Great work! I usually point people at (of the in print titles) Korea first because it's less intimidating. But while Smolensk wasn't my first OCS game, it *was* Smolensk in which I first fully grasped all the various supply and trace features of OCS. All of your commentary here is spot-on.
Korea is a good alternative. And I even think Tunisia II is good. I just think that the situation and v4.3 rules give Smolensk a slight edge over the other two. Smolensk's counter density can definitely be intimidating to new players, which is the only real downside (and it would have been nice if there were at least one more small scenario besides the Intro scenario).
OCS . My all time favorite game system (although BCS is virtually biting at its heels). I would agree with your comments. I learnt to play the system with Enemy at the Gates when it came out over 25 years ago. I taught myself, as back then in 1995 in the UK, hex and counter wargaming seemed incredibly niche and I found it impossible to find anyone who played. It was a steep learning curve, and took me literally years to get a decent handle on the rules (you can be playing things wrong for a long time solo before you notice😅), but it was always engrossing, absorbing and such fun it didn't matter. Seeing the ebb and flow of battle over such huge swathes of Russia as with Case Blue having the whole panoply of the 1942 summer offensive to play out is an incredible gaming experience. I'm glad there are a few games in the OCS system that are a little more introductory friendly. I have Smolensk, Reluctant Enemies and Tunisia II and enjoy playing them all. I would agree that of them all Smolensk does offer you that big slice of OCS in all its glory. Having said that, for me Reluctant Enemies taught me how be a better player, I knew the rules well, but it's small footprint really helped me develop my game. 26 years of playing OCS and I've still never played anyone. I think I'm institutionalised now as a solo player😅. I'm really pleased you'll be doing an OCS play through. I'll really look forward to that. Thanks for all the great content.
You're a brave man conquering OCS by yourself! And I agree about the gaming experience with CB and GB2. It's epic to see major offensives put into the context of the whole (or nearly whole) front. I've yet to see another system that had such sweeping scope and scale. And it's also a system that is very fun and enjoyable in much smaller topics. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Burma, for instance. Have you ever considered PBeM using VASSAL? The OCS modules are quite good, and the system is pretty well suited to PBeM (one of my buddies actually says it's much better than playing face-to-face).
@@thetabletopsedge I feel I do need to embrace Vassal, as it is a wonderful asset for us gamers to have and as you say PBeM would be a good way forward for me to actually play against an opponent. I've played enough OCS to know I'm missing out on such a big part of OCS (extend that to gaming generally) by only soloing,so maybe it's time. As you say, it's a hugely robust system to be able to transfer from the Steppe to the jungle quite seamlessly. I too really enjoyed playing Burma. Coming straight to it off the back of the Eastern front I had to quickly adjust my play style and realise "ah, that won't work here". The one that's made me sweat the most is Baltic gap. What a game. I learned the art of defence, and boy did it make my head hurt🤕😅trying to get that right. Do you have a particular OCS game that you found tricky to crack, or is it more who your playing against?
@@iwanhughes2965 EVERY game is tricky for me! :-) However, I do find that the Germans on the Eastern Front require a lot more work to insure I am not wasting a single 1T of supply. The Western Allies, and many time the Soviets, do not seem to have it as bad as the Germans. I enjoy playing as the Germans, even though it can be frustrating to have such a capable instrument in your hand, see what needs to be done, but be unable to actually do it due to logistical constraints. It always increases my cranial workload when playing as the Germans in Russia, but the OCS experience is well worth it!
Thanks for this inspiring and well put together presentation - fortunately I already own Smolensk, but it has been resident on my SoS for quite a while, due to my hesitancy/trepidation about getting into OCS - your talk has really inspired me to take the plunge and leap in. Wish me luck!
You are quite welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful. As I started working on this video, I gave some consideration to doing an OCS tutorial series. I've had some viewers ask if I would be doing one, and I think now my mind is made up to one in the near future. So stay tuned, and hopefully my tutorial videos will help smooth out your learning curve on this system. Thanks for watching!
@@leee.5841 Ardwulf's Lair is working on what I am sure will be an excellent tutorial series for OCS. I probably won't duplicate his effort. However, I think there may be space for me to do a similar type series as my LB Playthrough. It could serve as the extended example of play for Ardy's tutorials. I do want to add some additional OCS content to the channel, and that might be a good way to do so.
If this hasn't convinced you to give Smolensk a try, I'll be doing an OCS tutorial series in the not too distant future, and will likely be using Smolensk for the example.
Great video - to add to your thoughts and the great comments below. Smolensk was my first attempt at a reasonable size scenario (N03) in OCS, up until then like many comments below I had played a number of smaller scenarios. Scenario 3 is only 8 turns but its jump off positions gave me a really great idea of where I needed to get to if I were to delve into the Campaign game. The Soviets begin to get challenging but the Panzer forces are all present. It was great fun and an excellent solitaire experience and the seeds of German doom can be witnessed in it. I subsequently moved on to Reluctant Enemies to build up my stamina for Campaign games and RE is doable providing a lot of practice on the basics. It also teaches interior lines of defence, economy of force by using local superiority to create weaknesses in battle lines elsewhere and judging when to commit reserves. It is just hard to get hold of a copy, I was lucky picking up a super quality copy from someone reasonable. It is obviously available via Vassal, would anyone mind if it was used to get into the system? I doubt it. I'm heading back early in the New Year to the Smolensk front to work through the Campaign game... just had a break picking up BCS for the first time and Last Blitzkrieg with your help!
Good work. Having acquired both Reluctant Enemies and Sicily II - and running through both a few times, it was only playing by Smolensk that I managed to really grasp the real OCS and get to grips with the core logistics and manoeuvre concepts. It has taken a few years, but now I have the confidence to attempt some serious GD II and TW scenarios; still a daunting prospect though!
Nothing wrong with starting with RE and Sicily II, and I'd even add Tunisia or Korea to the list. Your experience is precisely what I meant with bullet point #1. There is just something about the OCS on the Eastern Front that gives you a different experience from the other titles in the series. Smolensk is by far the easiest East Front game to digest. And don't worry about GB2 or TTW. Those can be intimidating to even hardened OCS veterans! One of my gaming career highlights was when I finally figured out how to match the German historical achievement of capturing Orel on the first turn of GB2. It looks impossible at first, but it can be done. It requires, though, using every tool in the OCS offensive tool kit to make it happen. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to dive into TTW, as it looks to be an excellent addition to the series.
You are very welcome! The one downside to Smolensk is that the counter density might be a little intimidating at first, but I think all the other aspects of the game offset that. I highly recommend that you play the Intro scenario (which is intended as a solitaire learning exercise) multiple times until you can accomplish the victory conditions. The first time you play it (or maybe first several times) do not bother about spending SP's. Just keep track of how many you spend as an FYI, and consider the Germans to have an infinite number of available SP's. This will allow you to focus on how to move and attack in the system. One thing that can be really hard to fully grasp as a brand new player is that units can attack (and sometimes move) more than once in a single turn. You will have to master this technique in order to "win" the Intro scenario. Remember, units may attack during movement (as an Overrun), then attack again in the Combat Phase (as a regular attack), and if they get marked with Exploitation as a result of that Combat Phase attack, they can MOVE and Attack (yet again) during the Exploitation Phase. Getting marked with Exploitation essentially gives your units a second "turn within a turn" (albeit with half their movement allowance). Also, units are only limited in the number of Overrun attacks they can make by their Movement Allowance, so long as they keep winning the Overruns. It is quite possible to have a single stack of mobile units make 6 or 7 attacks in a single turn (although this is extremely rare due to the amount of SP's all those attacks would consume). Understanding that units can attack multiple times in a single turn is a key concept in the system. Once you have figured out how to take both victory hexes in the Intro scenario, then try to do it with only the specific amount of SP's given in the scenario. After understanding how to exploit all the ways units can attack in a turn, the next thing is to try to learn how to do so as efficiently as possible (in terms of SP's spent). You will find that in most situations in OCS, you will never have enough SP available to do everything you want to do. So learning how to conserve every last bit of your SP's is vital to being successful in OCS. Good luck! And hopefully I'll have a few useful videos posted if you happen to get stuck on some of the finer points.
