Twilight Struggle was our first GMT game as well. My wife loves it, and we have something around 250 games completed over the years. We randomly pick sides, and I believe we are dang near 50/50 in wins. Yes, better and better with the same opponent, and it certainly helps if she’s easy on the eyes. 👩
You can't be wrong about your favorite games. We appreciate the lists because it narrows the viewers' focus. Many of us don't have another player which we can play with weekly. Our opportunities to play are limited and thus must make each opportunity count. Glad both of you enjoy the hobby together.
For as big a company as GMT is guys, a top ten would have probably been better. I wouldn't have minded the longer length of the video, everything you guys produce is excellent, keep up the great work.
I was surprised that 'Combat Commander' wasn't on the list, but yes there are so many great GMT games. The value to me in watching lists is in finding new (to me) games to investigate. I have two COIN games already and wasn't interested in a third, but now I'll be investigating 'Fire in the Lake'. 'Empire of the Sun' and 'Unconditional Surrender' are two that I didn't think were playable solo, but will now investigate also. Thanks!
Unconditional Surrender is a fantastic solo game, just do best possible move. Empire of the Sun has a full solitaire system, but it's still pretty complex and I'd only recommend it if you have some experience with solo bots and flow charts and decision matrices.
That will likely swing the decision to Unconditional Surrender. And I just remembered that an October GMT sale is planned. My wallet can breathe slightly easier. Thanks!
Fantastic video, I am anxiously waiting for the shipping of my P500 FitL. That being said, I can't imagine a top 5 GMT without Here I Stand and SE4X, ah well at least one of those made it haha!
It's be very easy to make a top 10 GMT and Here I stand would be right in there! There were so many games I had to exclude: Bomber Command, Holland '44, Paths of Glory to name just a few.
Interesting, though it might have been helpful to segment the games by era or type. As a hex-and-counters player, the GMT games which interest me most are Stalingrad '42, Holland '44, The Dark Valley (Deluxe), American Revolution Tri-Pack, and US Civil War. I'm a little surprised that none of these were mentioned, though some are newer than the video here.
Hi Alexander and Grant. You guys really are the ones that got me into GMT games during pandemic. Own FITL, The Hunted, and Pericles based on your excitement for those games. Any reason why Pericles cant quite get on your list over Churchill (which i havent played btw)?
For some reason, I always enjoy the lists people make. It's somewhat arbitrary - as different games sort of fulfill different "enjoyment" categories. i.e. Should you compare short quick solo games with in-depth, WWII games? Are you looking for a card driven game with more random events you must deal with, or a more scripted military game? Nice list you both have. You might think about doing a top 5 for some other publishers. MMP? Decision Games? Or you could clump games into "Independent" publishers. Also another list would be favorite maps or games you like the components the most ... Best genre games. For some reason, list reviews are always popular videos. Go figure.
These are some great suggestions. We chose GMT as a publisher because of all the games we've played, many have been there's. Compass Games are just so pricey it's hard to splash on a lot of those. But best maps is pretty interesting as a category! You may very well see that one soon!
Great video guys. I like you more than most wargame streamers. We differ a LOT in opinions, but I like your style. The list is VERY heavy though. I think I passed the moment where I want to have headaches over rules or strategy. Top5 change a lot also in time and space. I think my most played GMT games are Twilight Struggle (combo on line WITH the components before me), Labyrinth, Ancients and Napoleonics. The last 2 with the Stuka Joe solo method as I play 95% SOLO. The problem with COINS is that they are too heavy to play all the bots in solo mode. I thought Churchill was a very bad design having 26 different VP conditions and end game die rolling. The bot in Churchill - as you said - is not good for pure solo play either. I gave up after 3 games and sold it. I agree on Unconditional Surrender, a fabulous successor to AH’s Third Reich but I need to play it more. I think I can agree on Firefight also, but I have too much fun with the Solo AI bot of the Conflict of Heroes WITHOUT getting a headache. Lastly, I have HUGE fun with the brand new solo bot in Hitler’s Reich. Complete different directions and strategy in each game I played in this very free style and easy game of ETO. I think Hitler’s Reich solo play is really a promotion for these solo bot systems. Hitler’s Reich is the first ETO I EVER played where Operation Barbarossa did not happen, in fact they never grabbed at each other throats but the bot still beat me by supporting a huge continuing Afrika Korps attack and killed off my Italian invasion in 1942... putting my allies on the knees. Oh and btw, Twilight is a game about ... the Cold War. As such it is as much a wargame or conflict simulation as Labyrinth the War on Terror is or Fire in the Lake. 😜
Mine would be Twilight Struggle, Sword of Rome, Empire of the Sun, Here I Stand, and Combat Commander, no real order in that pile Honorable mention: Paths of Glory and For the People
My list is For the People, Empire of the Sun, anything by Simonitch (Normandy 44), anything by Terri Simo (Downtown), Fields of Fire is top dog for sure.
