Tally-Ho Corner’s first play-by-comment Combat Mission game is approaching its halfway point, and no-one – not even the scenario designer – can tell you which side has the upper hand. East of the canal, the Comment Commanders have fought their way to a north-south railway line, KOing a jeep, de-snipering a windmill, spotting a shy AT gun, and eliminating several British teams on the way. West of the canal, German losses have been higher – largely due to a halftrack ambush in turn 7 – and progress less pronounced, but, bolstered by reinforcements, the players are now pushing forward determinedly.

Keen birdwatcher Bulau has a knack for spotting things that would rather remain unspotted. Five seconds before sprinting grenadiers stiffen into statues and flying lead pauses in mid-air, the sergeant by the railway bridge binoculars a British AT gun artfully – but not artfully enough – wreathed in foliage between the monastery and cafe. The 6-pounder’s position and barrel alignment give it a guilty air. If it isn’t the piece that plugged the halftrack in turn 7, I’ll eat my GM’s homburg.

I love Combat Mission, but that doesn’t mean I’m blind to its faults. Trying to turn the Comment Commanders’ intricate infantry instructions into in-game orders can sometimes feel like trying to paint miniatures with a tar brush. The game’s hidden movement grid is half the problem. In second-gen CM you can only place waypoints in the centre of fairly large grid squares. This makes fine control of squads almost impossible. Factor in absent infantry spacing and formation controls, and a TacAI hopeless at social distancing, and all too often unlikely/unnecessary casualties are the result.