Verdict! Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 (Overview & Review)

The verdict is in! This is a review of the solitaire area movement wargame Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945. Designed by Michael Rinella and co-published by Revolution Games & Take Aim Designs. Manila is the second game in the Solitaire Area Movement Series, following on the heels of Stalingrad: Advance to the Volga, 1942.
After years of jungle fighting and island hopping the battle for Manila was the first urban fighting experienced by American forces during the war in the Pacific. The campaign by the American XIV Corps to defeat Iwabuchi’s forces and capture the city has been depicted in a handful of two-player designs in the past but is presented here in a new and exciting solitaire format, the second in a series of single-player area movement games by publisher Take Aim Designs.
Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 puts the player in charge of the attacking and far more mobile American side while the game system handles the defending and largely static Japanese side. No two games will ever be the same. Each turn presents new and unique challenges for the player in the form of random events, uncertain supply deliveries, and unknown Japanese area strengths and defensive strategies.
The primary game is a nine-turn campaign covering the American assault on the city during February and March 1945. The deeper American forces advance, from the city’s less developed periphery to its urban business district and fortress-like government buildings, the greater Japanese resistance becomes. The number of American units fought to exhaustion, effectively out of action, mounts. American determination to secure a rapid victory for Supreme Allied Commander General Douglas MacArthur, represented as “morale” in the game, gradually decreases. The player wins by equaling or exceeding historical American gains and loses if they fail to do so, or if morale falls too low.
With a setup time of less than 15 minutes, low counter density, endless variability, and quick playing time, Manila: The Savage Streets, 1945 will appeal to every level of player, from the novice to the grognard.
Few battles at the end of the Second World War exceeded the destruction and brutality of the fighting in the city of Manila. MacArthur had hoped to spare the multicultural city and its roughly 800,000 inhabitants from the horrors of war, but failed. The fate of the city of Manila, the "Pearl of the Orient,” now rests with you.
Support me directly!
Monthly:
/ wargaminghansen
One-time donation:
paypal.me/wargaminghansen
The game on BGG: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4...
The game on the publisher's website: stores.revolutiongames.us/man...
Contact me: On BGG at username "wtjbatman", or via email at murdly@gmail.com
0:00 Introduction & Overview
8:37 Pros & Cons
22:06 Final Thoughts

Пікірлер: 21

  • @WayneHansen
    @WayneHansen6 ай бұрын

    Hey everyone! I hope you liked the video. If you did, I'd love to think I earned your subscription. It really helps me to get more of these great games to show off! You can also help by subscribing to my Patreon: www.patreon.com/wargaminghansen OR making a one-time donation: paypal.me/wargaminghansen

  • @phd_angel4192

    @phd_angel4192

    3 ай бұрын

    Great video! Yes, ok, I subscribed too. Regards.

  • @jjflash30
    @jjflash305 ай бұрын

    Great review! Great video! Lots of info well presented. Thanks! 👍😎

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    Thanks for the kind words!

  • @FrankPipitone
    @FrankPipitone6 ай бұрын

    Great review! Until watching this video, I did not realize that area 30 was adjacent to area 27! Now I need to get this back out as that definitely changes things!

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    6 ай бұрын

    Thanks Frankie. Yeah, I find it "easier" to take Area 27, with its lower defense, with the starting units of the 11th Airborne.

  • @CardboardCommander
    @CardboardCommander5 ай бұрын

    Great job! Love your videos and How you show the game. There are some odd phrases in the rulebook, but you are spot on. Easy to read. Keep up the good work.

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    I appreciate that! I saw your posts in the solitaire wargamers FB group. I'll check out your channel.

  • @CaptainFrenchie170
    @CaptainFrenchie1703 ай бұрын

    Hello, I’ve been on the lookout for a solo wargame for a while and found this one very enticing, both visually and in its apparent simplicity. So I ordered it a few days ago. The one thing I may not fully like in this game system, is the static aspect of the enemy who does not really appear to fight back to retake territory. Except through event cards, as you pointed out. What solo war game could you recommend where the enemy does fight back, move around the board and retake territory, pushing to adapt your strategy to repel their offensive ? Thank you.

