Yes, it has been awhile since I've been able to get a video uploaded. I'm hoping to get something up by the end of the month. The next turn will likely be fairly consequential to the campaign in the West, and I'm eager to see whether Germany can finally punch a hole in the Allied lines, or if France and the CW will be able to slow them down until the bad weather sets in a couple turns from now. I also have some other videos on topics besides this series that I want to get uploaded, but real life hasn't been cooperating lately. I appreciate your patience and continued interest. I promise you this series (and my channel) are not done yet!

I actually did! I've been eagerly awaiting Balkan Fury II, as I'm hoping it to be a more manageable sized game than Barbarossa that has a more conventional logistical and environmental setting than Haake Paalle. There should be plenty of air and naval action, which will allow me to further explore how the three systems interact. I am definitely planning on doing some more coverage of this series once I've had a chance to get my hands on BF2. However, I don't expect to get any videos on it uploaded before early March next year, as I'm getting into "Winterfest prep mode" over the next couple of months. Still trying to finalize the game we'll be playing at WF in February from the short list we've narrowed it down to. Once that's done (hopefully) in the next week, I'll be spending a lot of my gaming time playing that to get warmed up for the con. After that, though, I'll most likely get to BF2 first, as I've been waiting almost 3 years to get my hands on it. So stay tuned early next year for some more TSWW videos. I'd also like to add another video on the naval system, specifically discussing air-to-sea combat and how movement, naval logistics, and searching works.

@ I look forward to it! I got my copy last week and have been digesting the rules in the evenings after work. I’m probably a few weeks away from attempting the learning scenarios. Enjoy Winterfest and I hope BFII reaches you soon!

Correct! Note that there is no need to turn another unit face down, because the combat has already been initiated. Subsequent rounds are considered part of the same naval combat. That is why you return to step #2 of the naval combat sequence instead of step #1. Once a naval combat is initiated with a successful search roll, then subsequent rounds will continue until one or both sides have no units remaining in the sea zone, due to either being sunk or aborted (voluntarily or as a combat result).

I do not. I am using all the game components as they come, right out of the box.

Tankers are an optional rule. They work just like CP's, except they can only be used to transport oil resources, and oil resources can only be transported by Tankers (and by rail). I wouldn't say they add a whole lot to the experience, and there are times when i don't use them, but I thought I use them in this playthrough to let folks see whether they make a big enough impact on play to warrant their use.

Yes, I have seen multiple games collapse in 1941 due to a German failure to Vichy (or conquer) France in 1940. And it doesn't take much to fail. A couple of key bad dice rolls can derail the whole campaign. My concern in this playthrough is that the CW and France have a Level 3 Treaty, which means they fully cooperate with one another. One of Germany's big advantages in a regular WiF game is that France and the CW cannot cooperate, so Germany can focus on one or the other (France, usually) without too much interference from the other. The CW would normally be restricted by the Foreign Troop Commitment rule, but because they can cooperate they can flood France with as many land and air units as possible. The upcoming initiative and first Fascist impulse will be pretty important. Hopefully, the weather is good (there's a small chance it won't be). I think Germany is about 2 hexes away from really breaking things open and driving on Paris. I'll be surprised if France falls in M/J, but if things go well for Germany then France could easily fall in J/A. I'm as eager as most of you to see whether it happens or not. In most WiF games, once France falls Germany has several strategic options open to her. It's why I don't feel a regular WiF game really starts until after France is knocked out (IF France is knocked out).

I instituted a house rule that allowed deficit spending only for political options. Without it, every MP would spend to their debt limit and basically just stay there, effectively giving them 10 or 15 (or more) free BP's. France is in a bad spot because of the cost of her DoW against Germany plus bringing Belgium into the war. In retrospect, it may have been better to let Germany invade Belgium rather than activating the Belgians preemptively. The monetary costs of the political options is a bit disruptive to the game. They are a big extra cost for each MP without a commensurate increase in production. Which means unit production suffers if a MP is politically active. I have some house rules in mind that I'm going to try the next time I play. Instead of using BP to pay for political options, each MP would accrue "political points" equal to their Polticial Effectiveness value each turn. These points could be banked until spent. This gives PE more relevance than just a as an initiative tie breaker, and it would eliminate the BP problem that the RAW creates. France's current problem has also been exacerbated by her reduced production. Germany has managed to capture a factory or two in the east, along with some resources, and this has lowered France's production each turn over the past few turns. The good news for France is that she should be able to build something next turn, but the bad news is that it may be too late. The Level 3 Treaty with CW is really saving her right now.

