Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, everyone, and it's great to hear what everyone else has on their Shelves of Shame. :) Here are some thoughts on games I might add, based on things bouncing around in my head and suggestions here. I'm also up for some Ancient, US Civil War, Modern, and Napoleonic suggestions. My list is decidedly WW2 heavy. The Last Hundred Yards (Vol 2) Ambush! Conflict of Heroes (something) Fields of Fire (Deluxe) Western Front Ace Russian Campaign Blind Swords (I have #1 and #5 unplayed) Something from the American Revolution tri-pack. SPQR Space Empires Next War Something (I have Poland & Korea) Men of Iron Arquebus Levy & Campaign Almoravid An old Avalon Hill something (I have most) MMP's GCACW something (I have Hood Strikes North)
That's awesome! Even though I only got to 3 of my 10 SoS games last year, I feel like it's set a different focus for me as well. I'm hopeful I'll improve this year and feel like I will. :)
My goals seem to be driven by my unfinished videos, so quite a few in prep: - Depth look at GTS using Operation Mercury (up next on my group's gaming table in March). - Getting into Vuca's new Formations series with Mirages. - Next in line of my OCS tutorials waiting for Forgotten Battles to ship. - Something on BCS Inflection Point when that comes out - Plus keeping my eye out on how we can use AI in our gaming and game design
I can relate to this, yes, and you've got some really nice games in there! I'm not including video projects in my list, as they tend to be newer games that have recently arrived. It's the non-project ones that I need to divert attention to. :)
@@ZillaBlitzwhen I retire they'll be the ones gaining the extra love... unless I have more bright ideas. Gaming enthusiasms can look a lot like Homer Simpson following a line of doughnuts 🍩
I think this would be fun to do an AAR playthrough style. Doing a playthrough of a whole game would take a long time, but AAR style might work really well, I'd think.
I have researched that game enough to know that's it's not worth playing. I did play Lock 'n Load which has many similarities to ASL. Band of Brothers is my tactical game of choice.
Great list Zilla. You have some great classics and awesome designs in there, hope you get to play as many as possible because you are up for a super fun ride. Enemy Action and Empire of the Aun also in my shelf of shame. Rules a bit daunting to get into and never find the time. I did try Enemy Action in TTS and was amazing
Great list @ZillaBlitz! I'm headed down the GCACW path as well. Just get to a convention in the area and you will knock out a bunch of these in a weekend!
Great list, Zilla! I've been sitting on my copy of EotS for 20 years, and really need to get it played this year. I would be remiss if I don't suggest a GCACW series title as one of your Viewers Choice options. 😃
As far as the DVG leader games go, my favorites by far are Hornet Leader, Air Carrier Operations and Phantom Leader deluxe. I keep going back to these games over and over.
Things change in life, and the people I game with (and myself to a certain extent) had a change toward playing games that were lighter in rules, and more easily learned. I was always one of "the rules guys" in our circle of players, and the games I was teaching were not being received too well. Games heavier in rules were not allowing enough social interaction in the experience, so last June I began a major restructuring of the games I own. All I can say is thank goodness for Noble Knight! Those people are tremendous! Can't say enough good about them. My "shelf of shame" underwent a major reduction in the process. The math was telling me I would have to live to be in my "130+ years old" to get to them all, lol! 😄
I must be accumulating a decent collection of games myself, ‘cause I have nine of the ones you listed. I’ve only played four of them enough to really call them “played”, too, so perhaps I ought to start a parallel “shelf of shame” with those as my baseline. To that list, I’d probably add Next War Poland and Dien Bien Phu from my shelf, so if you own either of those, that’s what I’d suggest. But that might have to be it for me, because right now I’m busy learning Red Strike (a heavy lift), and then have my sights set on a good stretch of time with Fields of Fire Deluxe (another heavy lift), hopefully starting in February.
Thanks lots of good stuff. No shelf of same for myself, just enjoy playing any games that I have and play what I want, even if it has sat on the shelf for a while. I am a person that like to go deeper into the game that I am playing rather than racking up a list. Good luck with this and look forward to the videos on these.
I am hoping to get some cardboard on the table this 2025 as well. I do have a planned Tiger Leader video and a couple of my packed games (if I find them). very interested to see '44 Holland and a couple of the other solitaire offerings! thank you for putting them on the list, we'll see if they make the next cut of actual video. If not perhaps an AAR of the play could be had??
Good luck this year! And personally, I would love to see you do a play through of empire of the sun sometime. For my shelf, I only have a couple of games I haven’t opened, so my main goal is to replay the games I’ve only played once or twice, to get more fluent with the rules.
Pulling for you to get Ambush played. I tried relearning as an adult and bounced off the rules, but still also want to tackle this. Be aware there is an updated rulebook someone made building in all (most?) of the errata.
Playing Ambush! is inevitable at some point, I think. I do have 3 People's Choice spots and maybe Ambush! really should take one of them. I could compare it to Warfighter and Combat!, see which one I like best.
@@ZillaBlitz I'm looking forward to Warfighter. I just got my copy last week. I was really hard to get! Looking forward to seeing you showcase this one. Hint, Hint!
I have played Combat Commander a few times with a friend, and he really swears by the solo mode that has been created for it. I know people love Ambush! but I personally think there is likely personal nostalgia tied to it. Not that it isn't an awesome game, but I'm not sure someone playing it for the first time in 2025 would have the same experience (and memories) as the people that were playing it in the 80s and 90s. Combat! remains my #1 solo WW2 board game, so I'm hopeful you can get to it this year!
I let go of my entire war game collection save one game two years ago. I miss them all but I never got to play them. If they were available on Board Game Arena I would play them all the time.
I'm so convicted now. Last year you did this, and I promised to get Normandy: The Beginning of the End, which I'd bought from the KS back in 2018 (!!) on the table, and I still haven't done it. I hang my head in shame. I'm not sure you need to keep revisiting these each year. LOL!
