Market Garden '44 -
A Playtester's Comment
After two hours at the computer I shook my head with melancholy. Though valiant in defence the forces of the British 1st Airborne Division were cut off and being whittled away by an aggressive German AI.
Frost and his rag-tag force of mixed companies holding Arnhem Bridge were broken, at the limits of their operational fatigue and fading fast. Their sister regiments under General Urqhart at Wolfheze and Oosterbeek had tried mercilessly to hold the left flank of this northern bank of the Lower Rhine, whilst hoping to find some way to push eastwards and link up with the desperation being met out in Arnhem's suburbs.(Click on the image to see the full size screen)
Time to close this chapter and send the playtest report away. "Glenn, it's not even half way through and the British are finished in this scenario, time to move on." I proclaimed.
As if issued from a GHQ, a resounding "Halt!" came the reply. "Your task is to take and hold Arnhem Bridge. Hold until relieved!"
Two hours of game play later to my absolute amazement, the tanks and infantry of XXX Corps began swarming across that "bridge too far" - elements of two SS divisions, Wehrmacht and Luftwaffe having been defeated in a brutal, mobile slugfest along the way.
The Bridge at Arnhem may nearly have been as history recorded it but I had not only a minor victory - I had just played the best war game scenario of my life.
Welcome to Panzer Campaigns Market Garden '44!
Editors Note: This Minor Victory was a 45 turn scenario against the AI, played by a fairly experienced PzC player. He worked at it and was satisfied with his Minor Victory. So don't believe everything you read about the AI in this Series, by the guys who only think PBEM is the way to go. Take nothing away from it, PBEM is great fun and we have a number of challenging scenarios for Head-to-head play too. But the the AI can give you a great game too!
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