The Germans would have loved to have attacked and taken that hex. Both defenders face down was so tempting. Unfortunately, the odds were only 2-1, and that's before the 2 odds shift for Snow, so it would have been a 1-1+2. Figured it was better to wait to see if the weather improved on the next set of impulses. It did not. I rolled another 3 and the weather stayed the same, but the turn ended after the Democrats' impulse, so the Communists and Fascists didn't get another chance to do something. That did impact the initiative modifiers for next turn, though. Since the Democrats were already in the -1 box and the Communists were in the +2 box, the Fascists ended up moving one box to the right and are now in the +1 box giving them a net +2 advantage over the Democrats when it comes to the initiative next turn (which should be pretty important).

​@@thetabletopsedge I am also curious as for german production. I thought that germans would made more land units, they are very focused on air but it seems to be working quite well

@@czujnywilczek6832 The front in France is not very big, and you can only fit so many land units there. Gaining control of the air over the battlefield is vitally important, hence the German emphasis on building up the Luftwaffe. It is even more important in this game because Germany cannot isolate the RAF from the French, and therefore has to be ready to fight the combined power of the French and British air forces. Germany would like to build more land units (and needs more, that's for sure), and I expect to see land unit production increase now that the latest gear up has been accomplished.

@@thetabletopsedge When will you add a new video? And I really hope for a sake of this gameplay that germany manages to make a breakthrow next turn winning iniciative and rolling above 7-8

For land and air units, when they are turned face down they may no longer move nor attack. It is different, however, with naval units. A naval unit is turned face down to initiate a search, whether that is during the naval combat step, or as an interception during your opponent's naval movement. When a naval unit is face down, it still participates in every battle it is eligible to participate in. I'll give you an example to (hopefully) clarify. A German SCS moves into the North Sea zone as part of a task force containing 3 other SCS during the Axis Naval Movement step. CW naval units occupy the 1 and 4 boxes in the sea zone. At the start of the Axis Naval Combat step, the SCS is turned face down in order to initiate search rolls. Neither side successfully searches, so there is no combat and all naval units remain where they are. In the following Allied Naval Movement step, a CW task force moves through the North Sea, attempting to reach the Baltic Sea. The German wishes to intercept, so he turns a second SCS in his task force face down to initiate search rolls for the interception. This time, a search is successful and there will be a combat. The German player will include the naval units in his box, including the two face down naval units. If they survive the combat and are not Aborted, they will remain in the seabox face down, until they are Aborted in a future combat, or they Return to Base at the end of the turn. Face down naval units participate in every combat, whether their side or the other initiated it. The only thing being face down prevents them from doing is initiating search rolls.

Normally, you may only choose one type of action per impulse (Land/Naval/Air/Combined) and are restricted to the action limits of that type. However, you may spend Offensive Points to choose multiple Actions in the same impulse (for example, a Land and Naval Action). The cost in OP's is given on the Multiple Action Cost chart in 16.2, and you pay the COMBINED cost of the Action Types you choose. For example, if Japan chooses to do a Land + Naval Action it would pay a total of 9 OP's, and then get the combined limits (unlimited allowable Land and Naval actions, plus 4 Air actions; 2 from the Land and 2 from the Naval Action Limits). If Japan were to choose to do a Land + Naval + Air Action, it would cost 13 OP's, and have no limits on types of actions performed that impulse. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!

@@thetabletopsedge Yes, thank you very much!

I have 4 videos under the "WiF Tutorial" playlist on my channel that can hopefully help you. Here's a link to the first one, the rest can (hopefully) easily be found on my channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qWHYlGCrn8-Drbc The videos address the 1939 Global War scenario, but the same process applies to the other scenarios. If, after watching them, you still have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask! Thanks again for watching and good luck! PS - The Matrix version has such a horrible UI that I find it unplayable, unfortunately. However, the WiFCE VASSAL module is really nice and I highly recommend it for PBeM, or if you don't have enough room to set up the physical version of WiF (it can be challenging finding the space for a 4-map scenario).

@@thetabletopsedge Thank you :)

The Siberians went into the Soviet force pool. They have not been built yet. I'll double check the effects to make sure they weren't supposed to come directly on map. Glad you are enjoying the series and getting something out of it. Thanks for watching!

It definitely takes some effort to get all the rules down. That's one reason why I created a tutorial series of videos to help flatten that learning curve. However, if you like strategic level WW2 games, then you'll find that effort rewarded.

