Getting Great at FoW - Part 1

Mastering FoW - hi everyone, I thought I would display my arrogance finally and talk about being 'great' at FoW. Am I 'great'? No, am I better than I was this time last year definitely - and over the course of the tournaments and games I've played I've developed a few insights into getting really good at this game. The areas I think you need to master are 'lists' , 'rules' and 'Implementation'. So here's another trio of articles exploring these.

Rules - this one is simple, 'know the rules' here endeth the lesson until next time... Of course it's not that simple. I do not know every rule in the game, there are so many forces and special characters I can't know about them all.

Not knowing can cost games, at the Welsh open I played against NZ cav, their 'swanning about the blue' rule is very different to the French 'higher command' rule but I didn't realise this -  this almost cost me the game. Equally playing against soviets when I hear 'ISU/SU' I need to know which is AT15+ and which has a breakthrough gun, these bits will change my target priorities as I play - sometimes the best way to learn is to play everything.

I will admit that knowing every rule for every character and force is a tall order, knowing the common rules though is key, this can only come by playing with these varied forces, or playing against these forces - oh and making sure the other person knows it too - the number of times I've had someone tell me something which I've disputed (and often not disputed to their face) and then found it to be wrong is almost endless.

I think this is one of the hardest things to do, stand up for yourself. I've been there debating with my opponent about a rule, frequently someone has missed something, or is still confused by a V2 rule - but if you know your rules, stand up and make sure you don't get done over. 

This is a hard thing to do, none of us want to be 'that guy' but we have all come across that moment where we know the rule and the opposition disagrees, sadly in the end 'rules as written' and a page reference help the most to settle these, especially in close situations where tensions are running high. The other area to also remember here is terrain - just make sure you are clear on it from the start, do you both know you're playing true LoS? Or is your opponent thinking of hill more abstractly?

Conversely though I think it is equally important to let your opponent know about your rules - I hate winning/ losing because of a rule I'm not aware if? Seriously where is the skill in that? I keep coming back to a game I played with my Canadians when I started playing - some panzerfaust trap teams assaulted my lorries (with troops in) on turn one - killing them. Having never used soft skin transports I never knew the rule - I never forgot it after, but the game was then pointless.

If you want to actually be good at this you need your opponent to know your weakness's and strengths. Whilst it is hilarious to not tell my opponent of the great interaction of 'mike target' and 'medium support', what does not telling them teach me? Nothing. On the other hand letting them know about that combo and seeing how they react teaches me lots. What does this mean ? If you want to get better help your opponent as much as possible - don't rely on tricks to win, in the long run it's not effective.

Anyway I hoped this (slightly drunken) rambling has helped, until next time.