DISCUSSIONS

I was lucky enough to get into a 6 player game of MH Gold, "The Limits of Peace" scenario, Normal or +1 hardness, no partisans. I played as Italy.

I can't give a coherent account of the game, because everything happened too fast. Playing MH solitaire barely prepares you for the multiplayer experience. It's like the difference between playing spider solitaire or addiction solitaire, and playing poker. With five card sharks. And a 1 minute timer for each hand.

Small countries like Hungary were gobbled up instantly, and even large (but unmanned) powers like Japan lasted only a little longer. But some countries, like Yugoslavia, survived to the end. I don't know why.

I concentrated on trying to keep Italy from going broke, and developing enough industry to be useful. I was defeated in battle by the armed forces of the Belgian Congo, and was ultimately wiped off the map in 3-4 turns (including Ethiopia). I believe a French/Briish/US alliance won, but it's kind of hazy - the US seemed to be switching sides with blinding speed. It was an eye-opening experience, and I enjoyed it at lot. People were surprisingly considerate to the newbie.

It might be nice if there was a group for slowpokes, but it would be hard to get enough turns done that way - a single game would take days or longer, and it's probably too difficult to arrange people's schedules. As it was, I think we were in 4-6 different time zones and two continents. Anyway, it's a great thing to try, and I appreciated getting the chance.