TDG: Hitler's Reich

[@arekkrolak6320]

Good job on underlining the importance of a good rulebook, also a great review!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you, sir. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@craigcromwell1516]

Thx for review Cody! Fiddly rules are always frustrating!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

You're welcome. Indeed.

[@PMMagro]

They are not fiddly, they are weird. As if they had been translated or someone wrote 50 pages and it was cut down to 30 without proper editing.

[@peterterry7918]

Good to know about the rulebook. So sad since it there are so many promising aspects. Good job as always!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Peter Terry Thanks. Yeah- I was not a fan of the rule book for sure.

[@TheTheshadow32]

It think the review needs to be redone as now MANY other KZbin videos show that the game itself is awesome. Yes the structure of the rule book is bad and yes crucial info sits about everywhere. But just looking at ONE 30 minutes video and reading a 13 page new Word doc at BGG cleaned up all rule problems really. It is a very simple game based on easy mechanics but seriously to me it is a superb ETO both for 2 player as solo player experience. The AI bot is better than most Coins or Labyrinth in ease of use too. I call this a typical internet bandwagon effect. One guy screams about the rule book, another one screams too (often without even playing) and there you have it when the ignorant crowd jumps in. The Word doc on BGG and teaching video was already present for WEEKS so I don’t think this was a serious effort to play your new investment at all. ... And other KZbin videos prove it: a great game.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@TheTheshadow32 I can assure you there was no "bandwagon effect" here. I gave this game an honest shot. I'll revisit it again once GMT has the new rulebook.

[@dhmcarver]

To quote Otto from A Fish Called Wanda, "Disappointed!!!" I was looking forward to getting Hitler 's Reich, but had been waiting for your review, which I knew was coming because WW II + GMT = The Discriminating Gamer. Glad I held off. There are too many good games with good rules to slog through what you experienced. Let's hope GMT updates that rulebook soon before they lose the market for this one, because it would be great to have a Europe-wide WW II game that did not take all day to play.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I've actually had confirmation that they are working on v2 rules, so hopefully it won't be too much longer.

[@dcal12]

Thank you very much for this review. It was extremely helpful.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Happy to help!

[@PMMagro]

GMT Games sent me the 2ed rulebook, I heard it is way better now.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I've heard that, too.

[@lokihve6591]

Good review Cody! Honest and to the point!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you!

[@adavis5926]

The developers are redoing the rule book, but I agree that the game has some fundamental fiddliness to it. I bought it, but just haven't been able to get it on the table.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I recently had confirmation that they are redoing the rules. Hope it makes the game work.

[@DavidSchmidtmmm]

This reminds me of the problem I had with the game Fog of War.

[@meenki347]

you mean Fog or War?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I can see that. I wanted more from Fog of War as well.

[@edmundbloxam2714]

I felt FOW was scripted, to the level of pointlessness. Yes, it might be accurate for the UK to hold on and hope for the US to join as soon as possible. But we discovered, that if the Allies player does anything but throw all naval units into the Atlantic (to allow the US), and all their ground units into the UK or possibly France, they would have their arses handed to them. So, all the crap on the board, and the interesting attack-plan-rondel; this was cool, but it didn't matter, cos the Allies player has to defend like crazy and hope for the best. Just a horrible game.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@edmundbloxam2714 Interesting. It could use a streamlined 2.0.

[@genxman7211]

Thanks so much!

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you.

[@msa4998]

Since the rules have been rewritten, this probably has earned a relook. Thoughts?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Quite possibly. I actually gave my copy to a friend before I left for Texas, so I don't know if I'll get a chance to look at it again anytime soon.

[@herr_der_spiele]

Thx for the Review 👍

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you!

[@ToolsWithAdrius]

Makes me wonder if the rumored GMT re-write of the rules will make this title worth revisiting in the future.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Are they planning on updating the rules again?

[@ToolsWithAdrius]

The Discriminating Gamer I had heard rumblings on BGG and elsewhere that GMT was looking at doing an overhaul/rewrite of the rules to clean things up.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Dr. Jimes Tooper It would be for the best.

[@edmundbloxam2714]

I stand warned. I like the concept of event based play. But if TDG says it's bad, then it's definitely bad. Off the wishlist immediately.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

They're going to come out with some revised rules, that hopefully will improve it. I'm hanging on to my copy until then.

[@lennyglynn4645]

very helpful...was about to try it...but WTF!!! I have the second edition rules...and just MAY give it a chance... But it better be fast Thanks so much for not being a simple tout

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Thank you.

[@Steevo1977]

Good honest reviewing. You look so disappointed :-(

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Steevo1977 I was. A lot of potential here.

[@juliesquirrel5269]

GMT is getting on my nerves. Buying a new game and coming out with completely rewritten rule books that I have to buy (U.S. Civil War). Or revision kits, (Talon, Distant Plain, Cuba Libre, Here I Stand). If they don't put a finished product out, I am going to start buying only reprints.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

That's a fair point, though GMT has a high enough success record with me that I'll forgive the occasional error.

