OCS Burma - Black Cats vs White Tigers - Turn 1 of 4

[@SHAMUS991]

I am just taking up OCS and have been inspired by Slims book Defeat into Victory. This video is very helpful along with M.Watney clarifications below, thankyou both. I appreciate the pace and explanations provided. Thanks for helping me to get going.

[@jansvensob6407]

Fantastic book and highly recommended for anyone who might play this game. I've read it twice now and might do it again. The campaign, apart from being its own self-contained world with its own logic, had many unique features that were ahead of its time -- including the resupply of large forces for extended periods behind enemy lines by air. I too want to play the OCS game to see it all come to life.... Gotta convince my son to play with me, but he's more into the eastern front.

[@CptEggman]

Well you did it, this is IMO the best OCS gameplay video on YT.

[@gerrypalmer9404]

I just discovered your series as I was trying to reacquaint myself with OCS after having drifted away for awhile. Thank you very much for doing these. I'm sure they take a lot of time to get them as smooth and professional as they are. I did have a comment on the Fog of War section. It seems to me that so much of what you covered is greatly effected by how carefully your opponent is watching your turn. It seems to work better in a convention like setting where the non-active player might go kibitz at another table or hit the head or go to lunch. In a FTF 2player setting at your house it seems harder to pull off the 'active' applications of FOW. On top of this you can layer how competitive of a gamer your opponent is. If he's the 'play to win' type you can forget getting away with most of what you so excellently spelled out.

[@pm71241]

Not having played Burma ... but in standard OCS you can't just drop of Supply point in an empty hex. There has to be a combat unit or an existing supply dump (already unloaded).

[@digeraticular]

I'd be very excited for more OCS and ASL playthroughs. Your videos have helped me learn both systems actually. SCS would be cool too.

[@AlejandroEcheverryB]

Thanks for the video!!! Just one thing 1:09:00, you can do barrages but with only artillery in the combat phase (OCS 10.0e D).

[@mbwmwg]

Excellent video, thanks. Very timely as I've just started a face-to-face game of Burma at our local club. We're playing the campaign, and I'm lucky enough to be playing a seasoned OCS expert. But getting this view is great, please keep it up.

[@CounterAttack]

usapatriot4163 This installment is in HD. If it only played back in low quality for you it was because KZbin was still processing the HD formats. This is a very large video so it can take a while. As of now all quality formats are available.

[@siyuanxu3537]

Great to see some OCS playthrough. Burma is one of the excellent OCS entry and I have also played some scenarios of it (really like the Chindits parachuting and glidering behind enemy line). Thanks very much for the video and please keep doing it.

[@thegrogshed]

I didn't realise you could load more than 1T onto a 1T truck. I thought that was the max it could transport.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Too much for your little brain? Amen to that, I feel the same way about it for myself.

[@usapatriot4163]

CA, Thanks for the heads up on the video upload!

[@mwatney9775]

24:05 Retain fractions! A quarter of 6 is 1.5 so the Reserve unit can move three hexes along that road rather than two. 24:50 While you are correct that in general in Burma trucks have a horrific time driving along tracks, suffering a penalty of 8MPs per hex, there is a special dispensation for Japanese leg units. In a break from standard OCS rules, Japanese leg units can Direct Draw using leg movement rates (rule 2.5c), so that particular unit can draw direct from the dump to the east. The Japanese Divisional HQs also use leg rates to Draw and Throw (rule 2.4a), though in this case the Japanese HQ is an Army HQ and so stuck with trucks. Also remember that unlike most wargames, OCS supply is judged after movement, which compensates somewhat for the very weak ZOCs. 26:47 In Burma, unlike other OCS games, fuelling is not done by division but only individually, 1T per unit (Rule 1.5). 33:50 While you are correct that those four Japanese battalions eat off the map at a cost of 1T, it is worth mentioning that a special Japanese privilege is that 1T can provide trace supply to up to ten units of any size (rule 2.5a). Without this special privilege, it would be impractical for the Japanese to make the cross-mountain deep penetrations they did historically, especially in the Naga Hills. 47:33 To load or unload a truck costs 4.5 movement points, not 5. Since trucks are allowed to shuttle back and forth in one turn (and so a 2T truck can shift 1SP over short distances) those half movement points add up and are worth reckoning. 1:02:20 While it is true that there is a greater chance of Surprise in an Overrun, there is a significantly greater chance of Defender Surprise ruining your day: 42%! 1:13:50 There is an error here. The combat result was [1/2] not 1/2. The importance of the brackets is that certain types of barrage (in this case, air) do not have a chance to inflict a hit with a [1/2]. This is why the decision whether to use artillery or aircraft against a hex is a subtle one: aircraft from an off-map box do not require supply to refit, but, although firing artillery costs supply, it also has a 50% chance of inflicting a step loss with the common [1/2] result, a possibility denied aircraft. Oddly, later you do read out the sidebar explaining [1/2] but ignore completely the word AIR in your commentary. See 39:50 for this sidebar. 1:30:39 This is the exploitation phase, so you do not need to worry about supply. The Commonwealth will have a Movement Phase before supply is next checked.

