HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: barich@bach.udel.edu (Dewey H Barich)
Subject: Re: [A&A](No of dice and luck)
Organization: University of Delaware
Distribution: rec
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 19:35:23 GMT

In article <YOGI.92Nov11120234@gulbug.iesd.auc.dk> yogi@iesd.auc.dk (Joergen H. Andersen) writes:
>
>
>3 inf -> 3 points in an attack and 6 points in a defence situation.
>
>The golden rule is: "the one with the most points will win" 

This may work for you, but it's not quite right...
This would work, I suppose, if you had all 1 kind of unit on one side or
the other, but this method fails to distinguish the strengths of certain
unit type (fighters on defense, etc.).

>But if you in an attack have a lot of inf, you don't lose as many
>points as your opponent during combat.
>
>For simple calculation of odds I find this method is fine.
>
>/Joergen

What I find to be extremely useful is the following approach.

1)  Add all the points, as above.
2)  Divide by 6, giving you the number of hits you will (on average)
    get.
3)  Figure out losses for the defender, and then determine the number of
    losses to you from the defender's counter-attack.

As always there is a problem with rounding.  Well, not always but here
there is.  The problem is that the populations (number of units) of
these battles is a little too small (generally) to hold statistical
rules to with a high degree of certainty.  One unit lost early on has
profound effects on the rest of the battle (or can, at least).  My
solution to this has been to take a "worst case" approach.
So, I round off in a way that weakens my position, thus assuring that
I'm looking at the worst average case.

A quick example:

The USSR attacks Manchuria with 5 infantry and 1 armor.  The Japanese have 
3 infantry and a fighter.

USSR 5*1+1*3 is 8, divide by 6 is 1 1/3.  So, USSR gets 1 hit.
Japanese 3*2+1*4 is 10, divide by 6 is 1 2/3.   Japan gets 2 hits.

USSR  3*1+1*3 is 6, divide by 6 is 1.  USSR gets 1 hit.
Japan 2*2+1*4 is 8, divide by 6 is 1 1/3.  Japan gets 1 hit.  I go with
one because the 1/3 is a small portion and I rounded up last time...

USSR  2*1+1*3 is 5, giving 5/6, so, give a hit.
Japan 1*2+1*4 is 5, give them a hit.

USSR  1*1+1*3 is 4, no hit.
Japan 0*2+1*4 is 5, give a hit.

USSR  0*1+1*3 is 3, but give a hit, I rounded way down last time.
Japan 0*2+1*4 is 4, don't give a hit, since I've rounded up twice now...


This suggests that the USSR will take the territory with 1 armor.
Actually, what I've found is that the USSR will also have an infantry
left.  The rounding here is a little tough to do, but some experience
has made it work out wuite well for me.  I also wrote a program that
runs a given battle a number of times (I usually go 10000), simulating
the battle and reporting the results.  I've found that my system above
gives the same result almost all of the time (which suggests to me that
whatever I do in rounding works quite well indeed).

Well, that's all, hope it helps someone somewhere!

Dewey

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: lipson@dms.agames.com (Pete Lipson)
Subject: Re: Rail Barons
Organization: Atari Games Corporation
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 17:43:05 GMT

Jeff Wu (jcwu@moet.cs.colorado.edu) wrote:
: In article <0ezPuRm00VokA4h0RK@andrew.cmu.edu>, cd23+@andrew.cmu.edu (Carl I. Dockhorn) writes:
: The best way to speed up rail baron is to have a computer calculate the
: destinations and payoffs.  It reduces the time required for a game from
: about 4.5 hours to less than 3 hours.  Most of the drudgery of the game
: is eliminated.
: 
: A portable computer is ideal for this application, since it is quiet and 
: unobtrusive.
: 
: I have posted this program in the past.  If there is enough interest, I'll
: post it again.
: 
(I assume you mean a PC-compatible)

  I have one i developed to help me learn to program the Mac... if there's
any interest contact me;  it works fine but looks a bit rough - i never
polished it to release-quality standards.
-- 
  /V\
-/@-*\- Peter Lipson <-- lipson@agames.com   or   netcom!dms!lipson
 \_o_/  Milpitas, CA <-- Atari Games
   U
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: phjq762@chpc.utexas.edu (Rodney Kinney)
Subject: No. of dice and luck (was A&A - Can Allies ever win (IIa))
Keywords: Axis & Allies
Organization: The University of Texas System - CHPC
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 92 16:02:51 GMT

	In the context of A&A analysis, the following assertion was made:
>1) As infantries probability for a hit (0.16) is much smaller than the
>   prbability for fighters (0.5) in the attacking case, the actual number
>   of hits varies very much for infantry.
>   
>   Sumary: Attacking with fighters is more deterministic and desasterous
>   variance of the dice results are not as often as with infantry. 

