Of the traditional hex and counter games, my favorite was the original Battle of the Bulge from AH. Extremely well designed and fun to play. Played many games in the 60s when I was in high school and college.
That's great! I can't seem to find any online options for Battle of the Bulge, other than an unweildy Vassal module from 2012...I would love to feature it if we can make it work!
I played this a lot in the early sixties, had one game where we wiped each other out. The issue is the CRT. I was a play tester on several AH games to include Blitzkrieg where we introduced step reduction. A great era of gaming.
Yes, I think I played my first step reduction game when I got Gettysburg '88. Such a great concept and it seemed so innovative at the time and such a no-brainer looking back now
I remember playing this back in the '70s with a friend who collected these games. He encouraged me to be Napoleon and I beat him and went on to Brussels. He was so upset he demanded we play again and I won, again. Great game and we need to get back to these types of strategy games.
Found the comment about TTS being the only way to play because you're not going to find a copy out there funny, as the reason I sought this video out is that I picked up an unblemished copy of the game along with a stack of other boardgames today. Looking forward to giving it a playthrough!
That's awesome! I think we meant that you can't just stroll down to Walmart and grab a copy these days (sadly), but I'm glad you were able to track one down. Let us know how it goes!
Guys I’m 77 years old. I used to play chess. Board games took me away from chess. Waterloo, Gettysburg, Antietam. All wonderful games and so very educational.
I was about 10 when the first AH games came out - Gettysburg, Waterloo and D-Day. My friend’s dad ran a hobby store so that’s how we found out about them. By today’s standards the designs seem a little dated, but we loved them. They were totally innovative and unlike anything else at the time. The designs started getting stronger with Africa Korp and Stalingrad. They really hit their stride in the mid-60s with my favorites, Battle of the Bulge, Guadalcanal and Anzio. Other strong ones that followed were 1914, France 1940, 1776 and Wooden Ships and Iron Men. Guadalcanal was particularly interesting in that it first seemed to heavily favor the Americans until we came up with a passive Japanese strategy that tipped the balance the other way. Eventually we came up with an American counter strategy that balanced things again, at least within our group, and led to great games.
Thank you for sharing your great memories! We are looking to feature a lot of Avalon Hill games going forward, and some SPI ones as well - at least the ones with some online support. So stay tuned - retro gaming night is here to stay on our channel!
It’s a bit ironic, I used to have a huge board game collection, hundreds of games including all those I mentioned and more,, but came down with a mysterious muscle disease about 10 years ago. I could barely walk, had to quit my job, sell my house, move in with friends. Gave away all my stuff, including the game collection. Was diagnosed as likely ALS, terminal. Ended up recovering 90% function. If I still had the games, I would’ve been happy to loan them to you to check out, but they are scattered to the winds. 😎
I don't understand the map. It starts with that I don't recognize the terrain features so important during the battle: Hougemont, La Belle Alliance, the ridge line where the British Infantry hid behind. So I assume that this is more of a strategic game, where the scale is so zoomed out you don't see these individual features. But then what do you do when you have the big battle: pile 30 units into one hex?
Interesting - I had assumed that the map board would have reflected the terrain of the area. It is an old game, and perhaps they had focused on it being a fun game instead of reflecting the history. And there is a maximum of 3 counters per hex, just so you know
I always thought Waterloo was a bit of an odd duck compared to others of the time period such as Battle of the Bulge, Afrika Korps, or Stalingrad. Stacking by factors rather than by units flattens some of the tactics, and correct me if I'm wrong but can't you soak off at unlimited odds? And as you note there's no distinction between different types so the game does a lousy job of "feeling" Napoleonic.
Yes, I totally agree. I think the game deserves some forgiveness, as all this was quite new 60 years ago - fortunately, the designs got better and better over the years (although usually with accompanying complexity). I see this game as likely innovative for the time, but also an early stepping stone to more and better.
@@LegendaryTactics An interesting bit of Avalon Hill trivia is that they put out Waterloo (and I think at least a couple of others) in a huge oversize box. I got my copy off Ebay a couple of decades ago, the box is 14.5 X 20.25 inches, though the map is the same size and folds identically to the more common AH "classic" flat box design. The info from the Ebay seller was that this was the original size of the game, and that the "classic" box came later, but given that AH had already put out numerous games in the "classic" form factor, I suspect this may not be accurate. A even more trivial bit about this item, which I hope you'll appreciate, was that when I received the oversize Waterloo I found it had been "autographed" by the original owner, Douglas Beyerlein, who had scrawled his name and address inside the box cover, presumably back in the early 60s. Beyerlein is/was one of the early "giants" in postal Diplomacy (if you're unfamiliar with him, a quick internet search will give you lots of hits), and as somebody with more than a passing interest in both postal Dip and AH games, this was pretty sweet icing on my cake.
Yes, and there have also been some great innovations over the years as well! It's neat to see that there are many different mechanics and systems to represent history
Of the traditional hex and counter games, my favorite was the original Battle of the Bulge from AH. Extremely well designed and fun to play. Played many games in the 60s when I was in high school and college.
That's great! I can't seem to find any online options for Battle of the Bulge, other than an unweildy Vassal module from 2012...I would love to feature it if we can make it work!
You guys are really slamming my nostalgia buttons. You keep reminding me of the AH hex and counter games that I played in my youth. Thank you.
You're in luck! We are looking to make retro gaming night a regular part of the channel
I played this a lot in the early sixties, had one game where we wiped each other out. The issue is the CRT. I was a play tester on several AH games to include Blitzkrieg where we introduced step reduction. A great era of gaming.