Ah, OCS at last! Pretty much agree with you about Smolensk. Another massive reason to start with Smolensk is Chip Saltsman's article in the 2019 Special Ops mag which literally walks players through exactly how to make successful attacks over distance, the hardest thing for new players. I started with Sicily 2, one map so very manageable - no Extenders but lower counter density than Smolensk. Very much looking forward to the tutorial series as the one you did on WIF really straightened out my understanding on a few points.
So ... I beg to differ... somewhat. Of course the "It's in print" argument is hard to beat. And though I agree with almost everything you said - including extenders being important, I still think games like RE and Tunisia-II have their merits as starter games. (And Sicily as a manageable full game). The reason being that one of the hardest things in learning OCS is not the rules, but figuring out how to make moves. Should I just move and attack like in other simpler games, or should I do overrun - and with which units? Should I keep units in reserve to exploit and which units should that be - and what do I hope to achieve in exploit which I couldn't have achieved otherwise? And do I have the supply to make use of the result of that exploit? And during all this, which mode should my units be in? All these are questions which will hit the first time player like a wall the first time you sit down with the counters no matter how many times you've read the rules and how good you remember them. And though the 1/2 turn Vitebsk scenario of Smolensk does try to illustrate some of that, the overall counter-density in Smolensk is relatively high and still confusing. And there are not any small scenarios in Smolensk aside from that 1/2-turn scenario and then half of the campaign. Tunisia-II OTOH has a campaign which starts of with low counter density and grows in pace with your learning. Even without extenders there are still a lot of OCS to learn in those games. That said ... I you feel you can manage the counter density of Smolensk - go for it. It won't scare you from OCS and there are some excellent example playthroughs out there. I just feel there's room for learning a lot of the basics before you get to Smolensk.
I absolutely agree with you that the hardest part of learning OCS is not in learning the mechanics of the system, it's learning how to use them effectively. While the systems in OCS are not terribly complex, there are a number of subtleties in the game that can be difficult for new players to fully comprehend. I'm planning on doing a tutorial type of series in the future that not only focuses on the rules themselves, but how to use them. I don't consider myself a master of OCS, but there are some key concepts that aren't apparent in the rules when new players read them, and I'm hoping I can use the videos to help lower the learning curve. I also agree that RE and Tunisia II have some merit. I did title the video the "best" game to learn, but that doesn't mean there aren't other "good" games with which to learn OCS. :-) RE is okay for learning the very basics of movement and combat, but I still think it's too small to really give the player a good introduction to the system. Tunisia, on the other hand, is bigger and also has the nice benefit of a very low counter density at start that grows over the course of the campaign. I'd also add Korea to the discussion for viable alternatives to Smolensk. Of these three, I'd probably rank Tunisia II second, then Korea, and finally RE. The counter density is Smolensk's one possible downside. Although I do like the Intro scenario. It is small, highly focused, and challenging. I recommend new players using Smolensk to learn OCS to setup the Intro scenario and the first time they try it, ignore SP expenditure. They can simply keep a running tab of how much SP they spend during the turn as a kind of FYI. Then replay the scenario until you successfully complete it. Once you can successfully complete the scenario, then try to do it with the available SP. Once a player is able to do that, I think they are ready for the full Smolensk game. The key to facing a "big" game is in breaking it down into smaller, manageable chunks. By the time the newbie has mastered the Intro scenario, he's going to be somewhat accustomed to handling 4-5 mobile formations, which is nearly half the German at start forces. Also, if I'm going to be teaching a newbie and playing through the game with them, I will have them play as the Soviets. This puts them in a position where they can see how attacks work. Since it's a teaching game, I make sure I am explaining what I am doing, and why (similar to my LB playthrough, but even more in depth). I also encourage them to ask questions when they are doing their moves. My goal is to make sure they learn the system, not that I win. The way Smolensk is structured, the newbie has an opportunity to get comfortable with system and learn how to defend, so that when the initiative switches to the Red Army, they are able to attack more effectively than if they were just dropped into the deep end on Turn 1. I would have no problem if someone said they would rather start with Tunisia II, and then move on to Smolensk, so long as the v4.3 series were used (and they are readily available online if a hard copy isn't available).
After a long break from OCS, around 11 years, we kicked off with Reluctant Enemies than moved onto Hungarian Rhapsody, a couple of the smaller scenarios. Counter density is pretty intense, we concluded that Smolensk is probably the next one for precisely for the reasons you state. HR is very good, nice to get a feel for what the late war Russians are capable of after cutting our teeth on EatG and GBII back in the day.
HR is the last OCS game on my "To Get" list, for precisely the reason you mention. Baltic Gap is fun, and it's nice to see the Red Army in late war situations. I think you'll like Smolensk. It does a good job of capturing the feel of GB2 and CB in miniature. The Germans do not have it easy by any means, and Red Army gets a chance to do more than just be a punching bag the whole game. And at 19 turns, the campaign scenario is very manageable for veterans of the series.
Just playing the full CG of Smolensk. The Germans have the qualitative edge, but setting up and managing their supply network is key for the German player. The Russian just needs to slow the German player down and force him to burn supply. Trace supply will severely hamper how quickly the German can push East. On turn 11 or 12 the German loses nearly all his panzer divisions and by that time is running Ops on a shoestring. I’m playing against an extremely good player and it feels like it. A very tough game for a relatively inexperienced German player. Managing trace supply is a bit of an art form 😳
You make a very cogent argument for Smolensk as the best all round introduction. If you know someone who has a copy of Tunisia or Reluctant Enemies they do make really nice low counter density introductions. Particularly Tunisia, with its exciting meeting engagement. But, on reflection, I think you right.
I absolutely agree with you regarding RE and Tunisia. They are good intro games, I just think Smolensk has a couple of things that give it a slight edge over the other two. I'd also add Korea to the list of good games to consider when trying to learn OCS. Tunisia's low counter density that grows as the game goes on is really nice for easing players into the mechanical aspects of moving units around without overwhelming them at first. Smolensk's counter density right off the bat is higher than the alternatives, but I think it's worth the extra effort for all of the other benefits the game provides to newbies. Once you are comfortable with Smolensk, you will be comfortable playing any of the OCS titles. I know folks who have played Tunisia, and even DAK, and are still intimidated by the Ostfront games in the series. I'm trying to get them to give Smolensk a try, since it is the most manageable of the Ostfront OCS titles so far.
@@thetabletopsedge of course you 'could' try a small scenario of a monster like The Third Winter. But then if you are attracted by it's scale, then moth to the flame, you'll want to start with the full campaign! (I'm returning to it in two weekends time, can't wait).
