ogreWent out to eat with friends the other day and after coming back we still had time for a quick game. I cracked out the Ogre pocket box and started setting up the map. My two year old came to help, so I set him in the high chair. He threw dice across the table while my friend picked them up again... and I set up a defence of 3 Heavies, 3 Missile Tanks, 3 GEVs, and the usual infantry.
(I didn't tell my friend that I was handicapping him 3 points of armor-- new players seem to resent that even if they really do need it.)
His Ogre bullied his way down the board and met my forces. After a few turns of combat, he was practically stripped of weapons. He tried to go around my forces, which meant he didn't really try to blow my guys up... while my guys got plenty of chances to shoot at him.
I was thinking this was going to be another disappointing game for a new player and that there'd be little to no interest on his part for any future games. I remarked on how hopeless his position was when he was down to movement-1, but he seemed strangely confident in his victory. (My two year old son had stopped throwing things by now and was intensely interested in what was happening on the map. My friend would let him trace an Ogre counter or draw his hand while I was moving my pieces, too.)
My units took another round of shots at his treads and they were just about gone. He moved one hex forward... and shot a missile at my command post! I'd completely forgotten that he'd saved it back-- and I was even the one tracking his stats!!
Heh.
My wife got a kick out of this and my new opponent got to bask in his glorious victory as we told and retold the tale to the other folks that were there....
