Great video and an example of how unboxing videos should be done. Nice job! I just got both of these as well and have Downfall of Empires laid out on my table now and plan to bring them both to PrezCon next month. There do seem to be some issues with rule interpretations, perhaps due to some foggy translation, but all in all it looks like it will play quickly, smoothly and still "feel" right for a strategic wargame. And it does look awesome! Thanks for the video and best wishes!
Thanks, Hermann, I'm glad you liked the video. :) I do recall a bit of fuzziness in a couple of places when I played on Vassal, but that was earlier in development. I know the company has been releasing more instructional videos too, so hopefully that might help clear up any issues. I hope you enjoy the games!
That's some outstanding design there. And 'Empires' is right up my alley. ZB it's getting expensive, watching your new product videos! You're a heck of a salesman! This one is now on my ever-growing wishlist!
Thanks! I agree that this one looks good. I'm hoping the gameplay is as good as the game looks. :) I can understand the feeling of so many new shiny things to get for sure, although I'm not trying to sell things, more just share fun games. :)
Great video and explanation! I really like some of the original design qualities of these new games. I think the Table of Contents on the back page is brilliant. How handy, is that!
Thanks, Boom! I hadn't really considered the benefits of having a Table of Contents on the back, but now that you mention it, it should prove quite handy! Nice observation!
@@ZillaBlitzthe Kraken are definitely the coolest expansion team of the modern era. I’m from Chicago so I also know how awesome Eddie O is to have in the booth. His knowledge is a cut above every other sports commentator and he’s an A+ human being. Oh- and i dig your content 😁
I really like this idea. I'm thinking to increase interesting decisions, maybe when you decide to initiate a technology, you pull two chits and have to select one of the two.
It's a lovely looking game - but grand strategy games don't really have that grit that I like in wargames. They come across kind of as a slightly deeper Risk to me. Beautiful looking though. Nice to see US units in a game - that's a poke at how many times Commonwealth Forces are left out of wargames😉
I know what you're saying about grit, Billy. But I find most grit is just chrome that takes you out of the narrative. That said, the trick is to deliver as authentic an experience with the fewest thoughtful rules possible. I think true grit I'd best reserved for tactical level games.
I guess I feel like there are some really hefty grand strategic games like A World at War, etc. Like, I like meaty rulebooks and deep gritty games, but A World at War was so deep and meaty that I realized I'd likely never get it to the table. I backed away slowly. I'm sure it's a fine game, but I saw my limit.
I should've clarified that grand strategy games are not really my thing because I like some grit - and often grand strategy games don't provide it. I'm more of a platoon/company/regiment/battalion guy...though I do have dome divisional games (which are heading towards grand strategy) and even a couple of true grand strategy games (The U.S. Civil War and Paths of Glory - both of which I haven't delved into yet) I just don't think I get "the big picture" when trying these games, whereas I'm very comfortable working on attacking a town with some companies.
I like the emphasis on single-session and accessibility too. ~ And that's good to hear on the trays, I figured people would be posting dozens of games that have them. But I can't recall another one that's done this, very nice touch. :)
I'm hoping to bring a gameplay series to the channel, but it will be a while. Basically, I'm thinking I'll just be playing both sides, doing the best I can for each one. The only "hidden" part, really, is the technology development, and I think I might randomly pick two cards when I decide to have a country develop a technology, and pick from one of those two. That'll make for some interesting challenges to play countries, as they may not get the best options.
Great video and an example of how unboxing videos should be done. Nice job! I just got both of these as well and have Downfall of Empires laid out on my table now and plan to bring them both to PrezCon next month. There do seem to be some issues with rule interpretations, perhaps due to some foggy translation, but all in all it looks like it will play quickly, smoothly and still "feel" right for a strategic wargame. And it does look awesome! Thanks for the video and best wishes!
Thanks, Hermann, I'm glad you liked the video. :) I do recall a bit of fuzziness in a couple of places when I played on Vassal, but that was earlier in development. I know the company has been releasing more instructional videos too, so hopefully that might help clear up any issues. I hope you enjoy the games!
That's some outstanding design there. And 'Empires' is right up my alley. ZB it's getting expensive, watching your new product videos! You're a heck of a salesman! This one is now on my ever-growing wishlist!