Hi, as I said I’m new to these type of games. Could you do a next steps, after Twilight Struggle video? I have heard of the coin series, and don’t what it means, does it mean they use coins as action points or something? Likewise, what is meant when games are part of the command and colours series? Is it to do with how they look?
We will 100% put that together, because you're not alone in feeling a little lost. We were there not all that long ago! COIN stands for Counter Insurgency, it's a series of games from GMT Games involving a-symmetrical powers. COIN is popular because it's a dudes-on-a-map area control game, but there's always at least one sub layer of political will/sympathy you have to abstractly fight over in each area as well. Command and Colors is a system also. It refers to the basic mechanics found in Memoir '44 where the board is divided into sections and you use a simple card based engine to move pieces around.
Sorry guys, I don’t know what or who possessed me. Great list, so much appreciation for you guys and this channel. Added a couple games to my wishlist.
There a quite a few video reviews for best AH games on TH-cam. As a quick starter in the interim quite a few of the old Jedko games (later sold under the AH label ) are good ie The Russian Campaign. (A designer signature edition is on the way for this). For multiplayer (3+players Kingmaker is considered a classic by many).
Hi , could you make a list of the top solitaire system of these coin games? Which one has the best or is coin just better with 2 or more player? Greetings from Berlin, Germany
Might be a bit late, but the most recent coin game, All Bridges Burning, is prolly the best solo. It is 3 player which makes it more manageable, and it utilizes the new card bot system which is much more streamlined.
Hi - Great Vid - Please fix that noise in future vid`s - Maybe insert screenshot of board & stuff ;) - Perhaps , Scorelist by certain game-experience`s & parameter`s ... and so on .. :) Tempus Fugit & Semper Fi - Peace - Out ;) ;) ;)
8:40 Super-fucking-annoyed that Churchill and Roosevelt have their flags behind them, but they forgot to color Stalin's background red. Nothing political, it's just that the lack of consistency pisses me off :D
On there P500 list, which is the pre-order system. They reprint a lot of games through it too, that way you know what you're getting and the prices are near unbeatable. The good thing with these games is the resell value is usually very good if it's not quite your taste.
Unfortunately with international shipping ordering on that basis probably makes it worse for me. My plan is to coincide a shopping trip in the USA with a holiday. So I'd need to get them shipped to wherever I was staying in a pretty tight window.
The noise in the background from the mic makes it hard to watch the video. Get a better mic or turn down the gain on the mic and afterwards in the editing turn up the volume or compress it. That will hopefully get rid of the background hiss.
How does fire in the lake compare to colonial twilight? I have pendragon, but it doesn't have the same tenseness as colonial twilight and am looking for a 4 player version that captures this tenseness.
Similarly, but Fire in the Lake is complex like Pendragon. Colonial Twilight is a much more "standard" COIN game, with regards to complexity. Fire in the Lake, to me, is the best COIN, Very, very tense. Free Peoples can never east easy because the NVA and VC are so so resilient.
Dan NoEnemysHere, via psychic medium. The guys from TPA... hey they come through. I got some music for ya, make the list a little nicer, what do ya say?
Hmm... Empire of the Sun... I don't know... I would probably try it, but some of these CDG's have really rubbed me the wrong way. "We the People" was fine, but a game like "Stalins war" really made me hate CDGs.
Twilight Struggle was our first GMT game as well. My wife loves it, and we have something around 250 games completed over the years. We randomly pick sides, and I believe we are dang near 50/50 in wins. Yes, better and better with the same opponent, and it certainly helps if she’s easy on the eyes. 👩
You can't be wrong about your favorite games. We appreciate the lists because it narrows the viewers' focus. Many of us don't have another player which we can play with weekly. Our opportunities to play are limited and thus must make each opportunity count. Glad both of you enjoy the hobby together.