Great video. My two biggest "shame games" are By Stealth and Sea and Sherman Leader. I would love to see you do Panzer Leader as your 'Leader' game and compare it to your experience with Sherman Leader but I can see you doing one of the aircraft games as well. I hope you do a video series on Holland '44. Interesting battle. Keep up the great videos and good gaming.
Nice list Zilla. Hmm my list is going to consist of: 1. Skies Above Britain, 2. Nach Paris 1914, 3. Blue Cross White Ensign, 4. White Plains, 5. Hungarian Rhapsody, 6. Stalingrad 42, 7. Here Come the Rebels (GCACW), 8. Thunder on the Mississippi, 9. Napoleon Against Russia (OSG), 10. Napoleon's Wheel (OSG), 11. Napoleon's Quagmire (OSG), 12. Napoleon Invades Spain (OSG), 13. Barbarossa Army Group Center 1941, 14. Barbarossa Army Group South 1941 and 15. Barbarossa Kiev to Rostov 1941. I am going to make a real concerted effort to play all my games at least once and this represents most of the ones I have left to play.
Good list. Sad I have most of those games and still haven't played them.....but you have incentivized me to grab a couple of the shelve and get moving on them.
@@ZillaBlitz Then perhaps after we get a couple of games in, I can introduce you to our Combat Commander ladder. Only obligation is one game a month and we rotate through all the boxed games and battle packs. Like this month, we are playing the Resistance module
Since I shared my 2025 list on Discors, here is my 2024 completion list. All of these were picked up 20-40 years ago and either never played or just played a learning scenario. Panzer Grenadier Airborne; S&T magazines Battle of Pleasant Hill (ACW); Victory Games Battle Hymn (Ambush for the Pacific); Wargame Magazines Bloody Keren (ethiopia) and Axis and Allies Battle of the Bulge. Made it through 5 of my nolde ones. 7 left plus the dozen I bought this past year. Going g to enjoy 2025.
Great list! I would suggest adding a game each from the American Revolution and American Civil War genres. I don’t know what you haven’t played on your shelf.
Great list! I also have a few on my Shelf of Shame that I would love to get to the table. Two that I will learn and play his year are Empire of the Sun and Death in the Trenches. Some others I need to play are D-Day at Peleliu, Blue Water Navy, Next War: Vietnam, End of Empires and Battle of Rhode Island & Newton (Battles of the American Revolution series). Happy New Year to all and good gaming!
Much better term, yes! I generally call it my Shelf of Opportunity, but at a certain level of dust on the games it shifts to ... shame. Not the shame that wakes you up in the middle of the night, more of a light... "Oh, I still haven't played that..." sort of thing. Healthy shame, I like to think of it.
Enemy Action Ardennes is on my list for the year as well. Not on my shelf of shame but ready for another campaign in Silent War 2.0. What an amazing game that is. I think you should give Phantom Fury a go this year. I finally got it flushed out and I really enjoyed it. Last on my own list is Purple Haze. Just got it and am really looking forward to digging in to that one. Good luck bud. You are going to have a heck of a year 😊😊
I'm hoping to get Comet played this year by Hollandspiele. Kind of waiting to see a video playthrough first but the only one I've found so far is done by Stuka Joe in Spanish. Have you tried any of the R. Ben Madison solitaire games by White Dog Games such as Global War: World War II Worldwide, Gift of the Nile, Jeff Davis: The Confederacy at War or his newest one Sword of Orthodoxy? These are all lots of fun!
I confess I don't know much about the Ben Madison solitaire games, other than some social media references. Thanks for the heads up. Might be something to add to the list, but probably not something to add to the Shelf of Shame challenge. :)
Wow this is great, thanks! Really good way to mtivate (me) to play games that haven't vome out for a very long time - or at all. Shameful! Games I will definitely force out (on myself and/or my friends haha) will be: GMT Tank Duel GMT Falling Sky GMT Fire in the Lake Rio Grande Games Maria Conflict of Heroes Awakening the Bear Academy Games Strike of the Eagle I am going to strive to get these out, hopefully not just solo hehe. Thanks again for the video!
That's a great list! Glad that it's helped motivate. I'm working on a bias toward action and have a 2-player game of Up Front set up for this weekend. :) Good luck with your games, if you have time please share how it's going. :)
I really like War Room's (ID Jester, Rough Swordsman, Nate) 10 Wargaming challenge, I've been using it to plan catching up with my "shelf of opportunity". I gave up halfway through 2023 (life got to busy) but completed one for 2024 and already getting my short list for 2025. I'm really picking a combination of games from the series I already know (like GCACW, Blind Swords, Wing Leader) and new ones, with focus on "big box" games, to make some shelf space: 1. 1914 Nach Paris 2. Tank Duel 3. Assault on Gallipoli 4. Age of Napoleon 5. Rome Total War The Board Game 6. Pacific War 7. Point Blank (Lock n Load) 8. Skies above Britain 9. Europa Universalis 10. Guam (CSS) 11. GBoH Alexander 12. Musket & Pike
Your number 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, & 15, are on my Shelf of Opportunities. Mine 10 are Halls of Hegra, Sherman Leader, Enemy Action Ardennes, RAF, NATO the Cold War Goes Hot, Company of Heroes, skies Above Britain, Stalingrad Advance to the Volga, and Rebel Fury. Very much like last year but I got promoted back in April which seriously cut into my game time. Coming up on retirement reasonably soon so hopefully I can get back on track. BTW: If I had a vote, I love to see you do a live take on WARFIGHTER, which I just got this last week, and man was it hard to get my hands on it. My other two wishes would be RAF, and Enemy Action Ardennes. Good luck to us all.
I have 3 of those on my own Shelf of Shame (Skies Above the Reich, Skies Above Britain, Target for Today). Spent a lot of time learning the games but just no time last year. Videos on those would motivate me to get those to the table in 2025. At the same time, there are some tempting possible purchases you listed. NO! I won't add to the list! I played a campaign in B-17 Flying Fortress Leader and felt it was too easy to get a win.
