'Storming Gold' [Introductory Scenario #1] - 6 June 1944. [The Greatest Day [MMP, 2015]

'Storming Gold' (6 June 1944) - Introductory Scenario #1 from The Greatest Day [MMP, 2015]
Game and Series Designer: Adam Starkweather
For other TGD/GTS videos see:
/ gamesfromthefront
/ hpdforester

[@jeffwesevich1239]

Thanks Nathan -- nice run-through! This is a very impressive game. The other thing that I appreciate is that you're showing the board game, instead of Vassal -- nice touch.

[@myfilm18]

I cannot resist asking you this question. I know you rate The Greatest Day very highly - it was one of your top ten favorite games. When do you think you will have time to play and review the second game in this series (Utah)?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

I decided not to pick up Utah; I still have a heap of scenarios in Mercury, Race for Bastogne, plus the full campaign of TGD that I haven't played yet [not to mention Where Eagles Dare is still in shrink!], and I figured I should play those before diving into Utah.

[@carolward581]

First Nathan, thank you for the time and effort you and others put into these videos and walkthroughs. The Greatest Day can be overwhelming, not so much in its complexity but because its rules are so different from most other wargames. By reading and watching others I have found many things I have been doing incorrectly, as well as hints on how to do better.
One thing though. At the 6.10 point you mention that the German phone lines have been cut by the initial shore bombardment. You must have been using the original rulebook that came with the game. In the revised Exclusive Rules it states (p42) that these can only be cut "starting with the 0900 turn of June 6th". I found that prior to this rule change the Germans never got any benefit from the phone lines on any of the beaches: the odds are that at least ship will roll a 10 on each beach. So I see it as a good thing, though I do wonder that playtesting did not make the same discovery.
BTW, you had a very good result. Having played this scenario a few times, I have never cleared all the gaps, obstacles and nests on the first Naval, though I often spend every CP I have. Even when playing solo, my opponent has me psyched.

[@carolward581]

PS This is not really Carol, it is Terry. My wife is very strange and will not spend her life playing with cardboard counters.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Thanks Terry, yes this was my first play and it was very rough, for the first few scenarios I get many rules wrong, particularly around stacking.

[@mongoosethe]

Thanks a lot for this video. Will check the rest of the series. I did not realise that there were so many intro scenarios in this game and that makes it a lot more interesting to me as I do not yet have the space for the campaign game.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Yeah the intermediate scenarios are also relatively manageable. Check out the other videos on those.

[@idjester]

question for you... I have watching this series with alot of interest... I so want to get into this series of games but man oh man that is alot of counters in each hex... what would you say is the difficulty of this game. I am not new to wargaming and can handle games like Normandy 44 by GMT, Nations as War, and Paths of Glory ect.. but I mostly play tactical level wargames like Old School Tactical, LNL tactical, Panzer, and just started playing Standard Combat series... what would you say to someone like me about getting into something like this monster.... would it be a waste? thanks in advance...

[@WiseGuyHistory]

I think the thing I like most about the GTS series is the diversity of gaming experiences. Within a single title, like The Greatest Day, there are plenty of very diverse scenarios, ranging from naval invasions, airborne landings, meeting engagements, rugged defences, and daring mobile manoeuvres. I love the idea that I can learn one system [GTS], and then apply it to a diverse range of situations [D-Day, Market Garden, upcoming Bulge, etc].

[@WiseGuyHistory]

In terms of difficulty, it is a complex game, but I've found it pretty easy to learn by going through all the learning scenarios. There are complex games that are difficult to grasp and learn, and there are complex games that are easy to grasp and learn. I'd personally put this in the later category of being easy to grasp and learn. Having said that, if you tried to jump straight into a campaign, it'd be very difficult.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

If you can do Old School Tactical, LNL, and Panzer, I'd say you could easily do GTS.

[@idjester]

@@WiseGuyHistory thanks... good info..

[@idjester]

@@WiseGuyHistory as I mentioned I really like tactical games... so how would you rate this as a tactical game.. just because tactical is in the name that drew me towards it but is it really a tactical game, are their elements of tactical gameplay, and how can that be with so many counters... (and yeah that is really throwing me for a loop) maybe something that I am not use to in my other games.. but I do love tactical so I am still wondering... And would you say this is way more than LNL, OST, and the like or about the same with just more counters? again thanks for your input and help.. I hate to shell out 200 bucks to get the game and then decide I hate it...

[@steveoh9285]

Really nice run-through Nathan, I’m going to watch the rest of the series.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Just be aware I made some really bad rules errors on these early plays.

[@steveoh9285]

@@WiseGuyHistory Understood and no worries.

[@WARdROBEPlaysWWII]

Thanks

[@Abraxis2012]

Not that big a deal but I can't figure out why Wn 38 isn't in line of sight, this was the same in another video I watched. Seems to me a line can be drawn from 81 004 which runs along the town hexside. What am I missing?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

I can't recall exactly, but if you load up the vassal module for this scenario and draw a LOS, it'll highlight exactly where it's cut [t's a cool feature of the module].

[@Abraxis2012]

@@WiseGuyHistory It highlights the town's hex in red but my understanding was that since the LOS is running down the hexside and the otherside hex is a village then it ought to be fine?