Wargames, history games, political games. Dives into how to play, interviews with designers and publishers, and conversations about the ongoing history of historical game design.
Hi Grant, thanks a lot for this „open the box“ video. I am sorry that some Canadian gamers really needed a lot of patience until the game arrived. I didn’t see in the video the customized dice? Were they not included in your shipment? Because some were asking: the game is available in Canada and the US at several retailers. The wooden cubes are „Activation Cubes“ and placed in the column of the corresponding formation that are activated (which can be activated up to three times in a turn with increasingly lower performance).
Thanks Grant for this great unboxing. I was on the fence when this was crowdfunding and ended up passing on it in the end and have been kind of kicking myself ever since. It really does look very nice. I will keep it in the back of my mind though. 😅
Grant - top video thanks. I'm just setting up SM one day late for the anniversary and it's my first game in the series. Your video has really helped me.
"The guy could sell water to fish" this line totally cracked me up and I'm glad there wasn't anything in my mouth at the time. I really enjoyed the opportunity to come on the show and chat. Keep up the great work. Sent you an email regarding Night Drop 2, and Prairie Aflame.
It would be helpful if you could contact the designer before the presentation, to identify the components and briefly why they exist. Thus you could explain the blocks or the other things that are somewhat nonstandard. A little something on the publisher would be nice. Also, identify what the game retails for and where it can be purchased.
Thanks for the feedback. Most of what you're asking for is more what I'd do in an overview or review of the game. For me, unboxings are exactly that. Open it up and see what's inside. But more info on the publisher is a good idea, particularly when it's a new or smaller company. As for the price, I imagine that varies depending on where you live. RU-vid is international.
@@PushingCardboardThe price would be at the publisher. What varies is the postage/duty. If there is a question about components, the publisher would be happy to explain it, This answers some of the questions about the product and clarifies if the reader would be interested in buying it. Most of these types of games are expensive. They are buying more than paper quality.
@@dennisspors5264 As I mentioned above, these are more the types of things I put in Overview or Review videos. I have no idea how you expect me to contact the publisher with questions about components when I haven't seen the components until I open the box. Which I'm doing live on camera. Price I might be able to find ahead of time.
Thanks for the unboxing. I'm now thinking that you might have been able to guess the nationalities that went with the different colors if you read a few vehicle names on the vehicle counters?
I may play on VASSAL as well. But I never play on VASSAL unless I (or my opponent) own the game, so I still need to spring for it. Glad I did, it's a good looking game.
@@PushingCardboard same for me! I never play a game that I don't own (or one the other players). Of course, I always prefer to have the physical game in front of me but it's not always possible.
Have both the Deluxe and the original West End Games version. Not played the new one but the original is a great solo game - having to make decisions based on limited(often poor) information really adds the drama.
A lot of solo-game designers reference the original when talking about games that influenced them. Butterfield is the first master of solitaire game design.
Thanks for another great video Grant! This game is fantastic...I know you're not a solo player but I highly recommend this one. Would rate it as my #2 Solo game. 🙂
Yes, I mostly do newer games. But every once in a while I slip in a "new to me" game. Glad to hear you had fun. I'm not sure it will be my cup of tea long term but I wanted to see how it worked. A used copy seemed like a reasonable price to find out.
Interesting on his use of pointillism. It brought back memories of the television show Combat!. That show's opening had some kind of pointillism or some checkerboard design in the visions of the explosions, helmets, etc. Thanks for the review.
A huge box full of air (95% guaranteed!!!). Thanks again, MMP! Seriously, all those counters can be found in the Core Modules, why would we want more? And those X pages full of overlays? *groans* So, the proper content is: 17 scenarios, four boards and 7-8 replacement pages (which are of course full of errata already). I will be looking for new BFP, LFT or Advancing Fire products instead of wasting a huge amount of money on this. Unfuckingbelievable
I don't think there are any solo-specific rules. Like many wargames, I'm guessing the publisher realizes that a certain percentage of users will want to play solo, even if it means playing both sides without any special rules or solo "bot". That's definitely how I do it, I play many 2 player games solo while I'm learning them. That said, while I did play this game solo to learn it, it's not a great solo experience in that there is a lot of hidden info. If you want a more detailed look at how the game works, I also did an overview video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_KsxoGMait0.html
Largest and most expensive wargame I’ve ever bought; but YIKES!, no designer notes? Maybe designer notes are only for 1st time designers. Seasoned designers with extensive catalogues can’t be bothered. What about unique aspects of the Utah Beach OOB and how it’s represented in the game? Nothing to say I guess.
Yes, flag art can be an annoyance. It bothers me to see the 50-star US flag in a WWII game (much less common of a problem) too. I like the unit cards in Assault, Panzer, and OST. I have the neoprene mats for the OST volumes and am considering cutting the maps up with a utility knife so as to just just the panels that I need for each scenario. Haven't had the courage yet to do it, though.