Great List/video. I have to quit watching since you inspire me to want to buy more games! I like other commenters description: Shelf of Opportunity. Mine for 2025: Unconditional Surrender (just P500 WatWar: the old AH 3r system!), RAF, The Hunters, War and Peace, Afrika Korps, Simonitch series xx40s, Russian Campaign. Happy New Year. BTW Combat Commnader Europe series is absolutely my favorite and always ready to play. Join the monthly ladder, I have met many great gamers this way. Patrick Pence does a great job.
Great list of games, and I've actually been eyeing that Combat Commander ladder a bit. I want to learn the rules and get smooth at playing first, but it's on the radar. Thanks for the suggestion. :)
Nice list. I have some of the same games sitting on my shelf. Ardennes, RAF, Storm and Skies Above the Reich, D-Day at Iwo Jima. I play Target for Today quite a bit but Target for Tonight is sitting on the shelf. Might have to jump into to a Lancaster soon. Good luck with ASL. I played SL for years but never made the switch to ASL. My three picks are Ardennes, Leader game, and Above the Reich.
Great list. As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to Up Front. My shelf is not as deep as yours (unfortunately?) but the games I need to get to are, "Picket Duty", "D-Day at Peleliu" (Sp?), "D-Day at Tarawa", and "Tiger Leader". I am now doing my first mission in "Sky Hawk". I L O V E "Target For Today" and I think you will also. I look forward to seeing your games.
Excellent list and, surprisingly, I have actually played quite a few of these. A quick note about Combat!. I know you like playing with the actual game but this a really counter dense and playing on VASSAL is a much nicer experience. Greg Amos has developed the latest modules and it makes Combat! really playable. Combat 2 adds the campaign and is superb. As for Warfighter, I have always felt that Warfighter Modern fits the system better. Small squads sneaking through jungles and urban environments fighting insurgents. Not something I have seen anyone else say but having both Modern and WW2 I much prefer the former.
Interesting thoughts, thank you. That's the one criticism I've heard of Combat!, the marker density element. I might actually explore that with Vassal then, at least for playing solo. And I'd not heard that about Warfighter yet, that's also an interesting point. I only have the WW2 game, so I'll probably start with that. But if it enjoy it well enough, I think expanding to modern sounds like the next logical direction. :)
@@vincentmanion7990 i actually do the same...you need plexiglass for paper map's...but a bonus is you can easily move them and stack them then fold up the paper maps...
My tip: Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase. Why? Same fabulous designer as the Above the Reich and Sky above Britain series and A very good OPERATIONAL SOLO version about battleships in the Atlantic early WW2. Learning is even easier than his tactical air games. It is my number 2 of all time after EA:A and an incredible achievement with solo hidden movement, air support, ship combat etc. After 46 years of wargaming one of the very best wargames EVER. And … I was not even a fan of sea warfare until I played this gem. To give an example: After playing just a few scenarios I ordered every possible western GE UK miniature ship of WW2. Also a general tip for playing. Make a calendar in what months you want to play a particular battle or game related to it. I am now busy playing Bulge games from Dec to Jan. I started with EA:A Germans solo, then in between I played a small Wiltz scenario from Race for Bastogne (GTS), then a ASL Bulge scenario, then Up Front Bastogne campaign (these campaigns can be found on BGG files section 40+ different campaigns !and they are AWESOME. 10 scenarios each and all different ones and still going now). EA:A Germans solo still needs one more turn, but the first time in 5 years, I got a win now ! Not bad for a Butterfield game. Starting this weekend EA:A but now playing the US, for the first time ever. After that I will play a solo Bastogne scenario of Panzer(GMT designer Jim Day), taken from the Panzer pusher website with dozens of extra solo scenarios (Freyneux this one). sites.google.com/site/thepanzerpusher/ February is then reserved for Atlantic Chase and another Jim Day wargame, Iron and Oak about ACW Ironclads with self 3D printed miniatures on the map. March another theme with strategical games, solo version of Hitler’s Reich (most underrated/unplayed/hated wargame ever) but in my view top wargame and a final start of some small scenarios of Unconditional surrender, in time to play and test the newly launched Undonditional surrender small maps game. By the time april comes, the France 40 games will hopefully see some play and my attic is warm enough for some giant table play of Bolt Action with miniatures. Planning is ALL that matters… 😎🤪 Happy gaming and you are incredible with your videos frankly.
I sent my shelf of shame games to noble knights because I know I’ll just stare at them …happy with E.A. Ardennes, combat! Vol 2 and warfighter nam and special ops, fearful sacrifice,the fate of all lastly A time for trumpets for a monster game. It’s good to downsize the rest
Ha! That is most definitely a creative way to handle a Shelf of Shame. I do have a few like that as well, ones that I got via a trade or in a discount bin or in a moment of wishful thinking, and I really should move those on too.
The game that has to be played this year is Undaunted Stalingrad. I used to play a lot of games with my son during the last years and I thought I would play Undaunted Stalingrad with him, too. So I decided to wait for the german version but by the time I received it in October 2023 he all of sudden was so grown up! 😱 So now I have to compete not only with his sports, but also with going out with friends and even a girl friend. 😢 There is not enough time left for a campaign game to play with him and so I most likely have hope I will find someone else to play it.
Some classic games that will keep you occupied and fun to play as well, hopefully some plays will be posted to the channel. A couple of others, possibly, Monty's Gamble (MMP) & Vijayanagara. Games I need to play MBT (Panzer keeps getting in the way) Red Star Rising (MMP) & ASL Starter Kit #1.
Thought the rules felt clunky to get through, Conflict of Heroes solo was a decent squad level skirmish (actual solo, not just playing 2-handed). It scratched just enough of the itch I've had for solo Combat Commander. That being said, your enjoyment of life will be better if you actually just find someone to play Combat Commander with :D (it is just so good).
I'd vote Hood Strikes North (GCACW is my favourite series) and Fields of Fire Deluxe (I also have this one on my shelf of opportunity, got it like 2 months ago but will get it played this year)
My big one on the shelf of shame is this one: "Tomorrow the World", where Germany and Japan fight for supremacy after they win WWII. I got it for my birthday in 2023, it's still in the shipping box. Has anyone ever played this?
