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Good idea! Sometimes it's not clear but I can try to add those things where possible. :)

Great games to start with. I remember that Broadside game, with its removable masts. Such fun to demast ships. :)

I thought about that but it's a smaller subset of people. I'm pretty confident I'll be able to figure out something to do with it locally. :)

Some fun games in there! I've heard good things about Sniper Elite. :)

Thanks John! There are still a few games in front of it. I've seen a few tutorial sessions on it, so I might be okay, but I'll definitely reach out if things seem confusing. Thanks for the kind offer!

@@ZillaBlitz If you need an opponent, I can play you on Vassal. It has been a couple of years though

@@johnsy4306 Thanks!

My pleasure, thanks for stopping in and I'm glad you found it helpful. :)

@@ZillaBlitz I was already interested, but this video got me "all the way" interested!

I'm glad you're enjoying the content and yep, we'll get this Shelf of Shame. Just one rule, one turn, one game at a time. :)

That's a daring first game, I think it would have crushed me if I had started with it. Kudos!

The Burma one would be a good one to create video for because of its size, but I don't have the magazine yet. EotS is still one of the shelf of shame targets for this year to play, though, although I don't know if I'll create video for the game. Having to focus on real work for two months kind of got me stacked up for video projects.

@@ZillaBlitz good luck. love your channel and voice! keep up a good work :) thanks

My pleasure, thanks for stopping in. :)

There are data cards are in the upcoming edition (Blood & Fury), but I don't think there are data cards for this game.

Dice certainly play a large role in the game, but there are a number of ways to stack the rolls more in your favor. To be fair, though, yes, especially in the campaigns where you have a smaller force pool, losing a key tank early can really make things hard.

I'll check out that flowchart, thanks. :)

I actually find the amount of player agency to be much higher in the game than I expected given what some people had told me. Most definitely, though, there are segments of the game where you are on rails, and once you make your initial decision you've got a stretch where the fates determine what happens. I can certainly see people not liking the game because they want more decisions.

I remember that one too. Fun game!

Sounds like the different flotilla zones make for a very different game based on target density and threat level. I think I'll try the North Sea.

Very nice! I still have that one. :)

Great point, yes. I wasn't aware of it at the time of creating this video but it certainly sheds a different light on the style. :)

Thanks for the kind words, Jay! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. :)

Thanks! :)

Oh, haha! I didn't even plan that. Total accident. I'm hoping to create a playthrough at a relaxed pace, but I might not have time until next month. Not sure. :)

My pleasure, thanks for stopping in. :)

Thanks, to be fair, it's not always possible to play the game before the interview, but this time I was fortunate to be able to do so. :)

Yes, I'm hoping to try to sneak a series in. :)

Oh, happy to hear that, thanks for letting me know and I hope you've enjoyed the game. :)

@@ZillaBlitz, I still enjoy it and it turns out that I like these, almost journaling rpg style, war games. Recently bought Nightfighter Ace from Greg Smith, which is an equally great game.

The English Channel is exciting but brutal. It was considered the most deadly theater for the U-boats - the U-boat Graveyard, they called it. The Black Sea is almost as deadly, but perhaps even more soul-crushing from the player's perspective, as the targets are few and far between and minefields are extensive there, so death always comes without warning. The North Sea is perhaps the best balance, and for those who really don't like getting killed, the Mediterranean is the best bet, although running up those massive tonnage numbers with so little threat to the U-boat it can be a bit boring.

Great to hear on the difficulty of the areas. I might try the North Sea to start out then. And I feel for your loss on that first mission. I've heard others tell similar stories of instant death with some of the other games in the series, and yeah, stuff happens. It's a lot worse when it happens with a sub that's had a long run.