Ah, very cool flag history there, I just learned something new today, thanks!👍 I love the unit cards for OST. The latest release for Mark's old Lock n Load Tactical system (Bitter Harvest) has begun using unit cards. I'm not for sure, but possibly the new Assault Games series may also be using unit cards. Hopefully soon we'll see games that keep all the data on cards, and you'll just see artwork on the counters. As far as the big boards, personally I love them. They do require some space though, that's for sure.
Glad you enjoyed it! The cards are funny. Way, way back, when ASL first came out with Deluxe ASL and the big big hexes, they introduced a similar thing, cards for every AFV with all the stats right there. They never caught on and were eventually scrapped but I loved them at the time.
Nope, good eye. These are the a/b style maps that are like a regular map sliced in half and set together on the long ends. So they are more of a block shape than a long shape like regular maps. And to make them match up all the ways they need to, there is always an a and a b version, with the hex grid different on each side.
Vuca rocks. I played their new Traces of Hubris at CSW and it was excellent. One of the Vuca guys was at the convention and came over to give us some pointers (unfortunately our side was losing quite badly 😅). They are a great company and deserve all the praise they get.
Thanks for all this focus on my 1812 game! As Patrick said the series will expand and work is underway on volumes on 1813 in Germany, a 1812 in Spain and a 1814 in France game. Assuming the series becomes a hit further volumes will be designed 😊
A viewer on BGG noted that there error I mention via scrolling text at 27:10 was not an error at all. So I played it correctly in the playthrough, but then thought I'd done it wrong when I was editing the footage. So ignore that scrolling note.
Thanks for an unboxing Grant, I completely second - I much prefer when sequence of play is up front, with all the terms explained further down (ideally where they merge with SoP). I've recently struggled with Stellar Horizons - there the SoP didn't start until page 12...
Ha! In OST it sort of starts on page 13. Very frustrating. I don't need to read 12 pages of "what is hill terrain" and "what is a squad" before I get to how it works.
@@PushingCardboard yeah, this are really the terms I'd rather keep at the back not to the front of the rulebook, as my brain gets overloaded with all the different terms before I need to learn them.
I hear you. They don't ship to Canada, only their KS fulfillment company does. Their website points you to mindsports.ca which is a site that hasn't worked for years. However, these guys from Quebec have found things for me that I couldn't find elsewhere in Canada: levalet.com. And in Calgary, sentrybox.com has carried their stuff. And of course, you can get Flying Pig stuff through Noble Knight games using my link. Shipping is higher and there will be a customs fee of about 11%, but it's often the only way to get something I've been trying to find. Good luck.
@@PushingCardboard I stop by levalet whenever visiting Montreal but haven't seen Sentry box before, I'll check them out. Question about Noble Knight, have you shipped with them? Do you know who they ship with as I try to avoid shipping from couriers as often they like the extra charges like clearance fees. I don't mind if only paying shipping and HST as I expect that, I visited NK last year on a road trip and was hoping to do it again but not in cards this year. Thanks for the information. Looking forward to getting this and expansion so I can play the Canucks
@@thomassamson1432 I can't recall who they use for shipping, but there are no clearance fees, only customs/duty which is generally 11%. I've had stuff shipped from other places where the shipper used UPS and UPS charged a $75 clearance fee. Outrageous. On the other hand, GMT ships using UPS, but they do the smart thing where the customs fee is paid upfront and rolled into the shipping price. So UPS can ship at a decent price if the shipper knows what they are doing. If things are shipped via USPS, you'll definitely get hit with the customs fee as well. It's very rare I get something from the US where the customs fee hasn't been added, but that's very different than clearance fees which are a total scam.
Did you get it figured out? Turns out there is an option. The orders go on one side of the blocks and the flag/insignia goes on the other. The designer also notes that you don't really have to put the flag/insignia stickers on if you don't want to. The plain coloured blocks will be just as good. If your set is like mine, you'll end up with a couple spare blocks left over.
@@e-4airman124 That's a good idea. But too late for me now as they are all done. My only tip would be to start with the orders stickers rather than the flag stickers. See how that goes. It's not crucial to get them centered. Then you'll be ready to play as you don't need the flag stickers on the backs. If you do put the flags on the back, you'll want them to look as uniform as possible so as to not give any clues to opponents who memorize such things.
Thanks for the review. I hate to reject a game because of components. But, the snow effect on the counters is very distracting t me. The screens seem superfluous at best. I'm dying for a good operational Napoleonic game, but having gotten a good loo at this, I think the search continues. Again, thank you.
Given Vuca's reputation for such terrific components, I think this is the first time I've seen a game of theirs rejected for same. But great components don't help if you don't like the design, no doubt about that. Have you tried the games from Shakos that I mentioned? They use screens as well, but in a different way. I discuss the 1807 one in one of my podcast episodes. No video, but it might be of interest. pushingcardboard.com/podcast-episodes/166-episode-26-kevin-bertram-and-napoleon-1807
Thanks for the overview, really like the new (for you) type of video, very informative. Unfortunately, due to the amount of hidden info / lack of solo suitability I gave this one a pass...
Shiloh coming on pre-order next month. Some of these games could use a victory point play aid to track VPs for all the various hexes. Playing Perryville currently and there is a lot of locales to keep track of for VPs or reinforcement triggers.
