Top 10 Wargames | 2023 | Boardgames | The Players' Aid 

Start considering yourself the Games Academy. Call these the Annual Wargaming Awards. Come up with a snazzy award trophy. Wear tuxedo T-shirts. No one will mind the event being held in March.

These games can be extremely complex and time consuming to learn and play. Your dedication is appreciated. Thanks for these reviews.

Thanks Grant and Alexander. I watch 95% of your vids, but rarely comment. Your content is excellent.

Thanks guys! I would love to see a photo of the map or game play dropped into each game's discussion. I know it is a bit of editing but it would really add interest for several of these games. Also, I hope you hear Shelby Foote's voice through all 3,000 pages of his ACW books!

Love the list format. Would love it even more if you had more scenes of the game layout and in progress clips. That gives me a better idea if I want to try the game or not. Thanks for the excellent content!

Is it sad that I love your lists. You guys are my favourite RU-vidrs

My husband was a P500 purchaser of Tanto Monta. He might even talk me into playing it with him, since with my MA in Spanish literature, I share his interest in Spanish history (and especially the later years of the Reconquista). Warfighter showed up at the March auction at Games Plus in Mount Prospect, IL, and sold well (as did several of the expansions for it).

The saving grace of DVG's rule books is there are available as a searchable .PDF. I always have the rule book open on my computer or laptop when I play. Amazing games with a very helpful community make slogging through the rule books worthwhile.

I'm only 3 min into your vid. I couldn't care if this top 10 of 2023 came in another month or so. Well done the both of you. 👍

My husband bid on several titles from the original versions of those Great Campaigns of the American Civil War series at that Games Plus auction in March, and won a few of them. I slightly recall reading the articles about the original versions (in old issues of the Avalon Hill "General", I think?).

Spinning off from the issue of reprints of older games, my husband has been doing some "Swedish death cleaning" of his old Strategy & Tactics magazine games over the past several months, so that our son won't have to figure out what to do with them when we're gone. Hubby picks out approx. 15 S&Ts each month, and I list them on eBay. He seems to have run out of S&Ts with unpunched counters, so he's started in on the ones with punched counters (and doing counter inventories for each one himself, a tedious task I'm thankful I don't have to do).

Storm Over Jerusalem was made by the owner of my LGS. Really nice guy who’s helped me get into CDG’s and war games.

You guys are great !

Great video. You guys do excellent work, and lots of it. You put an enormous amount of time, effort, curiosity, intelligence and humor into your contributions to the hobby. There is no need apologize or for self recrimination about when you post lists; just have fun. That you can do this and have families and employment is a testament to your good character and joie de vivre.

I’m just glad you put out a list. Highly regarded when making a purchase. Great vid. Thanks for all the content you provided for 2023. And thank you for your continued effort for our future. Brilliant.

I think "Storm over Stalingrad" is a must have wargamer purchase for any complete collection. Its an oldy but a goody.

I think these lists SHOULD be done later in the year. People complain the reviewers don't spend enough time with a game then they want the yearly list done in December 🙄. You can't win.

A wonderful video.

There were a lot of 'Top' lists in Dec/Jan so this makes you stand out and is refreshing to hear for spring! I might do a top 10 from the last decade so you are ahead of me!

Interesting selection!

Shelby Foote's narrative trilogy on the American Civil War is a great resource which will keep you busy reading for a LONG time. (My husband's re-reading it, and I would like to start re-reading it once he finishes Volume 1, because I only got halfway through Volume 2 on the first attempt.) Although it's long, it's very readable, and a fairly balanced treatment of its subject. (Bruce Catton wrote both single-volume and 3-volume histories of the entire war back in the 1960s, as well as a trilogy on the Army of the Potomac, but he admitted to being pro-Union in his treatment of those subjects.)

Keep being you - both of you - it's fine - all is good

You guys CAN'T be better, because you're AWESOME! Just my .02 cents! 🍻 2:00 Grant's right too, it's "we", meaning both of you. Your friendship comes shining through in all your videos, and friendship is so incredibly special! A friend is one of the best things you can be, and one of the greatest things you can have. Quoted for truth!

Great content and very fun and informative to watch as usual. I like your lists! I think you should play Plantagenet and Inferno, beautiful games :) there are so many games (I know) but those are worth the time. Keep it up! edit: Anyway, did you manage to play A Glorious Chance from Legion? (too many games I know xD great game btw )

Thanks for the list, guys! 2040 was actually one I really enjoyed, but I hope that they do a second edition that cleans up and pretties up the rough edges the game has.

We care and we have strategical patience for Aid that coming as ready.

