Skies Above Britain - Chapter One: Patrol 1 of 6

The first patrol in a campaign playthrough of "Skies Above Britain" from GMT Games. Our Spitfire squadron goes up against a large bomber formation.

[@paulbrown7369]

Glad to see you being utilized by the developer, this genre is definitely in your area of expertise. Excellent play through!

[@pdex2165]

Thanks, Paul! But to be fair, GMT never asked me to do anything like this. I just really loved the game (and a beta tester, too) so I wanted to show it off for them. 🙂

[@carsons5750]

30:30 wait… I don’t think red section resolved their second attacks?

[@pdex2165]

Oh, my gosh...I think you're right! I totally missed Red Sections attack run! That was a big miss but thanks for pointing that out. I'll do my best to be more vigilant next time. 😁😆

[@carsons5750]

@@pdex2165 air combat gets pretty hectic!

[@Kili121416]

Great to see this series, presented in your usual high standard. Love that you present it more as a story than a game.

[@pdex2165]

Thanks, Gregory! Great wargames make great stories, in my opinion. The two go hand in hand. Plus, I love the subject matter!

[@padraicmburke]

Good hunting! My Hurricanes flew Chapter 1 today and bagged 5 Dorniers and 3 Me109s for one KIA and a bail out

[@pdex2165]

Very nice! Those Hurri's are much better against bombers (looking at the damage markers, you can tell). 🙂

[@padraicmburke]

@pdex2165 Patrol 2 on the bag - 3 Ju-88s, 1 Me-109 and 6 Me-110s bagged for one dead, three hospitalised and one bailed out. One of my veterans bagged three Me-110s!

[@81neilleo]

Always exciting to see the alert you have posted a new video.

[@hariszark7396]

Although this game looks interesting I can definitely say its complexity rating is way above 5". I would place it around 7-8. And the price of 100€ plus shipping is HUGE. What the heck are they thinking? I've seen games with a bunch of plastic minis cost way less than that this paper bits game. I don’t get why they got the price that high... I'm not even considering giving more than 40€ for this game honesty.

[@carsons5750]

My physical copy arrives on Tuesday, ordered it after seeing your previous video!

[@Fred-tc1vh]

Absolutely excellent. So clear and well explained. The right level of graphics without being showy. And your deliver and pace is tremendous. I had to break for real world stuff, and had to be torn away to see what was going to happen to the squadron! I was engrossed like a movie 😂 Great stuff

[@NarcísMadern]

I am just starting with the game, so possibly I am wrong, but I have to ask: at 22:52, why the tile with the three green RAF fighters is disrupted after the green leader lost contact? Before that I count only 3 fighters + 1 wing (10 crash) damage on the two tiles that are contiguous, and the card was showing 5 to disrupt the formation. Apart from that, I have a doubt: the icons on the cards happen all simultaneously or one at a time, making it harder in this case to reach the disruption needed (3 instead of 4)? Thanks for these great videos! They are really helpful

[@maubunky1]

At 20:27, why do you highlight the "starb'd or port" attack column on the playing card, if Red 3 is attacking from a "nose" position? I'm completely new to this game and trying to decide whether to order it, thanks for any advice you can offer.

[@pdex2165]

That was a minor mistake on my part. The resolution was correct as seen in the video but I accidentally highlighted the flank position. Sorry for the confusion.

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

I didn't realise the only way of escaping Ohio was to join the RAF.

[@pdex2165]

Well, that's ONE way to do it! 😁

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

@@pdex2165 You've just convinced me to play this as my next solo game. It's remarkable just how friable German bombers were compared to B-17s, it's like playing murder skittles.

[@j_atkinson]

at 24:02 are you counting the low ammo marker for the "4" distress count to knock the bomber out? I didn't think you could count those, because I count the hit on wing(1), fighter (1), and fallen (1) which is 3. Great video btw!

[@pdex2165]

You are correct. I counted that one. And I shouldn't have. I will make that distinction in the next video. Thanks for catching that!

[@Tomas-pm7mn]

The game looks great. Im just curious what are the decisions player can make because it looks like most of the time player just follow pre scripted steps. 🙄

[@davet010]

Very much enjoyed this one, while I sticker up my own fighters - tally ho !

[@Vo11k]

Спасибо, за детальный разбор игровых механик, ваше видео очень помогло в освоении данной игры!

[@RonDokter]

Great session! Love the way you present this. Only one remark/question, @19:20 you count the markers for Distress and you also count the Low Ammo marker (states: 5, not 4), is this correct? If I look at page 57 in the rulebook there is a list of markers which you can count for this purpose. Of course the outcome is still Fallen, but just to make sure....

[@pdex2165]

Yes, you are correct. According to the rules, the ammo marker is NOT counted, only damage markers, fighters, and fallen/destroyed markers. That was misspoken on my part. I should have stated "four". I'll make it a point to clarify that point in future videos. Thanks for the heads-up!

[@jasbal1737]

Mr Poindexter, your playthroughs are simply excellent. Thank you very much!

[@rogerflack415]

There don't appear to be a huge amount of decision points in this game.

[@shaneintheuk2026]

28:23 I think you should have scored a VP for the bomber destroyed in the collision. So far you’ve got 6vp for disrupting the formation and 2 VPs for bombers destroyed.

[@pdex2165]

I did. At the end of the video I added the victory point for the collision. 😊

[@miroslavmleczko4140]

Hi from Czechia and 310 squadron this is absolute absolute fenomenal video, I can not wait to patrol 2. Beautiful work. 😀🖖😀

[@pdex2165]

Thank you very much, Miroslav! 🙂

[@dayoltay]

Wow the production quality of this video IS OF THE CHART!

[@pdex2165]

Thanks, David!

