Top 10 Wargames of 2020 - The Players' Aid

[@carrickrichards2457]

Struggle for Europe 1939-45 Caesar: Rome vs Gaul Dawn’s early light: 1812 Napoleon 1807 This War without an Enemy Rostov ’41 Old School Tactical (vol 3) Chancellorsville 1863 All Bridges Burning 1917-18 Imperial Struggle Target for Tonight 1942-45 Brotherhood and Unity: Bosnia 1992 Men of Iron Honorable mentions: Napoleon Returns 1815, Combat Commander (Pacific), From Salerno to Rome, Labyrinth: Forever war, Shores of Tripoli, Freedom, Stilico, Undaunted: N Africa.

[@jurisnik]

Hey guys, thanks for listing my game among those wargaming beauties! After watching your show for years, having my name appear here is ... surreal and heart-warming. Thanks for making my day (hell, a year!) :D Stay healthy, and have fun!

[@davidthompson7233]

All Bridges Burning, Shores of Tripoli, and Freedom were definitely some of my favorites too. Brotherhood & Unity is at the top of my "must play" list. Glad that North Africa made the honorable mentions! Thanks as always, gents. :)

[@ThePlayersAid]

DAVID! This posted 27 minutes ago, which means I KNOW you didn't watch the whole thing..

[@davidthompson7233]

@@ThePlayersAid, lol! I do what I always do with "Top X" videos. I scrub through to see what you guys liked, watch those bits first, then go back and watch the games I didn't know about. :)

[@ThePlayersAid]

@@davidthompson7233 ...Nice save... I'll allow it.. hahaha

[@davidthompson7233]

@@ThePlayersAid, whew!!!! ;)

[@canuckcoastie]

Great video guys, thanks! We're happy you enjoyed Rostov '41 enough to put it on your list. It is one of my (MMP Twitter Guy) favourite SCS games.

[@lelind]

Grant: "Totaly different but very similar"

[@rdeleskie]

Awesome list guys! So many amazing games here. And thanks for the shout out for Stilicho!

[@yukidaruma6988]

Fellas, I REALLY love this format of you guys just talking wargames. I would highly encourage you to do it more often. It doesn’t have to be a “Top Anything” list as that requires lists and preparation. Instead, just give us more of these open-mic discussions about games you’ve played, systems you like, etc. Or, tell us memorable stories from your games. Your reviews and other videos are on point, but some open discussions seem like a really great way to increase your videos, interaction with minimal prepwork.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

23:03 Dean Essig doesn't get the credit he deserves. He's a GREAT rules writer! And a master of the wargame rules! A wizard of smart!

[@Mark-fw8pd]

Great coverage of some really interesting games. I would love to see a 'special' on the 'best current' Solitaire Games.

[@tommessig2060]

Great job guys, I really enjoyed soloing 1862 that I won from the contest a month ago. Thanks again!

[@panthros7395]

Thanks for putting this together. It is very appreciated. I just ordered the Men of Iron Tri-Pack. I am looking forward to it. It would be interesting as you all play more and more wargames to revisit what would be your "Top 10 Wargames" of all time or in the last 3-4 years. I was thinking about this as I replayed your 2018 and 2019 Top 10 Wargames.

[@ThePlayersAid]

This is from Feb 2020: theplayersaid.com/alexanders-top-10-wargames/ Which even now is out of date.

[@packy264]

So many great recommendations! I am new to the wargame genre so my list is very short (3 and 4 only played solo due to pandemic): 1. Night Fighter Ace (great game imho,ymmv - bought after yours and MarcoOmnigamer recommendations) 2. Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit 3 3. Combat Commander Europe 4. Red Storm nice leopard spot pattern shirt!

[@ThePlayersAid]

How do you like Red Storm? I have it unplayed atm. It looks amazing, but it's not a simple game. Nightfighter Ace is one of my favourites from Greg Smith. If you like it check out Silent Victory he made.

