In his new series titled "War & Pieces", Rob gives us a look at Tactics II. Buy great games at www.gamenerdz.... Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
This game triggers fond memories for me. In high school this game was part of the Military History class taught by the history teacher/ National Guard guy. Throughout the semester we played this game to learn it. The final exam was a tournament held in the cafeteria. I still use this basic game to judge other war games. It is my measuring stick because of the fond memories from years before.
I'm one of the younger newbies you mention and I must say I respect all you pioneers of the hobby, awesome to learn some history and to see where it all came from. Nice bunch and a very fun pass time. Thanks Rob & everyone at the dice tower!!
Wow. Down Memory Lane, Rob. I bought this in 1961 with my lawn-mowing money. I was given 'Gettysburg' (1958) the prior year, and played it wrong for years. 'Tactics II' was exciting for me in that it was my strategy vs. my buddy's strategy for the win. We played chess, but this was chess on steroids (which we didn't know anything about at the time). It was a mind bender for both of us. By the time we had brought others into wargaming, we had more involved war games to play, and also a baseball replay game (BLM Baseball) to occupy our attention. Tactics II was the start of non-family gaming (i.e. Monopoly & Careers) for us. Thanks for this vid, Rob!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Rob. In 1962, our local department store had an after-Christmas sale in their toy department. I begged Dad for an advance on my allowance and bought Tactics II for the princely sum of $3. I played that game to death over the next year...until I got D-Day for Christmas. Stylized map squares were replaced by more realistic hexes for movement and a new world beckoned. Purchases of Afrika Korps, Stalingrad and Waterloo followed in quick succession and I was hooked. I never went back to the one that started it all, and traded my well-worn Tactics II to a classmate for his copy of Chancellorsville. I look forward to your possible take on these classics from Avalon Hill's early years.
I am interested into war gaming but know close to nothing about it and won't take the time to learn because I don't know anybody who would be interested to play with me. So I am very glad, with this series, to have the opportunity to get a feel for war gaming without having to put in the effort needed to learn how to play because I don't need to learn how to play.
Rob, GOD LOVE YOU!!!! I'm an old AH fanboy since I was 13. I still think that this game rocks!!!! Thank you for reviewing this game once again. I have worked out many different variations of playing this game, especially when you combine more than one game boards (plus extra units). Blitzkrieg is an upgrade to this game, and gives you many more options (invasions, air units, etc).
So excited about this new War & Pieces series! :-D This channel really needed something like this, especially since The Chief and his gang left to focus on his own channel. I have never had a chance to play Tactics II, so this was very fun to watch. Great work, Rob! Keep 'em comin'! :-D
What a trip down memory lane. I used to frequent a store in Manchester, CT by the name of "War and Pieces", where I became hooked on Avalon Hill games. They eventually moved to West Hartford, but I remember tournaments and all sorts of cool events at the shop in Manchester. Great to see that there is still an Avalon Hill community out there, even though the company is gone.....
I agree this is a good game to use to introduce wargame concepts. My "red" pieces are more pink than red, so my daughter thought it was cool when I played this with her. When I started wargaming, I went from this game to the original Ogre, which is available again at a very cheap price. I hope this series is popular! Good start! It's funny, I go back to these games when I get a bit burned out on painting minis and crawling through dungeons.
I'm new to gaming. I hear about old wargames with cardboard chits but have never seen them before. I think this is going to be the beginning of a fantastic series. Please keep it up.
What a great video, certainly the Grand Daddy of war games to me. I came upon the war games scene when Blitzkreig was out, which was the so called updated revision of Tactics II. I just watched a video by Marco in which he said that some of his students had a hard time with odds ratios...funny how the games we played were so old we had to basically have fun playing with math! Reminds me of those cable TV commercials where they make fun of "the settlers"! Artwork? Nope, no artwork either, just math! LOL!
It was real fun to seeing Tactics II again. Can't wait until your next episode ASL! Just giving you a little Jazz. I have been war gaming since early 60's, My first board Game was Avalon Hill's Gettysburg with squares instead of hexes. Never had T2 but did get Blitzkrieg. I remember thinking Panzer Blitz was complicated then came ASL, it made PB look like T2. I do agree that there are some war gamer's who are elitist, not me. I do appreciate what your are doing for the hobby. Its about time someone did something like this. If you can do for war gaming what you do for painting we all could be in for a fun ride. Keep up the goo work a loyal fan.