	This is a misconception that seems to come up often and I figure maybe
I should dispute it.  People often assume that the more dice are thrown, the 
larger the effect of luck is, but precicely the opposite is true!  Except in
the case where no dice at all are thrown, the more times you roll, the 
less likely that you will get wild variations in probability.  This is
exactly why casinos turn a consistent profit.  People come down
on Risk because of the amount of luck involved, but no one can deny that it's
got far more skill than simply rolling one die at the beginning, highest roll
wins.  
-- 
					rk
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: cal@fang.att.com (Charles A. Licata)
Subject: Space Marine: Warhounds
Organization: AT&T Tax Systems Development, Maitland FL
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 14:21:13 GMT


Has anyone used Warhound Titans in their Space Marine games.  I fielded
two of them with hesitation, but found out that they really hold their
own.  They were a major contributor in breaking down enemy formations
and they (1 in particular) caused the turning point in game making
the imperial side extremely successful.

I felt it was due to their small size.  A lot of shots missed when the
hit location dice were rolled and their high movement rate allowed them
to move out of bad situations quickly.

Do others feel the same about the Warhound?

Just curious,

Chuck
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: murthy_j@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Jayant Murthy)
Subject: Re: Monopoly Rules
Organization: HAC - Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 15:26:30 GMT

The recent version of the rules that I've seen say that if you don't buy
a property it goes up for auction. When we used to play Monopoly as children
in the late sixties/early seventies we did not use this rule: only if you
landed on a properties space could you buy it from the bank. Were we just
playing incorrectly then or has this rule changed?

Jayant
From: randall-joshua@yale.edu (Joshua Randall)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Diplomacy -- The EXCITING version...
Date: 7 Nov 1992 22:21:37 -0500
Organization: Yale University Science & Engineering UNIX(tm), New Haven, CT 06520-2158
NNTP-Posting-Host: minerva.cis.yale.edu

In article <83198@ut-emx.uucp> aodn307@bongo.cc.utexas.edu (Joshua Henry Geurink) writes:
>A few years back I spent a good chuck o' time playing a COMPUTER version
>of Diplomacy, and LOVED it. [..]
>	If anyone has it, would they be willing to sell it, or does
>anybody know where I can get my grubby little paws on this game?

Avalon Hill made their own version of a Diplomacy computer version.
You should be able to get it from them.  Rumor (i.e. Computer Gaming
World) has it that they are releasing a new version this year,
possibly in time for Christmas.

Danny Loeb (namesake of the "Loeb9" variant) is head (?) of the
Diplomacy Programming Project, which is working on programming a
computer to play Diplomacy, including conducting negotiations.

>And, just to extinguish the flames in advance, I know this should be on
>some computer game board...  unfortunately I can't seem to locate one...

For games to be played on IBM's and clones, you could try comp.sys.ibm.
pc.games, although the noise on that group sometimes obscures any relevant
posts.

-- 
Joshua E. Randall                       randall@minerva.cis.yale.edu
From: kgnome@cs.concordia.ca (MATIS stephane)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: BTECH: Mercenary Handbook 2nd Edition Playtesting - Inquire Within
Date: 11 Nov 92 16:44:04 GMT
Organization: Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec


Hello Folks!

I just go the OK from FASA to conduct a playtesting session here on
Ineternet. The product to be tested/disected is the Mercenary Handbook
2nd Edition.

Brent Carter and I wrote the book, and we are happy to have you test it.
There are only the following limitations :

	1.	The playtesting-proofing period ends November 23rd
	2.	The playtesters are expected to return their remarks by
		the 24th.
	3.	The files are ZIPped for a total of 260K.
	4.	The documents are in Microsoft Word 5.0 format for Mac
	5.	No alternate formats will be provided due to time
		constraints.

So, if you are interested in picking-appart our creation, send me
E-mail. I will give preference to those people I've seen post often on
rec.games.board.

I would like only serious people, because the document is HUGE when
printed out (200+ pages formated FASA style) and digesting everything
will take time. 

Cheers!

