Zeppelin Raider

A few years ago I came across a U-Boat board game series which I loved : The Hunters.

Indeed, it captured my imagination so much that I had long email exchanges with the author Greg. I subsequently assisted the development of a Pacific theatre version (Silent Victory), and contributed to the research for a potential future Italian Navy expansion in the Med.  We also met up at Fall-In one year as well which was brilliant (https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2016/04/silent-victory.html)

Subsequently, I suggested to Greg that his game system would work well with minor adjustment for simulating WW1 Imperial Navy Luftschiff operations: the concept for Zeppelin Raider was born!

Quote from Interview with Greg here: https://theplayersaid.com/2018/08/13/interview-with-gregory-m-smith-designer-of-zeppelin-raiders-imperial-german-naval-airships-from-compass-games/

So after a few years of research and playtesting, the game has now been published by Compass Games.  Always great to see one's name on a game box and I cant wait to get my copy delivered.

You can read more about the game at BGG, where there are a number of reviews, AARs and errata:
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/256939/zeppelin-raider-imperial-german-naval-airships

And if that interests you, its available here:

https://www.compassgames.com/product/zeppelin-raider-imperial-german-naval-airships/

Thats it for me blogwise for awhile - away again with work for a few months.
A small pile of hobby books will keep me company in the interim.

Great Solo Wargames

Amongst my other gaming meanderings over the years, I have played a number of solo boardgames.  This came up in the context of some other chatting but I thought it might be worth mentioning a few of my favourites here and seeking recommendations from others for new ones.
In no particular order:

B-17 Queen of the Skies.  A classic AH game.  Despite many a wound, crash landing and dreaded BIP (AA burst in plane, usually with fatal consequences), I don't believe I have ever finished 25 missions in the same plane or with anyone left from the original crew.  A great game, after a dozen missions or so it can however feel like there is too much chart filling and 'lap of the gods' destiny rolls.

BTW here are a range of great expansions for this game, for playing out of Italy or flying an RAF Lancaster in Bomber Command.  It also spawned a sequel game many years late B-29 Superfortress.  I helped play test that but it dodgiest have the same tension and excitement of the original game.


One of my 'bucket list' gaming activities is to be in one of those massed convention games where everyone plays bombers on the same mission together.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1032/b-17-queen-skies

EDIT - looks like B-17 QotS has been updated as Target for Today by Legion Wargames here: http://www.legionwargames.com/legion_TFT.html

Ambush!  (and its sequels Move Out, Purple Heart, Silver Star).  A wonderfully narrative campaign system in which you command a squad of GIs through the latter stages of W2 in the ETO.  Strongly recommended but you'll need a bit of time to do this one right.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1608/ambush

Patton's Best
Command a Sherman Tank in Patton's Third Army from Operation Cobra onwards.  Great mechanic for Tiger Fear - where any unidentified German tank/gun effects you as it it was a Tiger/88mm until you ID it otherwise.  Really drives scouting and pushing forward to recon properly and quickly ID new contacts.  Would love to see this game refreshed with a new version.

The was an expansion for driving a Sherman of the Canadian Amy and a home-brewed variant for commanding Panzers on the Russian front during the Fall of the Reich era that I haven't played but look rather good.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4556/pattons-best

The Hunters and Silent Victory
My solo submarine games of choice that I've been blogging about lately. Love these.

