RAF The Battle of Britain: 1940 from Decision Games Playthrough Part 2

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hello everyone, thank you for watching. If you like what I do, please support the channel by subscribing, 'pushing the bell' and liking the video - it helps a lot!

[@robmarcjon]

Great video. I want to buy this game

[@joeperez3520]

Possibly my favorite wargame of all time!

[@eddydelrio1303]

Have watched this before but am watching again just for vicarious fun! At 18:25 your corrective overlay text should have read "No [Squadrons] were in the Bomber Box, so ..." This, and it's solitaire tactical level cousin "Skies Above Britain," are the finest games in the theme (Battle of Britain), but this one *may be* better *only* because it is three games in one: solitaire for either the RAF or Luftwaffe plus 2-player. It is certainly the best at the operational level! You may wish to consider doing a play-through series on the J. White and G. Willis' SAB, which is arguably the best for the theme (tactical BoB).

[@ernieblofeld1959]

Enjoying this play through so much I broke down and bought the deluxe version in addition to my 2009 edition. Whenever I play Lion I want to play Eagle and vice versa, and now I can do both. I took the time to download and make the Stuka Joe cards and they were definitely worth it. One more quality of life improvement you can make is to place blocks or blank die on the patrol spaces and place patrolling squadrons on top of them, they make patrollers much easier to see. Especially useful for placing squadrons on the tote board at the end of a raid with one time advance as they are easy to overlook or forget about otherwise.

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hi Ernie, thanks for the comment. Stuka Joe's cards are great! You're not the first to mention blocks for patrolling squadrons - so I've weakened and bought some blank black scrabble tiles for that purpose! 👍

[@buffuzo4201]

Great game, I unfortunately figured out the British win strategy early on, yet it is still fun to play. I have been hoping for an 8th Airforce/Bomber Command version... alas I think this is not in the cards. But many great hours of play with this one for sure.

[@robertmoffitt1336]

I had this game when it first came out way back when by West End Games and I loved it! The counters weren't color, just black silhouettes, and you could only play as R.A.F. fighter command. I've thought about getting this deluxe version, but haven't so far. Your videos are making me want to buy it!

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hi Robert, thanks for the comment. The game isn't cheap (it was a Birthday present from the family) but I can highly recommend it!

[@chrisridley4840]

Just got my copy on ebay so your great play-throughs are very much appreciated and enjoyed Plus Stuka Joes cards are a godsend

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

I'm sure you'll enjoy it Chris - Stuka Joe's cards make the game a breeze to play! 😊

[@timothysmith6549]

Terrific game, one of the very best solo wargames out there and I loved watching your videos of it Rough. BTW I bought the Men of Iron Tri-Pack because of your videos too. Keep making these great videos and maybe even do a rerun of RAF down the line. I subscribed today as well! Best, Tim

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hi Timothy and that's for the kind comment - RAF is a great game. Glad you bought Men of Iron another good 'un! :)

[@sly8789]

Great as usual... I'm playing an EAGLES game .. it's really very hard to win .. ouch!

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Thanks for the comment, Sly - I've yet to play Eagle (I'll try and get a video of that done sometime in the future).

[@chrissteadman4614]

Poor old Hornchurch, only a stone throw from here. Really enjoying this, thanks for the vid'. I'm going to have to take a day off and get RAF back on the tabletop.

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hi Chris, Hornchurch's not far from me either! Hope you get this back on the table - it's great! 👍

[@chrissteadman4614]

I've already go the rules out and put them next to the bed for a good read tonight :-) Of course I exaggerate a bit - I'm in Bexley and the old site of the airfield is about 7miles NE of me. I expect that the historical raids on Hornchurch might have been visible and certainly heard from here. Being the 80th anniversary year, with the help of a couple of good books, I'm going to be following the battle day by day. I'm also hoping to visit as many relevant museums as I can and small visitors' centre at Hornchurch is on the list.

[@jimrose1300]

Again, great step-by-step play through! Thx!

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Thanks Jim!

[@gkspain1]

Great fun have subscribed, all the best Garry

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Thank you Garry, much appreciated! 👍

[@jamesunger8433]

Nice playthrough and methodical narration of the rules. I had the original RAF game from the 80s but sold it as I lost my interest in board games and life got too busy. This Deluxe edition has piqued my interest again because now we can play from both sides of the war. I'm curious though do you know of a similar style game which deals with defence of the Reich from the 8th Airforce and Bomber command?

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Hi James, thanks for the comment. I don't know of any other game that's similar to this in its mechanics but there's '8th Airforce' from Fortress Games and Lock 'n Load publishing's 'Wing and a Prayer' (although this is being reprinted to tighten up the rules).

[@jedyman]

good video and good explanation ;-)

[@RoughSwordsmanWargamer]

Thank you jedyman!

[@eddydelrio1303]

"It's just a lonely Me109 [Gruppen]" 😉