You made a great case for Smolensk but personally I would favor a game with low counter density to learn a system, I learned BCS through Kasserine and that was ideal for me. I also find it easier to learn a new system when interested about the topic so that will be RE and Sicily for me using the last set of rules. Based on your video Smolensk would probably be next if I want to dive deeper then. All of them being hard to find at the moment I would resort to Vassal for now and purchase some copies when they become available at more reasonable prices. Can't wait to watch your OCS Tutorials
Low counter density is helpful in learning the basic mechanics of a system. No doubt that it keeps one from getting overwhelmed at the very start. RE (and even Sicily II) were designed with beginners in mind, so I don't think you would go wrong were you to use them to learn OCS. Another good candidate (and may or may not be slightly easier to find) is Tunisia II. It starts out with a very light counter density that never grows too excessive, even in the campaign scenario. And the subject matter (based on your reference to Baptism By Fire) may also be of interest to you. The only reservation I have about putting games like RE (or BbF) ahead of Smolensk (or LB) is that the low counter density situations rarely give one a look at how the "full" system works. While great for learning the details of how units move, fight, and are supplied, the small games don't provide an opportunity to see the big picture. Often bigger games (especially something like LB for BCS) have small scenarios that provide the limited play area, low counter density that new players need, but then also offer larger scenarios to let you experience the system at its full potential. All in the same box for one price (LB is particularly good for this). Unfortunately, a lot of the Ostfront OCS games lack good options for small scenarios. Their scenario mix is almost entirely a collection of different campaign game starting points, which is bad for new players. Smolensk has a wonderful training scenario that is very small, yet quite challenging. Also, The Third Winter is different from previous Ostfront games. Of its 8 scenarios, only 2 are gigantic campaign scenarios, with the other 6 all requiring only 1 or 2 maps and last 8 turns or less. However, none of those scenarios could be considered "small", due to the number of units involved. Plus, TTW introduces some higher level command rules which a new player shouldn't have to try to figure out as they are learning the system for the first time. I would say TTW is an excellent addition to the OCS, though. I know Ardwulf's Lair has been working on an OCS tutorial series (don't know how far along that is currently), so I may not do a straight tutorial series. Instead, I am leaning towards doing a playthrough series, similar to my LB and WiF series, where it's a playthrough accompanied by a healthy dose of rules explanations. Again, not a strict tutorial, but hopefully detailed enough to allow folks to understand how the game plays, with the added bonus of "in game" context for the rules. I've been trying to decide which OCS game would be manageable for such a series. Obviously, something like GB2 or CB is too much. I'm seriously considering doing a playthrough of the Tunisia II campaign (using the latest v4.3 OCS rules). It would give a look at a full OCS campaign, but one that is relatively brief, and without a huge countermix. Alternatively, I might do Baltic Gap, or maybe (MAYBE) The Blitzkrieg Legend. So those are the 3 candidates right now. This project is on my To Do list for 2023, so hopefully at some point later this year I can get it going. Thanks for watching!
@@thetabletopsedge thank you for your details reply, Smolensk will definitely by on my list when I will be ready to dive deeper. I'm not sure if I will either go for bigger OCS titles though since the counter density seem really high in some of them! I will keep an eye on your future playthroughs, thank you for doing this 👍
Great question! I do think it is unfortunate that Smolensk is sold out at MMP (but does speak to the quality and popularity of it). I'd love to see a reprint of it, but MMP isn't really into doing reprints. Korea isn't a bad option in terms of size. It has three maps, but includes 15 scenarios. Seven of those scenarios are campaign games that begin on different dates. The gameas a whole covers the first year of the conflict (Jun 1950 - Jun 1951). There are only 2 counter sheets of units (plus two more counter sheets of system markers). It features fluid combat as the initial North Korean invasion pushes the UN troops all the way to the southern tip of the peninsula before being driven back. So both sides have opportunities for attacking and defending. The terrain is pretty rotten, as Korea is very hilly. The biggest concern I would have with Korea is that it comes with the v4.0 rules (v4.3 are the latest and greatest, and first appeared in Smolensk). That said, there weren't any huge changes made to the system between v4.0 and v4.3, it was mostly cleaning up rules language and such. I do think the v4.3 rules are the best in the series. They are very clearly written and well laid out with examples and designer notes. They're the best to use when trying to learn the system and are fully backwards compatible with all earlier releases (except for the very first, Guderian's Blitzkrieg). I see MMP still shows Korea available on their website for $99. While Smolensk is sold out, you should be able to easily find a good condition copy on the secondary market. The bad news, most of the asking prices I've seen lately are in the $140 - $150 range (ebay, Noble Knght Games, Boardgame Geek Marketplace). That's about a 50% mark up from the original retail price. Of the other options still available on MMP's website, Hungarian Rhapsody is listed at $140. This is a larger game than either Smolensk or Korea and covers the fighting in Romania from October 1944 through February 1945. It contains 15 scenarios (like Korea), several of which are short and only use 1 map (but, like Smolensk, can have a lot of counters). There is one very, very small scenario (on Operation Sudwind) that covers the 1st SS panzer Corps' operation in February to clear the west bank of the Garam River. It only lasts 3 turns and is a nice scenario for learning the mechanics of movement &modes, as well as combat. HR has 2 maps and 6 counter sheets. There are 8 pages of game specific rules (compared to 5 in Smolensk), which is not as much as some other OCS games have. Depending on how interested you are in the topic, this is a decent introduction to the system. It has the v4.3 rules, and comes with some nice play aids (which is a trend among the more recent games in the series). For the same price, though, you could likely find an unpunched copy of Smolensk. The Third Winter is an amazing product. Very well done, but on the large size (with a price tag to match). It is still available at MMP for $200. It has 4 maps and 10 counter sheets (7 of units and 3 of markers). This is on the larger end of the scale of OCs games. Not as big as Guderian's Blitzkrieg 2 or Case Blue, it is much bigger than Smolensk and Korea (and Hungarian Rhapsody, for that matter). However, it comes with 3 campaign game start dates, four 1-map scenarios, and an "introductory" scenario that is played on a special map. The intro scenario is quite fun (it covers the Korsun Pocket fighting) and very manageable in size. The game comes with several excellent play aids. However, there are over 12 pages of game specific rules, which is a lot more information for new players to digest. I know of several people who have used Korea as an entry point to OCS with success, so I certainly think that it's a viable option if the subject matter interests you. I know gaming budgets can be tight, and of the above options it is the most affordable. I do think you get your money's worth with it. $150 - $200 is a lot of money to invest in a system you don't have any firsthand experience with, so Korea is definitely the safer choice in that regard. While it doesn't give you the sweeping grandeur of manevuer warfare on the open steppe, it is a fun, tight game that offers challenges to both sides with reasonably rules overhead. I just saw that OCS Luzon is getting ready to start shipping tomorrow, and is still available at the pre-order price. The game itself is a bit small, in my opinion, to give a new player a real taste of what OCS is capable of, but the magazine with which it comes should have some interesting and educational articles for new players. So you might think about adding a copy of Luzon to Korea. The first Operational Matters magazine that came with the Sicily II game included had several good articles to help orient new players to the subtleties of OCS. It's long out of print and copies are usually hard to find on the secondary market. However, MMP is doing a reprint and I think it's only about 15 orders short of making its target. This would also be something I would recommend you check out (especially for the magazine). Sorry for the long response, and theTLDR is Korea would be a fine introduction to the series. Good luck, and let me know how things go! I'm hoping to get some more OCS content up on the channel when I'm able to get back to filming on a more regular schedule.