+Douglas Pearson Thankfully, there are also old wargamers who are very friendly and open to showing new gamers the ropes. :-) It's a shame so many wargamers get the reputation of being very closed to including newbies, but there are cranky wargamers out there, sadly. Thankfully, they don't represent all wargamers, though. :-) Always be welcoming to new gamers! :-D
+KabukiKid I started out a Wargamer.... But I am a Gamer when all is said and done. Which includes all games. If you make a new gamer uncomfortable, you may wind up only playing solitaire later down the road; Wisdom from an Old Guy. PS Avalon Hills Afrika Korps is still one of my favorites and still is played.
My uncle has/had this game. I'm a wargamer first and foremost and agree about teaching the newer generation about our portion of the gaming hobby. I've found it very difficult to find more people to play my faves like Star Fleet Battles and World in Flames and I don't want to see hex and counter games be relegated to only digital format!
Wow, thanks Rob. I have always been afraid of war games, and this video might get me into the hobby of war games, if it really is this easy. I can't wait to see what you show next.
Tactics II introduced me to wargaming when I was 10 years old. It was a great introduction to the hobby and I am glad you recommend the game. SPI went off the deep end with very complex wargames almost killed the market. AH had the right idea make simple games around historical themes. Who has time to read a 20 page double column rule book? This game will also seqway to AK and Stalingrad similar game systems.
Brings back memories. I first was introduced to this game in VN in 1970 and wargaming has been my hobby ever since. I prefer the older, simpler games like Afrika Korps and Stalingrad. What I want to see is an expanded Tactics II game including a larger map board (sea zones with offshore islands surrounding the original map board) and more units: a Third Army plus at least two more corps headquarters, plus more armor, parachute, and amphibious and mountain divisions, and a few more infantry divisions; and also naval and air units (carriers and planes, surface warfare and submarine units, fighter and tactical wings, and bomber wings. Blitzkrieg was a nice attempt but fell short of being a well-rounded air-land-sea warfare game of continental and island strategy. As with Tactics II, the rules must be kept simple. Many games are not fun because they are too complicated (too many rules).
Superb review, Rob. Tactics II was, pure and simply, FUN. And I know this will come as a horror of a shock to many wargamers, but some of us actually PREFER simpler games. They often allow us to be more creative in our play, they do not tie our hands with historical idiot rules, and they do not burden a game with useless "chrome." For that reason, I prefer Tactics II and also block games, especially those from Worthington Games. Maybe you'll review some block games in the future. Thanks!
what are the X's at he top used for? you said size but what is the size used for? I just got this game at Goodwill and nowhere in the rules does it reference anything for size.
+robert oren Perfect Cpt. Oren! Do you already have the next batch of game reviews planned - i.e. can you declassify which games we will see in the coming weeks perhaps?
I think it would be helpful to number each War & Pieces episode. This is a great introductory video but won't necessarily be the first one a newcomer views when more videos in the series come out
do the units have to be adjacent to each other to combine their odds? what if there was like 5 units all together in an L shape or a straight line do they that all the attack together?
So does this mean that Rob wins the wargaming reviewers hat for the Dice Tower now? I hope so, they need someone to cover wargames since HAMTAG left, good job Rob!
Great to see a wargame voice in the network... now, if Jason could only convince Tom that not all 18xx games are alike, nearly all segments of the hobby would be represented.
Well, I appreciate that your approach intends to bring euro/ameri-gamers up to speed with what wargames have to offer in an inclusive manner. I'm interested to see how you trace a line from Tactics II to some of the more complex (and gratifying) systems available today. Your future video on OCS will be a milestone. :-)
This game triggers fond memories for me. In high school this game was part of the Military History class taught by the history teacher/ National Guard guy. Throughout the semester we played this game to learn it. The final exam was a tournament held in the cafeteria.
I still use this basic game to judge other war games. It is my measuring stick because of the fond memories from years before.
I'm one of the younger newbies you mention and I must say I respect all you pioneers of the hobby, awesome to learn some history and to see where it all came from. Nice bunch and a very fun pass time. Thanks Rob & everyone at the dice tower!!
