This is the game that got me hooked on historical themed games, and GMT in general. The online version makes the game quicker and easier (it gives you the odds of success for different die rolls). I've played an ungodly number of online games. And that's the weakness of the game: to be good at it, you need to know the cards, *all* the cards. I would wipe the floor with a new player, not because I'm particularly good, but because I know every single card inside and out. I know "don't do X now because Y will cancel that out later", that a new player wouldn't have any way of knowing. So it makes it harder for a new player to get into it. Still, I'd happily teach it to someone, and guide them in our first few games. I don't mind the "mixing early/mid/late" thing that you mentioned. As for the scoring cards, keep in mind that they go back into the discard deck, and can get scored again, so even if you're in a bad spot in the early war, you still have a chance to recover those points later in the game. I agree with you that the random die rolls is the weakest part of this game, but I don't know how they could have done it differently. Great review, I like this "Still worth it?" series!
The Steam version of this is a perfect copy of the board game as far as I can tell and does the admin for you. It allowed me to continue to play with my opponent since moving towns and was great throughout the lockdowns
Great review. I'm keen to play this having just bought and enjoyed TS: Red Sea. (By the way, the auto generated captions in your summary opted for 'Toilet Struggle' , a game we've all played and lost at one time or another.)
If you enjoy this I HIGHLY recommend Watergate, the duelling tension of TS but played in between 20 and 40 mins. It's seriously addictive and much easier to get to the table.
In defense of dice - you never know if a given strategy is going to pay off, even in life, but you can generally understand the odds. I personally use as unbiased dice as possible, cycling out cheap/shoddy d6s that exist in the majority of boardgames even today. I've never played TS but at least dice have a purpose (to determine if a coup attempt was successful, etc) far greater than traditional roll & move games. A potential solution to your issues with the deck (again I don't own the game so this may or may not be feasible) is cycle out every Early War card (other than scoring) when cycling in the Late War cards. This makes the game have three phases - early war, early-mid, mid-late. That way you won't have an early-late scenario like you described. Hopefully there's enough cards to facilitate this. Thanks for this video, I've considered getting TS for a long time.
Your comment about the randomness of the die rolls is spot on. Strange thing is I never realized it until I heard you actually say it. However, I can't think of any way of alleviating or circumventing that randomness -- and doing so would make the game even better.
Great review! My biggest gripe is the game length, as was mentioned in this review. When my friends and I play, the game almost always goes to turn 9 or 10, and that just takes too long.
Yea they go into the discard but the chances of them actually appearing again are slim to none. Now you’re going to tell me that all your games see the scoring cards come out multiple times…
Do you remove not discard the one time event cards when you play the event? My feeling is that you see the scoring cards once in early war then again in mid war and some of them in late war. Then final scoring.
The scoring cards go back in the deck unless specified. But by the time the deck is shuffled most of the time the game is done because the scoring cards already came out.
Love this game, rarely get it to the table these days but I've gotten hours and hours of entertainment out of the mobile app. I think the only thing I mildly dislike about it is that playing the game well relies heavily on knowledge of the deck which makes introducing and playing it with a new player a tall order. So easy to become "the guy who owns the fighting game". Of course on the other side of that is playing the app online and meeting the people who have played 100s of games of TS. A great way to learn how to improve but good lord do they pulverize anyone not on their level.
Yo dude, i hope you are EU instead of USA (because of timezones, im EU). I recognize myself in your comment. Want to do some online matches? I only do offline, since i assume i will lose and i dont want to forfeit an onkine match (aka being a bad loser hahaha). Cheers!!
V good game. Had the deluxe version but couldn’t get it to the table enough, so traded it and bought the digital version to play solo. Very good and tough implementation. All I can say is just as well I’m not allowed near any nuclear button as high probability we’d be toast.
Love this game but the length and it only being two players means I never get to play it. It's a real shame. I'd love to play it over traditional 2 player games like Chess or Go. But finding people to play either of those is much simpler.
Based on your explanation I’m wondering if you are removing the scoring cards from the game after playing them. The scoring cards should be put in the discard pile to be reshuffled in when you run out of cards. It’s normal to see the early war scoring cards 3 times a game. Sometimes 4 times. Cheers, Odious ghoul
One question please. I've only had the latest edition of this board game for a few days and I've noticed that one of the two 6 Soviet tiles/markers has the number 6 on the front, but a 5 on the back. There are also two 6 tiles for the USA tiles, but both have a 6 on the front and back. Is this normal or is it a printing error?
Rumour has it that the creator of this game has gone missing, after Putin invited them to a cheese and wine party, and they beat Putin at a game of this. It was a special military banquet game night....... Which they deny holding.
Saw this just now and all I can think about is that this video launched on the day the Russian Civil War began. Great game though. Still worth playing.