You are most welcome! I will add one caveat to Smolensk, and that is that the counter density can seem pretty high to new players. However, I think all of the other features of the game offset the counter density issue. And besides, real men don't fear counter density! :-)
There's another one map OCS game that came out this year. Crimea: Conquest & Liberation. It's also one map and has less counters than Smolensk. From what I've seen it doesn't try to have super long campaigns but instead different scenarios and at different points in the fighting from 1941-1944. What's your opinion on this new title? Could it also be an alternative? Or too many game specific rules?
Great question! You are correct that Crimea is a one-map game, with a lot less counters than Smolensk. I have much less experience with Crimea than I do Smolensk, but have had a chance to sit down and go through the contents of Crimea quite thoroughly. As usual, it is an excellent product. The quality and quantity of play aids that have been included in the last several OCS titles is excellent, and I think they are very helpful during play. I would absolutely recommend any OCS fan to purchase Crimea. It's two games in one, with several scenarios covering the initial German attack in 1942, and others depicting the Soviet liberation in 1944. However, I still think Smolensk is a better game for learning the OCS. Crimea covers a fairly unique situation. In the early game, it is much more of a siege operation than you see in a typical OCS game. OCS is built upon Maneuver Warfare Theory (and was initially conceived with the Eastern Front in mind). While the system has proven itself to be robust and flexible enough to cover topics as different as the 1944 Burma Campaign, to really learn what OCS is all about it is better for new players to be exposed to a more conventional OCS setting. Another factor in my recommendation of Smolensk over Crimea (as a learning game), is that Smolensk offers both players the opportunity to attack and defend. The historical situation in both the early and late Crimea game is quite one-sided, with one side having little or no ability to conduct large offensive operations. The situation in Smolensk sees the Germans with the initiative early, but the Soviets gradually gaining the ability to make large attacks. This gives the new player the ability to learn how to defend as well as attack, something that would require playing Crimea at least twice, switching sides the second game (or switching from early game to late game scenarios). It is also an excellent way of demonstrating to them what happens if they try to push their offensives too far. Crimea does have more special rules than Smolensk (10 pages versus only 5 pages), but that still isn't too burdensome. However, when learning a new system, which has many unique features, I think it best to limit the amount of special rules a new player is required to deal with to a minimum. I don't think any other OCS game has as few special rules as Smolensk, which I think is a good indication of how well suited to the OCS the game situation is. The introductory (or learning) scenario in Smolensk is a fabulous tool for teaching first-timers how to play OCS. It's essentially a puzzle that the player needs to solve. Whenever I've introduced someone to OCS for the very first time, I use this scenario, but with no limitation on the SP's that the German player receives. In order to successfully meet the scenario's VC's, a player has to use almost every "trick" in the OCS system (proper use of reserves, when to overrun, etc.). The first time playing I want the new player to focus on how the pieces move and fight, and interact (with one another as well as the Sequence of Play). I keep track of the SP's spent, but have no limit on how many can be spent. At the end of the scenario, I will show the tally of SP's used to the new player, and then compare that to how many the scenario says he SHOULD have had. It is usually very eye-opening. The key to OCS is not just being successful, but in achieving your objectives while being as efficient as possible with your SP's. This is a good lesson to learn early on, and I've found this exercise really drives that home. Once the player is able to meet the scenario's VC's sucessfully with unlimited SP's, I have them play through it again using the actually scenario-given SP amount. By the time the player can successfully win the scenario with the given SP allotment, they have mastered the OCS to the point where they can then take on the larger Smolensk scenarios without being completely lost. And by the time they can play through an entire Smolensk campaign scenario, they should be able to handle any other OCS game (although some do require a bit more work to master than others). As for Crimea, it's a fantastic option for space & time limited OCS players. It has a small footprint, low counter density, and some interesting, short scenarios. Plus, it's a game where both sides have the initiative (depending on which scenario you choose). It's nice to see the difference in both the Red Army, as well as the Axis, between 1942 and 1944. But I'm still sticking with Smolensk as my go-to teaching game for OCS. Thanks for watching! I hope to have some more OCS content up on the channel next year (maybe a video version of how I use the Smolensk learning scenario to teach brand new players how to play, for example).
I don't know that there is a "Smolensk" BCS game in development (there could be), but I do know that there are some additional Eastern Front BCS games in the pipeline. I'm confident that eventually BCS will feature some eastern front 1941-42 games. I know Dean has an interest in doing some of those topics.
Thanks for the recommendation, but for me the theme matters the most and I really dislike East Front theme. I did consider Beyond The Rhine and if I come across it I'll give it a try, otherwise I will probably give the whole system a pass
Theme is indeed very important. If the Eastern Front is a total non-starter for you, then I recommend finding a relatively inexpensive copy of the original OCS Tunisia (I just saw an unpunched copy for sale from the UK for less than US$70), and download the v4.3 series rules and charts from The Gamers Archive website. The older Tunisia should be 100% compatible with the v4.3 rules. Some informational markers have changed since it was published, but not in any meaningful way. This would give you a decent intro to OCS without having to pay upwards of US$200 on a system you are not sure you even like. My favorite Western Front OCS game is The Blitzkrieg Legend. It is a difficult game for the Germans, and gives you a new appreciation for the 1940 campaign in France.
@@thetabletopsedge Thanks for the recommendation on both, just now I'm out of budget (and just got few new games in other systems, too) but will keep an eye out for the titles. OCS is quite fascinating with variable scales and it's supply and Combat systems. I'm really a PDF guy, so 4.3 rules willbe a way to go,regardless of what comes in the box😉 I'm really curious to see your content on the OCS, it's another fascinating system and a primary one on the Operational scale...
@@przemekbozek Hopefully, my future videos will give you a close up look at how the system works and give you a good feel for it, allowing you to make an informed decision as to whether it's something you want to invest your time and gaming budget in.
@@thetabletopsedge Indeed, not seen too much on OCS in general and I'm a big fan of the quality of your content, so it's quite likely that seeing your vids might push me one way or the other with OCS😁 You have actually recently convinced me BCS is not for me after all - I really like the basic activation / supply system, but not the tempo of operations / scale (with 1-2 activation / day and more "all or nothing" this activation luck plays too much of a role for me).
@@przemekbozek I know where you are coming from. At times, the single Activation for an entire day seems a bit off for the scale. Comparable scale systems (like GOSS) feature up to 3 (or more) turns in a single day. I will say, though, that one of the best features of BCS is its playability. The downtime when playing face to face is so much less than comparable sized games, which helps maintain the momentum of the game. LB is probably the most playable monster game I've yet encountered.
![KSI - Thick Of It (feat. Trippie Redd) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/At8v_Yc044Y/mqdefault.jpg)
Great work! I usually point people at (of the in print titles) Korea first because it's less intimidating. But while Smolensk wasn't my first OCS game, it *was* Smolensk in which I first fully grasped all the various supply and trace features of OCS. All of your commentary here is spot-on.
Korea is a good alternative. And I even think Tunisia II is good. I just think that the situation and v4.3 rules give Smolensk a slight edge over the other two. Smolensk's counter density can definitely be intimidating to new players, which is the only real downside (and it would have been nice if there were at least one more small scenario besides the Intro scenario).