@@ZillaBlitz Whoops it's been sitting in the box so long I got the name wrong! It's actually called "Triumph of the Will", a fairly new title from Compass Games. It does resemble "The Man in the High Castle", although there are other novels with similar themes too. Well, I have it out of the box now, maybe I'll actually set it up!
D-Day at series - I wanted to love it, just could not get over how "spreadsheet" it was. It felt like I wasn't in control of anything. Enemy Action:Ardennes - is a superb game - get it played Holland '44 - superb game - get it played RAF:Battle of Britain is outrageously good fun - get it played Combat! is an excellent game, but ultimately I couldn't overlook how daft the AI looked For a Leader game, I would highly recommend Phantom Leader...the best of the bunch imho I have about 60 games and I've only played about 20 of them. So I do have a shelf of shame, but rather than specify the games I'm going to play, I've decided not to buy any this year and play through what I have.
In my spreadsheet I have a column that I sort the games by. Excellent. Very good. Good. okay. Poor and fail I.e... couldn't figure out the darn game. I have added the term collectible and I have marked all games from last century that I have never played as collectible. They are officially off the unplayed list. Eventually i'm hoping to try to play them anyway.
I am going to try and get my first seven to eight games to be unplayed untouched games. Root. On table, playing. (Learning as I go). Rebel Fury on table, reading rules. Battle of Adobe Wells Serbia Must Die, 1914 Russian Front North Africa 41 Great War at Sea- Mediterranean. Great Battles of Alexander
It's actually near the top of my playthrough videos to make. I haven't forgotten it yet. It's in my project list. The Shelf of Shame are games that aren't really tied to projects, more just "games I want to play"
Great list of games. These I have an do not think you will be disapoionted by any of them, Paths of Glory Ted Racier signed my copy, Fire In The Lake, Empire of the Sun btw C3i Nr30's South Pacific, Burma: The Forgotten War is a new Empire of the Sun standalone scenario module. Up Front, Warfighter I have the modern version, ASL do you know what scenairo you want to play? I think a fun little 1st scenairo is A29 A Meeting of Patrols. As I recall it s 10 squads German and 10 American. It reminds me of the '60s TV series Comba!. What is nice low complexity, fairly equal sides. Oh btw I made I think a useful chart for beginners and me. It is on all the info counters when you place them, when you take them off, the indx number where you can find the rule and what they do. You are welcome to it if you want it.
🦕😂 Up Front is such a cluster fk ov chances missed opportunity's, I'm not sure you can handle it, you really have to understand the cards , count the coulourd RNC, well try to remember that+ the terrain cards , every card has multiple functions all vital , so u buld up your hand to achieve momentum and the whole thing changes making your hand worthless,,,,, sounds like magic,,, ps arrrrg Squad leaver ,,,, i have been avoiding this , hope i can hang out there,,,, suggest kingmaker is there a military style game using the rondel mechanism a la Hamburgum/Navagador ,,,,,, ps🐎🤔🦕 playing Germany defensive scenarios ,Do Not Have too many fire cards , try to have a mortar or weapon that uses the to hit value as u can use cards that u would have to discard !!!, Ok 😃👍
You will need some time to absorb the complex rules of ASL. Expect to make loads of mistakes but do not let it set you short on the fun factor. ASL is a solid system.
Thanks! I have a plan! I'm watching the really good ASL channel's boot camp videos and following a General article that has an 8-step plan for playing ASL. I'm underway and having a blast. :)
Empire of the Sun great mechanics inferior chrome to that other big Pacific one but never played either. Lot of great war games I won't play if the chrome ain't right.
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, everyone, and it's great to hear what everyone else has on their Shelves of Shame. :) Here are some thoughts on games I might add, based on things bouncing around in my head and suggestions here. I'm also up for some Ancient, US Civil War, Modern, and Napoleonic suggestions. My list is decidedly WW2 heavy.
The Last Hundred Yards (Vol 2)
Ambush!
Conflict of Heroes (something)
Fields of Fire (Deluxe)
Western Front Ace
Russian Campaign
Blind Swords (I have #1 and #5 unplayed)
Something from the American Revolution tri-pack.
SPQR
Space Empires
Next War Something (I have Poland & Korea)
Men of Iron Arquebus
Levy & Campaign Almoravid
An old Avalon Hill something (I have most)
MMP's GCACW something (I have Hood Strikes North)
I’m on my third year of setting gaming goals and it’s really helped me get my games played.
That's awesome! Even though I only got to 3 of my 10 SoS games last year, I feel like it's set a different focus for me as well. I'm hopeful I'll improve this year and feel like I will. :)
My goals seem to be driven by my unfinished videos, so quite a few in prep:
- Depth look at GTS using Operation Mercury (up next on my group's gaming table in March).
- Getting into Vuca's new Formations series with Mirages.
- Next in line of my OCS tutorials waiting for Forgotten Battles to ship.
- Something on BCS Inflection Point when that comes out
- Plus keeping my eye out on how we can use AI in our gaming and game design
I can relate to this, yes, and you've got some really nice games in there!
I'm not including video projects in my list, as they tend to be newer games that have recently arrived. It's the non-project ones that I need to divert attention to. :)
@@ZillaBlitzwhen I retire they'll be the ones gaining the extra love... unless I have more bright ideas. Gaming enthusiasms can look a lot like Homer Simpson following a line of doughnuts 🍩
Seeing "Holland 44" would be great.
I think this would be fun to do an AAR playthrough style. Doing a playthrough of a whole game would take a long time, but AAR style might work really well, I'd think.
Very inspirational! I hope to play 1 new game per month.
Best of luck with your attempt!
Thanks! You too. :)
My #1 shelf of shame game for 2025 is The Fate of All. But I actually did pretty good in 2024, very few carry-overs
A clear thumb up for ASL! Who never played it could not be a true wargamer ;)
Double-shamed. ;) ... I'm actually really looking forward to it and have started in on the rules with a plan. :)
I have researched that game enough to know that's it's not worth playing. I did play Lock 'n Load which has many similarities to ASL. Band of Brothers is my tactical game of choice.