[@mwatney9775]

47:33 I am wrong about the cost to load/unload mentioned above. OCS rule 13.2f specifically states the cost for trucks is 5 MPs (and Burma rule 1.2 states the cost for Mules is 1 MP). There is also an obscure rule to watch out for. Earlier in OCS rule 13.2f, it is stated that supply can only be unloaded in a hex with a friendly combat unit, port, airbase or where there are already unloaded supply points. In Burma I recommend players agree to scrap this rule as it contributes nothing positive and can cause unreasonable anguish, given the extremely hostile terrain which restricts movement severely compared to other OCS games.

[@mwatney9775]

1:28:07 the Japanese battalion could save itself by retreating southwest off the road into the wild mountain hex where there is no enemy ZOC.

[@digeraticular]

Thanks for this. I was wondering about that move...

[@blueTanso]

Thanks. I found the rules confusing, too.

[@renatoventura6583]

Another nice video. Please keep them coming...maybe more OCS or ASL :)

[@HistoricalConflict]

what's the rule for just moving into enemy zoc ? does it not extend across river?

[@mikewillner9796]

One question: Couldn't the Japanese unit that was defending the bridge retreat to hex 1.27 to avoid the loss? The rules seem to indicate that you can modify retreat direction if it means you avoid losses, and this does put the unit one hex further away from the enemy.

[@CounterAttack]

Mike Willner Yes, you are correct and I should have done that. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@mokapot7706]

Really helpful, clearly explained, thankyou

[@HistoricalConflict]

Im starting ocs with blitzkrieg legend not a big pacific fan

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

You've played a nice variety, including ASL, which I'm diving into. However, I'm looking for a larger scale game (to get a bigger picture of battles.) But, as you know ASL has a lot of overhead and I'm looking for something that may not be quite as heavy. Of all these games you've played, which larger scale game (system) would you recommend. OCS is cool, but that 54 pages is scary. Maybe I should man up.

[@CounterAttack]

+ItinerantHobbyist Hi! I enjoy your videos! I haven't explored a lot of larger game systems. Really only 4 that are designed with detail around a particular battle/campaign: OCS, GOSS, Barbarossa Series, and "The Battle for Normandy" system. They are all traditional hex-and-counter-operational games, with OCS being the most different with its supply system. I found the OCS and GOSS rules very difficult to consume, especially while playing. GOSS to an extreme where I could not force myself to endure it even though it seems really cool. Barbarossa and TBfN have clean well organized rules. For me TBfN is it. Clean rules, lots of light chrome but all consumable, tons of scenarios from small to insane. I would go OCS if you want something less traditional (supply rules). I am told Burma is different from all the other OCS titles - why I chose it actually. Barbarossa is a fine system, but after playing TBfN I was not excited about it. Hope that helps a little.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Counter Attack thabk you for watching my vids

[@usapatriot4163]

Wah! No HD? 😞 Man this is going to be tough to watch.