OCS . My all time favorite game system (although BCS is virtually biting at its heels). I would agree with your comments. I learnt to play the system with Enemy at the Gates when it came out over 25 years ago. I taught myself, as back then in 1995 in the UK, hex and counter wargaming seemed incredibly niche and I found it impossible to find anyone who played.
It was a steep learning curve, and took me literally years to get a decent handle on the rules (you can be playing things wrong for a long time solo before you notice😅), but it was always engrossing, absorbing and such fun it didn't matter. Seeing the ebb and flow of battle over such huge swathes of Russia as with Case Blue having the whole panoply of the 1942 summer offensive to play out is an incredible gaming experience.
I'm glad there are a few games in the OCS system that are a little more introductory friendly. I have Smolensk, Reluctant Enemies and Tunisia II and enjoy playing them all. I would agree that of them all Smolensk does offer you that big slice of OCS in all its glory. Having said that, for me Reluctant Enemies taught me how be a better player, I knew the rules well, but it's small footprint really helped me develop my game.
26 years of playing OCS and I've still never played anyone. I think I'm institutionalised now as a solo player😅.
I'm really pleased you'll be doing an OCS play through. I'll really look forward to that. Thanks for all the great content.
You're a brave man conquering OCS by yourself! And I agree about the gaming experience with CB and GB2. It's epic to see major offensives put into the context of the whole (or nearly whole) front. I've yet to see another system that had such sweeping scope and scale. And it's also a system that is very fun and enjoyable in much smaller topics. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Burma, for instance.
Have you ever considered PBeM using VASSAL? The OCS modules are quite good, and the system is pretty well suited to PBeM (one of my buddies actually says it's much better than playing face-to-face).
@@thetabletopsedge I feel I do need to embrace Vassal, as it is a wonderful asset for us gamers to have and as you say PBeM would be a good way forward for me to actually play against an opponent. I've played enough OCS to know I'm missing out on such a big part of OCS (extend that to gaming generally) by only soloing,so maybe it's time.
As you say, it's a hugely robust system to be able to transfer from the Steppe to the jungle quite seamlessly. I too really enjoyed playing Burma. Coming straight to it off the back of the Eastern front I had to quickly adjust my play style and realise "ah, that won't work here". The one that's made me sweat the most is Baltic gap. What a game. I learned the art of defence, and boy did it make my head hurt🤕😅trying to get that right.
Do you have a particular OCS game that you found tricky to crack, or is it more who your playing against?
@@iwanhughes2965 EVERY game is tricky for me! :-) However, I do find that the Germans on the Eastern Front require a lot more work to insure I am not wasting a single 1T of supply. The Western Allies, and many time the Soviets, do not seem to have it as bad as the Germans. I enjoy playing as the Germans, even though it can be frustrating to have such a capable instrument in your hand, see what needs to be done, but be unable to actually do it due to logistical constraints. It always increases my cranial workload when playing as the Germans in Russia, but the OCS experience is well worth it!
Thanks for this inspiring and well put together presentation - fortunately I already own Smolensk, but it has been resident on my SoS for quite a while, due to my hesitancy/trepidation about getting into OCS - your talk has really inspired me to take the plunge and leap in. Wish me luck!
You are quite welcome! I'm glad you found it helpful. As I started working on this video, I gave some consideration to doing an OCS tutorial series. I've had some viewers ask if I would be doing one, and I think now my mind is made up to one in the near future. So stay tuned, and hopefully my tutorial videos will help smooth out your learning curve on this system. Thanks for watching!
@@thetabletopsedge I look forward to it!
@@thetabletopsedge Great news. I was going to ask for a replay/tutorial of Smolensk similar to what you are doing with Last Blitzkrieg.
@@leee.5841 Ardwulf's Lair is working on what I am sure will be an excellent tutorial series for OCS. I probably won't duplicate his effort. However, I think there may be space for me to do a similar type series as my LB Playthrough. It could serve as the extended example of play for Ardy's tutorials. I do want to add some additional OCS content to the channel, and that might be a good way to do so.
@@thetabletopsedge OK, thanks. I have Smolensk and would love to see a playthrough.
I’ve heard this before…maybe I should just bend to that and go for it. I’m more of a west front guy and have BTR and France
If this hasn't convinced you to give Smolensk a try, I'll be doing an OCS tutorial series in the not too distant future, and will likely be using Smolensk for the example.
thanks for backing up what i’ve always said… Smolensk is best!
Great video - to add to your thoughts and the great comments below. Smolensk was my first attempt at a reasonable size scenario (N03) in OCS, up until then like many comments below I had played a number of smaller scenarios. Scenario 3 is only 8 turns but its jump off positions gave me a really great idea of where I needed to get to if I were to delve into the Campaign game. The Soviets begin to get challenging but the Panzer forces are all present. It was great fun and an excellent solitaire experience and the seeds of German doom can be witnessed in it. I subsequently moved on to Reluctant Enemies to build up my stamina for Campaign games and RE is doable providing a lot of practice on the basics. It also teaches interior lines of defence, economy of force by using local superiority to create weaknesses in battle lines elsewhere and judging when to commit reserves. It is just hard to get hold of a copy, I was lucky picking up a super quality copy from someone reasonable. It is obviously available via Vassal, would anyone mind if it was used to get into the system? I doubt it. I'm heading back early in the New Year to the Smolensk front to work through the Campaign game... just had a break picking up BCS for the first time and Last Blitzkrieg with your help!
Good work. Having acquired both Reluctant Enemies and Sicily II - and running through both a few times, it was only playing by Smolensk that I managed to really grasp the real OCS and get to grips with the core logistics and manoeuvre concepts. It has taken a few years, but now I have the confidence to attempt some serious GD II and TW scenarios; still a daunting prospect though!
Nothing wrong with starting with RE and Sicily II, and I'd even add Tunisia or Korea to the list. Your experience is precisely what I meant with bullet point #1. There is just something about the OCS on the Eastern Front that gives you a different experience from the other titles in the series. Smolensk is by far the easiest East Front game to digest.
And don't worry about GB2 or TTW. Those can be intimidating to even hardened OCS veterans! One of my gaming career highlights was when I finally figured out how to match the German historical achievement of capturing Orel on the first turn of GB2. It looks impossible at first, but it can be done. It requires, though, using every tool in the OCS offensive tool kit to make it happen. I'm looking forward to getting a chance to dive into TTW, as it looks to be an excellent addition to the series.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I'll start looking for a copy, and I'm happily looking forward to any tutorials you provide.
You are very welcome! The one downside to Smolensk is that the counter density might be a little intimidating at first, but I think all the other aspects of the game offset that. I highly recommend that you play the Intro scenario (which is intended as a solitaire learning exercise) multiple times until you can accomplish the victory conditions. The first time you play it (or maybe first several times) do not bother about spending SP's. Just keep track of how many you spend as an FYI, and consider the Germans to have an infinite number of available SP's. This will allow you to focus on how to move and attack in the system. One thing that can be really hard to fully grasp as a brand new player is that units can attack (and sometimes move) more than once in a single turn. You will have to master this technique in order to "win" the Intro scenario. Remember, units may attack during movement (as an Overrun), then attack again in the Combat Phase (as a regular attack), and if they get marked with Exploitation as a result of that Combat Phase attack, they can MOVE and Attack (yet again) during the Exploitation Phase. Getting marked with Exploitation essentially gives your units a second "turn within a turn" (albeit with half their movement allowance). Also, units are only limited in the number of Overrun attacks they can make by their Movement Allowance, so long as they keep winning the Overruns. It is quite possible to have a single stack of mobile units make 6 or 7 attacks in a single turn (although this is extremely rare due to the amount of SP's all those attacks would consume). Understanding that units can attack multiple times in a single turn is a key concept in the system.