RAF Battle of Britain is a fantastic game, you'll love it. Really tense and absorbing.
Great list Zilla. You have some great classics and awesome designs in there, hope you get to play as many as possible because you are up for a super fun ride. Enemy Action and Empire of the Aun also in my shelf of shame. Rules a bit daunting to get into and never find the time. I did try Enemy Action in TTS and was amazing
Great list @ZillaBlitz! I'm headed down the GCACW path as well. Just get to a convention in the area and you will knock out a bunch of these in a weekend!
Happy to help out with Combat Commander Pacific, Paths of Glory, and even Ambush!
Noted, thanks! Let me get started with Paths of Glory. Off to play Up Front now. :)
Great list, Zilla! I've been sitting on my copy of EotS for 20 years, and really need to get it played this year.
I would be remiss if I don't suggest a GCACW series title as one of your Viewers Choice options. 😃
Let's hold each other to the fire for EotS, Patrick! This is the year. And I have Hood Strikes North, I can add that as a candidate for GCACW. :)
Hi, Zilla! My #1 suggestion is Absolute War”
As far as the DVG leader games go, my favorites by far are Hornet Leader, Air Carrier Operations and Phantom Leader deluxe. I keep going back to these games over and over.
Great list!
Thanks!
Things change in life, and the people I game with (and myself to a certain extent) had a change toward playing games that were lighter in rules, and more easily learned. I was always one of "the rules guys" in our circle of players, and the games I was teaching were not being received too well. Games heavier in rules were not allowing enough social interaction in the experience, so last June I began a major restructuring of the games I own. All I can say is thank goodness for Noble Knight! Those people are tremendous! Can't say enough good about them. My "shelf of shame" underwent a major reduction in the process. The math was telling me I would have to live to be in my "130+ years old" to get to them all, lol! 😄
Same here brother.
I'm here to help! I was a big ASL fanatic 40 years ago. I'd be happy to play a short intro scenario sometime.
I must be accumulating a decent collection of games myself, ‘cause I have nine of the ones you listed. I’ve only played four of them enough to really call them “played”, too, so perhaps I ought to start a parallel “shelf of shame” with those as my baseline. To that list, I’d probably add Next War Poland and Dien Bien Phu from my shelf, so if you own either of those, that’s what I’d suggest. But that might have to be it for me, because right now I’m busy learning Red Strike (a heavy lift), and then have my sights set on a good stretch of time with Fields of Fire Deluxe (another heavy lift), hopefully starting in February.
Thanks lots of good stuff. No shelf of same for myself, just enjoy playing any games that I have and play what I want, even if it has sat on the shelf for a while. I am a person that like to go deeper into the game that I am playing rather than racking up a list. Good luck with this and look forward to the videos on these.
I am hoping to get some cardboard on the table this 2025 as well. I do have a planned Tiger Leader video and a couple of my packed games (if I find them). very interested to see '44 Holland and a couple of the other solitaire offerings!
thank you for putting them on the list, we'll see if they make the next cut of actual video. If not perhaps an AAR of the play could be had??
Good luck this year! And personally, I would love to see you do a play through of empire of the sun sometime. For my shelf, I only have a couple of games I haven’t opened, so my main goal is to replay the games I’ve only played once or twice, to get more fluent with the rules.
There's nothing wrong with being a wargame hoarder. I mean collector 🪖
Great line!
Pulling for you to get Ambush played. I tried relearning as an adult and bounced off the rules, but still also want to tackle this. Be aware there is an updated rulebook someone made building in all (most?) of the errata.
Playing Ambush! is inevitable at some point, I think. I do have 3 People's Choice spots and maybe Ambush! really should take one of them. I could compare it to Warfighter and Combat!, see which one I like best.
@@ZillaBlitz I'm looking forward to Warfighter. I just got my copy last week. I was really hard to get! Looking forward to seeing you showcase this one. Hint, Hint!
Good luck! Many of these games are on my Shelf of Shame also.
First up for me is Up Front! I'll be posting notes about it at some point. :)
I have played Combat Commander a few times with a friend, and he really swears by the solo mode that has been created for it. I know people love Ambush! but I personally think there is likely personal nostalgia tied to it. Not that it isn't an awesome game, but I'm not sure someone playing it for the first time in 2025 would have the same experience (and memories) as the people that were playing it in the 80s and 90s. Combat! remains my #1 solo WW2 board game, so I'm hopeful you can get to it this year!
I let go of my entire war game collection save one game two years ago. I miss them all but I never got to play them. If they were available on Board Game Arena I would play them all the time.
Board Game Arena has a few wargames/historical sims now. Gest of Robin Hood and Unconditional Surrender, for example. :)
I'm so convicted now. Last year you did this, and I promised to get Normandy: The Beginning of the End, which I'd bought from the KS back in 2018 (!!) on the table, and I still haven't done it. I hang my head in shame. I'm not sure you need to keep revisiting these each year. LOL!
Warfighter (Pacific) arrives tomorrow! Then I have Western Front Ace and Fields of Fire in the new year. Good luck meeting your challenges!
There are a lot of great games on your shelf of shame, as there are on mine. Nemesis is #1.
I was just chatting with someone about Nemesis, sounds awesome. That'll be a big one to tackle too! Good luck. :)
Great video. My two biggest "shame games" are By Stealth and Sea and Sherman Leader. I would love to see you do Panzer Leader as your 'Leader' game and compare it to your experience with Sherman Leader but I can see you doing one of the aircraft games as well. I hope you do a video series on Holland '44. Interesting battle. Keep up the great videos and good gaming.
Nice list Zilla. Hmm my list is going to consist of: 1. Skies Above Britain, 2. Nach Paris 1914, 3. Blue Cross White Ensign, 4. White Plains, 5. Hungarian Rhapsody, 6. Stalingrad 42, 7. Here Come the Rebels (GCACW), 8. Thunder on the Mississippi, 9. Napoleon Against Russia (OSG), 10. Napoleon's Wheel (OSG), 11. Napoleon's Quagmire (OSG), 12. Napoleon Invades Spain (OSG), 13. Barbarossa Army Group Center 1941, 14. Barbarossa Army Group South 1941 and 15. Barbarossa Kiev to Rostov 1941. I am going to make a real concerted effort to play all my games at least once and this represents most of the ones I have left to play.
