Terrific idea of doing a 'Wargaming 101'. I do already enjoy wargaming when I can, and this series of yours looks promising in equipping folks with knowledge that can perhaps make wargames more attractive to those new to the genre. Thanks for doing this. :)
Thanks for the comment. If you're already into wargaming you might find some of the material pretty basic as I aimed it to be a very basic intro but I hope you'll keep watching and do offer any comments/suggestions along the way if I should be covering something I'm not, for example.
Very well done. You touch all the aspects of counters - especially the sorting. Recently I bought a game that had two plastic bags of counters. About 50 in each - and it was an old old game from the 70's. Ouch! When I had finished sorting I had about twelve to fifteen smaller bags in play. Whew! I glad that's over.
Counter sorting can be an issue. I have learned the hard way when trading for games that I should be asking not only about the condition of the counters but whether or not they are sorted. Sometimes hundreds of unsorted counters in a game and its expansion (for example) render the whole thing basically unplayable.
I started my gaming career in the late 70's playing Avalon Hill games and Metagaming micro games in the early 80's. You have inspired me to go back to my roots.
War gaming as you know it actually started in the late '50's with Avalon Hill's "Tactics". Rule books back then were typically only 4 pages long! It wasn't until "Jutland" was published in 1967 that the games started to expand in complexity.
Space Empires 4X is on my definite buy list and will likely be my first hex and counter game. Easing into wargaming, I have some P500 games on preorder. These are for: The Hunters, Silent Victory, and Beneath the Med - all WWII submarine games. However, the first wargame in my collection is Target for Today, a WWII air war bomber game.
Shane Ellswood I don’t know Beneath the Med but those others are great and deep solo wargames of the procedural sort. SE4X is a great place to start with hex/counter and some old feel production/technology development bookkeeping.
Beneath the Med follows the Italian submarine war from 1940-43 - www.gmtgames.com/p-697-beneath-the-med.aspx. One Italian submarine was actually attributed with the second highest tonnage of the entire war.
Great videos (parts 1 & 2). I’m curious about the blue and red counters with the firearms silhouettes: What game are they from? I’ve never seen them before.
Ted Henkle Glad you are enjoying the vids. The blue/red are from James Bond Assault! (and you can see them in use in a series of vids I made on that game-I have a James Bond playlist and they are in there)
I'm a newbie and you didn't explain removing the counters from the cardboard. Is it safe to gently punch them out, it seems like some people cut them out to avoid tearing. Recommendations?
Genosse Reallt depends on the game. If you are punching out an older games (80s/90s era) you will need to be extra careful and may need to use a knife to get the middle pieces out. Newer games with laser cut chits might require less effort. I’d just start slowly-maybe using a blank or counter that doesn’t seem to crucial as your first one-and see how it goes.
Genosse Good luck and enjoy! And if you try out a game and it falls flat try something else. Sometimes it takes a while to find what really speaks to you in this part of the gaming world.
Enjoying this content? You can support the channel by donating on PayPal: paypal.me/geekgamersDeborah get SOLO GAME MASTER'S GUIDE: US customers: tinyurl.com/yckpsrxe UK customers: tinyurl.com/ykarakda get RANDOM HEXCRAWL BOOK: tinyurl.com/5cj3d4jc get RANDOM DUNGEONS book: lfosr.com/product/a-place-underground/
Absolutely! I think part of the issue is just people's perception of the genre and maybe wargame publishers not doing too much to reach out beyond their core audience. Also--and this is hard to overcome--even a "light" game (mechanics-wise, that is) on a heavy topic such as an actual battle can seem intimidating.
One of the best tabletop-game-related videos on UA-cam. Thank you!
Luke Konkol Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and I really appreciate the comment.
Terrific idea of doing a 'Wargaming 101'. I do already enjoy wargaming when I can, and this series of yours looks promising in equipping folks with knowledge that can perhaps make wargames more attractive to those new to the genre. Thanks for doing this. :)
Thanks for the comment. If you're already into wargaming you might find some of the material pretty basic as I aimed it to be a very basic intro but I hope you'll keep watching and do offer any comments/suggestions along the way if I should be covering something I'm not, for example.
OCD overload on that mixed bag of counters. :) Great 101 video, thanks.
