The Hunters Campaign / Playthrough - GMT Games - Wargame - U-boat Solitaire Patrol 8

[@brute505]

i just recently picked up a few board games cause you make them look so fun :)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Nice! I really like the tactile nature of board games, for sure. It's been so relaxing after so much time in front of screens. What did you get?

[@brute505]

@@ZillaBlitz This war of mine, target for today, and DVG: Warfighter Modern

[@ZillaBlitz]

@@brute505 Nice! I have Target for Today, still not played it yet, but I think it's a lot like Hunters except in the sky. :) Looks very cool. I've watched Custard Prophet play This War of Mine (PC version). I bet the board game is great. I'd be curious to hear how you like them. :)

[@TheDiceman56]

This was so entertaining. I will be learning it over the weekend so I will take your previous advice in mind as I play. It does make me nervous when I look at the rule book. How you make 45mins of basically dice rolling so engrosssing and full of tension is a work of art mixed with passion. Thank you so much.

[@ZillaBlitz]

I'm glad you're enjoying them, thanks! You've got this. One step at a time, and looking things up in the rules as you play, especially the early patrols, is very common. Eventually it'll go smoother. :)

[@SolalBarca]

I was screaming at my screen : "But... please, use that Lucky Charm for the missing torpedo on the Malaya!". Nevertheless, it was really epic. Well done, sir.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yeah, when to use or not use that lucky charm is a tough decision! Lots of second guessing. :)

[@vaele723]

This was simultaneously the best and worst patrol yet; we barely got out of the Atlantic alive! Our first patrol in that area gave a vivid experience on how dangerous it actually is. Mahler was a bit shaky, but those components he failed to fix didn't matter much after that action packed Capital Ship battle (could've shorten the refit time if he did though, correct me if I'm wrong). At least he stopped the flooding, which was topmost priority at that point. Great video! My favorite yet. I think the crew did decent for their first convoy encounter, but that was way too close for comfort. Hopefully, after 3 months of rest, everyone are able to get their bearings.

[@ZillaBlitz]

That was definitely some high stress in that one. I thought for sure we were done for when we needed a 5 or less to escape detection. We got lucky with that one, for sure! On the repairs, you get a certain number of free fixes during refit, so had some of those things been fixed we might have shortened our refit by one month. The dive planes knocked out probably caused the most trouble, as that added +1 to our detection evasion. But yes, we survived and did damage, a solid outcome! But wow, this patrol makes me dread some of the upcoming years, when the escort forces get stronger and better.

[@wayneclingman2328]

Good job !

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Wayne! That was a close one, for sure! :)

[@wayneclingman2328]

@@ZillaBlitz Wild wild and crazy

[@davet010]

Was definitely getting 'Das Boot' vibes from that patrol..I could picture everyone, dripping wet, silently looking upwards.

[@ZillaBlitz]

No kidding! :) I shudder to think what would have happened had we not rolled that snake eyes to escape detection. Another round or two and I'm afraid we were done for. And good work keeping everyone alive, Doctor!

[@whovian223]

Great video and what a white-knuckler!!! The luck giveth and it taketh away. Lots of tonnage sunk but lots of damage. I foresee good things coming in 1941! (I haven't watched the new video yet, so no spoilers :P)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks David! The streak of milk runs definitely ended with this patrol. I won't give anything away going forward, but the simulation in general gets quite a bit more challenging as time moves on.

[@timbagnall4530]

ZlllaBlitz -cool video- can you do a campaign play through for The Hunted-respectfully thanks

[@ZillaBlitz]

At some point I'd like to play all the other submarine games. Next up will be Raiders of the Deep, but I have a fair amount of review games to play through first, so it'll be a while. :) Thanks, though!

[@setSCEtoAUX]

Oh, wow. You mentioned this one went sideways, but didn't mention all the tonnage sunk! That's a patrol your crew won't forget for a while!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Most definitely! It was the best of patrols. It was the worst of patrols. But we'll be back! :)

[@timbagnall4530]

ZillaBlitz - I’ve been watching a lot of board game reviews and play throughs you and -respectfully Hamtag- by far have the best, entertaining videos on the games-your passion for the game comes thru with every dice roll and result - I am going to buy The Hunted 43-45 because your videos are so good- thanks

[@ZillaBlitz]

Hi Tim! Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos, they are great fun to make, and I'm excited to keep making more. :) I hope your hunting goes well with The Hunted! I've heard that one is really hard. Thanks again!