@@ZillaBlitz Survival is more likely in RotD than in "The Hunters", and a lot more possible than it is in in "The Hunted". But it's not a walk in the park. I reckon a player who has figured out the game system should achieve a 50% survival rate, on average (which was the historical average). You can modify that by the theater you choose: English Channel is exciting but difficult, North Sea is fun and not too difficult, Mediterranean easy and massive tonnage but maybe a little boring. The other campaigns are for the true simulation fan as they don't generate much tonnage: surviving a Black Sea campaign is a real achievement as it can be soul destroying, Baltic keeps you iced in for half the year, Austrian campaign is quirky and kinda fun but you get very little tonnage. Lots of players seem to find the North Sea or the Austrian campaign hit the sweet spot for them, but some folks love the challenge of an English Channel campaign.

Great information, thanks! I think North Sea or English Channel sound perfect for me. :)

Thanks, Nathan! :)

That looks like a fun system/set, and the reviews on the solo rules look quite positive. Thanks for mentioning it! I wouldn't be able to branch out into the minis right at the moment, but it definitely looks like it'd be fun to explore. I've added it to my "idea list". :)

Me too. :)

Ouch! The submariner's life.

Yes, it can be cruel. I carefully balanced the game so that it recreated the deadliness of WWI U-boat combat very accurately. A big part of that is mines. In the real U-boat war in WWI, 50% of U-boats that were sunk fell victim to mines, and mines (when anchored properly) are an invisible killer, so U-boat crews in WWI had very little chance of avoiding them - it was pretty much down to pure luck. In the game it's the same story - your only chance of avoiding mines is if you have a well-trained crew, and even then there's still a lot of luck involved. But the good news is that, with careful play, you can expect about half your crews to survive the war. But careful play is the key.

@@Beery1962 Thanks for your prompt reply Beery. Most appreciated. I can't help but think about the crew who escaped death by commandeering the enemy prize freighter back to port. What shock they must have received when informed about their subs demise. Thanks again for your outstanding game.

@@michaelstearnes1526 Yeah, one of the most fun aspects of games like this, I think, is when unusual things like this happen that just enhance the game beyond even what the designer planned for. I had never considered that this might happen - never even crossed my mind, but clearly it happened for you, and you might be the only "Raiders of the Deep" player who has had that experience. It's so great that the game can give this sort of unique experience. Also, from the perspective of the crew, I guess that feeling of having cheated fate, and the loss of one's comrades, are things that would undoubtedly have haunted the survivors, and that feeling can add so much depth for the player. It might be fun to have the survivors join the crew of a new U-boat, and then play that crew until the end of the war. The added history that those men have is just that bit of extra nourishment for the player's imagination.

The rules/notes mention that the Mediterranean theater was a glorious place to be as a U-boat commander. Lots of targets and few threats. So maybe he was down there?

That would have to be Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière - highest scoring submarine commander in history.

My pleasure. :)

My pleasure, Ian. Thanks for creating this game, I look forward to digging in. :)

Great design

Hey Ian, You wouldn't know of an easy way to get your games in europe?

​@@AeroEngine1963 Your best bet might be to look for second-hand sales on one of the European eBay sites. I guess Compass Games must ship to Europe, but I'm guessing shipping across the Atlantic is awfully expensive these days. If you can't find any on the second-hand market, Compass Games runs some good sales every now and then.

Thanks for sharing this. :)

Oh, thanks. I'll check that out. Much appreciated. :)

I don't know if I'd want to make a whole video on the topic yet, but this might make for a good topic for a monthly update. I do have a few thoughts on the topic, yeah.

I think many of the wargamers types, like myself, are seniors who find time spent hunkered down in front of the computer a sub-optimal gaming choice. Whereas playing on a table involves just enough moving around to reduce pain from stiff joints, and eye strain from the screen. I still spend a lot of time on-line, but nothing else sucks me in for hours like a good game! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy PC games (too much), but I don't buy them (or play them on sites like vassal, or rally-the-troops) for exactly that reason.

@@ZillaBlitz I think that would be a great video to get lot's of folks involved. I think there are many wargames that work better on-line because they can set up faster (and saved), and details like damage and supplies can be tracked on line, as well as FoW. The benefit/cost coefficient just doesn't work for me, any longer.

