I don’t get 34:00. The altmark has to go next to grade spee, you can’t put it anywhere else. So British will know generally where the spee is. So where is the deception?
Happy to help. You might not need to deceive the British player if you think you have enough time to get away, but one way I could see deceiving the British player is to move the Altmark to a corner of the map using regular movement that could make the British player think that the Graf Spee is in that corner. He moves his hunting forces in that direction, then you can use the card to pull the Altmark all the way to the other corner of the board. The British player knows where the Graf Spee is but you've lured all his escorts to the other side of the map before that.
REALLY great game! Simple rules but super tense! Love the bluffing and even as British how tense it is. The final battle being all or none really makes things interesting on when you want to trigger it!
Totally agree. I was a mix of expectations before playing. I heard it was good, but it's a relatively simple looking game. But the cards are so well executed, and the simple mechanics all blend together really well. I think really good asymmetrical 2-player games like this are hard to make, but I think this will get a lot of playtime in our house. :)
As always, your enthusiasm is contagious and I'm really looking forward to trying out my newly acquired copy within a week or so at the most Thanks for making it!
I received the game three days ago, that's why i looked up your video to learn the basics. It's easier to grasp the main mechanics that way. ;-)@@ZillaBlitz
I think that's going to vary, as some games can probably be very short if one side thinks they will have an advantage in the battle and can trigger a successful search. As the British, I went through 34 cards (so the full deck once and then 16/18 cards in the second round). I know because I played "Scuttling in Montevideo" early for its AP value, then was desperately hoping to get it back in my hand before the final battle. (I didn't, as it was the very bottom card on the reshuffled deck. Garg!) I think Mike went through a few less cards, but he burned through a lot of the "remove from game events". Long answer short: I think it can vary a lot, but probably most of two times through the deck.
I should note the the British can churn the deck a bit by searching for the Graf Spee and then using cards in your hand as 1 AP add-ons. You can easily end up drawing 3 cards instead of just 1.
I’ve played as each side. I’d guess most games you’d cycle through at least once. But lots of factors, British using a lot of intelligence will burn through fast. German bluffing might keep 3 in hand most of game and take longer to cycle through.
@Zilla Blitz Even though I lost, it didn't really feel that way. The outcome is kind of inevitable, the British are going to find the Prinz Eugen eventually, and when they do, the battle is sort of one-sided. That is, they're probably going to find you, they're probably going to sink you, but man, sometimes it feels like you might get away! I like how you pointed out that shifting one card could've changed the outcome.
Looking through the rules and the cards a bit, I think one thing that can help is that the Graf Spee can move after attacking, to reduce the chance of getting found. I'm not sure we realized that when we were playing. Also, there are 3 reaction event cards for the Germans that negate a successful British search. On the flip side of it, there are 3 British reaction events that can trigger a search if the Graf Spee attacks a convoy where there is a force, so that's particularly risky. So many layers. We should definitely play again. :)
@Zilla Blitz The cardplay is such that I don't know that it is really practical to save cards unless you think your going to need it next turn. I think the key is to get optimal value of the cards when they appear in your hand. This is my opinion after having played the Germans once!😁
Happy to help! I should have explained that better in the video but there are entry/exit arrows that you can see on the map for the ports, so you have to get to the north of SA before you can enter the port, you can't enter directly from the west. So the British player could move to 20 and still be closing the distance to that entry hex. Someone asked that question before and I answered it, but looking through the comments now, it's gone. They must have deleted their comment. Odd.
@@ZillaBlitz Does that mean that freight ships will never be on tiles 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, 22, 29 and 30? The rules say that the ships need to be moved "towards their destination", but not necessarily in the shortest way. So if the mentioned tiles will never be occupied by freight ships I assume they are there for usage with the battle ships. Oh and by the way, great review! Very well done and informative.
Probably? I guess I would interpret "towards their destination" as taking the shortest route. (Moving farther away from the destination in a turn doesn't feel like "moving toward their destination" and they only move one square.) ~ And thanks, I'm glad you liked it. :)
That was a really cool set of mechanics in the game. I can see why it would be a super fun 2 player game. Do you think there is any way to make it a workable solitaire experience?
The cards in this game are so well done, yes. :) I think as a solitaire game it would depend so much on not knowing where the Graf Spee is that it'd be hard to imagine it being very workable. And a lot of the cards have foils in your opponent's deck, so you're hoping to use cards that you know your opponent can't counter.
I don’t get 34:00. The altmark has to go next to grade spee, you can’t put it anywhere else. So British will know generally where the spee is. So where is the deception?
Happy to help. You might not need to deceive the British player if you think you have enough time to get away, but one way I could see deceiving the British player is to move the Altmark to a corner of the map using regular movement that could make the British player think that the Graf Spee is in that corner. He moves his hunting forces in that direction, then you can use the card to pull the Altmark all the way to the other corner of the board. The British player knows where the Graf Spee is but you've lured all his escorts to the other side of the map before that.
You convinced me! Gonna go and back the game now!
Very cool! I hope you enjoy it. I've had a blast playing it, and it's easy to pick up. :)
REALLY great game! Simple rules but super tense! Love the bluffing and even as British how tense it is. The final battle being all or none really makes things interesting on when you want to trigger it!