[@mathewkelly9968]

14:02 I spent my teenage years living in a suburb called Scoresby , my dad still lives there dont sink him

[@ZillaBlitz]

That must have been the root of the ship name for sure! Glad we didn't sink that one. You probably would have vanished if your dad had sunk.

[@DragonsAteOurName]

Whoooooooo! That was so CLOSE! But you managed to escape, well done! Would have been epic to sink a capital ship though. There's always next time!

[@ZillaBlitz]

I think we were quite lucky to make it out of that alive. I think 1-2 more rounds of depth charges and we were done, even with the lucky horseshoe. :)

[@billyriley492]

I would like to have seen crew more involved. So for each crew member (group) you assign to fix something, there's a die roll modifier. I'm failing to see what effect the crew has in the game. you've made me look forward to getting this on the table.

[@ZillaBlitz]

I feel like the crew advancements are a bit of an add-on. I agree that it could be more developed, but at the same time I'd hate to see the game get bogged down with too many details. Its strength is its fast flow. I do think, however, that crew advancements are expanded in some of the non-submarine games that use this same model.

[@PatricksTacticsTutorials]

What an engrossing episode! That encounter!! Keep up the great work.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Patrick! This one certainly left the milk runs a thing of the past. The way all the numbers are ramping up against us makes me think these sorts of encounters may become more common going forward. I mean, hopefully we don't almost sink in every episode, but it's definitely going to be tougher from now on.

[@coyi51]

That was absolutely brilliant, sitting with my fingers crossed hoping you survived the depth charges. Sinking the capital ship would have been a major scalp, not too mention the medal as well. Better luck next time.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yeah, I was pretty spent (in a good way) after playing this one. Bummed the Malaya got away, but maybe next time! We'll be back at it soon. :)

[@thecustardprophet8434]

That was a brutal encounter....thought you weren't getting out of that!

[@ZillaBlitz]

You and me both! When we got down to needing a 5 or less to escape, I figured that we were done for. But we live to fight another day!

[@uwebech5825]

I believe flooding is fixed after each combat. I think you needed to roll for the heal time on the SW. But its a generic crew so no problem. Basing this on Silent Victory rules though so could be wrong. Good patrol Captain. Excellent video. 😎

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks for pointing these out, Uwe! A poster on Board Game Geek pointed out the flooding issue as well, I had totally missed that in the rules. Good to know going forward! (I also should have only rolled one die for additional flooding instead of two.) I've noted both errors in the "Known Errors" part of the video description. And yes, I saw the part about rolling for length of recovery for Serious Wounds, but it doesn't seem to matter for crew unless everyone is SW or KIA. Thanks for watching!

[@uwebech5825]

@@ZillaBlitz Glad to help. I make little errors all the time on this series and then discover them by watching videos and then hitting the manual again. Yours taught me a couple of things I was doing wrong so we're even. :) Carry on with the great work.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, at first I was determined to make error-free videos, but now my goal is just to get better. Errors are a part of the board wargaming landscape. :)

[@reptar33]

Wow! Really enjoying this series! Great job.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, reptar! I think we got very lucky here! :) Hoping it's not an omen for 1941. :)

[@beno5229]

Amazing episode, really enjoying your playthroughs. Keep up the good work. Where do you get the sfx?

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Ben, glad you like them! :) I generally get the sounds from places like freesound.org, but a few are from media collections that I bought years ago.

[@trekanbelluvitsh]

Damaging the Battleship instead of sinking it and taking heavy damage on your Boot seems to be a "historical" outcome of this encounter to me. One more point for the game.