For as big a company as GMT is guys, a top ten would have probably been better. I wouldn't have minded the longer length of the video, everything you guys produce is excellent, keep up the great work.
GMT Coin Game list is a great idea. The differences, complexity, historical references and solitaire experiences of the various Coin Games.
A summary list of the games chosen by each person at the end might be a good idea.
I'm a big fan of GMT (and you guys!) so this made my night.
thanks for the show. So many games to choose from makes it tough! I really enjoy Command and Colors Napoleon.
Great video, guys. Thanks! I added Space Empires and Fields of Despair to my lengthy want list. See you at WBC next year!
Excellent recommendations. Thanks!
I was surprised that 'Combat Commander' wasn't on the list, but yes there are so many great GMT games. The value to me in watching lists is in finding new (to me) games to investigate. I have two COIN games already and wasn't interested in a third, but now I'll be investigating 'Fire in the Lake'. 'Empire of the Sun' and 'Unconditional Surrender' are two that I didn't think were playable solo, but will now investigate also. Thanks!
Unconditional Surrender is a fantastic solo game, just do best possible move. Empire of the Sun has a full solitaire system, but it's still pretty complex and I'd only recommend it if you have some experience with solo bots and flow charts and decision matrices.
That will likely swing the decision to Unconditional Surrender. And I just remembered that an October GMT sale is planned. My wallet can breathe slightly easier. Thanks!
Thank you for bringing Fields of Fire, that might have gone unnoticed!
Fantastic video, I am anxiously waiting for the shipping of my P500 FitL. That being said, I can't imagine a top 5 GMT without Here I Stand and SE4X, ah well at least one of those made it haha!
It's be very easy to make a top 10 GMT and Here I stand would be right in there! There were so many games I had to exclude: Bomber Command, Holland '44, Paths of Glory to name just a few.
Interesting, though it might have been helpful to segment the games by era or type. As a hex-and-counters player, the GMT games which interest me most are Stalingrad '42, Holland '44, The Dark Valley (Deluxe), American Revolution Tri-Pack, and US Civil War. I'm a little surprised that none of these were mentioned, though some are newer than the video here.
Whaaat!? No Combat Commander!?
I need to check out Field of Dispair!
Goin to play my firt Space Empires 4X in January, so excited!
Hi Alexander and Grant. You guys really are the ones that got me into GMT games during pandemic. Own FITL, The Hunted, and Pericles based on your excitement for those games. Any reason why Pericles cant quite get on your list over Churchill (which i havent played btw)?
Churchill hits a theme we're more attuned to and it's less compex, thus easier to actually play. We've also just played it a lot more.
cannot wait for the reprint of fire in the lake.. it seems to be taking forever for them to ship. i love the COIN series. gotta collect them all.
Empire of the sun has become my favorite game hands down!
Grant: to keep interceptions in EotS to a minimum, use the pinning tactic. Look at the John Steidl videos.
For some reason, I always enjoy the lists people make. It's somewhat arbitrary - as different games sort of fulfill different "enjoyment" categories. i.e. Should you compare short quick solo games with in-depth, WWII games? Are you looking for a card driven game with more random events you must deal with, or a more scripted military game?
Nice list you both have. You might think about doing a top 5 for some other publishers. MMP? Decision Games? Or you could clump games into "Independent" publishers.
Also another list would be favorite maps or games you like the components the most ... Best genre games.
For some reason, list reviews are always popular videos. Go figure.
These are some great suggestions. We chose GMT as a publisher because of all the games we've played, many have been there's. Compass Games are just so pricey it's hard to splash on a lot of those. But best maps is pretty interesting as a category! You may very well see that one soon!
Good List- seen the Ben Davis t- shirt are you guys on the west side of Indy also?
Grant's wife, Paisley, teaches there.
Nice. I live on the Westside. Graduated in 87 from there
I’m on Christmas lock out. I can’t by myself a game so I have to add this to my list. My wife said you’re killing her. Lol!
Why only 5!!! Top 10 looks like double fun. About Fileds of Fire - can You recommended and good tutorial for it? Thanks for good episode.
HAMTAG--- Half as Much Twice as Good
Great video guys. I like you more than most wargame streamers. We differ a LOT in opinions, but I like your style.
The list is VERY heavy though. I think I passed the moment where I want to have headaches over rules or strategy.
