Join Cody as he takes a look at his favorite Block Wargames of all time. Cody Carlson, PhD: / @codycarlsonph.d.5591 Facebook: / thediscriminatinggamer Twitter: / codyk76 Galaxy of Games: galaxyof.games/
One of my favourite block wargame is 1812 by Columbia Games. It’s an older game was publish in 1973 or 74 but I believe it’s being reprinted by a different company now a days
Yes, I agree that 1812 was a really fun game to play. It's been about 25 years since, but I remember you never had enough forces to fully attack or defend your objectives. Decisions had to be made and bluffing was critical. Easy to learn and get started.
@@stevenflowers9289 i think that was to show the reality of the limited ressources for this war for both side. The USA was barely 40 years old with a very small force and the British were busy fighting a global war with France. North America was really just not that important at that time.
Crusader Rex 2d ed. is my favorite Block wargame. Love the ebb and flow of the game. Lots of subtle decisions required. Lovely board too. Shiloh is a lot of fun, and the area command control works better than the hex-based Gettysburg.
Napoleon at Waterloo sounds like a class side project. I just watched a multi player Napoleonic miniatures wargame with limited communication between all the players. Looked like fun.
What I love about the Fog of War (not only Block War Games) is that it feels you can dig ever so deeper with strategies in every game session and that keeps them replayable. I like *Richard III* so much. It may not be as elegant as some games on the list but that's why I still think I just have scratched the surface of it.
Fog of War brings much tension and fear to any wargame. One of the reasons I love Block wargames. Also great in other types of games as well (like Space Empires 4X).
Thanks for posting! Some very good Columbia Games selected. My favorites that you did not mention are their Borodino, and Shiloh games. Texas Glory is also quite fun. I did have fun with Combat Infantry when it came out but I think overall it was a missed opportunity. It was the most innovative versions of their system in a long time, but I think they underwhelmed on production values and support. The map is just uninspired aesthetically and is flimsy; the art work terrain created out of the box LOS issues galore. I would still play it, but not recommend buying at full price. The other big company for block games I would recommend is Vento Nuovo and their Borodino game, Bloody Monday, and Waterloo 200 game are fabulous. Their WW1 block game Germany at War 1914 is also very good. Finally I agree with another post that We are Coming Nineveh by Nuts! takes it to another level, with a built in solo system that is very challenging. And it is readily available.
Cody, thanks for the insight into the mechanics behind 'Hammer of the Scots'. Reason enough to buy that game just for that mechanic. Also enjoyed your comparative review of 'Pacific Victory' v 'Triumph & Tragedy'. Finally, loved 'Julius Caesar' & 'Napoleon 4th Ed' too, especially those maps. Thanks for the video. Do love the Commands & Colors range as well, plus their 1/72nd scale equivalents for North America etc.
@@TheDiscriminatingGameri would have added that the English come at waves as the King cannot overwinter two turns in a row. So you het hammered in those big pushes and then you rebuild quickly your Scott force. Great game indeed!
Napoleon The Waterloo Campaign is absolute gold. Wonderful game. One of my other fav block games is This War Without an Enemy (the English Civil Wars).
The Napoleon game looks interesting, I might check that out. I have the Columbia Gettysburg game, which is ok. A block game that I like a lot is GMT's No Retreat: The Russian Front.
Wow so many I have wanted to play but have not. Verdun is another WW1 I want to play. I have and played 1812, Quebec 1759, I have an earlier ver of Waterloo. Rommel I thought the card rules for supply was different. I have the 1st ver of the WW2 Front Series I really enjoyed this. Combining all the fronts for the war in Europe is a real trip. Very long and take up a lot of realestate. This is a great if you have this over the 2nd edition as this its nice for the bigger board spaces but 1st is smaller for the full game. I also am a huge fan of C&C Napoleonics & Ancients. Napoleonics has a slight edge because of my interests. I only wish Battle Cry was blocks.
