Unboxing: Panzers Last Stand

[@jackkinney6413]

Great unboxing, well done my friend!

[@jameswitmer5900]

Looks great. I am still waiting for my copy to be shipped but I did order it late so I am not surprised. I completely agree that one should read the designer notes first if they are new to the system. I was having trouble understanding Last Blitzkrieg at first until I read the designer notes and then everything started to make sense.

[@chrisridley4840]

Your unboxings also carry that same stamp of quality and thoroughness like the rest of your videos So with this game and the OCS third winter are we to have any upcoming playthrough videos that is when you have finished the current WiF and BCS playthroughs If so that should keep you busy for a while

[@1CounterTerrorist]

Another great video - I like your delivery a lot, easy sub for me. I'm keen to get into BSC from watching your other videos.

[@thetabletopsedge]

Great! Thanks. Glad you are enjoying the channel! I don't think you'll regret getting into BCS. There is a new BCS game up for Preorder on MMP's website. Arracourt looks like it will be a great intro to the system for new players, so I'd recommend keeping an eye on that one if LB or PLS appear to be a bit much right now.

[@charleslatora5750]

Looks good, n yes small scenarios, just not sure. Need to do some homework. Great report. Quality job sir.

[@OriginalMozumbo]

Hi! Can we expect a playthrough like the one for Last Blitzkrieg? The narrative that unfolds is really compelling and your rule explanation makes it really easy to follow!

[@thetabletopsedge]

Thanks for the kind comments! While it's a distinct possibility, it probably won't happen for some time. Ideally, I'd like to provide the same kind of playthrough you saw with LB, but with 2 live players. I'm still trying to figure out how to pull that off. And if I do figure it out, you will see it on this channel. If I can't figure it out, I should be able to come up with something else that can get the job done. I definitely want to add some more BCS content to the channel. Thanks for watching!

[@MrProsat]

Great, they added division-colored stripes on the counters. Not sure how they missed that on LB, I had to get markers and mark on side of each counter for each formation.

[@thetabletopsedge]

I do like the addition of the colored stripes to the Formations, but I don't like how they've done it. I would have preferred the old OCS style stripes, as I think they are more aesthetically pleasing. But at least they do have some kind of stripe on them now, and that's an improvement.

[@jeroenkoopman3368]

Great game! Looking forward when you play scenario 5.1 and post videos.

[@thetabletopsedge]

I, too, am eager to get PLS to the table, but it looks like it will be sometime next year before that happens.

[@paulsaunders6536]

Another excellent review. I’ve ordered a copy, although it may be a few months before it hits the shores of the U.K. I’ve played Bitter End and whilst it is a good game some elements are bit too abstract for me, also not sure about the number of bridges across the Danube North of Budapest, I see from the map, layout there are few more in the BCS version. Looking forward to this one and getting to grips with the BCS system.

[@thetabletopsedge]

Last Blitzkrieg (the first BCS game) is the most playable monster game I've seen. BCS has a lot of innovative concepts for operational level gaming, and it does take a bit to get accustomed to, but the effort is well worth it. The two North African games are decent, but I don't think they were very good topics to showcase the strengths of BCS. PLS looks to be a return to what BCS does best.

[@przemekbozek]

Thanks for the unboxing😁 I'm normally not too interested in WW2 East Front but I've never played anything on Hungarian Campaign.. The price hurts (£140!) But maybe I'll get it on secondary market or MMP sale...

[@chrisridley4840]

if you are interested in the Hungarian Campaign you could try mmp's Hungarian Rhapsody(2020) in the OCS series slightly cheaper but would depend if you have a system preference

[@przemekbozek]

@@chrisridley4840 Yeah, not a big fan of SCS (too basic) or OCS, I'm really only after BCS and GTS😁

[@thetabletopsedge]