Once you have figured out how to take both victory hexes in the Intro scenario, then try to do it with only the specific amount of SP's given in the scenario. After understanding how to exploit all the ways units can attack in a turn, the next thing is to try to learn how to do so as efficiently as possible (in terms of SP's spent). You will find that in most situations in OCS, you will never have enough SP available to do everything you want to do. So learning how to conserve every last bit of your SP's is vital to being successful in OCS.
Good luck! And hopefully I'll have a few useful videos posted if you happen to get stuck on some of the finer points.
Ah, OCS at last! Pretty much agree with you about Smolensk. Another massive reason to start with Smolensk is Chip Saltsman's article in the 2019 Special Ops mag which literally walks players through exactly how to make successful attacks over distance, the hardest thing for new players. I started with Sicily 2, one map so very manageable - no Extenders but lower counter density than Smolensk.
Very much looking forward to the tutorial series as the one you did on WIF really straightened out my understanding on a few points.
Thanks for the kind words! I will definitely mentioned Chip's article in the upcoming videos. Stay tuned!
So ... I beg to differ... somewhat. Of course the "It's in print" argument is hard to beat.
And though I agree with almost everything you said - including extenders being important, I still think games like RE and Tunisia-II have their merits as starter games. (And Sicily as a manageable full game).
The reason being that one of the hardest things in learning OCS is not the rules, but figuring out how to make moves. Should I just move and attack like in other simpler games, or should I do overrun - and with which units? Should I keep units in reserve to exploit and which units should that be - and what do I hope to achieve in exploit which I couldn't have achieved otherwise? And do I have the supply to make use of the result of that exploit? And during all this, which mode should my units be in?
All these are questions which will hit the first time player like a wall the first time you sit down with the counters no matter how many times you've read the rules and how good you remember them.
And though the 1/2 turn Vitebsk scenario of Smolensk does try to illustrate some of that, the overall counter-density in Smolensk is relatively high and still confusing. And there are not any small scenarios in Smolensk aside from that 1/2-turn scenario and then half of the campaign.
Tunisia-II OTOH has a campaign which starts of with low counter density and grows in pace with your learning. Even without extenders there are still a lot of OCS to learn in those games.
That said ... I you feel you can manage the counter density of Smolensk - go for it. It won't scare you from OCS and there are some excellent example playthroughs out there.
I just feel there's room for learning a lot of the basics before you get to Smolensk.
I absolutely agree with you that the hardest part of learning OCS is not in learning the mechanics of the system, it's learning how to use them effectively. While the systems in OCS are not terribly complex, there are a number of subtleties in the game that can be difficult for new players to fully comprehend. I'm planning on doing a tutorial type of series in the future that not only focuses on the rules themselves, but how to use them. I don't consider myself a master of OCS, but there are some key concepts that aren't apparent in the rules when new players read them, and I'm hoping I can use the videos to help lower the learning curve.
I also agree that RE and Tunisia II have some merit. I did title the video the "best" game to learn, but that doesn't mean there aren't other "good" games with which to learn OCS. :-) RE is okay for learning the very basics of movement and combat, but I still think it's too small to really give the player a good introduction to the system. Tunisia, on the other hand, is bigger and also has the nice benefit of a very low counter density at start that grows over the course of the campaign. I'd also add Korea to the discussion for viable alternatives to Smolensk. Of these three, I'd probably rank Tunisia II second, then Korea, and finally RE.
The counter density is Smolensk's one possible downside. Although I do like the Intro scenario. It is small, highly focused, and challenging. I recommend new players using Smolensk to learn OCS to setup the Intro scenario and the first time they try it, ignore SP expenditure. They can simply keep a running tab of how much SP they spend during the turn as a kind of FYI. Then replay the scenario until you successfully complete it. Once you can successfully complete the scenario, then try to do it with the available SP. Once a player is able to do that, I think they are ready for the full Smolensk game. The key to facing a "big" game is in breaking it down into smaller, manageable chunks. By the time the newbie has mastered the Intro scenario, he's going to be somewhat accustomed to handling 4-5 mobile formations, which is nearly half the German at start forces.
Also, if I'm going to be teaching a newbie and playing through the game with them, I will have them play as the Soviets. This puts them in a position where they can see how attacks work. Since it's a teaching game, I make sure I am explaining what I am doing, and why (similar to my LB playthrough, but even more in depth). I also encourage them to ask questions when they are doing their moves. My goal is to make sure they learn the system, not that I win. The way Smolensk is structured, the newbie has an opportunity to get comfortable with system and learn how to defend, so that when the initiative switches to the Red Army, they are able to attack more effectively than if they were just dropped into the deep end on Turn 1.
I would have no problem if someone said they would rather start with Tunisia II, and then move on to Smolensk, so long as the v4.3 series were used (and they are readily available online if a hard copy isn't available).
After a long break from OCS, around 11 years, we kicked off with Reluctant Enemies than moved onto Hungarian Rhapsody, a couple of the smaller scenarios. Counter density is pretty intense, we concluded that Smolensk is probably the next one for precisely for the reasons you state. HR is very good, nice to get a feel for what the late war Russians are capable of after cutting our teeth on EatG and GBII back in the day.
HR is the last OCS game on my "To Get" list, for precisely the reason you mention. Baltic Gap is fun, and it's nice to see the Red Army in late war situations. I think you'll like Smolensk. It does a good job of capturing the feel of GB2 and CB in miniature. The Germans do not have it easy by any means, and Red Army gets a chance to do more than just be a punching bag the whole game. And at 19 turns, the campaign scenario is very manageable for veterans of the series.
Just playing the full CG of Smolensk. The Germans have the qualitative edge, but setting up and managing their supply network is key for the German player. The Russian just needs to slow the German player down and force him to burn supply. Trace supply will severely hamper how quickly the German can push East. On turn 11 or 12 the German loses nearly all his panzer divisions and by that time is running Ops on a shoestring.
I’m playing against an extremely good player and it feels like it.
A very tough game for a relatively inexperienced German player. Managing trace supply is a bit of an art form 😳
Excellent video. Very helpful.
You make a very cogent argument for Smolensk as the best all round introduction. If you know someone who has a copy of Tunisia or Reluctant Enemies they do make really nice low counter density introductions. Particularly Tunisia, with its exciting meeting engagement. But, on reflection, I think you right.
I absolutely agree with you regarding RE and Tunisia. They are good intro games, I just think Smolensk has a couple of things that give it a slight edge over the other two. I'd also add Korea to the list of good games to consider when trying to learn OCS. Tunisia's low counter density that grows as the game goes on is really nice for easing players into the mechanical aspects of moving units around without overwhelming them at first. Smolensk's counter density right off the bat is higher than the alternatives, but I think it's worth the extra effort for all of the other benefits the game provides to newbies. Once you are comfortable with Smolensk, you will be comfortable playing any of the OCS titles. I know folks who have played Tunisia, and even DAK, and are still intimidated by the Ostfront games in the series. I'm trying to get them to give Smolensk a try, since it is the most manageable of the Ostfront OCS titles so far.
