Monthly Update - SDHistCon - Wargaming & Boardgames Channel Update | November 2024

[@ardwulfslair]

Great meeting you in person!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Agreed! I enjoyed our conversation, next time it'd be great to get in a game together. :) Thoughts on Microverse?

[@SoloBattles]

Enjoyed traveling to SDHistcon with you! What a great event. Not only the games, but the people made the whole experience something I will treasure. Looking forward to getting some of those games to table.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks for traveling together and I'm glad you had a great time. It was great to see you showing off Musket Battles too! Next up, CircleDC?

[@TonyLS9A]

Woah. Good old Anzio. First game I played with step-reduction. Those were the days. Great update and looking forward to all your content.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks! I couldn't resist with a price like that. :)

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

@@ZillaBlitz b cement if possible some card made , few random events, weather, volcanoes which did actually erupted that year ,,, ect ,,, at monte casino the polish had a pet bear called wodjtek whom they assigned to carry mortar Supply's,,,,🐒

[@ZillaBlitz]

Sounds good!

[@douglewis1273]

Enjoyed meeting you in San Diego, always great to have so many visitors! Discussion of Shores of Tripoli was great. I see RAF on your shelf of shame, I have the same and hoping to get to the table soon.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Likewise, Doug! I've heard only great things about RAF as a solo game. As a member of the Shelf of Shame, it's causing almost as much shame as Empire of the Sun. (feels shame)

[@terryp3034]

Simply love your enthusiasm and very clear game reviews.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks much! I appreciate the kind words. :)

[@assaultgames167]

Lol...."hardest working wargame designer"... thanks for this new title. I hope you will enjoy our final-final version of Gela Beachhead 🙂

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ha! You have earned that title. It's incredibly well done! I look forward to trying a campaign as soon as I can. :)

[@francisjulia499]

Great update, looking forward to the upcoming videos. Glad to hear that Raiders of the Deep will continue. Some of the SDHistcon games look really interesting.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks! I'm very much looking forward to getting back to sea in Raiders.

[@allynvannoy4743]

It was great to see and talk to you briefly at San Diego.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Likewise! What a great convention too. :)

[@dizpatcher01]

Well. Glad you're back. I've been going through withdrawals. My wife was pretty happy that I wasn't spending money on the games you showcase. But me. Really glad you are back putting on the best show on the net. Love the passion you bring to each and every video. Looking forward to Stuka Ace. It's finally on the boat. Would love to see you do a video on Red Dust Rebellion. One of these years I'm going to get myself to SDHistcon to hopefully meet you in person and get in some great gaming with the designers and other enthusiasts. To me, war gaming people are some of the best people on the planet. I do hope all is well with you and yours.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Haha! Too funny. :) I’m glad I made your wife happy for a bit. I’d love to do something on Red Dust Rebellion, but for the moment I’m focusing on the list of games I’ve promised content for. Once those are complete, it’s time to explore new stuff. :) And yes, SDHistCon is a great place to attend. I think next for me will be CircleDC in Washington DC.

[@Stumptonian1]

Saw a pic with you in it in a Facebook post about SDHistoricon - looks like something I might have to try and get to sometime. Looking forward to getting my copies of Ju87 Stuka Ace and Assault Sicily soon. Keep up the good work.

[@ZillaBlitz]

It was a great time, highly recommended! In particular I like it because it's rather small, about 150 people I think in all. So you see and talk with the same people over the weekend. Tremendous fun, and just what I needed. :)

[@lilesindiecorner]

Still going very strong, even with October being a slow month. AND SO MANY GAMES! And so many butt kicks

[@ZillaBlitz]

It's raining games, yes! ... To be somewhat fair, I almost always lose the first few games of something I play. Like, I generally am absolutely horrible. I think it might be because I will try things that I suspect are bad strategies just to see what happens. Not sure, but yeah, I lost a lot in October.

[@andrewwaldron3838]

Just want to say thanks for the content! I’m new to solitaire gaming and your videos have inspired me to make a list of games I want to get that will likely cause me to have some financial issues. Also, it helps that you’re a fellow Minnesotan.

[@ZillaBlitz]

My pleasure, thanks for stopping in and I'm glad the content is helpful. Hopefully the financial hit will be offset by the fun you have playing the games. ;) Thanks for stopping in!

[@mattquinn9415]

18XX! This series is awesome, enjoy getting into them and exploring. 1846 was also my starting point, I'd guess that after 3--4 years of playing I have tried about 20 titles and always find myself wanting yet another variant. 1889 Shikoku is another excellent gateway title along with the 1830 you just got gifted. Let me know if you ever want in on a play with my 18xx group. Also...these videos are so good! Really happy to have found your channel. :)

[@ZillaBlitz]

It was fun to explore 1846, for sure, and it sounds like there is a whole world of the games to keep digging into. It sounds like you've had a lot of fun exploring them as well! That's great to hear. I'm not sure yet of my next steps in the system, in short term, I have a bunch of video projects to complete before the end of the year, and then I should have time to start exploring the system more. And thanks for the kind words and for joining the Patreon too, much appreciated. I'll reach out there with more information on the Discord! Thanks, Matt!