[@tomasjonsson7789]

Excellent walk-through, with a mix of rules and strategy, told with a narrative style! I appreciate that you showed a full patrol, including setup and debriefing. Since I am struggling a bit with how to interpret the Disruption & Distress results, here are one remark I have in your patrol: At 22:46 you go for tile isolation due to disruption based on 5 markers on the bomb formation area. The rules, on page 57, mentions counting fighters and markers on contiguous tiles. In this case there are two tiles. I can only count 4 markers on these two tiles: three fighters and one wing marker. What am I missing?

[@pdex2165]

You are correct, Tomas! I mistakenly counted the "LC" marker as a fifth tile but that is not a "legitimate" marker used in Green Leader's Disruption. Thanks for catching that mistake!

[@tomasjonsson7789]

@@pdex2165 Thanks for explaining what went "wrong" in the heat of the battle. Instant sub and looking forward to the next patrol!

[@RPGOverviews]

Which do you like more between this and B-17 Flying Fortress Leader?

[@pdex2165]

A very good question. For me, it's a little hard to choose between which one is better. B-17 FFL is my favorite Leader series game. But I'm also a big fan of anything Battle of Britain. I honestly would have to say I like them both equally. 😊

[@RPGOverviews]

@@pdex2165 great thanks for the quick response! I’m torn between the 2 and have only played The Hunters for a solo game but would like to transition to air combat games.

[@w.rossgreen5265]

Dude what you do with your videos is so different in all the best ways. Unboxings can be fun, review videos are sometimes helpful, how-to-play vids can be marginally to greatly helpful - but your videos do it all, and in the most entertaining way. You obviously enjoy what you do. Add to shopping cart! Target for Today vids coming in the near future?

[@leee.5841]

After watching this again I have a question. @14.24 you used a 5 for the Me-110's roll number as though our fighters were in the Low position and using the Low row.. Shouldn't it have been a 2 since our fighters were in the High position and the Me-110's were low? The result is the same since we use the Me-109 6 but I'm just trying to understand how to use the table. Thanks.

[@MrKe4bss]

Another awesome video. Thanks

[@eugeniomariopazielli8478]

Another great video. This game is not difficult but it has so many phases and steps.

[@pdex2165]

Thank you! Yes, I completely agree. The game is not difficult but there are several steps that need to be followed. But, I believe once you play through several patrols, it becomes very second nature with only minimal reference to the rules.

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

Truly the Spielberg of wargames.

[@pdex2165]

@@earlofdoncaster5018 Ha! Really appreciate that I'm honored. 😁

[@leee.5841]

Great video! Thanks. My copy of the game should arrive today and this series will be very helpful in my learning how to play.

[@AlistairDrake-pk3nh]

Excellent video series, I am at the end of my first chapter, 6 patrols and I can see a few things I got wrong. My main issue is getting lost in the middle of the interception phase and being unsure of where to go next each time, but I am sure that practice will make perfect. A wonderful game this, and living up to all expectations.

[@shaneintheuk2026]

30:37 Red section didn’t attack 😮 oops.

[@pdex2165]

Yes! Totally forgot that! Made note of it at the beginning of the second video.

[@simonhaines3441]

What a brilliant play through. This game is now my number one game, yes i make mistakes, but it still does not take away from an excellent thematic game.

[@shaneintheuk2026]

Excellent video. I’ve played the entire campaign twice and I was enjoying making sure I was doing it properly. I learned several things. You applied the icons in the burst phase in order so that damage icons were applied before deciding if the formation was disrupted. You chose to say veterans could only use ‘stay close’ if attacking the same bomber, Tally Ho allowed you to move closer (I had missed that point), etc. Overall a great video thank you. One final point, I purchased the game after watching your earlier videos and would like to thank you for introducing me to a fantastic game.

[@pdex2165]

Thanks so much! I'm very happy you found some value in my videos. And I hope you enjoy the game as much as I do. 😊

[@popsey72]

Your Game vids are the best! Absolutly stunnig!

[@williamspd]

Love this series! Your production levels are high and you use your voice really well, for a really powerful overall effect. Well done and thank you 👍🏻 Can I ask about your animations? Did you get the crashing plane spiralling out of the sky, from ProductCrate too?

[@pdex2165]

Thanks for the kind words! Actually, the spiraling plane is not from Production Crate. I went to a 3D model site (Sketchfab) and recorded myself rotating the model on a solid color background. I brought that video into my movie program and removed the background color. 😊

[@williamspd]

@@pdex2165 Genius. Thanks for sharing that tip. Your videos are very inspiring to a wannabe creator, as well as great viewing for fans of the games. Huge thanks and kudos 👑

[@RiccardoMasiniWLOG]

Amazing video quality. Thank you very much: you have done this game a great service!

[@pdex2165]

I'm honored, Professor! Thank you very much. :)

[@RiccardoMasiniWLOG]

@@pdex2165 ☺️

[@NoNameAtAll2]

that's such a commonly used tts voice is it like easily available or smth?

[@pdex2165]

I just did a quick internet search for "free voices" and found it. I do believe it's very common, though. :)

[@man_vs_life]

Really great work. Thank you!

[@vstar7196]

This game is “London’s Burning” on steroids.

[@pdex2165]

It is. Definitely an expanded and more detailed version of that game.

[@NoEnemiesHere]

Great work Jay!❤

[@pdex2165]

Thanks, Duce!

[@jamiee78]

Where is the music from?

[@pdex2165]

Here's the link. It's from a video asset site I subscribe to: sfx.productioncrate.com/royalty-free-music/soundscrate-restless

[@jamiee78]

@@pdex2165thanks. It's a perfect choice. I wish there was more than just 2 minutes of it

[@seanornery4985]

Are you using Tabletop Simulator to present this?

[@pdex2165]

Yes, all my presentations are done using TTS.