it isn't fair or courteous to me or some of the other players who have both Germans and allies. I can't remember the last time I got to run my Russians or Americans (I bet you didn't even know I had Americans!). Tank Aces is a good place to start a new army, so please consider building an Axis force.
Second, as a player who is forced to play Germans almost exclusively, I am going to ask all players to please have accurate models for their units. This comment is directed primarily at American armor players. There are SO many variants of Shermans out there that it is somewhat irritating to constantly have to ask which type of Sherman is that tank. Asking me to remember minor decal or painting details to distinguish between a Jumbo, an EZ-8 and a regular 75mm Sherman is not reasonable and diminishes my enthusiasm to play. So please have accurate models so we poor Germans are not constantly playing in a state of confusion. On a side note, I am not happy about the scope of the Jumbo rules. Having my flank shots on a Sherman redirected to the front of a Jumbo is really painful (and broken, IMHO). So if you're going to run Jumbos, please have real Jumbo models.
Another goal of Tank Aces will be to teach new players how to play. I have noted that recently we have some guys showing up who seem to want to play, but don't seem to want to be bothered with learning the rules. Every game we are teaching these guys how to play from scratch. Tanks Aces is a simple system relying on the easiest part of Flames of War - tank battles. A player should be able to run his forces unassisted after one or two games. So if you're going to play, please learn the game.
I think that combining Tank Aces with moving the games to Saturdays will generate a whole new group of players. I would like to see Flames really blossom with a large and enthusiastic crowd. If we address the issues above, I think this will happen and we'll all be super stoked.
Thanks,
Chuck
