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I get the feeling there must have been a bit of head scratching over this one in terms of making it feel right without overcomplicating it or departing too far from the core system. The designers have since moved on to produce a sci fi wargame using this system, and I would love to know if they are considering tweaking this, or leaving it alone after Battle of Britain. I certainly had fun with it, but 'Down In Flames' pushes more of my buttons :)

Hi Patrick! Hope this finds you well, and thanks very much. Glad the videos were of use/interest. If it's of any help, I do find Normandy the most playable of the group. Stalingrad adds a lot but also feels a little unwieldy. North Africa is also fun, but you only get an Italian tank as the focus is Long Range Desert Group vs the Italians. If you want US and German tanks which integrate right into Normandy, these are provided by the 'Reinforcements' box, which also has a solo mode. Hope you read this before you pull the financial trigger! 🙂 All Best, Andrew

Courage, mon brave! :) These were done in response to a request I got to compare the two systems with a full playthrough. With the air mission now done, I'll be moving on to other things :)

Thanks very much, Chris. Glad you enjoyed the videos and found the comparisons useful. I think the continuous mandatory movement does give this game a more dynamic feel. With Normandy, I think the inevitable slugging matches happen when enemy units occupy the same objective hexes. Mind you, that might also be a product of my play style. Battle of Britain does feel more personal, mainly because in my mind's eye I see individual pilots rather than squads of soldiers. If you want alternatives which I personally find more immersive, I really recommend 'Up Front' for ground combat, and 'Down In Flames' for aerial combat. Both are more expensive than 'Undaunted', but personally I feel they are worth it. Hope that helps!

I will check out both Andrew. Thanks so much for all your efforts 👍

Me too. This game appeals to me more than 'Warfighter', but for balance between engagement and realism 'Up Front' is still well ahead.

@@andrewchoong2895 UpFront really seems elegant

Thanks so much! As always, very glad you liked these. I'll certainly enjoy taking to the skies to see what the 'Undaunted' series does with aerial combat :)

Yes, you're absolutely right! Thanks very much for catching that one. I fear O forgot that rule throughout the gameplay, so I'll put a little warning in the descriptions. Much appreciate the save, there :)

@andrewchoong2895 at least it was consistent for both sides

@@dustov yes, put it down to me suffering from the proverbial "case of the slows" in more ways than one :)

Yes, my classic line is often "but it seemed a good idea at the time..." 😅

Having not played either but watched Andrew’s videos of them, I’d been more keen to try Up Front.

Hi Guys! I do enjoy this game, but I would say for playability and realism 'Up Front' wins by quite a way. It's well worth picking up an affordable copy from Wargame Vault, and they often do bundles with all the expansions. 'Up Front' has a much thicker rulebook (which makes it hard for a forgetful soul like me 😆) but it's well designed and really rewards the effort.

I think if I had been a little more deliberate with the Germans they could have tried weakening the US lines with mortar and MG fire, but the problem is the US forces could have been building up at the same rate, with the same mortar and MG assets. Agreed, in hindsight it would have been worth getting rid of the German fog of war cards. Their need to advance to win does hurt them in this scenario.

My pleasure as always, Sir 😃

And to you too, Sir! Either that, or it was Monty demanding to be put in charge. I couldn't quite hear him because the radio was [crackle crackle crackle] 😅

Ah, you guys know me so well 😂😂😂It's a miracle anything happens lol. Glad you've enjoyed this one, and indeed the rest of it now that it's all uploaded.

I have the Reinforcements box but have not tried the Solo system. I'd love to hear what you make of it :)

Hi Brian! Arguably part of the problem was I left him behind lol 🤣

Thanks very much, that's really kind of you 🙂. I worked more recently with a lovely team called Squeaky Pedal Productions, they were making a series called 'Sunken Warships - Secrets From The Deep' which you might find interesting. What are you building at the moment? I'd love to get back into Airfix, but first I need to finish the Revell HMCS Snowberry model that's been following me around for [ahem ahem] years!

@@andrewchoong2895 Oh great i'll keep an eye out for that. Did a term or two of maritime archaeology back in the day at university and recently watched the Shackleton doc on Nat Geo which was great. Have built a range of things this year mostly ww2 fighters and bombers - currently a mosquito. Keeps me out of trouble vaguely..... Will keep an eye on the channel!

@@georgebelcher4929 Oh, brilliant, I did maritime archaeology at one point too! I've seen the Shackleton documentary and found it fascinating. Sounds like a good range of aircraft. If I ever finish the corvette I might go a bit off piste and try a rigid airship. Thanks very much, and all best 🙂

Thanks for calling that one out, and I see where I was wrong with the rules there. I'll post an update in the description and address it in my next video.

