Setting up "Banish all Their Fears" - Battle of Blenheim
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- Опубликовано: 12 окт 2024
- Describing the process for setting up this fascinating study on the Duke of Marlborough's masterpiece battle, 'Blenheim'.
(Apologies in advance for the 'focus' in the first part of the video. I shoot these on an iPad and it has a nasty habit of going out of focus at time without it appearing on the main screen.)
This command system looks like it has a ton of potential. But the total package seems weirdly slapdash. I may still check it out.
Yeah! I'm not sorry I purchased it, but I highly suspect I will never get it to the table. In fact, I know won't. Maybe somebody will submit some scenarios for it, and then maybe I can give it a try. I think I'm reaching an epiphany with war gaming now, that in the sense I will avoid purchasing games that I will never play.
@@XLEGION1 I think we all reach that point where we begin to question some of our wargame purchases. I now limit myself to games that are smaller in size and less complex as opposed to the monsters I have bought in the past and have never played. As I do not have a ftf opponent, going solo on some of these games is difficult at best. So, after over 50 years I have now become a practical wargame buyer - lol.
@@johnskibajr5691 Yes, I think I have had that 'epiphany' too. I'm still downsizing a bit and will be a lot more careful for future purchases. I'm tending towards the simpler now.
Interesting video. I'm glad I cancelled my pre-order in view of the rules shambles, but appreciate your efforts to show the game.
It is too bad that Sir Winston Churchill is no longer with us. He might have had the patience to do the setup in order to play a game in honor of his great antecedent John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough.
Anyone not having such a personal connection to the Battle of Blenheim would probably have a reluctance similar to yourself in investing so much time in game setup and familiarization with the rules.
This game increasingly feels like it has a ton of small errata, especially in the setup and on the counters. There also looks to be a lot of extra clarifications needed on various aspects of the rules, and it seems the design/development team is uninterested in addressing player questions, which is unfortunate.
I wish I could get to the point of 'play' but the 'set up' time is some 'time consuming', I don't think I will ever get to it. Like my opinion of a lot of other 'games', this is not a 'game' but a 'study' of the battle. A lot of work went into it, you can easily see that, but if nobody is playing it what is the point? Of course it is way too early to see what impact this game will have on the hobby, maybe none. But I hate to see so much work go into a project and a lot of gamers not being able to appreciate it. Maybe what I was looking for was a 'brigade' level game on the whole battle. In short, I kind of doubt if I will ever get this to the table with an opponent and I don't feel like spending 3 hrs to set it up and then having to keep it up for days/weeks in my games room.
Justin is correct, more little bits of errata keep popping up daily so now it’s a big pile. Death by a thousand cuts (sigh).
It sounds like the actual battle is setting up to play.
Ive waited for years for GMT games on this period. I thought this would be similar to the musket and pike games. It seems a little daunting
Thanks for the video, sir. Happy New Year!
Malplaquet in 1709 demonstrates a more consequent employment of artillery. That will feature in a future volume. Industrious players will likely post set-up aids at some point that will cut down the deployment time.
Yes, I realize the 'fandom' has been great in submitting player aids to many games and I really appreciate that. But instead of have 2 battles in one box (one from a war I've never heard of) I would rather have complete information and set up cards for ONE battle.
Well, the battles of William III in the Nine Years War showed the fighting spirit of the Alliance. The French Marshalls were of greater skill and usually the Alliance was at a grand tactical disadvantage. But at the battalion level the coalition could fight hard and the French armies would bleed in these battles. Stenkirk for example would be a classic ‘Soldiers Battle’. Despite his limitations William was kind of the nexus of this fighting spirit.
@@jeffreymiller9438 Thanks for the info. Don't know about that war at all. I doubt if I will ever play this game but is sure is beautiful and comprehensive.
Derick McKay’s The Rise of the Great Powers 1648-1815 is a good book to learn about some of these wars.
I'm probably an outlier and concede the point that the game may not be for everyone, but I think that the setup is best viewed as part of the gameplay itself in that putting your forces in the proper wings and lines was as important at the time as was commanding movement during the battle. In that way, it reminds me of some of the more involved miniature rulesets out there rather than a typical "set 'em up and let 'er rip" boardgame wargames. To be sure, it would have been nice if there were some scenarios provided to help you learn the system and learn what are some good ways to do the setup. But the time-consuming and challenging setup adds a layer of complexity that I think is too often skipped in games at this level. It's more of a "Pacfic War"-style treatment of its subject than an "Empire of the Sun" one, if that makes sense.
Thank you for an interesting take and also the limitations of this game. Since warfare in this period was so formal and regimented/regulated, I'm wondering if just parts of the battle could be played as scenarios? The fight on the French right wing (British left wing) around the village of Blenheim immediately come to mind. Less counters, less setup time, quicker resolution?
Including the Battle Neerwinden does provide a chance to investigate the War of the League of Augsburg to see if it is subject that you might also be interested in. It would certainly broaden my understanding of an era that included some of the great captains of history.
The playbook does appear to include substantial background of the era not essential for game play. Interesting to fill in some background for a period not as well known as others and not as readily available?
I think 'scenarios' is the only way that I would commit to playing this. I don't see any small scenario included though.
@@XLEGION1 I don't believe there are any scenarios included. I was just contemplating using the given set up for the respective right and left wings to create a scenario around the village of Blenheim. I don't know if this is even feasible but it might allow one to get this gorgeous game, at least in part, onto the table. I very much want to try this game but as you say it is logistically challenging.
I agree. Maybe somebody will post a 'scenario' for the game. I think your idea of a scenario for possession of the town is a good one.
I too started setting up but have set it aside for later. If I clip and sort a small number of counters each day it won't seem so daunting. The little bit of errata is annoying (Play Card errata) and set-up but will get in on the table when I set aside an appropriate amount of time.
Time is the key word. This just takes a lot of time to set up. Playing the whole battle is going to take days.
It’s more than a little bit of errata, but to be fair I have not seen anything major pop up (yet).
Looks to be an interesting game
What do you use for labeling ?
If like to use printed labels on my counter trays if Ijust buy the sheets from an office supplies store what software do you use to print please? Thanx.
I use the 'free' Avery Software which is on their online site. I buy the Avery labels or Business Depots line and they work fine.
Thanx again
I thought this video was going to be 12 hours long, LOL!
Gilbert, you must not have had your coffee this morning before making the video. Your title: "Banish All Their *FEELS*?" Your dating: *FEBRUARY* 13, 2024? But still a good video. I think this is another of what you call a Master Thesis game.
I think it's more of a 'spell checker' issue. I wish I could turn those darn things off. Anyway, it is corrected now. February 13th - Yup, that's what you get when you don't read from a script. However, you are perceptive, my sense of the thing that this is not a game I will ever get into. A "Master's Thesis" it probably is. I think I will be moving away from purchasing these large 'things' that I will never play. I wonder if I could make this a 'brigade' level game? A sort of a 'Blenheim' simplified game?
Just giving you a hard time, Gilbert. I'll come back on Feb. 13 to see what the review really said.
I suspect all snow falling in our region got to him 😊
Looks like a bit of a deep dive...