Well worth the wait gents. Quality over timeliness. You just cost me a hockey sock full of Canadian Dollars of course... :)

Finally! Long awaited….😊🍾

Thanks for the excellent video. I’m looking for war games like these, but often find them disappointing (too complicated or boring). Call me dumb but I still love Axis & Allies Global (Europe + Pacific). Regards.

If you want proof not to listen to a handful of people complaining read this review of North Africa '41 on gmt's website. "Good scale. Good OOB. Good unit scale. Good game system. Interesting game features. Inaccurate map. HINT: Quatara Depression is NOT a marsh; it's a sand sea per historical photos. Punched, but never played it; back on the shelf." Yep, he decided the game was unplayable because a terrain feature that is difficult to pass was mistakenly put as another terrain feature that is equally difficult to pass.

Looking forward to the Solo version of this Top 10!!

Guys... maybe consider doing top 5's or top 10's for half the year. You could probably get three videos out of that (first half, second half, recap of the year). Love your content, but for me, its hard getting through some vids that are over 30 min. Breaking it up, might appeal to a lot of people and maybe it might reduce the grumbles for being late on the annual top 10. Grant, if I see you at GenCon this year, I'll be sure to say hi. I'm making a return after over 30 years. Looking forward to going back, after so long.

Excellent 2023 review, I will certainly check some of these games out particularly North Africa 41 and Downfall. Maybe they are bit advanced for my experience right now, maybe Ardennes II is better as I am an experienced board gamer but inexperienced war gamer! Maybe is Traces of War is a good start?

Love all your vids, one question to you both, you play heaps of games/read loads of rules, have you both ever thought of writing designing wargames ? , keep up the good work

10:13 there’s a new rule book for Warfighter that is a massive improvement.

You guys are the best amateurs 😊

Thanks guys, well done. An ask: could you give your opinion on how balanced the odds are on either side could win the game?

I think I probably say this every year - but I am more than happy for you to wait until this point when you have actually had the chance to play as many 2023 games as possible to have a proper opinion on them. It shows more diligence and less going for clickbate. Put it this way. You don't see them doing the Oscars in December, and for good reason. Inferno and Plantagenet both coming out in 2023 was alot. But you should try and get around to both.

You both have, like a billion games. As someone who is starting to dip their toes into wargaming, it would be cool to get a list of your current favorite games.

I try not to get too terribly upset about these lists, but you said "Warfighter" and I was about to blow a gasket thinking you were going to praise Warfighter Fantasy :D. I was happy to be wrong :).

RC is such a bad ass game and holds up still and yes, nostalgic glory!! Bitterwoods my second fav

I would enjoy this if there were some examples of the maps and counters.

I would love to see Martin Luther and Queen Elizabeth I in Ivan Caceres artstyle 😅 It's a shame GMT has recently reprinted both HIS and VQ

Fighters of the pacific is fantastic! 🏆

YESSSS8 Fighters of the Pacific is MARVELOUS!

If the goal is best games played as published in the calendar year, reviewers should indeed take some to to consider games published late in the year. Another alternative would be “best games new to us” as played in the calendar year….. regardless of their publication date. Enjoy your lists - when you feel it’s the right time to publish….

Have you guys ever tried the "15 Minute Cold War" card game?

Now we have New Years Eve 2024 😉

I like the flying cheese burgers

Yes, the Russian Campaign game is great. I still have mine from the 70's.

I have one DVG game. By stealth and Sea. One is enough.

Great list! Though, no Vijayanagara? Not complex enouth?

How does NA ‘41 compare with “The Dark Sands”? I have TDS and I’m wondering if I need NA ‘41.

Storm Over Jerusalem, to my mind, is the doable version of the mini-monster Siege of Jerusalem. Practically every feature of Storm is rooted in the chrome of Siege. Both good. Both satisfy.

Downfall = SPI's Battle for Germany. Same paradigm.

Just go for the start of the Roman New year.......March 1st

The Academy Awards are in March 🤷‍♂

I'll stick with Memoir '44. 😊😂

DVG leader rulebooks are disasters. I have Zero Leader…unplayable.

Downfall is my game of the year, but to be fair I don't play as many games as you guys :).

always better late than never. plus games come out so late often

The Oscars were a week ago. I think you guys are right on schedule releasing this now!

Are the games in your list sent to you for free by the publishers? Or do you pay for all of them yourselves?

You guys are so cute when you talk, are you guys a couple or just _really_ good friends? Anyway, great channel!

I care.

Land & Freedom not allowing the historical faction to win ruined the game for me.

it is not like this is your full time job. You have other jobs and family first!

Alex-ahhnder.

Ignore the cry babies. You get to it when you get to it. Life calls.

I have an opinion on this video.

Nooooooo. Not 2040! 😮😊

Sign of a down year: VUCA games makes the list.