Wow. Down Memory Lane, Rob. I bought this in 1961 with my lawn-mowing money. I was given 'Gettysburg' (1958) the prior year, and played it wrong for years. 'Tactics II' was exciting for me in that it was my strategy vs. my buddy's strategy for the win. We played chess, but this was chess on steroids (which we didn't know anything about at the time). It was a mind bender for both of us. By the time we had brought others into wargaming, we had more involved war games to play, and also a baseball replay game (BLM Baseball) to occupy our attention. Tactics II was the start of non-family gaming (i.e. Monopoly & Careers) for us. Thanks for this vid, Rob!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Rob. In 1962, our local department store had an after-Christmas sale in their toy department. I begged Dad for an advance on my allowance and bought Tactics II for the princely sum of $3. I played that game to death over the next year...until I got D-Day for Christmas. Stylized map squares were replaced by more realistic hexes for movement and a new world beckoned. Purchases of Afrika Korps, Stalingrad and Waterloo followed in quick succession and I was hooked. I never went back to the one that started it all, and traded my well-worn Tactics II to a classmate for his copy of Chancellorsville. I look forward to your possible take on these classics from Avalon Hill's early years.
I am interested into war gaming but know close to nothing about it and won't take the time to learn because I don't know anybody who would be interested to play with me. So I am very glad, with this series, to have the opportunity to get a feel for war gaming without having to put in the effort needed to learn how to play because I don't need to learn how to play.
I grew up on war games. This is an excellent series that I've been looking forward to! Great job,Rob!
Rob, GOD LOVE YOU!!!! I'm an old AH fanboy since I was 13. I still think that this game rocks!!!! Thank you for reviewing this game once again. I have worked out many different variations of playing this game, especially when you combine more than one game boards (plus extra units). Blitzkrieg is an upgrade to this game, and gives you many more options (invasions, air units, etc).
So excited about this new War & Pieces series! :-D This channel really needed something like this, especially since The Chief and his gang left to focus on his own channel. I have never had a chance to play Tactics II, so this was very fun to watch. Great work, Rob! Keep 'em comin'! :-D
Thanks! Looking forward to the series. I've been thinking of getting into some war games & this should help!
What a trip down memory lane. I used to frequent a store in Manchester, CT by the name of "War and Pieces", where I became hooked on Avalon Hill games. They eventually moved to West Hartford, but I remember tournaments and all sorts of cool events at the shop in Manchester. Great to see that there is still an Avalon Hill community out there, even though the company is gone.....
I agree this is a good game to use to introduce wargame concepts. My "red" pieces are more pink than red, so my daughter thought it was cool when I played this with her. When I started wargaming, I went from this game to the original Ogre, which is available again at a very cheap price. I hope this series is popular! Good start! It's funny, I go back to these games when I get a bit burned out on painting minis and crawling through dungeons.
I'm new to gaming. I hear about old wargames with cardboard chits but have never seen them before. I think this is going to be the beginning of a fantastic series. Please keep it up.
What a great video, certainly the Grand Daddy of war games to me. I came upon the war games scene when Blitzkreig was out, which was the so called updated revision of Tactics II. I just watched a video by Marco in which he said that some of his students had a hard time with odds ratios...funny how the games we played were so old we had to basically have fun playing with math! Reminds me of those cable TV commercials where they make fun of "the settlers"! Artwork? Nope, no artwork either, just math! LOL!
It was real fun to seeing Tactics II again. Can't wait until your next episode ASL! Just giving you a little Jazz. I have been war gaming since early 60's, My first board Game was Avalon Hill's Gettysburg with squares instead of hexes. Never had T2 but did get Blitzkrieg. I remember thinking Panzer Blitz was complicated then came ASL, it made PB look like T2. I do agree that there are some war gamer's who are elitist, not me. I do appreciate what your are doing for the hobby. Its about time someone did something like this. If you can do for war gaming what you do for painting we all could be in for a fun ride. Keep up the goo work a loyal fan.
+Douglas Pearson Thankfully, there are also old wargamers who are very friendly and open to showing new gamers the ropes. :-) It's a shame so many wargamers get the reputation of being very closed to including newbies, but there are cranky wargamers out there, sadly. Thankfully, they don't represent all wargamers, though. :-) Always be welcoming to new gamers! :-D
+KabukiKid I started out a Wargamer.... But I am a Gamer when all is said and done. Which includes all games. If you make a new gamer uncomfortable, you may wind up only playing solitaire later down the road; Wisdom from an Old Guy. PS Avalon Hills Afrika Korps is still one of my favorites and still is played.