Thunderbolt/Apache Leader
I know DVG did a refresh on this a few years back, but I still prefer my original GMT version.  Lots of other sequel games on this game mechanic too, though most seem rather lacklustre and less successful.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2154/thunderboltapache-leader

Nemo's War
Play Captain Nemo and drive the Nautilus around the seven seas on your variable missions.  Discover Atlantis, defend yourself from the navies of the world's Great Powers and fight the giant squid! A new second edition was recently funded via KS and looks fantastic.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/39232/nemos-war

Wings over France
Command an RAF Squadron France during the Bloody April campaign of 1917.  Not for the faint of heart.  Duels, death spirals and getting jumped by Richthofen and his Aces in Jasta 11.  An excellent set of mechanics make up for the graphically dull game components and make for some exciting adventures over the trenches.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5988/wings-over-france

Luftschiff
Command your own airship of the Imperial German Navy or Army during WW1.  Like Wings over France this is not a graphically impressive game but the game design and mechanics are well researched and captivating.
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/959/luftschiff

Toe-to-Toe Nu'klr Combat with the Rooskies
A quick to play delightful game, this is a real hoot.  Definitely in the beer and pretzels category, its themed on the classic movie Dr Strangelove.  If you liked that then you will have a blast with this game.  And if you loved that movie then you are going to really love this game!  I'm definitely in the latter category so check the blog for more gaming notes and AARs here:
http://tasmancave.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Toe-to-Toe


In fact I love this game so much that I designed a follow up game to bomb Commie targets in other places too, but it never got up.  Fun though :-)


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There are many others but these ones have been my favourites over the years.  There is a definite platform simulation trend to this collection too, which reflects my RPG/immersion preference for solo gaming.

I'm sure I missed many other favs, but I would welcome recommendations to expand my retinue

Silent Victory

Exciting news: look what tuned up in the mail today, courtesy of the game's designer Greg Smith

My awesome Hunters series swag collection :-)

Silent Victory was released earlier this year is the sequel game to The Hunters, and instead of sinking Allied convoys in the Atlantic in your Uboat, you command a US Navy submarine operating in the Pacific against Japan.  This system has some nice differences to deliver a wonderfully thematic game without getting bogged down in too much the detail.  And unlike B-17: Queen of the Skies (which I still love) you feel like you are really driving the story rather than just rolling dice on endless charts.

The game has the added bonus of some particularly well researched contributions...

I was delighted to help out Greg with some aspects of this game, as well as another (hopefully) upcoming expansion in due course.  Here we are at Fall-In last year.  Your turn to come visit me this year mate! (and my shout for dinner too as I recall :-)

I admit to some bias here, but its a great solitaire game and I highly recommend it.  If I can get enough players together in the Sydney area I would love to try playing a tournament where players vie for greatest tonnage and medals. Read more about the game here:
http://www.consimpress.com/silent-victory/
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/154875/silent-victory-us-submarines-pacific-1941-45

And watch a review here:



And the nuts and bolts of how to play here:


Next up in this game series is The Hunted in which you'll command a U-boat in the later years of the war when the Allies have the upper hand.
To survive is to win.

Game Aids for The Hunters

Two neat things for the Hunters came across my screen this week- a mini 'travel' version of the game which would be particularly useful..
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1122401/portable-way-playing-hunters

And this online database where you can log your game results and generate stats
http://obercraft.de:8080/hunters/

In the meantime, the next edition Silent Victory, in which you take command of a US submarine in the Pacific War, is undergoing pre printing checks and is expected to ship around November this year.

Good Hunting!

Submarine Museum and WW2 Memorial

Recently I had the opportunity to tour the US Navy's Submarine Museum and the WW2 Memorial, both of which are in Groton, Connecticut.  The museum, is a great selection of everything from the first submersible boats all the way up to nuclear attack sub and ballistic missile submarines.  The pride of the collection is the USS NAUTILUS, the first nuclear powered submarine in the world and the first submarine to transit under the north pole.  Just as good in my mind were all the battle flags and memorabilia for the WW2 Submarines whip waged such effective economic warfare against Japan (and many of which operated out of Australia).  If you get a chance to visit I highly recommend it!

And of course its great motivation for playing The Hunters and the upcoming US Pacific Version Silent Victory!

The Nautilus in all her glory!