@@thetabletopsedge of course you 'could' try a small scenario of a monster like The Third Winter. But then if you are attracted by it's scale, then moth to the flame, you'll want to start with the full campaign! (I'm returning to it in two weekends time, can't wait).
You made a great case for Smolensk but personally I would favor a game with low counter density to learn a system, I learned BCS through Kasserine and that was ideal for me. I also find it easier to learn a new system when interested about the topic so that will be RE and Sicily for me using the last set of rules. Based on your video Smolensk would probably be next if I want to dive deeper then. All of them being hard to find at the moment I would resort to Vassal for now and purchase some copies when they become available at more reasonable prices. Can't wait to watch your OCS Tutorials
Low counter density is helpful in learning the basic mechanics of a system. No doubt that it keeps one from getting overwhelmed at the very start. RE (and even Sicily II) were designed with beginners in mind, so I don't think you would go wrong were you to use them to learn OCS. Another good candidate (and may or may not be slightly easier to find) is Tunisia II. It starts out with a very light counter density that never grows too excessive, even in the campaign scenario. And the subject matter (based on your reference to Baptism By Fire) may also be of interest to you.
The only reservation I have about putting games like RE (or BbF) ahead of Smolensk (or LB) is that the low counter density situations rarely give one a look at how the "full" system works. While great for learning the details of how units move, fight, and are supplied, the small games don't provide an opportunity to see the big picture. Often bigger games (especially something like LB for BCS) have small scenarios that provide the limited play area, low counter density that new players need, but then also offer larger scenarios to let you experience the system at its full potential. All in the same box for one price (LB is particularly good for this).
Unfortunately, a lot of the Ostfront OCS games lack good options for small scenarios. Their scenario mix is almost entirely a collection of different campaign game starting points, which is bad for new players. Smolensk has a wonderful training scenario that is very small, yet quite challenging. Also, The Third Winter is different from previous Ostfront games. Of its 8 scenarios, only 2 are gigantic campaign scenarios, with the other 6 all requiring only 1 or 2 maps and last 8 turns or less. However, none of those scenarios could be considered "small", due to the number of units involved. Plus, TTW introduces some higher level command rules which a new player shouldn't have to try to figure out as they are learning the system for the first time. I would say TTW is an excellent addition to the OCS, though.
I know Ardwulf's Lair has been working on an OCS tutorial series (don't know how far along that is currently), so I may not do a straight tutorial series. Instead, I am leaning towards doing a playthrough series, similar to my LB and WiF series, where it's a playthrough accompanied by a healthy dose of rules explanations. Again, not a strict tutorial, but hopefully detailed enough to allow folks to understand how the game plays, with the added bonus of "in game" context for the rules. I've been trying to decide which OCS game would be manageable for such a series. Obviously, something like GB2 or CB is too much. I'm seriously considering doing a playthrough of the Tunisia II campaign (using the latest v4.3 OCS rules). It would give a look at a full OCS campaign, but one that is relatively brief, and without a huge countermix. Alternatively, I might do Baltic Gap, or maybe (MAYBE) The Blitzkrieg Legend. So those are the 3 candidates right now. This project is on my To Do list for 2023, so hopefully at some point later this year I can get it going.
Thanks for watching!
@@thetabletopsedge thank you for your details reply, Smolensk will definitely by on my list when I will be ready to dive deeper. I'm not sure if I will either go for bigger OCS titles though since the counter density seem really high in some of them! I will keep an eye on your future playthroughs, thank you for doing this 👍
🎉another great video hope you get something new up soon
Great video, thank you! You sold me on Smolensk.. only that its not available anymore 😢. What would you go for now? How is Korea?
Great question! I do think it is unfortunate that Smolensk is sold out at MMP (but does speak to the quality and popularity of it). I'd love to see a reprint of it, but MMP isn't really into doing reprints.
Korea isn't a bad option in terms of size. It has three maps, but includes 15 scenarios. Seven of those scenarios are campaign games that begin on different dates. The gameas a whole covers the first year of the conflict (Jun 1950 - Jun 1951). There are only 2 counter sheets of units (plus two more counter sheets of system markers). It features fluid combat as the initial North Korean invasion pushes the UN troops all the way to the southern tip of the peninsula before being driven back. So both sides have opportunities for attacking and defending. The terrain is pretty rotten, as Korea is very hilly. The biggest concern I would have with Korea is that it comes with the v4.0 rules (v4.3 are the latest and greatest, and first appeared in Smolensk). That said, there weren't any huge changes made to the system between v4.0 and v4.3, it was mostly cleaning up rules language and such. I do think the v4.3 rules are the best in the series. They are very clearly written and well laid out with examples and designer notes. They're the best to use when trying to learn the system and are fully backwards compatible with all earlier releases (except for the very first, Guderian's Blitzkrieg). I see MMP still shows Korea available on their website for $99.
While Smolensk is sold out, you should be able to easily find a good condition copy on the secondary market. The bad news, most of the asking prices I've seen lately are in the $140 - $150 range (ebay, Noble Knght Games, Boardgame Geek Marketplace). That's about a 50% mark up from the original retail price.
Of the other options still available on MMP's website, Hungarian Rhapsody is listed at $140. This is a larger game than either Smolensk or Korea and covers the fighting in Romania from October 1944 through February 1945. It contains 15 scenarios (like Korea), several of which are short and only use 1 map (but, like Smolensk, can have a lot of counters). There is one very, very small scenario (on Operation Sudwind) that covers the 1st SS panzer Corps' operation in February to clear the west bank of the Garam River. It only lasts 3 turns and is a nice scenario for learning the mechanics of movement &modes, as well as combat. HR has 2 maps and 6 counter sheets. There are 8 pages of game specific rules (compared to 5 in Smolensk), which is not as much as some other OCS games have. Depending on how interested you are in the topic, this is a decent introduction to the system. It has the v4.3 rules, and comes with some nice play aids (which is a trend among the more recent games in the series). For the same price, though, you could likely find an unpunched copy of Smolensk.
The Third Winter is an amazing product. Very well done, but on the large size (with a price tag to match). It is still available at MMP for $200. It has 4 maps and 10 counter sheets (7 of units and 3 of markers). This is on the larger end of the scale of OCs games. Not as big as Guderian's Blitzkrieg 2 or Case Blue, it is much bigger than Smolensk and Korea (and Hungarian Rhapsody, for that matter). However, it comes with 3 campaign game start dates, four 1-map scenarios, and an "introductory" scenario that is played on a special map. The intro scenario is quite fun (it covers the Korsun Pocket fighting) and very manageable in size. The game comes with several excellent play aids. However, there are over 12 pages of game specific rules, which is a lot more information for new players to digest.
I know of several people who have used Korea as an entry point to OCS with success, so I certainly think that it's a viable option if the subject matter interests you. I know gaming budgets can be tight, and of the above options it is the most affordable. I do think you get your money's worth with it. $150 - $200 is a lot of money to invest in a system you don't have any firsthand experience with, so Korea is definitely the safer choice in that regard. While it doesn't give you the sweeping grandeur of manevuer warfare on the open steppe, it is a fun, tight game that offers challenges to both sides with reasonably rules overhead.