Totally agree. I was a mix of expectations before playing. I heard it was good, but it's a relatively simple looking game. But the cards are so well executed, and the simple mechanics all blend together really well. I think really good asymmetrical 2-player games like this are hard to make, but I think this will get a lot of playtime in our house. :)
As always, your enthusiasm is contagious and I'm really looking forward to trying out my newly acquired copy within a week or so at the most
Thanks for making it!
Nice! I hope you enjoy it! It's a fun, fast game, with a depth that grows on you as you play it more. :)
“Never get involved in a land war in Asia!”
The Hunt: “I got you covered”
Ha!
Excellent review and video as always, keep up the good work ! ;-)
Thanks very much, I'm glad you found it helpful. The game is shipping now, I believe, or close to it. :)
I received the game three days ago, that's why i looked up your video to learn the basics. It's easier to grasp the main mechanics that way. ;-)@@ZillaBlitz
Aha! Nice! I hope you enjoy the game. I'm looking forward to getting in a good bit of 2-player with it. :)
I'm sold. Curious about how often each player draws through their deck. If playing good battle cards early have a decent chance of reappearing.
I think that's going to vary, as some games can probably be very short if one side thinks they will have an advantage in the battle and can trigger a successful search. As the British, I went through 34 cards (so the full deck once and then 16/18 cards in the second round). I know because I played "Scuttling in Montevideo" early for its AP value, then was desperately hoping to get it back in my hand before the final battle. (I didn't, as it was the very bottom card on the reshuffled deck. Garg!) I think Mike went through a few less cards, but he burned through a lot of the "remove from game events". Long answer short: I think it can vary a lot, but probably most of two times through the deck.
I should note the the British can churn the deck a bit by searching for the Graf Spee and then using cards in your hand as 1 AP add-ons. You can easily end up drawing 3 cards instead of just 1.
I’ve played as each side. I’d guess most games you’d cycle through at least once. But lots of factors, British using a lot of intelligence will burn through fast. German bluffing might keep 3 in hand most of game and take longer to cycle through.
Now this looks like somethin I might enjoy, too. Fun art style, easy to learn gameplay and a bit of Mister X :D
I think you would definitely like this one. It’s very wargame adjacent in many ways, and yet so fun and crafty.
This game is so much fun! Now that I've played as the German, I want to play British so I can get a whole new perspective.
Yes, thanks so much for playing, I had a blast! Really enjoyed it. :)
@Zilla Blitz Even though I lost, it didn't really feel that way. The outcome is kind of inevitable, the British are going to find the Prinz Eugen eventually, and when they do, the battle is sort of one-sided. That is, they're probably going to find you, they're probably going to sink you, but man, sometimes it feels like you might get away! I like how you pointed out that shifting one card could've changed the outcome.
I meant to conclude that it didn't feel like I lost, it felt like I almost won! That is an ideal game.
Looking through the rules and the cards a bit, I think one thing that can help is that the Graf Spee can move after attacking, to reduce the chance of getting found. I'm not sure we realized that when we were playing. Also, there are 3 reaction event cards for the Germans that negate a successful British search. On the flip side of it, there are 3 British reaction events that can trigger a search if the Graf Spee attacks a convoy where there is a force, so that's particularly risky. So many layers. We should definitely play again. :)
@Zilla Blitz The cardplay is such that I don't know that it is really practical to save cards unless you think your going to need it next turn. I think the key is to get optimal value of the cards when they appear in your hand. This is my opinion after having played the Germans once!😁
Thank you very much for the videos. The game seems fantastic. I will support it in the crowfunding. Congratulations.
I think it's a game that will appeal to a lot of people, very easy to play and lots of fun. I hope you like it! :)
Are you allowed to move the Africa Shell to 20 at the start? I’m don’t think it’s getting nearer to SA.
Happy to help! I should have explained that better in the video but there are entry/exit arrows that you can see on the map for the ports, so you have to get to the north of SA before you can enter the port, you can't enter directly from the west. So the British player could move to 20 and still be closing the distance to that entry hex.
Someone asked that question before and I answered it, but looking through the comments now, it's gone. They must have deleted their comment. Odd.
@@ZillaBlitz Does that mean that freight ships will never be on tiles 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 13, 16, 22, 29 and 30? The rules say that the ships need to be moved "towards their destination", but not necessarily in the shortest way. So if the mentioned tiles will never be occupied by freight ships I assume they are there for usage with the battle ships. Oh and by the way, great review! Very well done and informative.
Probably? I guess I would interpret "towards their destination" as taking the shortest route. (Moving farther away from the destination in a turn doesn't feel like "moving toward their destination" and they only move one square.) ~ And thanks, I'm glad you liked it. :)
Looks interesting
I've really enjoyed playing this one, yes. :)
That was a really cool set of mechanics in the game. I can see why it would be a super fun 2 player game. Do you think there is any way to make it a workable solitaire experience?
The cards in this game are so well done, yes. :) I think as a solitaire game it would depend so much on not knowing where the Graf Spee is that it'd be hard to imagine it being very workable. And a lot of the cards have foils in your opponent's deck, so you're hoping to use cards that you know your opponent can't counter.
Hi Zilla, Montevideo is a "spanish"/latin derivated name and its accent has to be put upon the last E letter... 😉
Thanks! A couple of commenters mentioned that, and I appreciate it. I will try to get it right going forward. :)