[@johnbrown6782]

@@ThePlayersAid I can't speak for Packy obviously, but I love Red Storm. Doug Bush has done a great job pulling LBW's system from Downtown into the 80's. Actually playing a scenario solitaire on Vassal right now.

[@janoshunyadi2]

I haven't managed to play many games published in 2020, but top of my list is Brotherhood & Unity, followed by (in no particular order) Shores of Tripoli, Freedom! and Imperial Struggle.

[@danddjacko]

I played This War without an enemy with Scott Moore in Birmingham. Great Game

[@stevemanifold9524]

Humorous and informative. Great work lads-keep it up!

[@HenrikForsberg]

I agree with Grant: It's time to revisit the COIN ranking. You can do a much shorter video than the last one, just go through any changes in ranking. :)

[@ThePlayersAid]

Hey everyone, look at this guy, who thinks we're capable of short videos!!! 😅🤣😂

[@juddvance7721]

You guys played a lot more than I did. Here are mine - I only have 5: 5. Waterloo Campaign, 1815 (RBM Studios) 4. Crusader Kingdoms (Worthington) 3. Return to the Rock: Corregidor (Revolution) 2. Men of Iron tri-pack (GMT) 1. France 1944 (Compass)

[@ThePlayersAid]

Omg. I played Return to the Rock too! I cannot believe I forgot about it! That would have been this list.. I feel a fool.

[@StackingLimit]

Excellent Video again guys.

[@letsroll2001]

Great stuff once again! Thank you both for sharing.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

51:31 Imperial Struggle I've almost bought that game. Thanks Grant! Now I'll buy it for sure!

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

You guys are awesome! Keep up the good work! And always stay honest and true to yourselves! Hope to see you, and play a game again with you! Love you guys!

[@ncg4132]

I clicked on this so fast your head would spin.

[@jeeperspeepers8323]

A leopard print shirt? I have some questions.

[@derekrledr5955]

I finally got back to watching this video... and I am glad that I did. Great fun! As usual... you are going to cost me some money... as you talked me into buying Dawn's Early Light and Napoleon 1807 (if I can find it). I bought a dozen games with BGG publishing dates of 2020... my wargame top game list would have 3 entries: 3. Compass Games Brief Border Wars For 1 and 2... I will borrow from your honourable mention list... 2. Shores of Tripoli 1. Undaunted: North Africa... Head and shoulders above the rest... and I would be hard=pressed to pick between it and Normandy... love them both! There were several excellent "wargame-adjacent" games as well... Versailles 1919, Imperial Struggle and Dune: Imperium

[@charleslatora5750]

Got the tripak coming in the mail. would have bought that sooner but didn't realize there were so many scenarios, games actually, cause they are all different maps! Me: solo gamer(sort of because health), the Brotherhood & Unity looks so good but doesn't look soloable. Wish more coin games like Colonial Twilight. I suck at this game but loved it kicking my backside. So many new fun, break my brain, stuff! Bought Andean Abyss. I'll try n "solo" it. Been tempted by Dawn's Early Light, war 1812 game from Compass. As always. You guys outdo your self once again. Give yourselves a raise!

[@ThePlayersAid]

B&H, and honestly Dawn's Early Light, aren't games I would play solo.

[@charleslatora5750]

@@ThePlayersAid yeah. Didn't think so. But I can still drool over them. Lol. Got 11 pre-orders. 4 solos. Others are all two player (hexes forever!)that I should not have any issues playing both sides. 2021 gonna be another great game year. Be safe.

[@andrewnicholls2717]

Thanks for the Vid. Really enjoyed seeing your lists. Great fun to see your banter. Keep them coming.

[@battlemind]

A very entertaining review of your lists. Great shirt Alexander. Grant - let Alexander talk more. :) The occasional back of the box shot would be nice. Keep it up guys!

[@NormanHarman]

Best part of this list, is that shirt!

[@pm71241]

The update-kit for IS is not an "update" ... it's a errata fix. It doesn't change anything apart from typos and print errors. (which were btw. minor and not really affecting the game)

[@ThePlayersAid]

Well actually their are 8 card fixes, 2 counter fixes and 2 map patches. You say potato I say...

