I had an excellent game of Battlelore on Vassal today with Cavie (don't know his moniker here, if any). It was an exciting see-saw of a game with lots or Lore play and counterplay. (By the way the scenario was #8 Burgundian Chevauchee. I played the French so I could try the Level 3 Cleric.)

I only mentioned this because I was skeptical of playing on Vassal at first. How easy was it to find an opponent? (Easy.) Would they all be cut-throat competitive jerks? (Quite the opposite.) Would it be any fun with all the elements being digital? (Yes!) Would I learn anything? (Heck yes, these are some good players out there!)

If you want to know how to get started - I have some lessons learned that might make the curve less steep - either respond to this thread, PM me, or send me email at dale_hurtt at yahoo.

Now, if someone will get permission, and then build, the Heroes module. Does anyone know how to go about getting permission from FFG?

Dale

Alright, Dale! Good on you

And, I've heard that FFG's response to Vassal in general has been mostly resistant, not sure if that has been a factor in those that have been developing the updated module to not release it yet.

Supposively DoW was working on getting some organized online play going, a la Ticket to Ride. No idea how far that got, nor if FFG has any interest in picking that up. Either supporting (or at least allowing) Vassal play, or getting an online version of their own, would be something that I would love to hear from FFG about.

I'd be interested in any tips you have for getting started on Vassal.

I just got Battlelore and a bunch of expansions and I'd like some pratice games before I take it along to the club after new year.

Kaneda,

I am usually on Vassal on the weekend mornings for a couple of hours, typically between 12:00 and 14:00-15:00 GMT. Feel free to email me if other times are better, etc. : t_rewoldt at hotmail.com

Cool, I'll try to get into a game with you tomorrow morning

I'm trying to work out how to get a game started at the moment... I've managed to load the agincourt setup, but I'm a bit confused about picking up the starting cards and stuff. Does Vassal automate any game mechanics or do you just manually draw and discard cards etc.?

Some Vassal modules may enforce rules or automate portions of the game, but the BattleLore module (and C&C:Ancients, Memoir '44, as well as Battle Cry as well) does neither. I prefer it this way, though some do view this as a downside. Rules aren't enforced automatically in a face to face game, why should they be on an online version

To me, Vassal is very intuitive once one has loaded up the necessary modules and extensions (and even that part isn't too rough) - one draws cards and moves pieces just as one would in a face to face game. Pretty much any action that takes place in a face to face game is replicated in some fashion on Vassal.

I'll look for you tomorrow

Cool, now I know it is not meant to be automating things it makes more sense

With most "proper" computer games on hexes I would work out what I can legally do by seeing what the program would let me do... Vassal will let me do anything I want

If anyone is around and fancies a quick run through a game today, I have nothing better to do

Managed to play a couple of games with elco this afternoon

I think I've got the hang of the system but I'm not very good at the game itself yet

Just keep playing elco has been playing for awhile, and experience counts for quite a lot in this game.