Looking forward to many of these.
I'm trying to make sure I build some momentum here so I've got a game of Up Front scheduled for Saturday with a friend who knows how to play. :)
Good list. Sad I have most of those games and still haven't played them.....but you have incentivized me to grab a couple of the shelve and get moving on them.
Let's do this!
I will play Combat Commander with you..and EotS. Will have to be virtual though since I live in the Philippines
I will take you up on that John, at least the CC game. Thanks! I think it'll be one I'll learn sooner than later. :)
@@ZillaBlitz Then perhaps after we get a couple of games in, I can introduce you to our Combat Commander ladder. Only obligation is one game a month and we rotate through all the boxed games and battle packs. Like this month, we are playing the Resistance module
I can always count on @@johnsy4306 as a diligent Recruiting Sergeant. We'd love to have you join us on the CC Ladder, Zilla!
Since I shared my 2025 list on Discors, here is my 2024 completion list. All of these were picked up 20-40 years ago and either never played or just played a learning scenario.
Panzer Grenadier Airborne; S&T magazines Battle of Pleasant Hill (ACW); Victory Games Battle Hymn (Ambush for the Pacific); Wargame Magazines Bloody Keren (ethiopia) and Axis and Allies Battle of the Bulge.
Made it through 5 of my nolde ones. 7 left plus the dozen I bought this past year. Going g to enjoy 2025.
I have 80 or so games, and I've played maybe 20. They're like crack, can't get enough. So I know how you feel.
Great list! I would suggest adding a game each from the American Revolution and American Civil War genres. I don’t know what you haven’t played on your shelf.
Great list! I also have a few on my Shelf of Shame that I would love to get to the table. Two that I will learn and play his year are Empire of the Sun and Death in the Trenches. Some others I need to play are D-Day at Peleliu, Blue Water Navy, Next War: Vietnam, End of Empires and Battle of Rhode Island & Newton (Battles of the American Revolution series). Happy New Year to all and good gaming!
You know what I like to call my Sehlf of Shame? Backlog. Much less weight to it 😂
Much better term, yes! I generally call it my Shelf of Opportunity, but at a certain level of dust on the games it shifts to ... shame. Not the shame that wakes you up in the middle of the night, more of a light... "Oh, I still haven't played that..." sort of thing. Healthy shame, I like to think of it.
@@ZillaBlitz I can live with that :D
Enemy Action Ardennes is on my list for the year as well. Not on my shelf of shame but ready for another campaign in Silent War 2.0. What an amazing game that is. I think you should give Phantom Fury a go this year. I finally got it flushed out and I really enjoyed it. Last on my own list is Purple Haze. Just got it and am really looking forward to digging in to that one. Good luck bud. You are going to have a heck of a year 😊😊
I'm hoping to get Comet played this year by Hollandspiele. Kind of waiting to see a video playthrough first but the only one I've found so far is done by Stuka Joe in Spanish. Have you tried any of the R. Ben Madison solitaire games by White Dog Games such as Global War: World War II Worldwide, Gift of the Nile, Jeff Davis: The Confederacy at War or his newest one Sword of Orthodoxy? These are all lots of fun!
I confess I don't know much about the Ben Madison solitaire games, other than some social media references. Thanks for the heads up. Might be something to add to the list, but probably not something to add to the Shelf of Shame challenge. :)
Thats an amazing list of games. Think i have about 10 of them.
Fire in the lake is also on my shelf in shrink and hoping to play it 2025!
Sounds like there will be two fires in the lake! Most excellent. :)
Wow this is great, thanks! Really good way to mtivate (me) to play games that haven't vome out for a very long time - or at all. Shameful! Games I will definitely force out (on myself and/or my friends haha) will be:
GMT Tank Duel
GMT Falling Sky
GMT Fire in the Lake
Rio Grande Games Maria
Conflict of Heroes Awakening the Bear
Academy Games Strike of the Eagle
I am going to strive to get these out, hopefully not just solo hehe. Thanks again for the video!
That's a great list! Glad that it's helped motivate. I'm working on a bias toward action and have a 2-player game of Up Front set up for this weekend. :) Good luck with your games, if you have time please share how it's going. :)
I really like War Room's (ID Jester, Rough Swordsman, Nate) 10 Wargaming challenge, I've been using it to plan catching up with my "shelf of opportunity". I gave up halfway through 2023 (life got to busy) but completed one for 2024 and already getting my short list for 2025. I'm really picking a combination of games from the series I already know (like GCACW, Blind Swords, Wing Leader) and new ones, with focus on "big box" games, to make some shelf space:
1. 1914 Nach Paris
2. Tank Duel
3. Assault on Gallipoli
4. Age of Napoleon
5. Rome Total War The Board Game
6. Pacific War
7. Point Blank (Lock n Load)
8. Skies above Britain
9. Europa Universalis
10. Guam (CSS)
11. GBoH Alexander
12. Musket & Pike
Your number 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, & 15, are on my Shelf of Opportunities. Mine 10 are Halls of Hegra, Sherman Leader, Enemy Action Ardennes, RAF, NATO the Cold War Goes Hot, Company of Heroes, skies Above Britain, Stalingrad Advance to the Volga, and Rebel Fury. Very much like last year but I got promoted back in April which seriously cut into my game time. Coming up on retirement reasonably soon so hopefully I can get back on track. BTW: If I had a vote, I love to see you do a live take on WARFIGHTER, which I just got this last week, and man was it hard to get my hands on it. My other two wishes would be RAF, and Enemy Action Ardennes. Good luck to us all.
I have 3 of those on my own Shelf of Shame (Skies Above the Reich, Skies Above Britain, Target for Today). Spent a lot of time learning the games but just no time last year. Videos on those would motivate me to get those to the table in 2025. At the same time, there are some tempting possible purchases you listed. NO! I won't add to the list!