[@pm71241]

@@ThePlayersAid I don't think this is a potato (or tomato) issue. The implication from your conversation was clearly that the "fix" might change the game it self so it plays differently It doesn't. It fixes printing errors which is already pointed out in the official errata and which players would figure out themselves by using common sense. For instance: There are some dots missing on map for some Spanish areas - but you can easily see they should be there, since the war-cards lists Spain. This just provides a patch for the map so it's consistent. There's tile which says "Fur market" when it should have said "North America" ... but it's obvious that that is an error, and I can't imagine it causing anyone to play the game differently. So... to be clear. This is NOT changes to the intended gameplay - or re-balancing or anything like that. It's just fixing typos. To be specific. The kit fixes *this*: gmtwebsiteassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/impstruggle/IS_Edit_Sheet.pdf None of that is changes to the game.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

26:06 Honestly guys, after the first volume I was good. It's a great game, but if I'm gonna play a "tactical" game, I would rather it be a minis game. But hey! That's just my opinion.

[@finriltiengou7172]

10. Austerlitz from Grognard simulations 9. Zeppelin raider from Compass Games 8. Death Valley from GMT 7. The hunters from GMT 6. Remember the Maine from Avalanche press 5. Narva from Revolution Games 4. Ariete from MMP 3. Target for tonight from Legion Wargames 2. Nation in Arms from Compass 1. Stellar horizon from Compass games A totally different set

[@crazy10822]

Great reviews!!..Were u guys intoxicated at the time LOL....

[@ThePlayersAid]

@@crazy10822 No. just tired. It’s always late when we do the videos.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

Another great vid guys! Thanks!

[@pm71241]

Hmm ... I don't know anything about Chancellorsville, but that "momemtum" system ... It sound like exactly as the kind of things I don't in wargames, namely some sort of global resource which you can suddenly project at any point like a lightning by *shudder* re-rolling the die. GMT BoAR has something similar. OCS has just gotten the concept of "supply caches" which also works like that... and even WiF has some uses of Offensive Points which still work like that. It just feel like a very Euro'y mechanism which totally sidesteps what is great about wargames.

[@YaniKalafatis]

Hannibal vs. Hamilcar? When did this happen?! Lol, thanks very much guys, nice session.

[@ThePlayersAid]

Feels like an age ago..

[@Karak-Fak]

New subscriber here. Love your videos. From Melbourne, Australia. Are either of fans of Napoleon’s Triumph or Napoleon at Marengo?

[@bergstro]

Why does no one ever comment on Grant’s shirts? He’s rocking pure dad style, just like me. Stay the course bro.

[@charleslatora5750]

Also got Shores of Tripoli.👍👍👍👍

[@JohnSmith-zv8km]

Great comparisons and helpful but what is that jumper a about.

[@MichaelKotsarinis]

Great review guys! They are so many of these I want to try!

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

22:09 Oh! An SCS game by MMP? Count me in!

[@66morningview]

Firstly I think its fine doing this list March/April time, I would rather you play as many of the 2020 releases as possible and are in a better place to comment than rush out a list for Dec/Jan and miss a gem! I am looking forwards to trying Brotherhood & Unity, but I can totally agreen with Alexander on the Men of Iron tripack. There is soo much goodness in that box its unbelivable, the system really hits the sweet spot, being like Great Battles of History without gettinf bogged down in the minutia and frankly it's just more fun! I was also first introduced to MoI by Wakefield and have played a bunch, now I am working my back through the tripack. I really hope Richard Berg's sad passing is not the end of this system as it definetly deserved to live on and there are so many topics that could be covered. Here' hoping for more Men of Iron!

[@Hippydippy935]

Now the real question is where does Gandhi and All Bridges Burning rank (roughly) in your guys COIN game rankings?? Great content once again, thanks guys!

