Mini Ceasefire Collapse

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The attack had probably been the worst kept secret of the Last War. The counterattack was instant. The only real question was who actually shot first, and nobody on the scene cared.

1.01 Overview. Both sides have built up equivalent forces. When the coin drops and the shooting starts, who'll come out ahead?

1.02 Necessary materials. Only the Ogre Designer's Edition, or Ogre Sixth Edition is required.

2.0 SETUP

2.01 Maps. Uses the original Ogre map.

2.01.1 Overlays. No overlays are required for the first play, but any number of overlays can be added to make the map less predictable. Towns can be placed over craters, or scattered at the south end of the map to make it as obstructed as the north end. When placing town hexes, remember they give a huge defensive bonus to infantry, and don't unbalance the map unless you are trying to give one player a handicap.

2.02 Forces. The two sides get identical forces: an Ogre Mark III, 24 armor units, and 24 squads of infantry. Each side also gets one regular and one mobile command post. Both are D1 units which ignore "D" results.

2.03 Setup. The Paneuropean forces (blue) set up first, except the Ogre, in the two columns of hexes on the west side of the map (that is, 01 and 02). The Paneuropean forces are then covered by sheets of paper, and the Combine force sets up all units except the Ogre in the two columns of hexes on the east side of the map. The covering is removed, and the Paneuropean player goes first.

2.04 Cruise missiles. Cruise missiles are not allowed in this scenario.

3.0 GAME PLAY

3.1 Escape. Units may not leave the map.

3.2 Ogre entry. Each player may bring his Ogre onto the map at the beginning of his fourth turn, entering on his side and making its full move for the turn.

4.0 ENDGAME

4.01 Ending the Scenario. The game ends when all one side's units are destroyed, or when three turns have passed without combat (neither commander feels he can benefit by pressing the attack).

4.02 Objectives. The sides have the same objective: to destroy enemy units and the CPs.

4.03 Victory levels. See the VP values on the back cover of this book for the values of units and Ogre components destroyed. The command posts are each worth 36 VP – that is, only as much as six regular armor units.

Save destroyed unit counters and compare the losses at the end of the game:

• One side ahead by 90 or more VP: massive victory.
• One side ahead by 60 or more VP: massive victory.
• One side ahead by 30 or more VP: marginal victory.
• Otherwise: strategically a tie.

5.0 VARIANT SCENARIOS

5.1 Feeding the Beast. Both sides get reinforcements at the rate of 12 VPs per turn; these may be armor, infantry, or any combination of units except for howitzers and CPs. Reinforcements cannot be saved up, but a player does not have to bring in a turn's reinforcements if he thinks they're going to be lost. Reinforcements appear starting on each player's third turn, and enter on that player's edge of the map, moving their full move that turn.

5.2 Bidding War. The players make secret written bids for how many armor units they will take in exchange for their Ogre. The low bid makes that exchange, giving up his Ogre in favor of extra armor units. In case of a tie, roll the dice.

You can also bid on the question "how many armor units will I give up in exchange for turning my Mark III into a Mark V?" Note that with its big missile load, starting from the edge of the map, a Mark V is a CP-killer.

5.3 Massive overkill. Play with a Mark V instead of the Mark III. Or play with two or three Ogres on each side. The map is really too small to contain that much destruction, which is bad news for the Command Posts and, indeed, for everyone on the board except for the Ogres.

6.0 DESIGN NOTES

Lots of units and very short ranges. That means lots of sacrificial plays. For a bit of "fog of war," the players are encouraged to set their losses aside without counting them, and tally up at the end of the battle.