Steven, I really appreciate your reviews of my games, especially Kaiserkrieg and Global War. Thanks for taking the time to read the rules and play the games! I feel like I should address the kerfuffle over the First Jihad, as some people here are trying to misrepresent what happened. Suffice it to say that a robust discussion broke out when a Turkish fellow criticized the game for its theme of Umayyad warfare. In his universe, the Umayyads never attacked or waged war on anybody; his Umayyads were neutral, Swiss-type pacifists who were violently attacked for no reason out of the blue by the Byzantines, Persians, Chinese, Indians, Visigoths, Armenians, Central Asian City States, Nubians, Khazars, and a host of other warlike peoples, so that the Umayyads were only fighting in self-defense. Predictably, the discussion degenerated from there. Especially hurtful was the fact that critics, who had never read the rules or studied history, insisted that the game spread the "stereotype" that Islam had grown through military conquest. In point of fact, a central theme of the game is that, under the Umayyads, this was the opposite of the truth. The Umayyad economy relied on the jizya tax, which was a sort of protection tax levied on non-Muslims. Converts to Islam were exempt from the tax, so the Umayyad government actively discouraged people from converting to Islam, because it would wipe out their tax base. The Umayyads, as depicted in the game, had zero reason to "force people at swordpoint to become Muslims." Evidently this distinction was too subtle for some people. But the point of all this is to let you know that actually reading my own words is a lot better way of learning what I said than relying on nameless critics with a political ax to grind.

Regarding blockade runners in Kaiserkrieg, the main point was to design a game that was fun to play. Think of it as a domestic economy that equally matches your opponents so gets "factored out", while the blockade running gives you the advantage you need to win... or fails to do so!

Completely agree with your top game on this list. Global War is a fantastic game!

thank you i always learn when i watch your channel

This was great, sir. Appreciate you reviewing these games in such detail. Of the five, I've only played 'N', which I love - though your points about the combat/movement process are fair - and 'The Confederate Rebellion', which wasn't for me. You've sold me on 'Kaiserkrieg' and 'Global War', so thank you. For what it's worth (and I'm sure it isn't worth much), I have a few thoughts about Mr. Madison that were prompted by the back-and-forth in the comments below and that are based on my experience with his games and several encounters with strong opinions about him on the internet (let me please note that I neither know nor have communicated with Mr. Madison): 1) Mr. Madison isn't shy about his opinions. 2) Mr. Madison makes great games. In addition to 'N', I own and enjoy 'The Mission', 'The First Jihad', and 'Don't Tread on Me!' 3) Mr. Madison writes lively and entertaining rulebooks that don't put me to sleep the way most war game rulebooks do. (Importantly, they are also effective at teaching the games.) 4) I don't have to agree with Mr. Madison's opinions. 5) I don't have to feel guilty about playing Mr. Madison's games. 6) If someone is uncomfortable playing Mr. Madison's games, that is fine. 7) I appreciate Mr. Madison's willingness to engage in this forum. 8) If I could peer deep into the souls of every wargame designer and every wargame commentator, I'm sure I would find some pretty scary ____, and my corrupt soul is right there with theirs, but I believe thinking and listening are better than reacting and canceling (BGG). Are there lines that shouldn't be crossed? Sure. Do we often disagree about what and where those lines are? Sure. Do I have the final answer? No. Not trying to be an apologist. Just offering a contrary opinion. Again, appreciate the video. Keep up the great work.

@stevendolges8372

4 ай бұрын

I appreciate the thoughts Mark. The exchange here actually inspired me to do a video about separating a game from the designer but I am hesitant to make the video public as I am sure it will rile people up more than I intend. At the end of the day, a game is good. The designer may do themselves no favors at times and thus reduce exposure they may otherwise get. A tough space.

Thank you for this examination of these solo games from White Dog Games.

Thanks for the detailed description of all the solo games. I've recently played AmRev game and must admit that it put me off the solo games in general - I don't play for a challenge but for the narrative, and fighting "dumb" AI really pulls me out of the game😔

@stevendolges8372

5 ай бұрын

Yeah that has been my gripe with solitaire games but some of these from the video were really pleasant surprises.

@przemekbozek

5 ай бұрын

@@stevendolges8372 I could hear your enthusiasm in the video, glad you've enjoyed those😁 I've played Rome Inc and liked it but that was before my gripe with the solo games, need to revisit it to see how it settles now... But from what you've mentiojed I think you'll like it🙂

After I read the thread about Mr Madison's The First Jihad and horrid screed he was trying to pass into the designer notes I was turned off all of his games.

@stevendolges8372

5 ай бұрын

Haven't read that... he had some very... odd designer notes in his Napoleonic game. What is the nature of the screed?

@ClockworkGFX

5 ай бұрын

@@stevendolges8372 according to a good number of the users in the thread it's derogatory comments on Muslims and Islam. I'm not religious, in fact I am the opposite, but you can't use your board game to try and pass hateful narratives.

@ClockworkGFX

5 ай бұрын

@@stevendolges8372 I think furthermore, if I am recalling correctly, somewhere in the thread Mr Madison posted some pretty shitty things that ended up deleted by BGG mods.

@victoryfish

5 ай бұрын

His interview with Dan Thurot (Spacebiff Podcast) was rather revealing in that regard. It was a rather frustrating conversation to listen to. @@ClockworkGFX

@victoryfish

5 ай бұрын

I remember in his Jeff Davis game, Mr Madison states that J.D. "treated his slaves well". There were quite a few other weird things with that game, but I remember that one standing out. Whilst I'm not American, it kind of seems self evident that no slave can be treated well (and didn't some of Jeff Davis' slaves run away?). Thanks for the video though - I love these overviews of several games, and your opinions on them are very interesting :)@@stevendolges8372