[@richyasi7424]

That’s a shame. Having fiddly rules is bad enough, but to then double down by not explaining them well really is frustrating.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Indeed.

[@benfoster6715]

I went with Cataclysm for recent abstracted ww2. It's been fun learning over the course of 3 games with the Days of Decision scenario (2 player Europe map). Might appeal to those interested in Hitler's Reich.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

It's a much bigger game, if I'm not mistaken. I think the appeal of Hitler's Reich was its short playing time.

[@benfoster6715]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer There's a handful of smaller scenarios like Great Patriotic War, Days of Decision, the eagle and the sun (pacific) that play around 2 - 3 hours. They obviously don't offer the dynamism and scope of the full campaign, but (at least with Days of Decision so far), they don't just feel like tutorials either.

[@redblackmonkey]

To be honest, I gave up on this one. I went with this one and my buddy got Cataclysm. I opened Hitler's Reich up and I sat down, began to read the rules and after a couple hours of trying to figure it out, proceeded to put the game back in the box and not bother opening it again since. I will undoubtedly try this game at some point, but one should not have to spend hours deciphering a rule book when the game itself is suppose to only take 1 to 2 hours. Now, in contrast, Skies Above the Reich has fantastic player aid charts(you don't need the rule book to play), but the rule book(if needed) is phenomenal. The contrast between these two games learning curve is remarkable. Different designers, but same company...that just should not be the case. I also have been gaming, and wargaming in particular for a long time. I understood games like Churchill, Triumph and Tragedy, Pericles, and several other GMT wargames more easily after briefly perusing the rules and using the playbooks. I still believe there may be a good game here, but the rulebook might as well be a brick wall...

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

The BIG 'E' A&A They are working on a revised rule book. I’ll try it out again then.

[@redblackmonkey]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer Good to know, thx!

[@Gameturners2016]

Think I’ll stick to quartermaster general for my under two hour ww2 fix. You have confirmed all the concerns I had about this game.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Happy to help. A revised rulebook is on the way, so I'll take a look at that when it's out.

[@Gameturners2016]

I’ll keep an eye out for it. I bought Churchill and one or two others off the back of your reviews and tend to look for the same things as you in games it seems, so you have saved me some pennies on this for now.

[@lisastade4992]

Why would you play as Hitler in anything? Why name a game with that name?

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

Because it's history. He was one of the principle figures in World History and its hard to ignore him, particularly when considering he was responsible for the largest war, and indeed the single largest event in human history.

[@TheTheshadow32]

Brilliant game. This review is a joke really. You played it ONCE without even reading the Word Doc on BGG. See for example: kzbin.info/www/bejne/marbn6ZsYtOngsk or kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJDNoaR7n7V9fNE ... these videos review the game in a TOTAL different direction. Probably the best wargame of 2018 along with Pavlov’s House. Not in the least because of its excellent AI bot. Its rule book in version 1.0 is not good though, BUT one 30 minutes video watch and a 13 pages new rules doc on BGG solved all problems. It took me around 4 hours to learn all mechanics, included the AI bot. That is half of the time for learning any other GMT games, NOT mentioning Coins or the average Mark Herman game. Be serious please. In difficulty on a GMT rating I would put it on 3 out of 9. As easy as Ancients and about 1/3 of a Coin game in general with a MUCH clearer AI bot even. I shrug about people who attack it without trying. Typical for this age of the bandwagon internet. Superb solo AI bot driven game in an ETO where the bot will beat you as the Axis in every possible way, even once where it did not even invade Russia, but exploited Afrika with Rommel and broke up my Allied invasion of Italy. BRILLIANT GAME.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

I actually attempted to play it several times before I was able to get the rules down. You're right, I did not read the word doc. It really says something about the game when you have to hunt to find something to read on BGG because you can't get the basic game structure from the rules. I'm glad you liked the game. Some of us had a different experience with it.

[@TheTheshadow32]

@@TheDiscriminatingGamer

[@TheTheshadow32]

Perhaps I was a little too harsh in my words, but actually the latest video reviews (there are now others than the ones I mentioned) give the game MUCH more credit than the first reactions on BGG. I agree that the rule book certainly needs some reorganisation. But after reading the Word Doc I actually reference the original rule book after learning the game. I am in no way connected to the original designer(s) or developper(s) or GMT, but I think you have to make a clear distinction between the original rules version and the actual GAME PLAY. I do agree that a good rule book or bad rule sections can make or break a game, but in this case Hitler's Reich is quite an innovative and great ETO for casual and solo play. There are not much strategical solo wargames around and this one is a blast to play, ONCE you get the (EASY) rules.

[@TheDiscriminatingGamer]

@@TheTheshadow32 Very good.