Force Balance Mechanisms

[sturmwind]

Hi! 


As we are getting ready for our first Nuts! campaign with two co-op players, I was wondering about force balance mechanisms. I would expect that the non-player enemy forces should get stronger as the player forces get stronger.  However, I can't spot a mechanic that would make that happen. It looks to me as though the enemy forces are the same strength - 3 PEFs to start, same investment level and reinforcement mechanics - regardless of whether the players start with an under strength squad or a reinforced platoon. 

What am I missing, please?
Or, if I got this right, what has been your experience with playing lighter vs. stronger player forces?

Thanks!

Martin

[Ed the Two Hour Wargames Guy]

Hi!



Here goes.


As we are getting ready for our first Nuts! campaign with two co-op players, I was wondering about force balance mechanisms. I would expect that the non-player enemy forces should get stronger as the player forces get stronger. Not really. If you look at the Campaign Morale Table on page 61 the better you do the lower the Enemy Investment and Campaign Morale go. This represents you winning in the area and the enemy deciding to abandon the area. However, it works in the opposite way as well. The worse you do, the less forces you will get. This is based on a Campaign and not one off battles. Things will chnage wiht each battle. However, I can't spot a mechanic that would make that happen. It looks to me as though the enemy forces are the same strength - 3 PEFs to start, same investment level and reinforcement mechanics - regardless of whether the players start with an under strength squad or a reinforced platoon. The number of PDFs stay the same but the available forces will go up or down depending how high the Investment Level is. It's all based on how well you do. At the start things are equal when one side starts to win and other to lose, things will take a turn for the worse. Give it a go for awhile. See page 62 on how the Campaign ends. As Morale goes down so does the commitment for more forces.
You say co-op play. The Reinforcements are based on one squad so if each player has one squad then you may want to increase the forces generated for the enemy times the number of players..

Hope this helps.

Ed



What am I missing, please?

Or, if I got this right, what has been your experience with playing lighter vs. stronger player forces?



Thanks!



Martin

[stryderg]

What you'll find as you play more games is that the forces are almost never balanced, just like real life. And sometimes, you'll have to decide if running away is the better choice. That uncertainty about what you will be facing is one of the strengths of the system (in my humble opinion, of course). If you think a game is going too easily, add another PEF or two in a random sector (it could end up behind you).

[Kurt]

There's no force balance mechanic in Nuts! That's what makes this game so interesting. Sometimes a mission will be easy and sometimes your squad will be taken out in three turns. Also you may not see all three PEFs, enemy forces can be different Reps, and reinforcements may or may not appear. Although you may build a squad of high Rep soldiers, they can still get killed.

[sturmwind]

Great, thanks for the pointers and perspective. We will get going and see where the road takes us.