BTW	If you really think another format (WordImperfect,RTF,...) is
	better, tell me what you could use, and I'll see. I like RTF.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Stephane I. Matis |  E-Mail : kgnome@cs.concordia.ca  | Viva NeXTSTEP 3.0 ! |
|.............................................................................|
|------------ bla bla Mecha*Press bla bla Dream Pod 9 blabla FASA ------------|
| BATTLETECH ----------------------------------------------------- NeXThead ! |
|------------ aka : Major Adrian Hammerhand, WolfNet Intelligence ------------|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: lunatic@netcom.com (Lunatic Johnathan Bruce E'Sex)
Subject: Re: BTECH: Jap Crap
Organization: Netcom; Renegade User
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 09:38:41 GMT

>In article <1992Oct31.135450.1@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au> eda858xsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au writes:
>>Please oh Please FASA get rid of the Jap crap out of the Battletech manuals.
>>I have just purchased the COMSTAR sourcebook and they have got the same jap
>>animators that stuffed up 3055 (RE:the innersphere clanmechs) to do more crap
>>mech pictures.
>>
>>GOD I HATE THOSE PICTURES!!!!
 
     _
    /-\s Stephane pointed out, you oughta get a look at the art in the
 Japanese version of BattleTech.  It's absolutely gorgeous!  If FASA
 had been selling the few copies they had at Pacificon for less than
 $35 each I would have bought one myself, just for the art!  I'll bet
 that if they had brought a dozen copies with them and sold them for
 $20 each they would have had any left to bring back.  Everyone who
 saw it there was impressed.
 
    |)
    |)TW, Stephane, I think the movie you're trying to think of was
 GUNHED.

-- 
   _______________________________________________________
  /         -= Lunatic Johnathan Bruce E'Sex     (:      /
 /  lunatic@netcom.com  GEnie: LUNATIC  CI$: 76170,672  /
/______________________________________________________/
From: victor.ng@rose.com (victor ng)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Axis & Allies
Date: 11 Nov 92 22:11:06 GMT
Article-I.D.: rose.1992Nov11.221108.11031
Organization: Rose Media Inc, Toronto, Ontario.
X-Gated-By: Usenet <==> RoseMail Gateway (v1.70)


Date Entered: 11-11-92 16:49
Does anybody know where I can get my hands on an expansion set for 
Axis and Allies?  I'm looking for Expansion set 1.  

BTW, it helps if its in Toronto.

Vic
---
   RoseReader 1.70 R001778: I don't do Windows!
   RM 2.00 : RoseNet<=>Usenet Gateway : Rose Media 416-733-2285
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: hills@cory.Berkeley.EDU (Hills Matthew D)
Subject: Re: Games that belong on every gamer's bookshelf
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 15:48:42 GMT


1)  Go  -- or some game where "normal" people will give you some respect :-)
2)  SFB -- for the game you give your life to (to learn the rules, that is)
3)  UF  -- fast quick, and my friends can beat me--they need an ego boost too
4)  Assault -- recommended to me by Terry Rooker...  I like the uncertainty
               of using dummy counters and inverted units.
5)  ITQF -- or some Civil War game... (actually, this belongs set up, on a
            board under your bed--not on your shelf, but close enough)
6)  Bloody Keren -- my friends can beat me at this too... and it can be played
            in a reasonable amt of time, so another to keep the masses happy.
7)  T+AL -- a solitaire game for when you realize you have more time to play
            alone than with others.  It remains on your shelf when you realize
            why you like live opponents.
8)  (A)SL -- Everyone else has it, so why not you too.  At least you can
             relate to some of their war stories then.
9)  Johnny Reb -- or some miniature rules (just for variety)
10) intentions -- to some day buy the miniatures to go with the rules.

Actually, lots more games belong on the shelves, but that is where they
should stay....

Matt Hills
hills@cory.Berkeley.EDU

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: richard@smok.demon.co.uk (Richard Clyne)
Subject: Shops in London, UK 
Distribution: world
Organization: Richard Clyne (Home System)
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 13:08:39 +0000


In article <1992Nov3.140440.27448@cs.kuleuven.ac.be> philipd@cs.kuleuven.ac.be writes:

>
>Next week I'll visit London, and I want to visit some shops that carry a 
>broad range of historical wargame miniatures. Therefore, I'm looking for
>some adresses of shops located in the London area. 
>
>Phil
>
>-- 
>| Phil Dutre                            Dept. Computer Science              |
>| philipd@cs.kuleuven.ac.be             Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL)|
>| Phone: (32) 16 201015 x3094/3552      Celestijnenlaan 200A                |
>| Fax:   (32) 16 205308                 B-3001 Heverlee, BELGIUM            |
>
>

(Some) Games Shops in central London

Virgin Games Centre, Oxford Street - Big range of frp, some minatures

Just Games, Brewer Street          - Good range of European Imports

Orcs Nest, Earlham Street          - Mainly FRP

Games Workshop, The Plaza, Oxford Street - Only GW stuff


--
Richard Clyne
319 Violet Lane, Croydon, Surrey, CR4 4HN. Tel +44 (0)81 686 7159
richard@smok.demon.co.uk (Prefered)    rclyne@cix.compulink.co.uk
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: More Car Wars Questions
From: Sime <TJS107@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 15:40:13 EST
Organization: Penn State University

In article <1992Nov3.163301.8396@iscsvax.uni.edu>, agee9122@iscsvax.uni.edu
says:

RE: exploding FT's...