@@thetabletopsedge nice one

You are correct. However, they are saving their air force for a planned attack on Valencia in a later impulse this turn (weather permitting). The Valencia attack is more important, and the potential DRM for a really successful ground strike there is higher (+3 versus +1). The 1-1attack was not something I like to do (precisely because of how it turned out), but the potential payoff of a successful attack was worth risking the worst possible result. Until the Nationalists can capture Valencia and deploy the bulk of their forces further west and south, things could get messy.

FTC does include naval units based in the non-cooperating country. An important distinction between this playthrough and a regular WiF-only game, is that the Cw and France have managed to sign a Level 3 Treaty, which allows them to cooperate and take advantage of those rules. This has allowed the CW and France to fly aircraft to support one another, ignore FTC limits (which is usually a big deal in France '40), stack together and even participate in attacks together (if they ever dare).

Very helpful as always. Got a few other questions about the Partisan. Do the Japanese warlords count also for the garrison value in that case. And when you finally roll the dice. Do you always get 2 Partisans in China when you don't get more than 20 with the dice and the garrison value?

@@marcos5598 I do count the Warlords when determining the garrison value. To determine whether, and how many, partisans appear in a country during the End of Turn Stage, you roll one d10 and consult the Partisan Table. For each eligible country, you then roll 1d10 and compare it to the country's Partisan Value. There are modifiers to that die roll. You add the total (modified) garrison value in the country, and you subtract 1 for each partisan already present. If the modified die roll is greater than the country's Partisan Value, no partisan is placed. If it is equal to or less than the Partisan Value, then you add one partisan unit for every 10 (or fraction thereof) less. For example, we are rolling for partisans in China. The Japanese have a garrison of 4 and there are no partisans currently in China. We roll a 7 on the die. Adding the +4 for garrison value, we get a total of 11. China's Partisan Value is 20. 11 is 9 less than 20, so one partisan unit is placed in an eligible hex (if there are no eligible hexes, then no partisan can be placed). If the die roll was instead a 3. Then the total would be 7, which is 13 less than China's partisan value. In this case, two partisan units would be placed (the first for the first 10, and the remaining 3 would trigger a second). The way I do it is roll the die, add any modifiers for garrison value and/or partisans, then subtract that from the country's Partisan Value. If the number is negative, then no partisans appear. If it is 0-10, then one partisan is placed, if it is 11-20 a second partisan is placed, and if it is 21-30 a third partisan is placed. They have reduced the USSR's Partisan Value in this edition to 20, which I believe is the highest in the game (along with China). So no more than two partisans are ever going to appear (unless there are somehow already 10 partisan units in the USSR or China, but I don't think there are that many partisans in the countermix), but it may be only one appearing, depending on the modified die roll. Hope this helps, and thanks for watching!

Welcome aboard! Glad you're enjoying it!

Yes you can . There are several starting dates in the Collectors edition from '39-'44.

Yes, there is an easy way to skip the "preliminaries". One of the 4-map scenarios begins in J/A'40 right after the installation of Vichy. I could never convince the others in my WiF group to give it a try (despite several games where Germany got stuffed in France). One of the arguments against using it is that the setup for the scenario sees less German units on map (especially aircraft) that we would usually see when we played from S/O'39. While true that the J/A'40 setup may not be optimized for several of the MP's, I do think it is worth the trade off of avoiding a game derailment in Poland or France. It shortens the overall game by one year, which isn't a bad thing. One of these days I'm hoping to convince the group to give it a try.

​@@thetabletopsedgeIsn't France the best time to use Offensive points to crack the line?

This unfortunately happens more frequently than it should. And it's not just due to player skill. I've seen a couple instances where a streak of really bad dice rolling ruined any chances of Germany knocking France out of the war in 1940. I've always wanted to try the J/A'40 campaign start, but could never convince my playing group to try the scenario.

​@@thetabletopsedgeHaving more units favours defense IMO. Without all the optional units it's harder for France to form a deep line.

That's a good question! I have not personally played it as a stand alone. The game has been designed to be played as a stand alone, so it is certainly possible. The core political systems are pretty much unchanged when it's played as a stand alone game, but the combat is greatly abstracted into Army Points. The combat system, while highly abstract, does seem viable. So if you are pressed for time/space and still want a grand strategic 1940's experience, I'd say go for it.

