Review: All Bridges Burning from GMT Games - The Players' Aid

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[@1635-w9x]

Greetings from Finland. I've been looking forward to play this one. Our civil war is still sometimes a touchy subject. It was a real mess- factions within factions- all the time pressed between Russia and Germany.

[@JoshOBryan]

I have this on the table now. Such a refreshing new COIN design. I find this one deviates the most from the others, and I've played them all except Colonial Twilight. It's refreshing to see and brings me back in after the COIN fatigue that I was having. I especially like how they make the 'Active' cells the more powerful ones rather than the sitting ducks as before. Also having potentially all 3 factions play on a turn is cool.

[@MichaelKotsarinis]

Great review guys! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into these videos. Totally convinced me! If only my finances were not so tight...

[@horrido666]

One of the best things about the bots is they teach you the basic strategies of the game.

[@bwrbubarry7378]

Another super presentation. A topic that I wish will eventually tackled by a coin game is the Red vs White Russian civil war/revolution.

[@thomasbandy]

I totally agree - the telling of the conflict in Stephen Kotkin’s Stalin biography is incredibly gripping. I recommend it highly -

[@JPFalcononor]

I hope this is a prelude to a COIN game based on the entirety of the Russian Civil War...having playable factions of the Bolsheviks, the Southern Whites, the Siberian Whites, and the Allies, plus some minor bot controlled factions like Finland, the Makhno Anarchists, Poland, and the Czech Legion, would be way cool....chaos unbound would ensue...

[@johnsy4306]

Not a COIN game but look into David Dockter's Triumph of Chaos from Clash of Arms on this topic.

[@JPFalcononor]

@@johnsy4306 I have the first edition and have been debating whether or not the second edition would be worth the upgrade. As of now REDS from GMT is my game of choice on the subject. Thanks for the input....

[@johnsy4306]

@@JPFalcononor I heard that it is worth the upgrade. I only have the 2nd edition

[@michaelfitts4527]

"I've been trashed by plenty of bots in my time." 🤣

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

tee hee

[@MrSuperphil]

Where would you rate this coin game with the others ? Have them all but not played this one yet.

[@rolandhatzenpichler893]

Thanks for a great review. You guys got me into COIN games. Have Falling Sky. Preordered Liberty or Death and Red Dust Rebellion.

[@safe-keeper1042]

Fire in the Lake is a masterpiece, too.

[@tommessig2060]

I've been looking forward to this one. Still sitting in print, looking to getting it to the table soon. Just have to get through HF4 first.

[@Paintpenetrator]

This is my first coin game and I really enjoyed playing in solo mode. The only bummer part is moderate seems pretty lenient in getting victory compared to other factions.

[@stowcreek1999]

How do you guys learn your rules to complex games such as these? How much time does it take? Thanks again for what you do!

[@goranstosic3106]

Once you know to play one coin you know to play all of them. And from then on you only need a glance at rulebook. And if you dont use bots its even easier.

[@ThePlayersAid]

As said, with COIN they have the same core system, so really you're just learning the new nuances, all of which are on your action menu and play aid card. For other wargames, there's basic concepts that you pick up that are common, or varied on a theme across them (expedniture of movement points across terrain etc) that you're really looking at the things that make games stand out (activations, command, supply, combat resolution, victory conditions). It's a lot of work, but we've played so many that I'm well versed in what I'm looking for in reading rules.

[@Demy1970]

Good question I have a bunch of the coin games but never played

[@goranstosic3106]

@@Demy1970 just start with cuba libre and wach some good video on youtube.

[@Demy1970]

@@goranstosic3106 thanks Gorman, still playing Pavlov House, like this game, Rough did nice videos

[@TB2K08]

Getting into COIN games and also wargames from a euro and miniatures background and finding your channel is bad for my wallet this game is now on its way to me! I am really liking the COIN series because I play mostly at local game nights so its nice to include more than 2.

[@ThePlayersAid]

COIN is great for that exact reason, being able to sit four. Plus it adds that extra payer dimension than many 2 player wargames lack; negotiation,m alliances/betrayal etc.

[@TB2K08]

@@ThePlayersAid exactly. we have one player (youngest in the group) that we joke puts on his used car salesman hat when we play, just have to watch him with new players. He is hilarious when we play John Co. 2e

[@safe-keeper1042]

I own Fire in the Lake and A Distant Plain and my brother and I want to get into this, but it's really intimidating. I definitely relate to what you say about it being a different beast than FITL and ADP, and that you even have to "unlearn" some of your prior COIN knowledge to wrap your head around it. Not going to give up on it, though, and it's definitely going to be the third COIN title I buy as a physical game. I just wish they'd make a few of these, fully scripted (even bot turns), for Tabletop Simulator.

[@Mark-fw8pd]

Very interesting. One for COIN veterans? Which COIN game would be a good one to start COIN gaming?

[@mati11223]

Cuba libre. I started with Gandhi cause of theme, but I would say the smaller map/player count the better for the start.

[@Mark-fw8pd]

@@mati11223 I've put this on the list. Waiting for Warfighter WW2, so that's another rabbit hole. Thanks to you both for making lockdown more bearable.-- Whoops!, meant for the Players Aid, but thanks for the suggestion marti1223, I'll another look at Cuba Libre.

[@ThePlayersAid]

I would say Aldean Abyss, it's the original COIN and very good. After that pick a theme to your liking as theme can carry you into some of the more complex ones.

[@markmfredrickson]

I would rate this one on the easier end of the scale. I think some of the complexity for vets comes from unlearning some of the common conventions from the rest of the series.

[@rolandhatzenpichler893]

I contemplated this a long time to the point of analysis paralysis. I finally decided to follow the most often given advice and go for the one which theme appealed to me the most. Bought Falling Sky, was a steep learning curve, but it worked. That said, Andean Abyss or Cuba Libre are the easiest ones to learn, if the theme works for you.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

Another great vid guys! Thanks!

[@steveoh9285]

Great job, guys - you rule! :)

[@josephcade6425]

How can you guys possibly play all these games ???

[@ViciousKoala]

ho my... it's so....panther-ish.