Thanks! I agree that this one looks good. I'm hoping the gameplay is as good as the game looks. :) I can understand the feeling of so many new shiny things to get for sure, although I'm not trying to sell things, more just share fun games. :)
@@ZillaBlitz That's why I keep watching! I appreciate what you do here. Keep up the great work!
Thanks Joey! :)
Great video and explanation! I really like some of the original design qualities of these new games. I think the Table of Contents on the back page is brilliant. How handy, is that!
Thanks, Boom! I hadn't really considered the benefits of having a Table of Contents on the back, but now that you mention it, it should prove quite handy! Nice observation!
Map looks really nice!
Yes, totally agree, and the map counter combination looks great too. :)
Looks really cool!
Totally agree, I'm excited to play. :)
I like WW1 and from what I remember about the WW2 version of this game i suspect I would love this game. Beautiful counters.
Yes, really elegant design style, looking forward to the gameplay. :)
Cool Kraken hat.
Thanks! One of my favorite caps. :)
@@ZillaBlitzthe Kraken are definitely the coolest expansion team of the modern era. I’m from Chicago so I also know how awesome Eddie O is to have in the booth. His knowledge is a cut above every other sports commentator and he’s an A+ human being. Oh- and i dig your content 😁
That's great about the Kraken. I love the name. :) And thanks!
I think for solo play, maybe you might be able to use a bag pull system to randomnize what tech each side receives..
I really like this idea. I'm thinking to increase interesting decisions, maybe when you decide to initiate a technology, you pull two chits and have to select one of the two.
It's a lovely looking game - but grand strategy games don't really have that grit that I like in wargames. They come across kind of as a slightly deeper Risk to me. Beautiful looking though.
Nice to see US units in a game - that's a poke at how many times Commonwealth Forces are left out of wargames😉
I know what you're saying about grit, Billy. But I find most grit is just chrome that takes you out of the narrative. That said, the trick is to deliver as authentic an experience with the fewest thoughtful rules possible.
I think true grit I'd best reserved for tactical level games.
I guess I feel like there are some really hefty grand strategic games like A World at War, etc. Like, I like meaty rulebooks and deep gritty games, but A World at War was so deep and meaty that I realized I'd likely never get it to the table. I backed away slowly. I'm sure it's a fine game, but I saw my limit.
@@ZillaBlitz I feel that too much grit actually gives you less of a feel for the situation. A case of being too close to the trees to see the forest.
I should've clarified that grand strategy games are not really my thing because I like some grit - and often grand strategy games don't provide it.
I'm more of a platoon/company/regiment/battalion guy...though I do have dome divisional games (which are heading towards grand strategy) and even a couple of true grand strategy games (The U.S. Civil War and Paths of Glory - both of which I haven't delved into yet)
I just don't think I get "the big picture" when trying these games, whereas I'm very comfortable working on attacking a town with some companies.
Got both recently but got sidetracked by warfighter. Hope yours makes it to the table.
I can definitely relate to the sidetracked feeling. I know it well. :)
I remember these getting a lot of coverage when they were on Kickstarter. I've been really curious to see how they turned out.
It's very nice looking, that's for sure.
I mean, wow, that is a great looking map.
I'm very curious to see how they play out, and agree that they are going to look marvelous on the table. Really nice map & counters combination. :)
The world war one game is cool. Not enough done on that subject. Free counter tray! Haven't seen that in 40+ years of wargaming myself.
I like the emphasis on single-session and accessibility too. ~ And that's good to hear on the trays, I figured people would be posting dozens of games that have them. But I can't recall another one that's done this, very nice touch. :)
@@ZillaBlitz I was blown away lol
I was legitimately just looking at Downfall of Empires on BGG. It really piqued my interest.
Ha! Good timing I guess. :)
@@ZillaBlitz For sure. I'm also really intrigued by Iron Storm on p500. But I'm sure we are many moons away from that one seeing release.
Oh, interesting, I'm not sure how I missed that one. Looks good, for sure. Tempting...
how would you play solo with this game?
I'm hoping to bring a gameplay series to the channel, but it will be a while. Basically, I'm thinking I'll just be playing both sides, doing the best I can for each one. The only "hidden" part, really, is the technology development, and I think I might randomly pick two cards when I decide to have a country develop a technology, and pick from one of those two. That'll make for some interesting challenges to play countries, as they may not get the best options.
Interesting…
I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out, I've heard good things so far. :)