  • @robertmoffitt1336
    @robertmoffitt13365 ай бұрын

    Another good review. Rampage, possibly the most important book I've ever forced myself to finish. I brushed off a warning beforehand by Cody Carlson, The Discriminating Gamer, of just how difficult a book this was to read. I found out the hard way how right he was.

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    It's a tough read, but it's important we understand the things that happened during the war.

  • @robertmoffitt1336

    @robertmoffitt1336

    5 ай бұрын

    ​@@WayneHansen Absolutely agree

  • @bswindle71
    @bswindle715 ай бұрын

    Hey Wayne, love your videos! I had a couple of questions. How do you comprehend all the rules involved in these games and how did you get into wargaming? I’m trying to start, but I get so overwhelmed with the rules and trying to remember as I play that I give up. What would your recommendation be to start playing and understanding these rules? I want more than Memoir ‘44, but I get frustrated trying to learn. Also I play solo. Thank you.

  • @OroborusFMA

    @OroborusFMA

    5 ай бұрын

    (1) Manila is a solitaire game, (2) It's introductory.

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    Hi Bobby, I appreciate you saying that! It's always nice to hear that people enjoy my videos, makes the time I put into them worth it. Let me answer your second question first. My first real wargame was, funny enough Memoir '44. With M44 I just fell in love with the presentation, the hexes, and the dice. I would play both sides to the best of my ability. After a while, I discovered there were dedicated solitaire games (!!!) and the rest is history. My advice is to start off small and simple, because that's what worked for me. I picked up a Standard Combat Series game, one with a single map, not a multi-mapper. I think Bastogne may have been my first SCS game. The rules for SCS are fairly light, around 8 pages, and really teaches you the basics of hex and counter style gaming. Decision Games makes some small folio solitaire games you could check out, such as Khe Sanh '68. I then picked up a Leader game from DVG. My first one was Hornet Leader, which is IMO the best for a new wargamer, as the rules are clean, and there's not a ton of content. Plenty to play with, but not so much you get overwhelmed by the amount. When it comes to learning these games, I have a method I've figured out works for me over the years: I read a rulebook front to back completely, once. Then I setup a game, doesn't matter if I know exactly how to play yet (odds are I don't), and start working my way through a turn. If I am still struggling, I do another turn. All the while keeping the rulebook handy. The act of reading, then putting those rules into action by playing (even if slowly at first), is what builds that memory and that knowledge of the game system. Eventually I feel comfortable enough to reset the game and start from the beginning! This was a lot, but I hope it helps!

  • @bswindle71

    @bswindle71

    5 ай бұрын

    @@WayneHansen Thanks for taking the time to respond, it’s much appreciated! Thank you for the advice and your journey with war gaming. I’m looking forward to future videos. Thank you again!

  • @terryp3034
    @terryp30345 ай бұрын

    This system might work well in a Vicksburg solitaire or possibly McClelland peninsular campaign.

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    I'd love to see the system adapted to some of the battles/sieges from the ACW.

  • @MrProulx
    @MrProulx5 ай бұрын

    I just played both back to back today. There is a rule I'm unsure of, when you reveal an enemy, does their defense strategy apply after that first reveal? I played Stalingrad applying the defense strategy on every attack. With Manila I decided to only do it on the revealing attack. All in all both fun quick games, I am very new to wargames, I started playing Salerno '43 last week and after playing that a few turns in a couple times, I found that style of game is more my niche than solitaire games. D-day at omaha beach for example, very difficult and close to unbeatable for a new player. These 2 games were fun and I'm sure I'll run through them again but not meaty enough for me.

  • @WayneHansen

    @WayneHansen

    5 ай бұрын

    Thankfully, the defense strategy only activates when you first reveal (flip) the defender. It then stays revealed, and you only have to worry about its defense strength.

  • @mikolajwitkowski8093
    @mikolajwitkowski80935 ай бұрын

    I was really hoping they would add counterattacks or enemy movement. Static enemies make Stalingrad the most boring solo game I played.