I want to see George Washington fight that alien bartender
XD
Very well done. You touch all the aspects of counters - especially the sorting. Recently I bought a game that had two plastic bags of counters. About 50 in each - and it was an old old game from the 70's. Ouch!
When I had finished sorting I had about twelve to fifteen smaller bags in play. Whew! I glad that's over.
Counter sorting can be an issue. I have learned the hard way when trading for games that I should be asking not only about the condition of the counters but whether or not they are sorted. Sometimes hundreds of unsorted counters in a game and its expansion (for example) render the whole thing basically unplayable.
I started my gaming career in the late 70's playing Avalon Hill games and Metagaming micro games in the early 80's. You have inspired me to go back to my roots.
I am so glad. Thank you for sharing that!
Also... I, too, started with a MetaGaming MicroGame (Invasion of the Air Eaters). I covered that on my channel. Love that game still!
Thanks for these intro videos to war games. I really like the "baby steps" for newbies like me. Keep up the great work and you have a new subscriber.
Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you're enjoying them. Thanks for subbing.
She is the one from a video of "Princess Ryans Star Marines". Always wanted to ask her about the Marines skills....
nice series as usual clear concise explanation great job
E-4 Airman Glad you enjoyed this and the other one. Thanks for watching and commenting.
War gaming as you know it actually started in the late '50's with Avalon Hill's "Tactics". Rule books back then were typically only 4 pages long! It wasn't until "Jutland" was published in 1967 that the games started to expand in complexity.
syramento Great point!
Space Empires 4X is on my definite buy list and will likely be my first hex and counter game. Easing into wargaming, I have some P500 games on preorder. These are for: The Hunters, Silent Victory, and Beneath the Med - all WWII submarine games. However, the first wargame in my collection is Target for Today, a WWII air war bomber game.
Shane Ellswood I don’t know Beneath the Med but those others are great and deep solo wargames of the procedural sort. SE4X is a great place to start with hex/counter and some old feel production/technology development bookkeeping.
Beneath the Med follows the Italian submarine war from 1940-43 - www.gmtgames.com/p-697-beneath-the-med.aspx. One Italian submarine was actually attributed with the second highest tonnage of the entire war.
What game is the bartender chit from?
Great videos (parts 1 & 2). I’m curious about the blue and red counters with the firearms silhouettes: What game are they from? I’ve never seen them before.
Ted Henkle Glad you are enjoying the vids. The blue/red are from James Bond Assault! (and you can see them in use in a series of vids I made on that game-I have a James Bond playlist and they are in there)
Well done.
Great video and series, thank you so much!
is it possible you'll do a video about blocks and block games? I got C&C and I'm pretty confused.
Glad you liked it and thanks for the comment. I don't play
Block games tho so wouldn't be of any help on that.
I see, thanks!
I'm a newbie and you didn't explain removing the counters from the cardboard. Is it safe to gently punch them out, it seems like some people cut them out to avoid tearing. Recommendations?
Genosse Reallt depends on the game. If you are punching out an older games (80s/90s era) you will need to be extra careful and may need to use a knife to get the middle pieces out. Newer games with laser cut chits might require less effort. I’d just start slowly-maybe using a blank or counter that doesn’t seem to crucial as your first one-and see how it goes.
@@GeekGamers01 Thank You!
Genosse Good luck and enjoy! And if you try out a game and it falls flat try something else. Sometimes it takes a while to find what really speaks to you in this part of the gaming world.
does anyone have a way to make one's own tokens?
Enjoying this content? You can support the channel by donating on PayPal: paypal.me/geekgamersDeborah
get SOLO GAME MASTER'S GUIDE:
US customers: tinyurl.com/yckpsrxe
UK customers: tinyurl.com/ykarakda
get RANDOM HEXCRAWL BOOK: tinyurl.com/5cj3d4jc
get RANDOM DUNGEONS book: lfosr.com/product/a-place-underground/
I only wish that I had you as a teacher.
Michael Stearnes Stearnes Thank you very much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the content.
yup, I'm starting to realize that wargames can sometimes be simpler and easier to get started on that some euro or ameri-trash offerings.
Absolutely! I think part of the issue is just people's perception of the genre and maybe wargame publishers not doing too much to reach out beyond their core audience. Also--and this is hard to overcome--even a "light" game (mechanics-wise, that is) on a heavy topic such as an actual battle can seem intimidating.