I just saw that OCS Luzon is getting ready to start shipping tomorrow, and is still available at the pre-order price. The game itself is a bit small, in my opinion, to give a new player a real taste of what OCS is capable of, but the magazine with which it comes should have some interesting and educational articles for new players. So you might think about adding a copy of Luzon to Korea. The first Operational Matters magazine that came with the Sicily II game included had several good articles to help orient new players to the subtleties of OCS. It's long out of print and copies are usually hard to find on the secondary market. However, MMP is doing a reprint and I think it's only about 15 orders short of making its target. This would also be something I would recommend you check out (especially for the magazine).
Sorry for the long response, and theTLDR is Korea would be a fine introduction to the series. Good luck, and let me know how things go! I'm hoping to get some more OCS content up on the channel when I'm able to get back to filming on a more regular schedule.
thank you very much😀
You are most welcome! I will add one caveat to Smolensk, and that is that the counter density can seem pretty high to new players. However, I think all of the other features of the game offset the counter density issue. And besides, real men don't fear counter density! :-)
There's another one map OCS game that came out this year. Crimea: Conquest & Liberation. It's also one map and has less counters than Smolensk. From what I've seen it doesn't try to have super long campaigns but instead different scenarios and at different points in the fighting from 1941-1944. What's your opinion on this new title? Could it also be an alternative? Or too many game specific rules?
Great question! You are correct that Crimea is a one-map game, with a lot less counters than Smolensk. I have much less experience with Crimea than I do Smolensk, but have had a chance to sit down and go through the contents of Crimea quite thoroughly. As usual, it is an excellent product. The quality and quantity of play aids that have been included in the last several OCS titles is excellent, and I think they are very helpful during play. I would absolutely recommend any OCS fan to purchase Crimea. It's two games in one, with several scenarios covering the initial German attack in 1942, and others depicting the Soviet liberation in 1944.
However, I still think Smolensk is a better game for learning the OCS. Crimea covers a fairly unique situation. In the early game, it is much more of a siege operation than you see in a typical OCS game. OCS is built upon Maneuver Warfare Theory (and was initially conceived with the Eastern Front in mind). While the system has proven itself to be robust and flexible enough to cover topics as different as the 1944 Burma Campaign, to really learn what OCS is all about it is better for new players to be exposed to a more conventional OCS setting.
Another factor in my recommendation of Smolensk over Crimea (as a learning game), is that Smolensk offers both players the opportunity to attack and defend. The historical situation in both the early and late Crimea game is quite one-sided, with one side having little or no ability to conduct large offensive operations. The situation in Smolensk sees the Germans with the initiative early, but the Soviets gradually gaining the ability to make large attacks. This gives the new player the ability to learn how to defend as well as attack, something that would require playing Crimea at least twice, switching sides the second game (or switching from early game to late game scenarios). It is also an excellent way of demonstrating to them what happens if they try to push their offensives too far.
Crimea does have more special rules than Smolensk (10 pages versus only 5 pages), but that still isn't too burdensome. However, when learning a new system, which has many unique features, I think it best to limit the amount of special rules a new player is required to deal with to a minimum. I don't think any other OCS game has as few special rules as Smolensk, which I think is a good indication of how well suited to the OCS the game situation is.
The introductory (or learning) scenario in Smolensk is a fabulous tool for teaching first-timers how to play OCS. It's essentially a puzzle that the player needs to solve. Whenever I've introduced someone to OCS for the very first time, I use this scenario, but with no limitation on the SP's that the German player receives. In order to successfully meet the scenario's VC's, a player has to use almost every "trick" in the OCS system (proper use of reserves, when to overrun, etc.). The first time playing I want the new player to focus on how the pieces move and fight, and interact (with one another as well as the Sequence of Play). I keep track of the SP's spent, but have no limit on how many can be spent. At the end of the scenario, I will show the tally of SP's used to the new player, and then compare that to how many the scenario says he SHOULD have had. It is usually very eye-opening. The key to OCS is not just being successful, but in achieving your objectives while being as efficient as possible with your SP's. This is a good lesson to learn early on, and I've found this exercise really drives that home. Once the player is able to meet the scenario's VC's sucessfully with unlimited SP's, I have them play through it again using the actually scenario-given SP amount. By the time the player can successfully win the scenario with the given SP allotment, they have mastered the OCS to the point where they can then take on the larger Smolensk scenarios without being completely lost. And by the time they can play through an entire Smolensk campaign scenario, they should be able to handle any other OCS game (although some do require a bit more work to master than others).
As for Crimea, it's a fantastic option for space & time limited OCS players. It has a small footprint, low counter density, and some interesting, short scenarios. Plus, it's a game where both sides have the initiative (depending on which scenario you choose). It's nice to see the difference in both the Red Army, as well as the Axis, between 1942 and 1944. But I'm still sticking with Smolensk as my go-to teaching game for OCS. Thanks for watching! I hope to have some more OCS content up on the channel next year (maybe a video version of how I use the Smolensk learning scenario to teach brand new players how to play, for example).
I wish MMP had done a "Smolensk" using the BCS system. I don't care for the counter density in Smolensk. And supply is pretty gimicky in OCS, anyways.
I don't know that there is a "Smolensk" BCS game in development (there could be), but I do know that there are some additional Eastern Front BCS games in the pipeline. I'm confident that eventually BCS will feature some eastern front 1941-42 games. I know Dean has an interest in doing some of those topics.
i have ordered it😃
Great! Will this be your first OCS experience?
Thanks for the recommendation, but for me the theme matters the most and I really dislike East Front theme. I did consider Beyond The Rhine and if I come across it I'll give it a try, otherwise I will probably give the whole system a pass
Theme is indeed very important. If the Eastern Front is a total non-starter for you, then I recommend finding a relatively inexpensive copy of the original OCS Tunisia (I just saw an unpunched copy for sale from the UK for less than US$70), and download the v4.3 series rules and charts from The Gamers Archive website. The older Tunisia should be 100% compatible with the v4.3 rules. Some informational markers have changed since it was published, but not in any meaningful way.
This would give you a decent intro to OCS without having to pay upwards of US$200 on a system you are not sure you even like. My favorite Western Front OCS game is The Blitzkrieg Legend. It is a difficult game for the Germans, and gives you a new appreciation for the 1940 campaign in France.
@@thetabletopsedge Thanks for the recommendation on both, just now I'm out of budget (and just got few new games in other systems, too) but will keep an eye out for the titles. OCS is quite fascinating with variable scales and it's supply and Combat systems.
I'm really a PDF guy, so 4.3 rules willbe a way to go,regardless of what comes in the box😉
I'm really curious to see your content on the OCS, it's another fascinating system and a primary one on the Operational scale...
@@przemekbozek Hopefully, my future videos will give you a close up look at how the system works and give you a good feel for it, allowing you to make an informed decision as to whether it's something you want to invest your time and gaming budget in.
@@thetabletopsedge Indeed, not seen too much on OCS in general and I'm a big fan of the quality of your content, so it's quite likely that seeing your vids might push me one way or the other with OCS😁
You have actually recently convinced me BCS is not for me after all - I really like the basic activation / supply system, but not the tempo of operations / scale (with 1-2 activation / day and more "all or nothing" this activation luck plays too much of a role for me).
@@przemekbozek I know where you are coming from. At times, the single Activation for an entire day seems a bit off for the scale. Comparable scale systems (like GOSS) feature up to 3 (or more) turns in a single day. I will say, though, that one of the best features of BCS is its playability. The downtime when playing face to face is so much less than comparable sized games, which helps maintain the momentum of the game. LB is probably the most playable monster game I've yet encountered.