Yes, I think I played my first step reduction game when I got Gettysburg '88. Such a great concept and it seemed so innovative at the time and such a no-brainer looking back now
I remember playing this back in the '70s with a friend who collected these games. He encouraged me to be Napoleon and I beat him and went on to Brussels. He was so upset he demanded we play again and I won, again. Great game and we need to get back to these types of strategy games.
Haha, that's a great story! So many great memories from these games! Thanks for commenting and watching!
I like Retro Gaming Night. Thanks for taking me back to my childhood.
You will be glad to hear that we're looking to make retro gaming night a regular part of our channel going forward!
@@LegendaryTactics Excellent idea. I'm not sure how far back you want to go, but I remember my folks being in a Bridge club in the 1960s.
Found the comment about TTS being the only way to play because you're not going to find a copy out there funny, as the reason I sought this video out is that I picked up an unblemished copy of the game along with a stack of other boardgames today. Looking forward to giving it a playthrough!
That's awesome! I think we meant that you can't just stroll down to Walmart and grab a copy these days (sadly), but I'm glad you were able to track one down. Let us know how it goes!
Proper use of the "soak off" wins this for the French every time.
I think that tactic was actually one of Napoleon's favorites...
Guys I’m 77 years old. I used to play chess. Board games took me away from chess. Waterloo, Gettysburg, Antietam. All wonderful games and so very educational.
Nice to meet you! Glad to hear you have such great memories with board games!
I was about 10 when the first AH games came out - Gettysburg, Waterloo and D-Day. My friend’s dad ran a hobby store so that’s how we found out about them. By today’s standards the designs seem a little dated, but we loved them. They were totally innovative and unlike anything else at the time. The designs started getting stronger with Africa Korp and Stalingrad. They really hit their stride in the mid-60s with my favorites, Battle of the Bulge, Guadalcanal and Anzio. Other strong ones that followed were 1914, France 1940, 1776 and Wooden Ships and Iron Men. Guadalcanal was particularly interesting in that it first seemed to heavily favor the Americans until we came up with a passive Japanese strategy that tipped the balance the other way. Eventually we came up with an American counter strategy that balanced things again, at least within our group, and led to great games.
Thank you for sharing your great memories! We are looking to feature a lot of Avalon Hill games going forward, and some SPI ones as well - at least the ones with some online support. So stay tuned - retro gaming night is here to stay on our channel!
It’s a bit ironic, I used to have a huge board game collection, hundreds of games including all those I mentioned and more,, but came down with a mysterious muscle disease about 10 years ago. I could barely walk, had to quit my job, sell my house, move in with friends. Gave away all my stuff, including the game collection. Was diagnosed as likely ALS, terminal. Ended up recovering 90% function. If I still had the games, I would’ve been happy to loan them to you to check out, but they are scattered to the winds. 😎
Love your channel. You do a great job.
Thanks Legendary. Liked, and Shared.
Thanks for watching, as always
Please do a critique of SPI's Napolean at Waterloo introductory game.
I like that idea! I think we will explore that one too, especially in comparison to this one!
I don't understand the map. It starts with that I don't recognize the terrain features so important during the battle: Hougemont, La Belle Alliance, the ridge line where the British Infantry hid behind. So I assume that this is more of a strategic game, where the scale is so zoomed out you don't see these individual features. But then what do you do when you have the big battle: pile 30 units into one hex?
Interesting - I had assumed that the map board would have reflected the terrain of the area. It is an old game, and perhaps they had focused on it being a fun game instead of reflecting the history. And there is a maximum of 3 counters per hex, just so you know
really enjoyed this!
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
Love it.
Awesome, thank you!
I always thought Waterloo was a bit of an odd duck compared to others of the time period such as Battle of the Bulge, Afrika Korps, or Stalingrad. Stacking by factors rather than by units flattens some of the tactics, and correct me if I'm wrong but can't you soak off at unlimited odds? And as you note there's no distinction between different types so the game does a lousy job of "feeling" Napoleonic.
Yes, I totally agree. I think the game deserves some forgiveness, as all this was quite new 60 years ago - fortunately, the designs got better and better over the years (although usually with accompanying complexity). I see this game as likely innovative for the time, but also an early stepping stone to more and better.
@@LegendaryTactics An interesting bit of Avalon Hill trivia is that they put out Waterloo (and I think at least a couple of others) in a huge oversize box. I got my copy off Ebay a couple of decades ago, the box is 14.5 X 20.25 inches, though the map is the same size and folds identically to the more common AH "classic" flat box design. The info from the Ebay seller was that this was the original size of the game, and that the "classic" box came later, but given that AH had already put out numerous games in the "classic" form factor, I suspect this may not be accurate.
A even more trivial bit about this item, which I hope you'll appreciate, was that when I received the oversize Waterloo I found it had been "autographed" by the original owner, Douglas Beyerlein, who had scrawled his name and address inside the box cover, presumably back in the early 60s. Beyerlein is/was one of the early "giants" in postal Diplomacy (if you're unfamiliar with him, a quick internet search will give you lots of hits), and as somebody with more than a passing interest in both postal Dip and AH games, this was pretty sweet icing on my cake.
@@Qossuth That is an awesome story! As we continue with this series, I hope more people will share such cool stories/memories!
the Prussians were at charoli
The vast majority of wargames continue to be hex and counter
Yes, and there have also been some great innovations over the years as well! It's neat to see that there are many different mechanics and systems to represent history