Top5 change a lot also in time and space.
I think my most played GMT games are Twilight Struggle (combo on line WITH the components before me), Labyrinth, Ancients and Napoleonics. The last 2 with the Stuka Joe solo method as I play 95% SOLO.
The problem with COINS is that they are too heavy to play all the bots in solo mode. I thought Churchill was a very bad design having 26 different VP conditions and end game die rolling. The bot in Churchill - as you said - is not good for pure solo play either. I gave up after 3 games and sold it.
I agree on Unconditional Surrender, a fabulous successor to AH’s Third Reich but I need to play it more.
I think I can agree on Firefight also, but I have too much fun with the Solo AI bot of the Conflict of Heroes WITHOUT getting a headache.
Lastly, I have HUGE fun with the brand new solo bot in Hitler’s Reich. Complete different directions and strategy in each game I played in this very free style and easy game of ETO. I think Hitler’s Reich solo play is really a promotion for these solo bot systems. Hitler’s Reich is the first ETO I EVER played where Operation Barbarossa did not happen, in fact they never grabbed at each other throats but the bot still beat me by supporting a huge continuing Afrika Korps attack and killed off my Italian invasion in 1942... putting my allies on the knees.
Oh and btw, Twilight is a game about ... the Cold War. As such it is as much a wargame or conflict simulation as Labyrinth the War on Terror is or Fire in the Lake.
😜
You should do a top GMT games that are out of print and not on the P500. There are some old classics lurking around many peoples' collections.
Oh....nice idea!
Great! Thank you.
Next: Top 5 Mark Herman Games? :-D
Great video, one again!!!
Do you recommend one of them to play in solitaire? This is my unique option.
thanks a lot
COIN, Labyrinth, Churchill, Fields of Fire, Fields of Despair, Empire of the Sun all have solo options to varying degrees.
Mine would be Twilight Struggle, Sword of Rome, Empire of the Sun, Here I Stand, and Combat Commander, no real order in that pile Honorable mention: Paths of Glory and For the People
I just realized that six of the seven games mentioned above are CDGs in the classical Mark Herman sense. Combat Commander is the only one that isn't.
My list is For the People, Empire of the Sun, anything by Simonitch (Normandy 44), anything by Terri Simo (Downtown), Fields of Fire is top dog for sure.
Hi, as I said I’m new to these type of games. Could you do a next steps, after Twilight Struggle video? I have heard of the coin series, and don’t what it means, does it mean they use coins as action points or something? Likewise, what is meant when games are part of the command and colours series? Is it to do with how they look?
We will 100% put that together, because you're not alone in feeling a little lost. We were there not all that long ago! COIN stands for Counter Insurgency, it's a series of games from GMT Games involving a-symmetrical powers. COIN is popular because it's a dudes-on-a-map area control game, but there's always at least one sub layer of political will/sympathy you have to abstractly fight over in each area as well. Command and Colors is a system also. It refers to the basic mechanics found in Memoir '44 where the board is divided into sections and you use a simple card based engine to move pieces around.
The Players Aid Thank you. I can’t wait to watch it.
Great list - would be tough to pick my top 5. Would probably have to include Holland 44 somewhere in there.
Sorry guys, I don’t know what or who possessed me. Great list, so much appreciation for you guys and this channel. Added a couple games to my wishlist.
15:55; I assume that "Fortunate Son" and "For What It's Worth" are compulsory inclusions on that playlist.
FITL is a masterpiece.
Top 1 will probably be twilight struggle. I also would place here paths of glory
Do you have a Churchill review from a solo gamer perspective. Interesting to hear your thoughts as I was underwhelmed by the bots.
Bots are supplementary and should really only be used to learn the game or if desperate. If I don't have three players we don't play churchill.
@@ThePlayersAid hmm surprised to hear You say that seen as this is predominantly a solo wargames channel
I own most the games on your lists. The other ones are on my wish list ;) Great picks!
You guys have to stop. My wallet is not that big. Good job!
I was just about to write the same thing. These guys are not only great reviewers, they're pretty decent salesman ;)
So interesting! Would be great a top-5 AH/old wargames video.
We need to play more classic games before doing that without sounding out of our depth, I think! But Up Front would for sure be on that list.