@@przemekbozek I really enjoy the GTS as well. I think The Greatest Day is the best of the series so far, and I am eagerly awaiting the release of Race for Bastogne (I'll have an unboxing, plus some additional coverage of that game after it comes out). If you like GTS, you might also want to take a look at the Company Scale System by Compass Games. Adam Starkweather, the GTS designer, essentially moved over to Compass Games a few years ago and has slightly modified his GTS into the CSS. The are currently 6 games in the series, the first three are all Pacific theater games that form a trilogy on the US invasions of Guam, Tinian, and Saipan. The fourth game is set in southern France in 1944 and is the biggest with 5 maps. The fifth game is on the East Front around Novorossiysk in Feb. 1943. The latest game is set in Germany in the 1980's as part of a hypothetical War World III. The games are not cheap, but you may be able to find one inexpensively on the secondary market or a good sale. The CSS is a bit streamlined from GTS, but the core mechanics are all still recognizable, and the topics are a refreshing change of pace.

[@przemekbozek]

@@thetabletopsedge Indeed, CSS is another series I've got on my wishlist (Pacific side of things) - I'm a bit more weary on this one as Pacific in general isn't well suited to manouver warfare, but I lile the system itself. There's an usual problem with pricing though - Compass tends to cost easily over £100 for a CSS game, so looking for a second hand copy😁 And I need to slow down a bit with purchases, too😱

[@charleslatora5750]

...and subbed...

[@thetabletopsedge]

Welcome! Thank you for your kind words! Hope you enjoy the channel.

[@marchanna]

I see The Gamers still hasn't given up on the idea of pre-written orders for formations, although it looks like they might actually work in this game series because there is much less dependence on order interpretation as in, for example, their Civil War Brigade series. Nevertheless, it's a game mechanic they could avoid using because many games do. In this game, it looks like precise HQ movement paths must be written down in Movement Orders. It looks like there are random exceptions for violations of orders that are interpretive. I love the other creative aspects of their series, but not this. Which is why I don't buy their games anymore. ymmv cheers thanks for the vid!

[@thetabletopsedge]

I can certainly appreciate why Dean tries to use written orders in several of his systems, but after years of frustration with CWB, RSS, and TCS, I would agree that they work much better in theory than in practice. Neat concept, but just doesn't work in the real world. That said, the orders rule in BCS is completely optional. I have played A LOT of BCS without using it and the game plays just fine. And the orders rule in BCS is NOTHING like the orders rules in earlier Gamers series. The intent of the optional rule is to prevent players from being able to react mid-turn to developments with Formations activating later in the turn. Basically, during the start of each turn both players are committing their Formations to a general direction of advance. The only actual piece with any kind of movement route noted is the HQ counter for each Formation. Only thing to note down is destination via a town or two. Using the optional rule will make the beginning of each turn longer (MUCH longer for big scenarios), but some of that time is probably clawed back during play since the players now don't have to spend as much time thinking about where they are going to try to move each Formation at the start of its activation, because they already decided at the beginning of the turn and have jotted it down. And there is something satisfying about having to consider the movement and objectives of your entire force at the start of the day. It helps put you in the proper frame of mind, because BCS is a system that forces you to unlearn a lot of bad habits every other operational level game out there has conditioned you into over the years. BCS is the most innovative operational level game series I've seen in a long time. There are a ton of clever elements in it. And no orders at all, unless you really want to play with them. BCS is definitely worth a look (although LB and PLS are the cream of the crop so far, with Arracourt being a nice, if small, addition to the series).

[@marchanna]

@@thetabletopsedge I appreciate your willingness to answer in such detail. I may take you up on your suggestion to check out PLS then! I also want to thank you for your excellent videos on CE Edition of WiF. I picked up the classic version and was following with interest your playthrough, although it looks like you have been side-tracked by some other vast projects, such as this and GOSS :) cheers Marc

[@thetabletopsedge]

@@marchanna Unfortunately, I needed the tabletop and the first WiFCE play through had to come to an early end. However, I have just started a combined DoD/WiFCE play through, with the first episode uploaded last week. I hope to have the next episode uploaded in a few days. One thing to note with PLS, it adds a new wrinkle to the BCS with an allotment mechanism that limits the number of Formations each player can activate each turn. It's interesting, and makes spoiling attacks a real thing. I'll be curious to see whether they decide it's appropriate for future games in the series. Thanks for watching!