I played a campaign in B-17 Flying Fortress Leader and felt it was too easy to get a win.
Great List/video. I have to quit watching since you inspire me to want to buy more games! I like other commenters description: Shelf of Opportunity. Mine for 2025: Unconditional Surrender (just P500 WatWar: the old AH 3r system!), RAF, The Hunters, War and Peace, Afrika Korps, Simonitch series xx40s, Russian Campaign. Happy New Year. BTW Combat Commnader Europe series is absolutely my favorite and always ready to play. Join the monthly ladder, I have met many great gamers this way. Patrick Pence does a great job.
Great list of games, and I've actually been eyeing that Combat Commander ladder a bit. I want to learn the rules and get smooth at playing first, but it's on the radar. Thanks for the suggestion. :)
Nice list. I have some of the same games sitting on my shelf. Ardennes, RAF, Storm and Skies Above the Reich, D-Day at Iwo Jima. I play Target for Today quite a bit but Target for Tonight is sitting on the shelf. Might have to jump into to a Lancaster soon. Good luck with ASL. I played SL for years but never made the switch to ASL. My three picks are Ardennes, Leader game, and Above the Reich.
Shelf of Doon! Campaign for North Africa. I've had it since 1980 something and only played a few turns.
Haha! I think that game is one every owner’s Shelf of Doom. Has anyone ever played it?
Great list. As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to Up Front. My shelf is not as deep as yours (unfortunately?) but the games I need to get to are, "Picket Duty", "D-Day at Peleliu" (Sp?), "D-Day at Tarawa", and "Tiger Leader". I am now doing my first mission in "Sky Hawk". I L O V E "Target For Today" and I think you will also. I look forward to seeing your games.
The thing is ... I have about 70 games on my shelf-of-shame ... and in order to lower that ASAP, it's more efficient to start with the eurogames :)
Excellent list and, surprisingly, I have actually played quite a few of these.
A quick note about Combat!. I know you like playing with the actual game but this a really counter dense and playing on VASSAL is a much nicer experience. Greg Amos has developed the latest modules and it makes Combat! really playable. Combat 2 adds the campaign and is superb.
As for Warfighter, I have always felt that Warfighter Modern fits the system better. Small squads sneaking through jungles and urban environments fighting insurgents. Not something I have seen anyone else say but having both Modern and WW2 I much prefer the former.
Interesting thoughts, thank you. That's the one criticism I've heard of Combat!, the marker density element. I might actually explore that with Vassal then, at least for playing solo.
And I'd not heard that about Warfighter yet, that's also an interesting point. I only have the WW2 game, so I'll probably start with that. But if it enjoy it well enough, I think expanding to modern sounds like the next logical direction. :)
Your wife must be as accommodating as mine because I had Russia Beseiged set up on the dining room table for months and she never complained.
Lucky you! I had to buy sheets of plexiglass to play on so I could move them.
@@vincentmanion7990 i actually do the same...you need plexiglass for paper map's...but a bonus is you can easily move them and stack them then fold up the paper maps...
My tip: Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase, Atlantic Chase.
Why? Same fabulous designer as the Above the Reich and Sky above Britain series and A very good OPERATIONAL SOLO version about battleships in the Atlantic early WW2. Learning is even easier than his tactical air games.
It is my number 2 of all time after EA:A and an incredible achievement with solo hidden movement, air support, ship combat etc. After 46 years of wargaming one of the very best wargames EVER. And … I was not even a fan of sea warfare until I played this gem.
To give an example: After playing just a few scenarios I ordered every possible western GE UK miniature ship of WW2.
Also a general tip for playing.
Make a calendar in what months you want to play a particular battle or game related to it.
I am now busy playing Bulge games from Dec to Jan.
I started with EA:A Germans solo, then in between I played a small Wiltz scenario from Race for Bastogne (GTS), then a ASL Bulge scenario, then Up Front Bastogne campaign (these campaigns can be found on BGG files section 40+ different campaigns !and they are AWESOME. 10 scenarios each and all different ones and still going now).
EA:A Germans solo still needs one more turn, but the first time in 5 years, I got a win now ! Not bad for a Butterfield game.
Starting this weekend EA:A but now playing the US, for the first time ever.
After that I will play a solo Bastogne scenario of Panzer(GMT designer Jim Day), taken from the Panzer pusher website with dozens of extra solo scenarios (Freyneux this one). sites.google.com/site/thepanzerpusher/
February is then reserved for Atlantic Chase and another Jim Day wargame, Iron and Oak about ACW Ironclads with self 3D printed miniatures on the map.
March another theme with strategical games, solo version of Hitler’s Reich (most underrated/unplayed/hated wargame ever) but in my view top wargame and a final start of some small scenarios of Unconditional surrender, in time to play and test the newly launched Undonditional surrender small maps game.
By the time april comes, the France 40 games will hopefully see some play and my attic is warm enough for some giant table play of Bolt Action with miniatures.
Planning is ALL that matters… 😎🤪
Happy gaming and you are incredible with your videos frankly.
I sent my shelf of shame games to noble knights because I know I’ll just stare at them …happy with E.A. Ardennes, combat! Vol 2 and warfighter nam and special ops, fearful sacrifice,the fate of all lastly A time for trumpets for a monster game. It’s good to downsize the rest
Ha! That is most definitely a creative way to handle a Shelf of Shame. I do have a few like that as well, ones that I got via a trade or in a discount bin or in a moment of wishful thinking, and I really should move those on too.
Please, try Band of Brothers from Worthington. It's my tactical game of choice after playing many others.
Oh, this is a great suggestion! I have one of those games. :)
The game that has to be played this year is Undaunted Stalingrad. I used to play a lot of games with my son during the last years and I thought I would play Undaunted Stalingrad with him, too. So I decided to wait for the german version but by the time I received it in October 2023 he all of sudden was so grown up! 😱
So now I have to compete not only with his sports, but also with going out with friends and even a girl friend. 😢
There is not enough time left for a campaign game to play with him and so I most likely have hope I will find someone else to play it.