[@WynandMeyering]

I remember playing war board games in 1994... late nights with friends, Risk type games... Republic of Rome...

[@ZillaBlitz]

Sounds like good memories. :)

[@jon7043]

The Sound of Drums games look interesting. Did you know there is one of their games on Gamefound right now called Battle Commander Volume 1? Looks amazing. Hope you review that. I still think the Mediterranean WW2 game looks amazing, but I am so worried that will be outside my price point. The box looks huge.

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

@@jon7043 agree , looking like a legacy game blowing away our treasures,,,Zilla hopefully will make a proper review , other side of the hills bro

[@ZillaBlitz]

I've seen the crowdfunding page for the Battle Commander game but don't know much about it, tbh. Looks interesting, though. I believe Song for War will have two price points, one of which will be less than before. Not 100% sure on that, though. :)

[@alexan07]

Thanks!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks very much, that’s very kind of you! Much appreciated. :)

[@SquadPainter]

I hope you do a quick overview of some of the current crowdfunding offerings soon. There's a fantastic playable game of La Bataille on Kickstarter featuring the battle of Kulm... perfect for new players like me who were intimidated by other La Bat offerings. Thanks for all of the great work that you do!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, yes. That's the video I'll be working on on Sunday. :) I'll check out La Bataille too. It might already be on my list. :)

[@coyi51]

Pleased you had a fun time at SDH. Awaiting three pre order games JU 87, Dog Boats & Wolfpack. Purchased Enemy Action Kharkov &Road to Leningrad from NKG sale. Barbarossa AG Centre & JC Rome v Gaul on Ebay. Now have a pile of games to learn and play that should keep me occupied for the for see able future, while my shelf of shame just gathers dust. Many thanks for the update.

[@ZillaBlitz]

That's a fantastic squad of incoming games, coyi! I think you'll really like JU87, such a fun campaign. So much to play for you! :)

[@coyi51]

@@ZillaBlitz I forgot to mention the Dice tower. An amazing surprise to receive.

[@Vequeth]

I was tempted by Next War: Poland in the GMT sale also but I fear it is too heavy for me

[@ZillaBlitz]

It might be worth taking a look at the rulebook. There are two distinct levels of rules: basic and advanced. The basic rules have looked pretty straightforward to me. The advanced are complex, yes.

[@Vequeth]

@ZillaBlitz oh interesting, I did not know that thanks :)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Still would recommend looking them over, as the basic rules still have a bit of heft to them, but they are significantly less complex than the advanced rules.

[@scotwilliams803]

Anzio! That is awesome

[@ZillaBlitz]

Excited to explore it, for sure. :)

[@ParkeraNZ]

Congrats to the winner! Great channel update mate and awesome time had at the con is always a bonus.

[@ZillaBlitz]

The con was fantastic. Great to connect with people and play games. Rejuvenating. :)

[@ThymeKeeper]

I have played Next War Vietnam and enjoyed it. I haven't played Poland or Iran yet. I also haven't played with the advanced rules which are both highly recommended and a bit intimidating.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, I saw that the complexity jumps a good bit when you go advanced in the series. Glad to hear you liked Vietnam! :)

[@lakingsgeek]

I just made the jump from the iPhone 11 to the 16 too! Longest I've gone without upgrading. Less reason to upgrade these days.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Nice! I should have gone earlier because of the camera improvements. If I weren't using the phone to shoot video so much, I'd totally agree that waiting this long was fine. :)

[@HissyCat]

Focus... focus... =)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thought for sure you'd miss that one! Nice work, detective. :)

[@HissyCat]

@@ZillaBlitz i pay attention when i watch your videos. how else can i make it thru my day?

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ha!

[@lilesindiecorner]

That dice tower is so cool! Well done, Hissy!

[@HissyCat]

@@lilesindiecorner Thank you Lile. It was a small thank you for all Zilla has done for me. =)

[@PushingCardboard]

You sunk my battleship...er...carrier!

[@ZillaBlitz]

And you sank mine as well! That was a very memorable game. I'm somewhat regretting that we didn't get to play that second morning. I'm more and more curious to see how it would have turned out. I think it could have gone either way, but each of us only had one or two punches left.