My uncle has/had this game. I'm a wargamer first and foremost and agree about teaching the newer generation about our portion of the gaming hobby. I've found it very difficult to find more people to play my faves like Star Fleet Battles and World in Flames and I don't want to see hex and counter games be relegated to only digital format!
Haha, this was great, Rob. Man, this has me so close to wanting to seek out a copy of this game. Can't wait to see what you show off next.
Hey! Great! I'm a euro gamer but play some Wargames and Strategy types now and then. Looking forward to more. Thanks Rob!
Love how Rob is using his brush as a pointer :)
Wow, thanks Rob. I have always been afraid of war games, and this video might get me into the hobby of war games, if it really is this easy. I can't wait to see what you show next.
Tactics II introduced me to wargaming when I was 10 years old. It was a great introduction to the hobby and I am glad you recommend the game. SPI went off the deep end with very complex wargames almost killed the market. AH had the right idea make simple games around historical themes. Who has time to read a 20 page double column rule book? This game will also seqway to AK and Stalingrad similar game systems.
Brings back memories. I first was introduced to this game in VN in 1970 and wargaming has been my hobby ever since. I prefer the older, simpler games like Afrika Korps and Stalingrad. What I want to see is an expanded Tactics II game including a larger map board (sea zones with offshore islands surrounding the original map board) and more units: a Third Army plus at least two more corps headquarters, plus more armor, parachute, and amphibious and mountain divisions, and a few more infantry divisions; and also naval and air units (carriers and planes, surface warfare and submarine units, fighter and tactical wings, and bomber wings. Blitzkrieg was a nice attempt but fell short of being a well-rounded air-land-sea warfare game of continental and island strategy. As with Tactics II, the rules must be kept simple. Many games are not fun because they are too complicated (too many rules).
Excellent video. I've been playing war game for years, Even invented a few war games using random numbers as well as dice.
Superb review, Rob. Tactics II was, pure and simply, FUN. And I know this will come as a horror of a shock to many wargamers, but some of us actually PREFER simpler games. They often allow us to be more creative in our play, they do not tie our hands with historical idiot rules, and they do not burden a game with useless "chrome." For that reason, I prefer Tactics II and also block games, especially those from Worthington Games. Maybe you'll review some block games in the future. Thanks!
what are the X's at he top used for? you said size but what is the size used for? I just got this game at Goodwill and nowhere in the rules does it reference anything for size.
Great! Are you the resident wargamer then, Rob? You better be, we missed some good wargame reviews on TDT!!!! :)
+robert oren Perfect Cpt. Oren! Do you already have the next batch of game reviews planned - i.e. can you declassify which games we will see in the coming weeks perhaps?
I have recently acquired the game but it is missing 1 tile. There are some without numbers or symbols; are these to be used for replacements?
I think it would be helpful to number each War & Pieces episode. This is a great introductory video but won't necessarily be the first one a newcomer views when more videos in the series come out
+Joshua Murphy I agree 100%.
Rob keep them coming. The grogs are hungry.
do the units have to be adjacent to each other to combine their odds? what if there was like 5 units all together in an L shape or a straight line do they that all the attack together?
Also what are the little numbers all the way to the right of the chit
So does this mean that Rob wins the wargaming reviewers hat for the Dice Tower now? I hope so, they need someone to cover wargames since HAMTAG left, good job Rob!
Great video.
Elder stateman?
Wow-a game from the '60s!More on grognard games pls!
Great to see a wargame voice in the network... now, if Jason could only convince Tom that not all 18xx games are alike, nearly all segments of the hobby would be represented.
Well, I appreciate that your approach intends to bring euro/ameri-gamers up to speed with what wargames have to offer in an inclusive manner. I'm interested to see how you trace a line from Tactics II to some of the more complex (and gratifying) systems available today. Your future video on OCS will be a milestone. :-)
+Adrian Astur Alvarez I'd also appreciate an 18xx series... even just a mini-series. heh
They made so many of Tactics II it has no collectors value, unless someone would have an original copy unpunched and even better unopened still in SW.
+E Bur Wow... I wonder if there exists a copy that is still unpunched or in shrink. heh
KabukiKid I just bought one on eBay