@@TheDiscriminatingGamer You did say you saw Napoleon. I did want to see it but heard bad things about it. Did you see Waterloo with Rod Stieger? The Battle scenes were great.
Thanks for the review. A lot of classics on your list. Surprised that Sekigahara - 5th on BGG “War” list- is not in your rankings. It is one for the ages. PS. T&T is a personal fav - incredibly elegant. Need mature players to make it work.
Just gonna play Triumph and Tragedy for the first time next Sunday, am really excited. Played Sekigahara before, but I guess that doesnt quite fit your definition of a block wargame
Nice selection of games. I think I'd put Rommel in the Desert, Hammer of the Scots and in particular Triumph and Tragedy higher up on my list should I make one. I've enjoyed 1812 in the past as per other posters, although I wouldn't put it above Rommel, Hammer, T&T or Napoleon.
Nice list thank you. While not a block game meeting this lists criteria you must try at least one of Rachel/Bowen Simmons games -incredibly innovative game designs. Recommend her latest game Triumph at Marengo or Guns of Gettysburg - but they are hard to get copies of.
Julius Caesar was my intro to this kind of game too. Liked so much I learned how to make Vassal modules in order to have a better module to play it with. I have a few others on this list. Really like Pacific Victory. And again, now that I'm pretty darn good at making Vassal modules I'm in the process of making a better module for this one as well. For the war in Europe, I passed on the options you mentioned and instead got into Black Swan. I think it fires both Columbia's one and Europe Engulfed by GMT. EE has chrome that adds nothing of value IMHO and its map design in the Eastern Front is only so so. Black Swan nails it here. Sure, it's a little scipted in the first few turns but then again I don't care. We don't need chrome like tables to determine entry of Axis minors or crap like that. I just prefer to play a game at this level that assumes these things. So, if you want a good clean hidden block game of the European theater of WWII I highly recommend Black Swan. I answer questions on BGG and I made the most recent version of the Vassal module for it. Orange Swan is its cousin and would be the direct competitor to Pacific Victory. I will be putting out a vassal of that one too soon.
Napoleon 3rd Edition was my favorite. It had much more strategic map maneuvering. Do you feint the French invasion on the right flank, but then quickly shift the attack to the towns on the left? Or vice versa? Or maybe concentrate in the center if the British have both flanks well defended.
Love Columbia and would include their Front series (West/East/Euro) and if you haven't tried yet give VentoNuovo games a try from Italy. I think you'd like Black Swan and I enjoy Kiev and Leningrad
Have you tried Holdfast Russia (I’ve played the original edition)? I haven’t played too many block games, but it’s probably my favorite of what I have.
Didn’t want to comment until I played…got We Are Coming Nineveh finally …you should check it out…also it was designed out of a university educational effort…one of the authors is a prof at McGill University…solo variant as well
It's built just like the French Indian Wars but has a smaller board. Control of the gReat Lakes as opposed to control of the Atlantic. Easy to play. @@TheDiscriminatingGamer
The best block wargame is the pair of Barbarossa & El Alamein by Japanime Games - whenever I post pictures from it in game groups online, I get blocked. All right, I'll show myself out.
Yeah the game's master needs a master copy whith the current situation, and the player has only the Information of his situation,,,, would bring my copy over n play , have u tried the cards as well?!? , so really 4 copies of game would work, one for each army and one for the Gm ,,,🌏✍️🌿👍
Second the Avalon Hill version of having info already on the blocks. I also have a early Gamma Two (old name of Colimbia) release of Quebec 1759 with info already on the wooden blocks in gold leaf. In elongated box too.
I tend to not like block wargames for either hiding information or changing unit stats during a game. As far as hiding info, people with good memories can keep track of this, and I don't like memory games. For changing stats during a game, I thought the Hero Clix system did this much better than blocks with rotating bases that can have 3 or 4 stats on the base (for example hit points, attack, defense, morale) with 12 to 24 changes, and I like changing stats. Some of these block games I like, but not for the hidden block feature.
