4 Player Requirement for Official Mission

[kirkh]

The rules currently require four players take part in a game for it to count as "official" for anyone. I'm just wondering if anyone knows the lineage of this rule and/or if it would be OK to give "official" mission status if a game is played with only three. I ask because many times there will be three people online any given Thursday night wanting to play VDP but because a fourth doesn't show up a game isn't played. If a three player game that's mutually agreeable to all three participants is played, why can't it count as an official mission?

As an alternative, can a game that pits two aircraft against one player and a balloon be considered official?

I'm just posing these questions because it would be nice to somehow be able to fly "official" missions with only three players.

[albpilot]

kirkh said:

The rules currently require four players take part in a game for it to count as "official" for anyone. I'm just wondering if anyone knows the lineage of this rule and/or if it would be OK to give "official" mission status if a game is played with only three. I ask because many times there will be three people online any given Thursday night wanting to play VDP but because a fourth doesn't show up a game isn't played. If a three player game that's mutually agreeable to all three participants is played, why can't it count as an official mission?

As an alternative, can a game that pits two aircraft against one player and a balloon be considered official?

I'm just posing these questions because it would be nice to somehow be able to fly "official" missions with only three players.

The 4 player rules exists so that any role you make can be witnessed by a wingman.

However, when you have only 3 players, the rules do state that a 3 player game is official if it's a balloon mission.

[kirkh]

That's good to know. At least in future when only three players are online we'll still be able to get an official game in. Time to start rolling up some balloon busting missions ahead of time!

[albpilot]

kirkh said:

That's good to know. At least in future when only three players are online we'll still be able to get an official game in. Time to start rolling up some balloon busting missions ahead of time!

Interesting question here. Are all dice rolls you make visible to all players in a Vassal game (been awhile since I've tried it).

[kirkh]

No. Each side opens a separate "room" where they do all the secret rolls. About the only public rolls are the numbers rolls and the "to hit" rolls.

[AP]

You know, I wish I would have remembered the balloon mission idea the last few times we had 3!
I think 3 would be fine as long as you do not do any secret rolls (except maybe the roll for your type of crit if you receive one). SO just do everything in the main room, and it would be fine. The secrecy element of the game would obviously be gone, at least you could get a mission.
I am always up for a good 2 vs. 1... I took John H & Michael on last Sunday and it was a blast... we ended up having 7 or 8 HO shots and everyone came away fine!!

[albpilot]

kirkh said:

No. Each side opens a separate "room" where they do all the secret rolls. About the only public rolls are the numbers rolls and the "to hit" rolls.

But the rolls you make on your side are witnessed by the others on your side that are in the room?

[kirkh]

Yes. Each person on a given side has that separate room open in addition to the main room where the game is. All the gun jam rolls, damage rolls, crits, etc. are rolled there. As far as whether a wingman is necessarily looking at your rolls when you do them, that's another story.

[Stephen]

I think the rule was also to increase the danger factor a bit and put pilots under the gun, so to speak.

[noski]

I don't remember ever seeing a rule that a 3 person game is OK if a balloon is involved. Got a page number for that rule? The reason for 4 man games is so that 1-3 people can't sit allnight and play game after game to run up missions and or kills thus giving them super pilots to use against those of us who use the 4 man rule at the Spring Con for example.

[Stephen]

The 3-man balloon thing came from MC.

[bergovoy]

The 3 man balloon thing was authorized by Mike in the past, but usually only when waiting for a 4th and on Rare occasions only. There have only been a few occasions when I have been involved in one, but there have been a few.

[noski]

So it is not an absolute rule ,more like a fill-in? 'Cause it is rife for abuse if it is a 'rule'.IMHO

[kirkh]

I don't think it's rife for abuse when it comes to VDP. Nobody can run up their mission totals playing VDP. In fact, there needs to be some kind of leeway in order to keep people playing VDP. Lately it seems three out of every four weeks we don't get four and end up with three people stting around waiting for a 4th most of the evening. I can understand if it were three people playing quick face to face games and getting in a dozen games in an evening, but it's a vastly diffferent world with VDP. Getting in two games in an evening is a good evening. Most nights see only one. Allowing three players to get a mission credit would seem to me to be ample payback for people who spend three hours of a Thursday night getting in a game.

[albpilot]

noski said:

So it is not an absolute rule ,more like a fill-in? 'Cause it is rife for abuse if it is a 'rule'.IMHO

I've only ever played in one, at last months Indy game.