As somebody else calls it: shelf of opportunity...
I like that better :-)
Good one.
Some classic games that will keep you occupied and fun to play as well, hopefully some plays will be posted to the channel. A couple of others, possibly, Monty's Gamble (MMP) & Vijayanagara. Games I need to play MBT (Panzer keeps getting in the way) Red Star Rising (MMP) & ASL Starter Kit #1.
Thought the rules felt clunky to get through, Conflict of Heroes solo was a decent squad level skirmish (actual solo, not just playing 2-handed). It scratched just enough of the itch I've had for solo Combat Commander. That being said, your enjoyment of life will be better if you actually just find someone to play Combat Commander with :D (it is just so good).
By the way... are there any Valiant Defense titles sitting idle on your shelf??
I only have Lanzerath Ridge at the moment. I'd like to try a couple of the others at some point.
Please add The Last Hundred Yards to your list for 2025.
Oh, that's an interesting idea. I'll put some of these in a first comment so people can see them. Thanks!
I'd vote Hood Strikes North (GCACW is my favourite series) and Fields of Fire Deluxe (I also have this one on my shelf of opportunity, got it like 2 months ago but will get it played this year)
No shame in letting some of your games age like a fine wine ... 😉
Ha! Now this is a great way to think of it. I like. :)
My big one on the shelf of shame is this one: "Tomorrow the World", where Germany and Japan fight for supremacy after they win WWII. I got it for my birthday in 2023, it's still in the shipping box. Has anyone ever played this?
Wow, I've never even heard of it. Reminds me of that sci-fi novel? By Phillip Dick? The Man in the High Castle?
@@ZillaBlitz Whoops it's been sitting in the box so long I got the name wrong! It's actually called "Triumph of the Will", a fairly new title from Compass Games. It does resemble "The Man in the High Castle", although there are other novels with similar themes too. Well, I have it out of the box now, maybe I'll actually set it up!
But there IS a game called "Tomorrow the World" on the same subject, published in 1989 from 3W.
D-Day at series - I wanted to love it, just could not get over how "spreadsheet" it was. It felt like I wasn't in control of anything.
Enemy Action:Ardennes - is a superb game - get it played
Holland '44 - superb game - get it played
RAF:Battle of Britain is outrageously good fun - get it played
Combat! is an excellent game, but ultimately I couldn't overlook how daft the AI looked
For a Leader game, I would highly recommend Phantom Leader...the best of the bunch imho
I have about 60 games and I've only played about 20 of them. So I do have a shelf of shame, but rather than specify the games I'm going to play, I've decided not to buy any this year and play through what I have.
LHY is an excellent game
When I first got back into wargaming I read the rules for Vol 2, but decided I wanted to play more games first. Might be time to revisit. :)
In my spreadsheet I have a column that I sort the games by. Excellent. Very good. Good. okay. Poor and fail I.e... couldn't figure out the darn game.
I have added the term collectible and I have marked all games from last century that I have never played as collectible. They are officially off the unplayed list. Eventually i'm hoping to try to play them anyway.
I am going to try and get my first seven to eight games to be unplayed untouched games.
Root. On table, playing. (Learning as I go).
Rebel Fury on table, reading rules.
Battle of Adobe Wells
Serbia Must Die, 1914
Russian Front
North Africa 41
Great War at Sea- Mediterranean.
Great Battles of Alexander
I also have Compass Storm of Steel set up from December. Restart cuz I really didn't play it correctly earlier in the year.
What about 8th AF?
It's actually near the top of my playthrough videos to make. I haven't forgotten it yet. It's in my project list. The Shelf of Shame are games that aren't really tied to projects, more just "games I want to play"
Great list of games. These I have an do not think you will be disapoionted by any of them, Paths of Glory Ted Racier signed my copy, Fire In The Lake, Empire of the Sun btw C3i Nr30's South Pacific, Burma: The Forgotten War is a new Empire of the Sun standalone scenario module. Up Front, Warfighter I have the modern version, ASL do you know what scenairo you want to play? I think a fun little 1st scenairo is A29 A Meeting of Patrols. As I recall it s 10 squads German and 10 American. It reminds me of the '60s TV series Comba!. What is nice low complexity, fairly equal sides. Oh btw I made I think a useful chart for beginners and me. It is on all the info counters when you place them, when you take them off, the indx number where you can find the rule and what they do. You are welcome to it if you want it.
🦕😂 Up Front is such a cluster fk ov chances missed opportunity's, I'm not sure you can handle it, you really have to understand the cards , count the coulourd RNC, well try to remember that+ the terrain cards , every card has multiple functions all vital , so u buld up your hand to achieve momentum and the whole thing changes making your hand worthless,,,,, sounds like magic,,, ps arrrrg Squad leaver ,,,, i have been avoiding this , hope i can hang out there,,,, suggest kingmaker is there a military style game using the rondel mechanism a la Hamburgum/Navagador ,,,,,, ps🐎🤔🦕 playing Germany defensive scenarios ,Do Not Have too many fire cards , try to have a mortar or weapon that uses the to hit value as u can use cards that u would have to discard !!!, Ok 😃👍
Too bad you can't get a copy of Warfighter Vietnam...the rule book for the previous titles SUCKS. Like BIG TIME.
Oh, interesting, would the rulebook for the Vietnam one help me with the WW2 one? I'd think it's available online somewhere.
You will need some time to absorb the complex rules of ASL. Expect to make loads of mistakes but do not let it set you short on the fun factor. ASL is a solid system.
Thanks! I have a plan! I'm watching the really good ASL channel's boot camp videos and following a General article that has an 8-step plan for playing ASL. I'm underway and having a blast. :)
@@ZillaBlitz Good Channel indeed. Start with the Starter Kits. Much less rules heavy and no less fun to play.
I dabbled in SK#1 about a year ago, I think I want to try the full infantry portion of the full ASL.
Empire of the Sun great mechanics inferior chrome to that other big Pacific one but never played either. Lot of great war games I won't play if the chrome ain't right.
And it's great that we have so many to pick from, so everyone can find games they enjoy. :)