@@SoloBattles Same here. I decided to play boardgames to get away from my PC. However, some wargames have incredibly complicated mechanics that a PC would excel in executing. This is why I'm interested in knowing others' experiences. Thanks for sharing.

Great points! :)

I was thinking the other day that it is about time to go back into the Atlantic.

It's nice to see how the game is being continuously updated too. At some point I'd love to have enough time to do a playthrough, yes. I've a number of games in front of it, though, so I just don't know when I'll be able to.

Great to hear about this one, thanks! And that's one of the things I like about the genre, that fine line between bravery and recklessness. :)

That's funny! :)

@@ZillaBlitz this just in: Georfmg von Trapp, patriarch of the singing von Trapps, was quite the U-boat captain in the Austrian navy. Trapp was the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of World War I,[b] sinking 11 Allied merchant ships totaling 47,653 GRT and two Allied warships displacing 12,641 tons.[5] Trapp's accomplishments during World War I earned him numerous decorations, including the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

This means I might have to get this game!

Yeah, his historical card is in the game, too. :)

Yes, I do think they capture a lot of the tension, excitement, and agony of submarine warfare. The whole genre is fascinating to me. :)

Totally agree on the poor decisions ending your career fast. The part that I think sometimes can rub people the wrong way is when you make the right decisions and your career ends fast. I'm totally okay with that, though, given the historical context of these games. This sub-genre of solo games is one of my favorites. ... See what I did there? ;)

@@ZillaBlitz I like that even if I make the right choices my sub can wind up imploded at the bottom of the sea. I agree! I am still trying to get hard copies of Silent Victory and The Hunters. Now I want a sub...okay your treat!

I think both The Hunters and Silent Victory are finally making their way to the top of the reprinting list. :)

@@ZillaBlitz I know! I have them on P500 but impatient me does not want to wait hah.

I found a Silent Victory on clearance about a year ago for $15 or something like that. I moved it on to a friend, though, so I no longer have it.

Yep, it's based on those games, with modifications for World War 1. :)

It is. I wanted "Raiders of the Deep" to be graphically the same as "The Hunters" and "The Hunted", as I wanted players of those games to feel they're in familiar territory. In terms of the rules, although "Raiders of the Deep" begins with quite a few differences from "the Hunters", by the end of the war, as Allied technology starts to have an effect, the rules pretty much fall into line with how "The Hunters" begins (the only remaining difference being ramming attacks). So owners of all three games can see very clearly how the technology steadily evolves from 1914 to 1945.

I'm curious to see how differently it plays from the WW2 ones. :)

Haha! Worth watching?

@@ZillaBlitz yes except the ending was.......(ill tell you if you don't mind the spoiler alert)...

I'll probably watch it, actually. I've just added it to my "Media to Consume" pile. :)

@@ZillaBlitz EGGcellent....remember Pirating was legal if you were a privateer...

You better get on it...its 10 years old.

Thanks! I imagine it will work with promods canada but I've not tested it. Give it a shot? You can always turn it off if it doesn't work.

@@ZillaBlitz nevermind, it works, but thank you!

Thanks for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed the video and I hope you enjoy the game. I've really liked it. :)

I'm glad you liked the video. At the moment I think direct from the publisher is the only way. I've got a link in the video description. :)

I agree. I think this opens up so much possibility, fun to think how this might be carried forward. :)

@@ZillaBlitz I would love to see a great commercial hobby design simulating cyber warfare. I agree that you would need clever mechanics to cover gathering of information on your opponent that your opponent then would not know you have. A successful design would require a marriage between game design and more than the usual technical expertise (which I sure don't have!).

Sounds like you've had a great time playing a ton of games! :)

Sure thing, here you go: store.steampowered.com/app/227300/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2/

A cautionary tale.... I had a friend named Zack..smart cookie redhead worked at Pratt&Whitney where my dad worked. He had the most beautiful wargame collection I've ever seen worth over $100k. I said 'Zak how many of these games have you played?' 'About sixteen' he said.... Sidebar- I used to have about 200 games gave em all away when I got married, now I have about six...all given to me.