The second Liberty match was fought yesterday. We swapped sides, so this time I played the British oppression while Olli tried to liberate the innocent Americans.
Laws of karma worked: my previous luck with the French entry in 1776 was repeated this time as well. However, I kept on plodding on and managed to actually do quite well. My notes show a sudden jump from 21 supply points to 28 (for victory the Brits need 30) in 1779, the middle point of the war.
However, I ran out of steam the next turn and Olli managed to push me back a bit, dropping me down to 22 supply points — I think he took one of the West Indies and Charleston. Next year was another good year for me: with a cards like that (3-3-3-2-2), you can conquer the world.
Well, almost. In the end of the year, I was left with 29 supply points. Next turn Olli pushed me back and when in the final year I was set back heavily and punished with a miserable card set (3-2-1-supply-supply), I was out of luck.
However, it was very close. One movement point more in 1781 and it would’ve been there. One movement point more in 1783 and I would’ve had a chance. And this with the earliest possible French entry!
We used the optional rule of forced prisoner exchange with a supply card. I think I used it twice, each time to rescue a captured general. That was all prisoner exchange we did — perhaps I should’ve done more, because in the end the lack of cheap loyalist troops to keep control over American cities was a real problem.
Anyway, I like the game and currently would probably play this before Hammer of the Scots. The scenario is interesting, and I would very much like to see how the Brits can do if the French don’t intervene right away.