Silent Victory

After my encounter with WW2 veteran Bill from the USS RASHER last week (see here), I was inspired and pre-oredred SILENT VICTORY from Consim Press.  This is their second in their solitaire submarine warfare games and successor to THE HUNTERS.  In this game you trade in your U-boat in the Atlantic to drive an array of US Navy submarines in the Pacific.  It looks very good and this page (http://www.consimpress.com/silent-victory/) below describes some of the differences between the two games - its not just different graphics on the maps and counters.

You can preorder SILENT VICTORY through GMT Games for $36 here:
https://www.gmtgames.com/p-474-silent-victory.aspx

Separately, if you are into THE HUNTERS or just want to see what the play is like, there is a detailed series of videos on YouTube by the designer showing you hows it goes:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfGT7XoA4w2iKcoQ6wCWpCQFNdD-zhlx9

And finally, if you are REALLY into your U-Booat gaming, you can read some translated War Diaries (Kriegstagebuch) here for inspiration: http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTBList.htm

The Hunters - released

Back in Jan (here) I pre-ordered Consim world's new solitaire U-Boat game "The Hunters" hoping it would arrive before I started my trip away.  Well it didn't and I understand that there were production issues at GMT so I sailed off and forgot all about it.  Until today that is, when I got an email to say it had been shipped!  Seems that rather than rush it out, the Consim/GMT guys rightly took the time to fix things properly in slower time and it was released earlier this month.

Mine just shipped so by the time it dodges the reindeer and crosses some oceans it will be January before I get it.  However,  the reviews from the US look excellent and the unboxing reviews below show some high quality components so it looks well worth the wait.

The rules have also been put online here





As you can see, there a lot of similarities with the classic games B-17 and Patton's Best which I'm very fond of.  I'm probably showing my age but I'd much rather have the excitement of rolling dice on a bunch of charts rather than play a PC sim game.

Can't wait to get started in 2014 - in fact, I've got my Kriegsmarine marches and Das Boot soundtrack loaded on the iPhone ready to go!
https://www.facebook.com/consimpress/
http://www.consimpress.com/

The Hunters

Like you all I have played many games over the years, and one of my old favourites was a solitaire game called B-17 Queen of the Skies. An Avalon Hill classic from the pre Computer game era, it was a bit of a dice rolling fest at times but a great game it was.  Indeed, if I can recall the tense excitement of trying to land a crippled veteran bird with a wounded crew some 25 years later it has to rate pretty well. So I was excited this week to find that GMT Games is about to publish a U-Boat game (*by Consim Press) in the same style: The Hunters.  Yes, I've pre-ordered!

http://www.gmtgames.com/p-374-the-hunters.aspx
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/113873/the-hunters-german-u-boats-at-war-1939-43
http://www.consimpress.com/news/category/the-hunters

The Hunters is a solitaire tactical level game placing you in command of a German U-boat during WWII. Your mission is to destroy as much Allied Shipping and as many Capital ships as possible while advancing your crew quality and increasing your commander rank culminating in special decoration ‒ all while remembering you have to make it home.

The Hunters is purposely designed to deliver a brisk yet intensive gaming experience that forces many decisions upon you as you will take command among the major German U-boat models in service during WWII, and try to complete an entire tour.

Those familiar with the classic Avalon Hill game title, B-17: Queen of the Skies, will come to enjoy the same type of gaming experience of the German U-boat War. All major U-boat models are accounted for with every level of detail including period of service, armaments, crew make-up, damage capacity, and more.

The Hunters is currently available for preorder through GMT Games (official distributor for Consim Press).

Game contents will comprise:

• One 1/2 inch full-color counter sheet (140 counters)
• Rules Booklet with Designer Notes
• Player Aid Cards
• U-Boat Patrol Logsheet
• Four U-Boat Display Mats
• U-Boat Combat Mat
• Two 6-sided and two 10-sided dice
• Boxed

Anticipated release date: January 2013

To read more about real U-Boats and the Atlantic War have a quick look here:

http://www.uboataces.com/

http://www.uboatwar.net

http://www.u-boot-zentrale.de/  (Site in German)