>From ADQ&A, ADQ Vol.9, No.3 (Fall, 2041):
>
(questions about FT's deleted)

Doy. I have this issue. I knew I saw the answer _somewhere_ I just couldn't
remember where... Oh well, it still makes sense that it _would_ explode, but
I'll follow the rules since they're more beneficial... =)

-Sime

A shadow will fall across the universe
And evil will follow in its path                      Go Steelers!
And death will come from the skies                    Go Pens!
                                                      Pirates in '93!
        -Heavy Metal
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: jtaylor@seq.uncwil.edu (J.T.)
Subject: help using mech10b.zip
Organization: Univ. of North Carolina @ Wilmington
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 17:19:19 GMT

I am having problems getting the game mech10b.zip to run
on my 286.  I can run the separate parts except for 
mechwar.exe, i get an insufficient memory available.
I read the .DOC file and it says only 640k is necessary.
i have a meg of RAM.  
I am using DR DOS 6.0  and have compressed my 20meg hard drive.
Is something not compatable here?  
also I think my problem might be I'm getting things automatically
loaded into memory....when I took out my MOUSE command int the
autoexec. and removed the virus scan, and remove something called
DELWATCH. and then ran mechwar.exe  It let me get a little more into
it before it gave the insuff. mem message.  I got all the way to
the .GIF file and the annoying noise. 
Could anyone offer help?....As you can tell I dont know exactly what
everything in the boot up process does..so i dont know what is taking
up memory..
Thanks.
jtaylor@seq.uncwil.edu

Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Date: Thu,  5 Nov 1992 13:01:33 -0500 
From: "Timothy C. Worsley" <tw1r+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Classic games...
	<1d9lllINN3c2@ua.d.umn.edu>

	Has anyone mentioned Tactics II?  I think it qualifies.  Not quite as
clasic as Risk and Diplomacy, but more so than almost any other game
I've seen mentioned.

ZZnew guy
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: Bruce_Harper@mindlink.bc.ca (Bruce Harper)
Subject: Advanced Third Reich e-mail tournament
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 22:09:24 GMT

As promised, I will continue to post periodic notices for this tournament.
In the first round, a single Advanced Third Reich Campaign Game is played.
On-line questions will be answered.  This is a good way to learn the game, as
no playtesters are involved in the tournament until the second round.

Entry is allowed until December 31, 1992.  Reply to me by e-mail if you're
interested.
From: taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH-Gamer/Player  which are you?
Date: 13 Nov 1992 02:19:44 GMT
Organization: Wellington City Council (Public Access), Wgtn, Nz
Reply-To: taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
NNTP-Posting-Host: kosmos.wcc.govt.nz

In article <BxK57w.LH6@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>, griffin@sage.cc.purdue.edu (Zack Thompson) writes:
>In article <10NOV199223485287@zeus.tamu.edu> elm4252@zeus.tamu.edu (MOORE, ERIC LEE) writes:
>>is there ANYONE left who still campaigns and does not use clan?
>>					Mok

>Howdy-
>ZT here.
>Yes.  Me.  And that's because after getting used to inner sphere stuff, it's
>  frusterating to try and make a clan 'mech.  That's because you have all 
>  this wonderful sh*t to use, but you WILL run out of crit spots.  I've tried
>  it a couple times.  'Hey, I just got a great idea for a 'mech!  OK, get  
>  the sheet... weapons... armor... um, ok, smaller engine... heat sinks... oh,
>  great, no endo steel... well now I don't have the tonnage left over I need 
>  for that weapon, so I don't need those heat sinks, so I have the crit spots,
>  so I guess I can put the endo-steel back, now, um... 5 tons and nowhere to
>  go... oh, f*ck this!' crumple, crumple.  And the fact that IS stuff lets a
>  game go on for longer.  And I don't want to hear anything from anybody about
>  'Well, I use my own special blend of tactics, and my clan games go on plenty
>  long,' cause if you used IS equip with the same tactics, your games would go
>  on even longer.
>Just for the Record.
>                       The Crystal Griffin

 As one who prefers the kinder years of old tek eg 3025, the temptation to
play and design with clan tek is immense. Though I rarely find the problem
of outfitting with Clan tek. Come on it does use less tonnage and crits
and that is half the problem. When I designed the Crossbow of mine, a 100
tonner with two Arrows, I found that I just fitted everything in. 51 crits!
I tried to place the design in a smaller tonnage, but as new tek for the
Inner Sphere goes it isn't possible.
 As for longer games with IS tek, I agree. 3025 tek games go on forever as
the meks lack the ability to deliver lots of damage eg heat is a big
problem.

