March on the Drina Review | Princeps Games | Wargame Board Game | World War 1

[@joeyj6808]

I got this game after watching your preview of the advance copy. I just loved the look of it. Have not played it yet, but it is a high quality product and looks fantastic. Anyway, this review is just perfect. Thanks!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Joey! I really found the gameplay very enjoyable, and there is good ebb and flow to the campaign. I learned a lot about the history as well, which I really appreciate. :) I hope you enjoy the game as you get it to the table. :)

[@mikewilcox4346]

I have their Freezing Inferno game and liked playing it. Interesting and innovative mechanics that as fun to play. This sounds like a good history lesson on a little gamed conflict.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Their new game, The Battle of Khalkhin Gol, looks interesting as well. Similar mechanics to Freezing Inferno.

[@princepsgames]

Thank you for this great review! 😊

[@ZillaBlitz]

My pleasure, thanks for making fun games! :)

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

Very good honest review ✍️👍

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks Brian, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[@SoloBattles]

I confess that I haven't watched the whole video yet, but a couple comments spring to mind. The east front of WWi was a fundamentally different kind of war. To simulate it at a low complexity but high authenticity level, your classic hex and counter type game would miss the feel, it would feel and play like a Western front game. So kudos to them for originality. The only reason the faces on the counters would bother me is if they were used in place of historical figures. For generic troops, not an issue. Nevertheless, I take your point. Fortunately, my old eyes wouldn't take in that detail!😅 Besides, how many Hollywood movies have we watched where hard edged actors in their 30s and 40s were playing GIs that should be 19 years old? I love your video style. You are my role model for my own videos!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Haha. Yes! John Wayne! Even as a kid I always wondered why he was so much older than everyone else. :) And thanks for the kind words!

[@williamstewart4620]

Thanks for another great review! Were you saying that Princeps Games should have used your likeness on one of the counters? 😉

[@ZillaBlitz]

Haha! That would be another old person on the map, no. :)

[@thecustardprophet8434]

I like the idea of the magnet base indicating strength really cool idea. The taller the unit, the stronger they are! Or having watched through a bit longer, that's not true! I like my idea!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, I like your idea as well. :)

[@theodore6491]

While it won't help with the math problem, would painting/color coding the magnets (may need to get more) help identify strength? Thanks for the review.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Interesting idea, yes? It might make them more visible, depending on how you arranged the colors.

[@robertdelaney4332]

At a minimum, paint one to act as the Albania move. That can replace the cardboard counter and tag along with the other magnets.

[@pterrok5495]

Yeah, as you were panning the set-up, I was wondering why they were different heights. And then when the camera gets ABOVE them, you can't see anything at all, meaning you DO have to kinda be sitting back to pick up the unit you want. Which then kinda means why there is no terrain, since you'd have to stand-up and look down to SEE the terrain, but then you couldn't see the unit! ;-p I'd fix the heights so ALL units were the same base height. Probably by putting art BELOW the unit--so like more road in front of the arty, instead of putting sky above it to add to the height of it. So that you could always differentiate the unit by the top bit. Then yeah, if magnet companies made different color magnets, have 3 colors of them--or really FOUR with a nice gold to show they did the upgrade. The key being, you'd stack them on as black, green, blue, gold (or whatever colors) and so you'd know by the COLOR the strength. HUGE downside, of course, would be the cost to have enough of each color. Agree about the faces--I was wondering about them as they seemed a bit out of place--glad you told us why!

[@ZillaBlitz]

I do like a lot of the creativity around the ideas, and there are bonuses, too, like not having to look for alternative counters, and having a relatively easy mechanic for distinguishing 4 levels of strength. And the game plays smoothly. Having said that, I felt like there are some iterations that could be made to the system to smooth out the bumpy bits with the system, too. I'm excited to see where the company goes. :)

[@Justegarde]

Serbien muss Sterbien from GMT covers this topic (re: other wargames that are about this). The upcoming Brief Border Wars 2 is also going to cover the 1913 Second Balkan War (which is the conflict that hardened the Serbian army for WWI)

[@ThymeKeeper]

I am getting ready to get Serbien to the table now, using the version 3.0 rules.

[@Justegarde]

@@ThymeKeeper Good luck. Game is a bit of a bear, and I think probably better face to face than solo.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Ah, thanks for the information! I wasn't aware of that game(s). The first one looks out of print, but good to know. :)

[@michaelraschi8400]

Thanks for the review! Defense is all about terrain. Too important to leave out.

[@ZillaBlitz]

I suppose part of the thinking could be that the terrain is very similar, so distinguishing the terrain wouldn't make sense, but I did find myself wishing for terrain variety. :)

[@SoloBattles]

Not sure at that scale that there is enough variation to matter (it's all rough). Plus, troops and commanders need to know how to take advantage of terrain. Combat style might preclude any advantage. Admittedly, I would need to understand the combat results to make a judgment. Great point by you, even so!

[@coyi51]

Like some of the ideas from this game and a company thinking outside the box. The varying heights of units does need modifying along with some additional terrain types just too add some realism to the game. It's also the first war game, so cut them so slack and future games should improve if they receive constructive feedback.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, I know they are very hard working and I'm excited to see their future. :)

[@SoloBattles]

Playing devils advocate here. A confusing battlefield is great FoW. Yes, it is frustrating, but it is also very authentic. Real Life commanders were at a loss to determine exact enemy strength.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yeah, but this isn't so much "fog of war" as it is that the information the game is giving you requires more time and brain power to parse. I think I'd call fog of war something that when you have total information available to you, there are still bits and pieces you don't know.

[@patrickols]

Great review sir! Thanks for this, interesting game but just too different for me. I am too old and set in my ways I guess :-) and found the game just way too different for my taste. It’s almost like the old Stratego game from my childhood. Too bad because it’s a region that we don’t get to see much in board games, the Balkans of the 1910’s

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Patrick! :)

[@ThymeKeeper]

I agree about the faces and the standees blocking each other. Creative decisions always need to bend to reality. I would absolutely be aggravated by this game and that's a shame.

[@ZillaBlitz]

To me it wasn't a huge thing, and I like the 3D pop to the game, but with the value of the unit determined by the bottom of the vertical display, there was a certain need to look over and pick up units to determine their strength when things got congested.

[@Stumptonian1]

Thanks for the review. A pass for me. I don't like the standees (and not just because the art looks poorly photoshopped). I think they will make for a difficult game to handle - especially for beginner players. P.S. Your BGG link is under Aces of Valor instead of this game.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Whoops, thanks for the heads up on the video link. I've fixed that now. Much appreciated. :)

[@hermannluttmann1637]

Thanks ZB! Sorry, but the counter graphics are an absolute turn off for me. Using photos of modern personalities from the hobby as the soldier graphics takes me totally out of the simulation and just look silly. Hopefully they re-issue this with some decent historically accurate visuals. Otherwise, it looks like a interesting game system.

[@ZillaBlitz]

My pleasure, Hermann, thanks for stopping in. :) I understand the thoughtfulness of the counters, for sure, and they don't go so far as to break the game for me, but I do think they pull me away from the immersion in World War 1. The calendar, map, and generals really highlight such a nice historical edge to the game. If the counters added to that, I think it would really perfect the historical edge to the game.