Second, the victory conditions are completely binary. In addition to the aforementioned exploit, you can execute a brilliant operation – maneuvering around enemy forces, methodically using your artillery to smash up the enemy, and break through with minimal casualties – only to fail utterly because your attack stopped a hex short. In one campaign, I had to go back and restart a battle because, with two turns to go, an enemy squad I missed during my attack snuck behind my lines to capture a victory hex back by my starting point! On the flip side, it doesn’t matter in a scenario if I utterly wreck my army in the process – I still win or lose based solely on speed.
The way to fix this is to add some kind of scoring, regardless of whether you take all the hexes. You would earn more points by taking victory hexes, but lose them for taking casualties. The system works a lot better in a campaign, because your units carry over from one mission to the next. If you lose an expensive tank or dive bomber unit because your risked it recklessly in vain pursuit of a brilliant victory, you will be kicking yourself in the next mission. There are still some major flaws – weakened squads always return to full strength between missions for free - but the campaigns are where the game comes into its own.
So, this raises a bunch of other topics. What makes a good victory condition in a game and how does it effect the gameplay as a whole? What games have great or unusual victory conditions? Which ones dropped the ball? When is it appropriate for a player to set his own conditions or play in a consequence-free sandbox? I’m going to trail off here, for fear of going overlong, but I’d love to hear some opinions and experiences. Maybe I’ll do a series talking about victory conditions in different games. What do you think?
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