There are times when it is SO clear that the dice are haunted. In my solo plays I have, in the past, noticed myself being a little too willing to consider the dice that I just rolled to be somehow invalid. I have used the excuse that they were the wrong color (I try to use dice the color of the primary units on each side, with white being held for FOW rolls etc.), that they were cocked (even slightly), that they fell off the table, etc., etc. I have also noticed that the likelihood of a bad roll as defined above increases when the roll did not fit the narrative that I was building in my mind.

This was, of course, cheating, but when I play solo, it is an oddly victimless crime. Or so it seemed. Recently I played through several campaigns of the new Totaler Krieg and vowed to myself that I would NOT play with the dice. If I rolled lousy then that's what had to happen. I had a blast with a number of absolutely incredibly odd rolls. I swore then and there never to try to "influence" the dice again. So far so good.

For some reason I never had the urge to cheat on PG scenarios. I can truthfully say that the unexpected roll is part of the reason why this game can be played solo so successfully. The INF platoon that is able to stop the juggernaut by passing morale checks and inflicting the same on the attackers. The 1-36 AT shot that actually hits and demoralizes a Tiger I, etc.

However, there are times when the dice are so very unfair as to call into question the results of a scenario. By the time turn 9 of this 20 turn scenario came around the Germans had lost 21 steps to the Nisei 4. The remnants of the German force were running for their lives and from the losses noted above, the weren't being too successful at it. I would give you a more pithy writeup but it would read: "Then the Nisei approached the German line, the OBA hit for 1 step loss and the troops were demoralized, the resulting assault on the 30 column destroyed what was left. The Nisei then moved to the next German line..."

Somewhere in here is a good playing scenario. I was tempted to give this a 2 but I stuck on a 3 because with a little more luck the Germans can have a decent fighting chance to at least hang on despite their lower morale.