Sorry not to be of any help there, but hope you get some affirmative replies :)

Hi Doug, Thanks! Glad you liked this one, and I hope you enjoyed part 2 as well. Trust you're having a lovely day as well :) All Best, Andrew & Oscar

That's really very kind of you, Sir! Thanks very much!! And likewise you for your very watchable treatments of WWI :)

@@andrewchoong2895 Ahh, thanks!

Judging from the photo of the Essex in this video I don't doubt that you are correct. She's definitely a good looking ship.

The Essex class are actually my second favourite these days. They are just behind Akagi because I have a thing for slightly odd looking carriers as well as beautiful ones. In third place right now is HMS Furious. But the Essex and her sisters, oh yes, a very handsome profile matched to the closest any carriers come to the beauty of operational perfection. The Midways were undoubtedly better, but yeah....monsters with less grace :)

Totally take your point there, Brian, and to be fair I do have a couple of magazine games that are excellent, although I haven't got 'Goeben 1914'. I will have to rectify that as I've heard really great things about it. As for the zeppelins, I really love Phil Eklund's 'Luftschiff'. Not a pretty looking game, but possibly one of the best airship sims out there. Like you I also have the misfortune to own 'Zeppelin Raiders', and the only thing that saves it for me is the artwork. Really unengaging and overly simplistic game on top of all the rules issues you rightly mentioned...

@andrewchoong2895 yup and the Africa/Mediterranean map ,, nine navies war is next on my list btw ,,,, have a nice day,

@@BrianMarcus-nz7cs you too! 'Nine Navies War' is another interesting one. Good game overall, although I had a few minor 'niggles' with it. I'd love to know what you think of it 🙂

My pleasure, really glad you enjoyed it! :)

Now that is an interesting thought. With 1942-era aircrews operating from her deck I think she would have been a game changer, even if she'd turned up as late as Santa Cruz, and done nothing more than provide the pilots with a tough flight deck to keep operating from. That leads to another curious thought - what would an early 1943 duel between a depleted Junyo and Taiho and a depleted Enterprise and understaffed Robin/Victorious have looked like? I'll have to find a game system that lets me try that out.....

Probably not for lack of trying.

He's not moved onto carriers yet, but I did have to stop him licking one of Doolittle's B-25s from 'Enemy Coast Ahead' a few years back 🤣

@@andrewchoong2895 😀

Hi Rob! Glad you liked them, and hopefully they still made sense in reverse order 🤣 Oscar sends his best wishes :)

I enjoy how he goes into the history of the ships

Thanks so much, Guys! I'm really pleased you like this series so much and I look forward to getting the episodes together. I haven't quite made up my mind yet for the next one yet, but expect more US Navy/Imperial Japanese Navy shenanigans in the near future 😊

Yes indeed. I say this with tongue firmly in cheek, but with so much at stake you do need to make sure your allies behave themselves 🤣

I know what you mean. I find 'Up Front' rather more immersive and less distracting in terms of hand-management. This one is fun, but I'll go to 'Up Front' for realism and slightly more plausible storytelling :)

Believe I saw your name on no enemies here. So if you're good enough for Dan's channel I should sub.

👍👍 great video

That's really kind of you, thanks very much! Glad you enjoyed the videos :)

There seems to be an awful lot of good stuff there that hasn't made it over here. I occasionally do Google image searches with terms like 'Japanese Pacific Card [or Board] game' to see what turns up.

Thanks very much! It was a bit of a hard one, this, and I do very much want to like it for the good that is in there. Perhaps some remedial tweaks will eliminate the problems, and we could be left with something quite good. Glad you liked Bare Bones Wargaming too :)

Thanks very much, and will do :)

I know what you mean there, and to be honest I will definitely play this one again, even if I end up modifying the rules a bit. I never played that version of Gettysburg, but one of my treasured possessions is the 1990s 'They Met At Gettysburg'. Not the best sim of that battle either, but a source of many happy memories for me :)

Yes, it's a shame. I think next chance I get I will try tinkering with it some more. I feel there's a very good and challenging game in there wanting to get out. I found myself feeling quite sorry for the Japanese, and again I find myself wondering how they would have fared if they had won the toss. Mind you, I still feel the US Navy's most dangerous enemy is the clock. The Japanese cannot win conventionally, but the time limit makes it hard for them to lose.

It seems quite 'all nor nothing'. Japanese forces are generally weaker than US, but I do wonder how things would have gone if they had won the tactical advantage/initiative roll....

Yes, that is a good way of looking at it, although after my experience the next time I'm tempted to employ overkill all the way. It seems the only way to be relatively sure of clearing our the tough nut islands.

Thanks very much for the heads-up about that one. I follow that Channel but didn't know he has covered this game too. I shall pop over and have a look.

Indeed not. This theatre always does it for me, and this one is interesting because most games I have either fixate on 1942, or cover the entire war or very specific small campaigns. Looking forward to playing it :)