[@ZillaBlitz]

For sure, taking down a battleship should be a HUGE deal, and I think in the game it really is. Everything has to go right. :)

[@Stumptonian1]

Definitely the most interesting patrol. Luckily the dice didn't go too hard on you (and you did still have the lucky horseshoe if they did)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks, Peter! Depending on the nature of the result, that horseshoe actually might not come in handy. It could be tricky to use it well, but It's definitely nice to have it in our pocket. I have a sense we'll definitely be needing it. :)

[@ypcdecor6750]

yay you made a long video love you man

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks! :) It's funny with this game in that a patrol can be so simple and short, or so long and tension-packed. This ended up a 45-minute episode? And some of our other patrols are what, 13 minutes? You just never know what you're going to get when you go out, which makes it really fun to play. :)

[@duncanrae466]

A seaman on the gun crew snuck a picture of the Anna before we opened fire, Sir. The men asked I give you this framed copy.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thank you, Officer Rae! I'm very proud of this crew and how they performed. None of the wounded complained at all during the 3 weeks they were incapacitated on the journey, and despite the stress of attacks, we came through alive!

[@lakingsgeek]

I know this is a year old but flooding is automatically pumped out of the u-boat once you have safely escaped the escorts.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Yes, that’s a great catch! It’s been pointed out previously, and the description has a Known Errors section that lists the mistakes in each video. :)

[@charleslatora5750]

Ok. Malaya didn't sink. 1. But how long did you put that ship out of the war? 2. And who's to say she even makes it back to port? Another sub or the Luftwaffe might catch her. Outstanding performance sir. Now, go get drunk for a month.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Those are good points, yes, we put a hit on it that would have taken it out of service for a good bit of time I bet, at least. It's funny you mention drinking, this patrol was pretty stressful, and the idea of a beverage or two after playing this one did cross my mind. My hands are still shaking. :) Thanks for stopping in, Charles!

[@scottgun]

"Who knew we would live so long?" Then: "1940" Me: Lol.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Haha! I am a man of low expectations. Really thought we'd mess this up much earlier. :)

[@scottgun]

@@ZillaBlitz On a serious note, credit to designers that the game plays out historically as the early years are truly the "happy time" for U-boats...then s@!& gets real. :)

[@ZillaBlitz]

Most definitely! It's getting very real now, and I as look ahead to 1941, even MORE REAL. :) Makes me really curious to dig into The Hunted, to see how they handled that. Historically, that was a brutal stretch for U-Boat commanders. I'd think they'd almost have to soften things up a bit to make it playable.

[@uwebech5825]

@@ZillaBlitz Beneath the Med is just brutal as well. The smaller Italian subs and the high tech of the escorts and ASW makes it a real challenge to get through a campaign.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Interesting. I definitely want to come back to one of the other games in the series in a bit, after this series is done. Lots of fun to be had with these. :)

[@russellmassey9324]

With no torpedoes still in storage outside the tubes that must have been one roomy sub on the way back (comparatively speaking)

[@ZillaBlitz]

For sure! Although I think we may have just filled all that extra space up with sea water. We weren't too far away from flooding the whole boat. :)

[@russellmassey9324]

@@ZillaBlitz I only have Silent Victory, but in that game all flooding is removed at the end of an encounter. It might be worth checking, as you don't want to go into the next attack with flooding still in place if you don't have to!

[@ZillaBlitz]

Hi Russell - Thanks! That is indeed the case. Uwe mentioned it in another comment, and a commenter on Board Game Geek mentioned it too. I totally missed that in the rules. I also should have only rolled one die for additional flooding instead of two in that combat round. Lessons learned, and good to know for upcoming patrols. I'm kind of bummed I didn't know that, because I might have been tempted to take that shot with the last torpedo if we weren't filled with water. Oh well! We'll get that Malaya yet!

[@lakingsgeek]

Where do you get your sound effects from?

[@ZillaBlitz]

It's a pretty wide mix of places, mostly I look for open source solutions from places like freesound.org, but sometimes I might buy something from a pay site if I really can't find what I want and only they have it.

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

​@@ZillaBlitzI used to use the WAV files from the talonsoft campaign series,,,,rename and replace the old ones,,,, I don't know if that helps!!! , 🌊👍

[@rusty-sb1jy]

The volume of the sound effects is too high. Having a difficult time hearing you speak.

[@ZillaBlitz]

Thanks for the feedback. This was one of the earlier series I did, so I think I've gotten better at this. :)

[@BrianMarcus-nz7cs]

​@@ZillaBlitzfoot the sound needs more Vol ,,,,, err , immersion , slightly apt if I myself say so 🐀🧭👍

[@taitchison1]

once you fire at tankers you should be detected automatedly this game is on the U-boat side yo much

[@taitchison1]

U-boats did get sunk loss the ubots