@@BoardGameBollocks Well, it’s mostly me jumping the gun, but the Wagner Group (a mercenary organization) left Syria and Ukraine and are heading to Moscow as we speak. As I type this, they’re hours away from Moscow. They left last night and have already taken control of two cities. Russian people are feeding the soldiers. Some people are fighting in the streets. Putin has flown to St. Petersburg already. Either the Wagner Group is completely eliminated, or their coup is successful and they assassinate Putin. If Putin is assassinated, I can only assume Russia will descend into chaos similar to the 90s. However this time, there are Russian oligarchs with private armies who will no doubt vie for control. I would call this a Civil War. Right now it’s a coup, but I don’t think the label is important atm. Wagner will be in Moscow in the next 5 hours or so.
@@BoardGameBollocks If it were coming from one channel, maybe. But this is coming from everyone. The last battle in Moscow happened over 80 years ago. The outcome of this battle will shape global politics in the decades to come.
Every western channel. Russian channels are blocked here so there’s literally no way to get a balanced view. Chances are noting is happening and it’s just more propaganda crap. I remember a few weeks ago when twitter was convinced that Xi Jinping was under house arrest. Turned out it was bullshit. This story is already starting to fizzle out. People are so gullible.
Игры
This is the game that got me hooked on historical themed games, and GMT in general. The online version makes the game quicker and easier (it gives you the odds of success for different die rolls). I've played an ungodly number of online games. And that's the weakness of the game: to be good at it, you need to know the cards, *all* the cards. I would wipe the floor with a new player, not because I'm particularly good, but because I know every single card inside and out. I know "don't do X now because Y will cancel that out later", that a new player wouldn't have any way of knowing. So it makes it harder for a new player to get into it. Still, I'd happily teach it to someone, and guide them in our first few games.
I don't mind the "mixing early/mid/late" thing that you mentioned.
As for the scoring cards, keep in mind that they go back into the discard deck, and can get scored again, so even if you're in a bad spot in the early war, you still have a chance to recover those points later in the game.
I agree with you that the random die rolls is the weakest part of this game, but I don't know how they could have done it differently. Great review, I like this "Still worth it?" series!
The Steam version of this is a perfect copy of the board game as far as I can tell and does the admin for you. It allowed me to continue to play with my opponent since moving towns and was great throughout the lockdowns
Great review. I'm keen to play this having just bought and enjoyed TS: Red Sea. (By the way, the auto generated captions in your summary opted for 'Toilet Struggle' , a game we've all played and lost at one time or another.)
That amazing!
If you enjoy this I HIGHLY recommend Watergate, the duelling tension of TS but played in between 20 and 40 mins. It's seriously addictive and much easier to get to the table.
As far as simpler games to scratch the TS itch, I've always found that 13 days does a better job at delivering tension than Watergate does
Watergate is a decent game
@@EmilioRodocompletly second your opinion. I even go further, 13 days replaced Twilight struggle for me.
Love Watergate as well! Yes! It's kind of Twilight Struggle Lite.
FYI you flipped NATO and Marshall plan. Marshall plan must be played for the event before the NATO event can be triggered.
It was a rough rules overview mate not a full explanation
@@BoardGameBollocks yeah no big deal
Just bought this on your recommendations in various videos. Thank you for your channel and all the f'ing hard work that goes into the editing.
In defense of dice - you never know if a given strategy is going to pay off, even in life, but you can generally understand the odds. I personally use as unbiased dice as possible, cycling out cheap/shoddy d6s that exist in the majority of boardgames even today. I've never played TS but at least dice have a purpose (to determine if a coup attempt was successful, etc) far greater than traditional roll & move games.
A potential solution to your issues with the deck (again I don't own the game so this may or may not be feasible) is cycle out every Early War card (other than scoring) when cycling in the Late War cards. This makes the game have three phases - early war, early-mid, mid-late. That way you won't have an early-late scenario like you described. Hopefully there's enough cards to facilitate this.
Thanks for this video, I've considered getting TS for a long time.
Really like his reviews, but I wish he would be a little more grumpy.
Careful what you wish for
This is one of the best reviews of this game I have seen. Thank you for putting a lot of time into your research.
👍🏻
Your comment about the randomness of the die rolls is spot on. Strange thing is I never realized it until I heard you actually say it. However, I can't think of any way of alleviating or circumventing that randomness -- and doing so would make the game even better.
Great review! My biggest gripe is the game length, as was mentioned in this review. When my friends and I play, the game almost always goes to turn 9 or 10, and that just takes too long.
The scoring cards are actually spread through all 3 decks.
I didn’t see any in he late war deck
@@BoardGameBollocksbtw, you do know that scoring cards can be played multiple times? It wasn't clear from your comment about them coming out early
Yea they go into the discard but the chances of them actually appearing again are slim to none. Now you’re going to tell me that all your games see the scoring cards come out multiple times…
Do you remove not discard the one time event cards when you play the event? My feeling is that you see the scoring cards once in early war then again in mid war and some of them in late war. Then final scoring.
The scoring cards go back in the deck unless specified. But by the time the deck is shuffled most of the time the game is done because the scoring cards already came out.
