Olympia is unique in that it tries to create a game environment which
can encompass both "wargamers" and "roleplayers". It is not, I would
agree, totally successful in that. But I think the failure of some
roleplayers to enjoy Olympia is partly their own fault.
It seems that some of the players in Olympia have the attitude "I
don't want to wargame, so I should be able to ignore that aspect of
the game." You can't do that. There are powerful forces in Olympia,
and you ignore them to your own peril. That should be clear to any
player from the rules and reading the Times. Olympia is unique in
that it mixes strategy-level and tactical-level play, and you must be
aware of that. To me, that's a richer environment for roleplaying.
Maybe the dissatisfaction comes from the inequity of the situation.
The wargamers can, to a real degree, ignore the roleplayers, but not
vice versa. Well, that's just like real-life, and I'm not sure what
can or should be done about that.
-- Scott T.