THE DESIRABILITY OF CONCURRENT, MIRRORED PLAY

     Let me start off by giving you my definition of concurrent, mirrored play in the
     context of ANY standalone scenario play mode in Panzer General (PG): 

     "IN A CONCURRENT, MIRRORED PLAY ARRANGEMENT, EACH PLAYER
     TRIES HIS HAND AT PLAYING EACH ONE OF THE TWO SIDES IN TWO
     SEPARATE GAMES CONDUCTED MORE OR LESS SIMULTANEOUSLY
     UNDER AS MANY IDENTICAL CONDITIONS AND SETTINGS AS PRACTICALLY
     POSSIBLE." 

     In my opinion, concurrent, mirrored PG play is very desirable for the following
     reasons: 

     1) Ever since the beginning of competitive gaming among humans, a certain
     time-honored, gentlemanly tradition of giving one's opponent a "second" chance at
     play has developed over time, the practical manifestations of which exhibit
     considerable resilience and staying power from chess to poker to backgammon
     and so on. Clearly, this gentlemanly tradition has a lot to do with FRIENDLINESS.
     At a minimum, there is a recognition that lady fortune is a fickle ally and, hence,
     everybody should get a fair chance of being bestowed with her favors...
     Concurrent, mirrored play addresses this concern head on ! It also does this in a
     most efficient manner. 

     2) PG and many other computer wargame titles involve combat where one side is
     attacking while the other one is grimly hanging on to fewer and fewer objectives as
     the game unfolds. Although the defender may eventually prevail by hanging on to
     that last precious objective, his psychology of being pushed to the wall and
     witnessing the wholesale decimation of his units can be problematic, to say the
     least. This represents a tangible threat to FRIENDLINESS. Concurrent, mirrored
     game play seems to be what the doctor ordered here...For starters, the concurrent,
     symmetrical experiences of the two players will not allow either an attacker or a
     defender type of psychology to set in. Moreover, such experiences will put a
     "human face" on all forces on the PG battlefield, a definite plus for FRIENDLINESS.

     3) The implicit camaraderie fostered by concurrent, mirrored PG play tends to
     make players more communicative than they would otherwise be. Aside from the
     obvious boost to FRIENDLINESS, better communication invariably results in better
     player EDUCATION as the two opponents may exchange friendly opinions and
     analyses. In fact, the greatest thing that concurrent, mirrored play does is that it
     allows the players to view the two symmetrical PG games as ONE entity to be
     talked about and, possibly, studied. The symmetrical nature of things leaves very
     few things in the dark...The concurrent nature of things ensures a positive dynamic
     in that the two opponents are increasingly drawn together as the games progress
     by dealing with and discussing successive layers of common experiences... 

     4) By playing both sides of a PG conflict, players develop an all around appreciation
     of scenarios and the types of forces involved, thus enhancing their EDUCATION.
     Even well disciplined and serious PG wargamers may have a tendency to gravitate
     towards certain types of familiar or esthetically pleasing situations...Concurrent,
     mirrored play is a great way to ensure that such lopsided preferences will not be
     allowed to interfere with a player's all around PG EDUCATION. 

     5) By its very nature, concurrent, mirrored play is ideal as a "research" tool in
     instances were PG scenario balancing experimental information must be
     extracted, massaged and distilled into some appropriate body of knowledge of a
     lasting utility.... Lest I forget, concurrent, mirrored PG play is "fair" when such
     game(s) are registered for "ladder" status. Who knows, such arrangements may
     even disuade certain wargamers from....replaying their moves !