The best game ever made about constantly managing bad choices and trying to navigate your way through a swamp of shit
I totally agree on mixing cards into mid and late war. But again like you said, they must have tested hundreds of times
Love this game, rarely get it to the table these days but I've gotten hours and hours of entertainment out of the mobile app.
I think the only thing I mildly dislike about it is that playing the game well relies heavily on knowledge of the deck which makes introducing and playing it with a new player a tall order. So easy to become "the guy who owns the fighting game".
Of course on the other side of that is playing the app online and meeting the people who have played 100s of games of TS. A great way to learn how to improve but good lord do they pulverize anyone not on their level.
Yo dude, i hope you are EU instead of USA (because of timezones, im EU).
I recognize myself in your comment. Want to do some online matches? I only do offline, since i assume i will lose and i dont want to forfeit an onkine match (aka being a bad loser hahaha).
Cheers!!
@juliusraben3526 Not in EU anymore
@@BoardGameBollocks sad to hear tom2666
V good game. Had the deluxe version but couldn’t get it to the table enough, so traded it and bought the digital version to play solo. Very good and tough implementation. All I can say is just as well I’m not allowed near any nuclear button as high probability we’d be toast.
great game, great review! keep up the bullocks, mister!
Love this game but the length and it only being two players means I never get to play it. It's a real shame. I'd love to play it over traditional 2 player games like Chess or Go. But finding people to play either of those is much simpler.
Finally, you've reviewed a real board game! Paths of Glory next ; ) Great review mate.
If i can find a copy on the cheap then yes. The film was amazing though.
Based on your explanation I’m wondering if you are removing the scoring cards from the game after playing them. The scoring cards should be put in the discard pile to be reshuffled in when you run out of cards. It’s normal to see the early war scoring cards 3 times a game. Sometimes 4 times.
Cheers,
Odious ghoul
No and yes
I read another comment and you do understand that the cards get reshuffled in.
One question please. I've only had the latest edition of this board game for a few days and I've noticed that one of the two 6 Soviet tiles/markers has the number 6 on the front, but a 5 on the back. There are also two 6 tiles for the USA tiles, but both have a 6 on the front and back. Is this normal or is it a printing error?
Can’t remember mate…sorry
@@BoardGameBollocks:( thanks
A great game, that holds the distinction of being the last game top-ranked on the Site of Shite to merit the position (ducks and covers).
Yea ill agree with that. I stayed there for years. Since then its been musical chairs.
Was too long, got watergate instead. Haven’t looked back since!
Rumour has it that the creator of this game has gone missing, after Putin invited them to a cheese and wine party, and they beat Putin at a game of this.
It was a special military banquet game night....... Which they deny holding.
Probably got lost somewhere on Putins table
All the youtube bull$hit! Great video, thank you!
Spot fucking on review. Those dice suck ass & mixing Cold War eras feels disjointed but its a beauty of a game that gets the history right.
To be fair some of the real US ideas for attacking Castro and instigating coups felt like dice rolls 😂
Exploding cigars…
FIGHT is random, you hit your target, or you dont. Its never sure.
Too many investment. I go for 13 days any time.
I ditched this game the moment that I played Watergate. Packs the same card play and hard decisions into an hour long game.
Amen, it's ludicrously good. One of my top 10 games ever, certainly the moment most portable.
Odious ghouls 😂
Saw this just now and all I can think about is that this video launched on the day the Russian Civil War began.
Great game though. Still worth playing.
What Civil War?
@@BoardGameBollocks Well, it’s mostly me jumping the gun, but the Wagner Group (a mercenary organization) left Syria and Ukraine and are heading to Moscow as we speak. As I type this, they’re hours away from Moscow. They left last night and have already taken control of two cities. Russian people are feeding the soldiers. Some people are fighting in the streets. Putin has flown to St. Petersburg already.
Either the Wagner Group is completely eliminated, or their coup is successful and they assassinate Putin.
If Putin is assassinated, I can only assume Russia will descend into chaos similar to the 90s. However this time, there are Russian oligarchs with private armies who will no doubt vie for control.
I would call this a Civil War. Right now it’s a coup, but I don’t think the label is important atm. Wagner will be in Moscow in the next 5 hours or so.
It’s all bollocks mate. Don’t trust the mainstream media to tell the truth. Twitter isn’t real.
@@BoardGameBollocks If it were coming from one channel, maybe. But this is coming from everyone. The last battle in Moscow happened over 80 years ago. The outcome of this battle will shape global politics in the decades to come.
Every western channel. Russian channels are blocked here so there’s literally no way to get a balanced view.
Chances are noting is happening and it’s just more propaganda crap. I remember a few weeks ago when twitter was convinced that Xi Jinping was under house arrest. Turned out it was bullshit.
This story is already starting to fizzle out. People are so gullible.
How could there be anti communist bias? Its such a perfet system.
The cards are more pro western in theme.