[@ogre8647]

What cons do you attend? Great video! Napoleon returns/1807 are my favorite games this year!

[@ThePlayersAid]

1807 a big winner. We typically go to WBC, GenCon, Buckeye Game Fest, and Origins.

[@papavader4103]

Hey guys as always great vid and list, but I am missing battle for germany Deluxe, but it is fine it is not on your list 😊 If you like so much the napoleon one, I would recomended you guys to have an eye on "Friedrich aniversary edition" its a german game from 2004 , but redone and also in english, great game, and unique.... Greets from germany Keep up the good work Andreas

[@JimCrimmins]

I keep hearing how good Brotherhood and Unity is from different people. Fast becoming the top 'to try' wargame on my list.

[@ThePlayersAid]

We've got a full review coming soon

[@davidoduffy6168]

Just love your best of videos guys. Has made my wallet a lot lighter. Tell Grant he is just a youngster as was born in the same year lol

[@macb7939]

33:20 Uh...you're only allowed to have 2 tribes in the Gallic Council at a time though?

[@ThePlayersAid]

Plus a bunch of influence!

[@fluffywaffles]

Can we get a top 10 of Alex's shirts?

[@misomiso8228]

On the COIN series, if you've played it how do you think 'Root' compares to them? Is it a simplified, quicker version, or does COIN do a lot of things differently? Mny thks

[@justgettothegame6331]

Great recap... only one I did not agree with was Chancellorsville... was very disappointed in that one..

[@Avtomatik]

why?

[@finlje]

You guys love OST, you loved The Last Hundred Yards last year. Which of the two do you like more?

[@danddjacko]

Looking forward to 'The Troubles' for the COIN Series

[@janoshunyadi2]

It's not a COIN game, but is heavily inspired by elements of the COIN system, and will be published by Compass. There's a huge amount of history there.

[@danddjacko]

correct, still looking forward to it coming out though ;)

[@ScipioAfricanusI]

Alexander,what,died,to.make.your.sweater?(LOL)

[@poMocnyMichal]

Another good, lighthearted video - perfect for recuperating after first vaccine shot!

[@poMocnyMichal]

PS. Brotherhood & Unity is a true gem as a 3 player wargame. Tense situation, easy rules and an interesting conflict overall.

[@willscurran]

I love your channel but please list the games and timestamps 😃

[@jesusamor1316]

Uooo !! Alexander, be carefull, your enemies has given you a T shirt. Don t be polite and burn it. If your personal shopper

[@xavierpaquin]

I wish I was a wargamer

[@ThePlayersAid]

You can be, just pick a game that tickles your fancy and dive on in - then you are a wargamer!

[@JohnSmith-zv8km]

Sadly cannot get many of these games in the UK and when they are available they are very expensive.

[@chadridgley]

So when is Alexander going to start his own line of men's apparel? Love that shirt :)

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

You have horrible taste. That shirt is atrocious.

[@Skyrider68]

Player's Aid: yes. Clothing line: uhhh.... (Visions of Alexander jumping the shark).

[@joelbergvonlinde1389]

I really wish I could get Struggle for Europe for less than what equals 100$, especially since I hear the production quality is pretty bad? Not a lot of distribution over here in Europe though. You might say it’s a struggle for us. Ba dum tsschh

[@ThePlayersAid]

Components are fine in the sense that card stock and board quality etc, but yeah the artwork is pretty lacklustre. Shame, because if it looked as good as Lincoln did, it'd be amazing. Gamesplay is still grand for what it is though.

[@hyped78]

Guys, between This War Without an Enemy and Caesar Rome vs. Gaul - which one would you recommend? (hard question, I know)

[@ThePlayersAid]

Wow, yeah, hard because they're both so different. Both good in different ways. So I would say pick based on which theme you like more.

[@hyped78]

@@ThePlayersAid Caesar it is then! Thank you and keep up the great channel

[@wizardofoz6811]

What about The Mission ? Have you played it?

[@ThePlayersAid]

I believe Grant has subsequently played it (could be wrong) but at the time of recording this it hadn’t been played.

