The Official --( Introduce Yourself )-- Thread!

[gambler1650]

Hi, I'm Robert Gamble, and I have a problem.  I have too many games (not just wargames - board and miniatures - but also computer, Playstation, board games, role playing games, card games...).  Things I like outside of games: amateur astronomy, fish, honest and respectful debate, programming, playing with my 6 year old son, hanging out with my Iranian-American wife, heavy metal music, 80's music, classical music, reading. 

With wargames I tend to purchase based on subject + graphics, and games like Panzer Grenadier with lots of products are especially dangerous as I have the potential of buying way too many of them and never play them (yes, I know, most of you probably see yourself in this sentence).  I've tried Panzer Grenadier a time or two, starting with Heroes of the Soviet Union way back when.  That attempt didn't leave me with a lot of good feelings towards the system.  

I then tried Desert Rats/Afrika Korps about 15 years ago (maybe with the 3rd edition rules by then).  My problem here is I picked a rather large scenario, played it face to face, and it felt like too much work for the reward due to the rulebook being a very poor reference (all the rules are there, but many of the rules were repeated in multiple places with an extra little thing tacked on, and remembering where that extra little thing was turned out to be almost impossible for me).

At that point I'd also picked up Elsenborn Ridge, Battle of the Bulge, Eastern Front and Road to Berlin.  All of them I thought about selling.

Then Fall of France 1940 crossed my radar, and I saw that there was a 4th edition rule set I could use even though it didn't come with the game.  The maps looked a lot nicer too in that game than they had been in the past, so I took a chance and picked it up and printed out the 4th edition rules and charts.  The maps were very nice but I was thrown by the fact that there were three separate types of counters in the box (the markers, the soot covered counters, and what appears to be the current style), the rules were better than the 3rd edition rules and  I figured out that rather than my usual method of learning the rules while playing (which you can do with non-repetitive rulebooks that work well as a rule reference) it was better to read the rules in one sitting immediately before playing.  And then re-read the rules afterwards.  I played "A Beautiful Morning" and it was... better.  Not a revelation.  And due to me moving from Massachusetts to Northern Virginia, I didn't have time to continue digging into Panzer Grenadier.  I did at least also buy "An Army at Dawn" and "Fire in the Steppe".

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.  I had unpacked a bunch of PzG games from a box after our second move in the Northern Virginia area and was debating playing one of them.  I also checked out new products and one especially caught my eye, "Black Panthers".  I ordered that plus a couple of supplements and some new boxed games (Korean War: Counter Attack, Conquest of Ethiopia, the aforementioned Black Panthers, Armata Romana, The Deluge, Lithuania's Iron Wolves).  And I read the 4th edition rules and set up "First Armor Clash" from Fall of France 1940.  I had a lot of fun this time, though I definitely forgot some rules.  It still went smoothly at approximately 20 - 30 minutes per turn at the start, down to maybe 10 - 15 at the end (and even faster in the mop up portion).

Then I set up the scenario "D is for Dog" from Black Panthers, and that was a fun one too.  Even more so due to the higher variety of units.  So, I think it's safe to say that I'm hooked at the moment.  I'm in the process of setting up "We'll fight Them", also from Black Panthers.

[legendsport]

Greetings, my name's Joe Cronin and I've been around (lurking I suppose) for about 10 months but haven't posted anything til right now. I'm just starting to delve into the Panzer Grenadier system. I've been playing wargames for close to 40 years now, my first being Rise & Decline of the Third Reich back in the mid 80s. I was a kid then, so didn't have many games and played almost exclusively computer wargames for quite a long time before coming back to the tabletop about five years ago. 

I'm an Air Force vet, born & raised in the NYC area and now live in Ohio with my wife & two kids (both college students now). I'm a computer programmer, which I believe led me back to the tabletop because I spend so much time staring at screens these days that it's almost a relief to go "analog" and get back to the tabletop.

I also run a YouTube channel on wargames & sports games (my other passion), mostly tabletop but some PC too. If anyone is interested in checking it out, it's called Hexed and Countered and can be found here.

Looking forward to diving into PG - joined the Gold Club and picked up Fire in the Steppe, Kursk: Burning Tigers, Fall of France and Road to Dunkirk plus a few expansions. Really intrigued by Infantry Attacks too (not enough WWI games out there imo, especially at the tactical level). Ironically when I was a young guy I loved strategic level stuff, now I'm really into tactical in a big way.

[Shad]

Welcome, Joe!

I'm a computer programmer, which I believe led me back to the tabletop because I spend so much time staring at screens these days that it's almost a relief to go "analog" and get back to the tabletop.

I totally understand. When I got into table-top gaming I was basically a PowerPoint content mill for the division director. 60 hours a week of cranking out slides. I was (and still am) an enthusiastic PC gamer but it left me just fried each night and I needed something else.

[bbrophy75]

I am an new here, but not to Panzergrendier (well sort of I guess). I got Eastern Front way back in the day, and Airborne well before that, yet never really did much with the system. Recently I decided to get more into this gaming system and I got Fall of France (playbook edition). I'd love to connect with folks who are more versed in this system than me, including Vassal play (so feel free to hit me up!).

I've been a long time wargamer, especially WWII and post WWII conflicts. 

Bob Brophy

[Tambu]

We are ready to assist you in shared, online play on Vassal, whenever you have the time to learn how.

Welcome,

Tambu, Tankodactyl, Treadasaurusrex, ACav, Miguelibal, Sagunto, Chaco and Cochise75