[@PushingCardboard]

@@ZillaBlitz Totally agree. I think it would have come back down to the classic problem of who finds who first. I have to look it up when I finish unpacking, but I think I missed a rule. Someone reminded me there is a bit of asyncronicity in how the two sides cycle through the mission/return/reserve/ready sequence. I think it might be something as simple as American fighters don't have to go to reserve from CAP, just straight back into ready. I doubt it would have made a difference in the game, but it might even things out a bit with those deadly zeroes!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ah, right, yes. I know we got the "Zeroes can split freely" rule, and as you mention it, I vaguely remember reading something like what you mention, but I thought it was marked on the carrier task force boards, maybe? With an arrow going from CAP to Ready? (not at all confident here)

[@PushingCardboard]

@@ZillaBlitz I think you may be right about it being right on the boards. I may just have missed it. Wouldn't be the first time. Just makes me want to play the game some more to see how it works!

[@ZillaBlitz]

I actually had the game like four feet away and yes, the US Carrier Force boards have lateral arrows going from CAP to Ready. Sorry, I assumed you were using them that way.

[@thgenral]

Zella, I need you advice. I’m a slow reader and I’m 72, (Not studied, I have an associates degree, a BS degree, and a Maters degree.) I just read read and learn slowly. Could you do a video on how you learn a game in prep to trying it out? I’ve tried several methods but mine just seem too slow or I’m just stuck with learning as I do. Thanks buddy, love the channel!!!!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, this is a great idea. I will do this. It will take a while, though.

[@dizpatcher01]

@@ZillaBlitz This really is a great idea. I struggle with this also with poor eyesight, which makes it a slow go.

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

Anzio 🤺 Avalon Hill ,,, beautiful map ,,, setup nightmares, get some counter trays zill ,🕊️👍

[@ZillaBlitz]

And use the trays to store things in the set up order?

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

@ZillaBlitz fraid so ,,,, each company Haz three divs all single/sides ,no just flip and there are nine+ original co/ brig ,,sadly ,,, very nice but needs thought to enjoy , otherwise no way set that up again, so so long since I play ,,,, (Kesselring is the same game but more detailed artillery/air/supply counters + naval and general counters,) smaller thin paper map though , i would pik that up if available,🐍 hey nice game con btw , only bit of good news, cheers i

[@ZillaBlitz]

Okay, I think I can work that out in a Cube4Me tray set. Thanks!

[@RobertO-ly5tb]

I’m glad you’re back. I can see you’ve moved to your house on the lake.😂 Thanks for the video. Cheers. Edit: What!? A green screen? Say it isn’t so!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, although I expect I'll have to go inside as ... winter's coming. :)

[@ThymeKeeper]

Multiple channels I follow have affiliate links with Noble Knight. Unfortunately I can't use more than one link on a single purchase :).

[@ZillaBlitz]

No worries at all! I appreciate the thought, and it's all good. :)

[@paulaceto6492]

Whoa. I saw at least four games in your hand (Stuka Ace, World at War, 1793 and Assault Gela Beachhead) that I backed and have not even gotten a shipping notice. Do you get advance copies from publishers?

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes. On occasion I will receive advance copies. If it's not a prototype version of a game, it usually means that the ship is on the way and shipment will start relatively soon.

[@ParkeraSC]

🔥🔥🔥

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks! :)

[@The8OJ4N]

Zila, do you know anything about the new solo wargame where you make a gladiator in ancient Rome and go through his career. I think it's made by a guy that made many solo wargames lately, can't remember his name... I know I watched it somewhere in list for p500, but can't find the name of that game anywhere. [Edit] It might be Gregory M. Smith.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, I believe it’s going to Kickstarter 1Q 2025 with Compass Games. I’m quite excited about it, and will be talking about it in the next Upcoming Wargames video. I will be making a video on the game as well.

[@johnloy9331]

Just hate it when real life interferes with my gaming

[@ZillaBlitz]

I am so looking forward to retiring, or figuring out a way to do this more frequently. I could make 2 videos a day. :)

[@Brett-p3v]

Zilla, just an FYI I got unsubscribed from your channel. I re-subscribed.

[@ZillaBlitz]

That's odd, it wasn't me, thanks for re-subscribing!

[@Phalanx11]

Was your 'unexpected expense' where your wife was in a four car crash and It cost you $15000 and you weren't even there?

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ha! Not as dramatic, but a bit more expensive. :)

[@Phalanx11]

@@ZillaBlitz LOL because thats what happened to me...

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ouch! That'll leave a mark. Hope everyone is okay!

[@ThymeKeeper]

You sure get your butt kicked a lot LOL

[@ZillaBlitz]

Haha! I was on an epic losing streak in the back half of October and early November. I think at one point I lost 7 or 8 things in a row. The Wheel of Fortuna is due to spin me up soon.

[@SoloBattles]

Not always. He sure kicked my ass in 1748!😅

[@ZillaBlitz]

Just a learning game, that was. :)