[@wizardofoz6811]

@@ThePlayersAid thanks, I would like to see your review of the game, someday. Greetings

[@chadvader974]

What happened to The Last Hundred Yards?

[@ThePlayersAid]

It's a 2019 game

[@chadvader974]

@@ThePlayersAid ahh :P

[@Karak-Fak]

Is This War a hidden block game? Like Richard III

[@ThePlayersAid]

Yes it is.

[@Karak-Fak]

@@ThePlayersAid time to check my finances 👍🏼

[@born2bwildne744]

Have you ever considered top “x” list for games you “discovered” (IOW, played for the first time) in a calendar year, regardless of when they were published? As you review games played for the first time in 2021, the list could rank those you enjoyed - whether they were published years ago (Paths of Glory or other Wall of Shame games anyone?), in 2021 or whenever. 2020 was simply a weird and horrible year all the way around. 2021 has the potential to be much better - and hopefully 2022 will be as close to back to normal as we can get!! I hope to attend one or more conventions in 2022 - which would be a lifetime first at 68..... As always, thanks for your efforts - another idea: why don’t you win the lottery so you can “play more games”??? !!! 🙃🙃🙃

[@ThePlayersAid]

Yes we have, we had intended to shoot on the day we shot this, but ran out of time. We'll get to it soon. Probably not a ranking, but just a discussion about all the new ones to us, etc.

[@born2bwildne744]

@@ThePlayersAid you guys do an amazing amount of work.time has to be so short, with jobs, families and this time consuming hobby and KZbin channel. So many of us appreciate your efforts.

[@merasmussen82]

Subjective opinion of course, but I find the card art in Caesar to be appallingly bad. The Gauls almost exclusively resemble dwarves and are for some reason all depicted as having dark hair and swarthy complexions. The box art is awful as well, the perspective is out of kilter.

[@Conflict_Boardgaming]

09:15 I have this game! And when I look at it, I clap my hands like Alexander!!

[@arekkrolak6320]

Draped in a leopard mink, girls standin' next to me Probably shoulda washed this, smells like R. Kelly's sheets But shit, it was ninety-nine cents! ♫ ♬ :)

[@Javaslinger7730]

Imperial Struggle is #1 ALL DAY LONG....

[@jackstalica7732]

If you guys want a third for Brotherhood and Unity then give me a shout.

[@derekrledr5955]

I'm about 18 minutes in... and I have to go somewhere... but I'll be back! Great fun! However... when I first started watching... I thought to myself... Can I watch Alexander in that shirt for 1:23:22? [wink] Good job... the content is worth looking at that shirt.

[@michaeldemeirleir]

Ow come on! I just decided to stop buying stuff for a while and then you guys do this! ... bugger ...

[@TheTheshadow32]

Undaunted is not a wargame. It is a deck building card game with a very shallow military theme plastered over it. No tactical insight, no strategic info, no simulation feeling at all. It is telling when a user made solo effort found on BGG actually is more interesting from a mechanically gaming point of view than the game itself. So grtz to you guys you left it out of your respective top 10 games. Where was 1919 Versailles btw ?

[@ThePlayersAid]

Versailles is a euro game.

[@TheTheshadow32]

@@ThePlayersAid And Versailles sucks as a solo effort too frankly. Great video guys.

[@arnereuter472]

I have to treat this like an audio file (the kids today say podcast, I guess), because I simply can't look at that ugly ... sweater?

[@helgaratbone1691]

I always wondered what a leopard with a shaved face looks like! Sexy!!!

[@Deathroll1988]

Damn this format is boring.At least show the contents of the boxes while you talk. For someone who sees one of these games for the first time is a hassle to pause the video, search other clips just to see how the game looks.

[@VonChoker]

they do reviews of the games, this is just a summary best of. A shot of the back of the box would be nice though

[@JM16714]

Ideally while they talk it would be over images of the game, but this isn't their job, so its hard to expect them to spend hours editing.