 If I was in  charge of production to upgrade the IS for 3067, I would have
the following priorities for construction.

 1. DSHS "Freezers" Double Strength Heat Sinks
 2. XL Engines
 3. C-3 networks
 4. Endo-Steel
 5. Ferro-Fibrous
 6. Gauss Rifles

 These I think would prepare the IS for the onslaught, but I'm unsure of
how FASA will do it. There isn't any real order except that the DSHS's
would come first.

This has been....
 Tony Taia
   TAIA_A@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz
3028: When the Dragoons got their eviction notice :)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: robert@wsooti11.info.win.tue.nl (Robert Lukassen)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Diplomacy rules wanted
Date: 9 Nov 92 09:54:32 GMT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands

Hello

I'm in need for the rules of diplomacy. Could somebody mail them ? Is there an FTP
site which has them ?

Thank you,

Robert
--
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|  Robert 'MacBear' Lukassen           |  Eindhoven University of Technology  |
|  Email: robert@info.win.tue.nl       |  The Netherlands                     |
+--------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| 'So logically ?  If she weighs the same as a duck, she's made of wood...    |
|  And therefore ?  ...a WITCH !!!!'   - Monty Python, the Holy Grail.        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
From: adrian@scorpio.ic.cmc.ca (Adrian Earle)
Subject: EiA reparations
Summary:  how much?    
Organization: Canadian Microelectronics Corporation
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1992 04:46:20 GMT

At this evening's EiA event we had a rules dispute.  
The Austrian player owed the French player reparations.  The
Austrian had also ceded provinces to the french player.  
The Austrian wanted to pay reparations based on his 
current home country (ie $66-ceded provinces), while the French 
player wanted  the Austrian to pay based on the value 
printed on the map (ie 66$).   

The victory conditions chart says: "1/2 of the loser's home
nation tax value (printed on the map) ..." .  

In the glossary the home nation is defined as the territory 
within the borders but excluding ceded provinces but the 
starting home nation $/manpower value is printed on the map.

This is the cause of the dispute.  Does anyone have a answer
to this situation?  

Thanks,
Adrian
From: dunger@lamar.ColoState.EDU (Dallace Unger)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Eurorails (or Empire Builder, XX Rails) question
Date: 6 Nov 92 22:35:40 GMT
Organization: Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO  80523

In article <1992Nov6.135736.23424@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> vjelinek@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Virginia G Jelinek) writes:
>Having played many times with someone who has played several times with the
>games' designer, the rules are intended as written.  In your rail building
>phase you may build two sections of track out from Major City Mileposts
>regardless of their connection to your existing track at the cost of the
>milepost to which you build, usually 1mECU.  Any _additional_ track built in
>that rail building phase connecting to a Major City Milepost must be built from
>your existing track at a cost of 5mECU.
>
>Medium and Small City Mileposts _always_ cost 3mECU (plus river costs, etc.)
>and are initially built _into_ from your previously existing track.
>
>So, that's how the game designer plays.  Hope this clears up any confusion.

This is correct.  I have spoken with Darwin about it and seen him explain it
to people at tournaments.

Dallace Unger
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: charbonn@silver.ucs.indiana.edu (gary charbonneau)
Subject: Re: Republic of Rome - Reviews?
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 14:48:50 GMT

In article <BxArIB.J5v@news.cso.uiuc.edu> hoetker@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu (Glenn Hoetker) writes:
>I'm considering Republic of Rome as a purchase and would like to get
>some opinions.  Do people find it a fun game?  How are the two
>and one person games?  Also, it is rated as "very complex," does that
>come from their being lots of strategic points to keep track of or
>is the playing system itself complex?
>
>Thanks for the input.
>

>Glenn Hoetker
>hoetker@alexia.lis.uiuc.edu


Glenn, I didn't much care for it.  What ruined it for me was the fact
that the game was usually decided on the last turn by assassination
die rolls, which often negated the results of an entire game of careful
play.  However, the rest of the game was basically OK.





-- 
Gary Charbonneau
charbonn@silver.indiana.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board