There a quite a few video reviews for best AH games on TH-cam. As a quick starter in the interim quite a few of the old Jedko games (later sold under the AH label ) are good ie The Russian Campaign. (A designer signature edition is on the way for this). For multiplayer (3+players Kingmaker is considered a classic by many).
Good list. You guys played Cataclysm yet? Love to know your thoughts. Great videos keep it up!
As I'm typing this it is next to my keyboard. I'm reading the rules on my breaks at work. I'm desperate to play it.
Surprised Liberty or Death was not on Grant's List. Realize he mentioned it was close second to Fire in the Lake in COIN games.
I, too, was very surprised he didn't have it on his list.
Hi , could you make a list of the top solitaire system of these coin games? Which one has the best or is coin just better with 2 or more player? Greetings from Berlin, Germany
Might be a bit late, but the most recent coin game, All Bridges Burning, is prolly the best solo. It is 3 player which makes it more manageable, and it utilizes the new card bot system which is much more streamlined.
Hi - Great Vid - Please fix that noise in future vid`s - Maybe insert screenshot of board & stuff ;) - Perhaps , Scorelist by certain game-experience`s & parameter`s ... and so on .. :) Tempus Fugit & Semper Fi - Peace - Out ;) ;) ;)
Oh the irony - talking GMT games while wearing a Flying Pig Games t-shirt !!!
Love it - both great companies......
Space Empires is “space gaming for accountants”. Total Tediousness.
If you are thinking about upgrading an element of your production I will humbly suggest audio.
We're thinking about upgrading everything, it's just pricey =[
8:40 Super-fucking-annoyed that Churchill and Roosevelt have their flags behind them, but they forgot to color Stalin's background red.
Nothing political, it's just that the lack of consistency pisses me off :D
Where's the best place to buy all these games?
On there P500 list, which is the pre-order system. They reprint a lot of games through it too, that way you know what you're getting and the prices are near unbeatable. The good thing with these games is the resell value is usually very good if it's not quite your taste.
Unfortunately with international shipping ordering on that basis probably makes it worse for me. My plan is to coincide a shopping trip in the USA with a holiday. So I'd need to get them shipped to wherever I was staying in a pretty tight window.
You guys play The US Civil War yet?
Grant has played it a little with a friend. It's a monster we need to just bash out.
What happened to combat commander?
Lists are hard =[ It did seem criminal not putting it on.
Yes, well I mentioned it because you always bring it up comparing other games 😀
Triumph & Tragedy!
The noise in the background from the mic makes it hard to watch the video.
Get a better mic or turn down the gain on the mic and afterwards in the editing turn up the volume or compress it. That will hopefully get rid of the background hiss.
If you have to, just put the mic on the table. It is not a big deal if we see the mic.
How does fire in the lake compare to colonial twilight? I have pendragon, but it doesn't have the same tenseness as colonial twilight and am looking for a 4 player version that captures this tenseness.
Similarly, but Fire in the Lake is complex like Pendragon. Colonial Twilight is a much more "standard" COIN game, with regards to complexity. Fire in the Lake, to me, is the best COIN, Very, very tense. Free Peoples can never east easy because the NVA and VC are so so resilient.
Why is Churchill higher than Pericles? Theme? Pericles is definitely a war game.
Theme, not as complex, easier to learn, fewer players needed, theme. It's a household favourite here.
Good games, m9st not my idea of favorites.
Dan NoEnemysHere, via psychic medium. The guys from TPA... hey they come through. I got some music for ya, make the list a little nicer, what do ya say?
Not Aid, the player said.
Hmm... Empire of the Sun... I don't know... I would probably try it, but some of these CDG's have really rubbed me the wrong way.
"We the People" was fine, but a game like "Stalins war" really made me hate CDGs.
Alexander.... it's the third time you've advertised "Fields of Fire" so massively. In short... it is enough. I am fed up.
Just bought the game. :D
As an investment, you'll get hours upon hours out of it, and that's just from reading the rules. To me, it's worth the investment.
BDHS!!!
The Chief BondingWithBoardGames, via psychic medium. What no B-17 Queen of The Skies, GMT is the new AH anyway. Stupid list! HAMTAG!
Not on my list????? Push the top 5 to top 10, then it might be on your list.
GimpysGal TheGimpyGamer, via psychic medium. No glitter anywhere, boxes, cards, dice, counters, ..., seriously, stupid list!
Yeah. We really aren’t glitter and fireworks kind of guys. Well Grant isn’t at least!