Made it, just barely! My goal is to finish Mar/Apr'40 before the end of October and get it all uploaded. With slightly shorter episodes, I think I can maintain the September momentum, and hopefully things will just keep on rolling.

In talking to Dean Essig a few years ago about potential future BCS titles, Dean mentioned that MMP prefers to keep any new titles to 2 maps or less. I know the next BCS game to be released will be a 2-mapper. MMP seems to be also keeping new TCS titles small (very small, in fact). Both Ariete and Goose Green are so small they are ziplock only releases. I don't have any direct knowledge, but MMP has been somewhat infamous for very rarely reprinting old titles. Even the ASL core modules took forever to get reprinted and back in stock (including the rule book), which is hardly a great plan to attract new customers. My guess would be that MMP has decided, due to its limited financial and manpower resources, to dedicate those resources to producing new games that will (hopefully) sell in greater volume than older reprints might. I think it took LB about 6 years to fully sell out at MMP, and they probably don't want to have to deal with the costs associated with warehousing several hundred copies for several more years, were they to do a reprint. Unfortunately, what this means for us the consumer, is that many great games (like LB) are only available now on the secondary market, and often rarely available (and frequently at exorbitant prices). For example, checking just before writing this reply, I could only find one copy for sale on eBay (for $350US) and one copy on BBG (for 200Euro ~$223US). My advice would be to be patient and persistent in checking various secondary market outlets (like Ebay, Noble Knight Games, BGG, etc.), but be prepared to have to wait awhile to find a good copy at a "reasonable" price. I will also mention that there is a fantastic (and totally free) VASSAL module for this game available. Were one to scour the internet and find a digital copy of the rule and scenario book, one would then theoretically be able to enjoy this great game (at least digitally). But don't tell anyone I told you. 😉 While I really enjoy a lot of MMP's products, their attitude towards reprints (unlike, say, GMT Games) is really frustrating at times. Good luck, and thanks for watching!

@@thetabletopsedge Thank you for the detailed response. It is frustrating as I was playing H&C wargames in the 70s and 80s, but then stopped for dumb reasons. I unfortunately missed out on the evolution of the games from rules, component and artistic standpoints, which leaves me on the outside looking in on so many new (to me at least) titles which are OOP. By the way, your channel is fantastic.

@@Socialdogma Anytime! Thank you for the kind words. The internet really has been a savior for the hobby. There are a ton of great H&C channels on KZbin. I'm just trying to do my part. There are also a lot of great resources, everything from publisher websites to forums like the ConSimWorld forums and BGG, to IO.groups for specific games where you can find a whole community of fellow enthusiasts. I don't know your tolerance for digital gaming, but VASSAL is fantastic for both live play and PBeM if you are so inclined. I do feel your pain with regards to having missed out on some great games. Up until about 5 - 10 years ago my gaming budget was pretty tight, and I had to make some tough decisions back in the day. I've started to hunt down a lot of those old "grail games" I missed out on when they were in print, and I've managed to slowly acquire nice copies of them. But the price tags can be painful sometimes. Welcome back to the hobby! I think you'll find it is as strong as ever, with a lot of high quality games being produced each year by publishers both big and small. Whatever your favorite subject matter, at whatever scale, odds are good you're going to find something that scratches that itch. It's been a rough year in terms of being able to produce content for my channel, but most of those issues are receding and I am confident of getting back to a more regular production schedule. It'll probably never get more than a one video per week average (although in practice videos will probably get uploaded in fits and spurts due to my day job), as this is just a side gig for me. I'm not in it for the money, but for the love of the hobby.

Interesting interpretation, and I can understand why you interpret it that way. I certainly would not say you are doing it incorrectly, but I do disagree with the interpretation (but not strenuously). The marker is not moving towards the Germany marker, it is moving away from the CW marker. In this particular case, movement away from the CW happens to coincide with movement towards Germany. But that is not always the case. For example, if the Finnish marker were two hexes to the left, it would be moving away from the CW marker but parallel to the Germany marker. This is an excellent example of the sloppy language Harry has used throughout every edition of the WiF rules, and a big reason for why so many variations of house rules are found in WiF groups around the world. Your interpretation may well be correct. I remain hopeful that when Harry puts together DoD IV, he will take more care in the language he uses for the rules. Based on comments I heard him make earlier this week, it sounds like he's considering substantial changes to a lot of the DoD mechanisms. I appreciate your feedback, so please feel free to send more. Thanks for watching!

Glad you are enjoying the series! Thanks for watching.