.68 Caliber Productions

Day of Days Changes

For anyone who has ever spoken with a representative from .68, you know we’re always keen to listen to input from players on how to improve on the events.  (Constructive criticism, that is.  We don’t respond well to being screamed at on the field.)  After concerns were raised about a potential loop-hole in the balance of how Day of Days is scored, we’ve discussed a new approach with both of this year’s generals and have a new way to score the territory battles.

Last year’s US general, Charles, used a smart strategy for making life difficult for the German team.  He pushed up and immediately took territories that were close to his base and then held firm.  Being that the US team was scored higher on assault and the Germans were scored higher on defense, it made sense for him to secure these positions and then halt his advance short of where it would be easier for the Germans to defend the flag zones near their base.  This forced the Germans to run a battery of side missions to catch up.

While the US strategy was an excellent one, it’s not really within the spirit that the game is intended and that’s for the US to secure the beachhead and push as far inland by the end of the day as possible, just like they did during the actual landing.  So, after several conversations with this year’s leadership, we’ve all agreed on a new approach to the way the flag zones will be scored as well as a handful of changes that have been made to the map.

For starters, the old point structure where the US is scored higher for attacking a territory and the Germans are scored higher for defending it is going away.  While logical, it does put a little too much control of the game in the hands of the Americans.  Now each territory is worth a different amount of points to the US and German teams.  The closer the territory is to their base, the fewer the points it’s worth to that team.  The hope is that it forces teams to continue to strike further out into the field rather than button up and hold on to their points.  While this may seem like an advantage for the Germans in the morning since the US won’t be earning many points initially, you have to remember that it was about gathering momentum for the US as more soldiers landed on the continent that morning.  The US is also far more likely to secure these first few territories while the Germans are barred from counterattacking other zones for the first hour.  Additionally, the US and German teams will both still have elite units that can initiate a limited number of attacks on flag zones held behind enemy lines.

Second, two small changes have been made to the territories.  The old Foxtrot sector has been divided into an upper and lower portion, now labeled India and Foxtrot.  This sector will have a flag in the Black Market area, for those of you familiar with the field.  It is considered a flooded causeway (which is appropriate, again if you know the field) and is neutral at the start of the event.  It also isn’t worth any points to either team to attack or defend.  However, it is of strategic value to both teams.  Holding it for the US means cutting off the German’s ability to counterattack Golf and Delta sectors, while holding Foxtrot and Echo cuts the Germans off completely from the lower portion of the field and provides the US with a shortcut to one of their primary objectives, Kilo (formerly Juliet).  Holding Foxtrot enables the US to reach Kilo in three turns rather than four.  (Each time a general initiates an attack on a territory, it constitutes a turn for that team.  Only two attacks can be ordered every thirty minutes by either general.)  On the other hand, if the German’s hold Foxtrot, it allows them to immediately counterattack Golf, the American’s other primary objective for the day and forces the US team to try to take Pegasus Bridge which runs right past the German HQ if they want to secure Kilo.

So Foxtrot sector becomes a real issue for both teams this year.  Do the generals attack it and use up an attack order on a territory that’s not worth any points just so that they can get a tactical edge, or do they ignore it and end up making things more challenging for themselves in the long run?

A new map has been uploaded to the Day of Days section of this website and you’ll notice the point values in the lower corner of each of the zones.  Red is for the US while blue is for the Germans.  Bear in mind, that the lines on the map still have no immediate effect on players during the day.  Players can move freely through both friendly and enemy-held territory.  The territories are more for the strategy “board game” portion of the event that’s specific to the role of the generals.

While the final territory objectives remain unchanged for this event, the points for them are now marked on the new map.  Bonus points are listed in Alpha, Bravo, Golf and Kilo above the US and German point breakdown.  The Germans will want to try to be holding take Alpha and Bravo at the end of the day, while the US will want to hold Golf and Kilo.  500 points are awarded per territory held at the final horn.

The objective of these tweaks is to further enhance the behind the scenes strategy that plays out during the day while players are slugging it out on the field.  Since .68 has little to do with the direction of the game once the pin is pulled, the mechanics of it are important to allow the generals to make sound decisions on how to run their team throughout the day.  As always, we welcome your feedback!