Game Info
Year
2024
Players
1
Age
12+
Playtime
90 min
Complexity
3.8/5
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
Solitaire air-combat game depicting Cold War NATO scenarios with force packaging against an AI-driven enemy
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 9
This page: 9
Sentiment:
pos 9 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–9 of 9
Video KjJoyTuKEQA
Zilla Blitz Other at 1:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84253 · mention_pk 213973
Click to watch at 1:46 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Legacy element where missions impact each other
- Tons of fun
- Not a heavy mental load to learn
- Great variety of aircraft
- Lots of gameplay
Cons
- Somewhat pricey
Thematic elements
- NATO aircraft tactical missions
- Cold War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- legacy — One mission impacts the next, pilots gain experience and can be killed.
- Ordnance matching — Matching aircraft ordinance with the mission requirements.
- Package building — Putting together a tactical strike package.
- Squadron control — Controlling a whole squadron of aircraft.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- If it plays as well as it looks, this is going to be spectacular.
- I really like these. Actually, I've been dabbling in game design. This is the game I was thinking on designing.
- This looks juicy. Looks very very juicy.
- This is very different than a Forlone Hope that we looked at, right?
- It's got a number three in the bottom. So maybe each one of the the maps and missions have each one of the missions have a little bit of a different map to it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video qfOGL3qcyI0
Zilla Blitz Review at 0:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83903 · mention_pk 212357
Click to watch at 0:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Designed for solo play and perfect for solo gamers
- Vast amount of gameplay with 8 campaigns and varying lengths
- Clear and straightforward rules, despite the rulebook size
- High replayability due to varied components and campaign options
- Extensive component count with over 700 counters and 300 cards
- Campaigns offer strategic depth with pilot progression and management
- Tactical engagement is distinct from campaign management
- Player aids are helpful for tracking progress and understanding gameplay
- Excellent solo implementation
Cons
- Rulebook is 81 pages, though much is appendix/optional
- Need to print errata for Eagle Leader
- No map included, uses a tactical display instead
Thematic elements
- leading a NATO air squadron
- a hypothetical cold war gone hot
Comparison games
- Fulcrim Leader
- Hornet Leader Carrier Air Operations
- Israeli Air Force Leader
- Phantom Leader Deluxe
- Sherman Leader
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign play — Missions are strung together into multi-day operations, with pilots gaining experience and accumulating stress.
- Card Driven Events — Event cards can occur during outbound, over target, and return legs of a mission, adding variety and challenges.
- Dice combat — Combat is resolved using dice rolls to determine hits and damage.
- modular campaigns — Eight different campaigns are available, each with varying lengths and potential difficulties.
- Resource Management — Players manage ordinance, support, pilot readiness, and special option points.
- Solo Play — Designed for one player, though adaptable for collaborative play.
- Variable player powers — Pilots gain skills and level up, improving their performance and combat capacity.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a soliter war game where you take charge of a NATO air squadron in a hypothetical cold war gone hot.
- The heart of Eagle Leader, and indeed all the Leader games, is the game's campaigns, which allow you to manage a squadron of planes and string missions together into multi-day operations.
- So, while this looks like a lot to learn, I read through the rules in under an hour and I feel pretty ready to jump in.
- Soliter-wise, of course, uh I'd give this a 10 out of 10. It's designed for solo play and is perfect for solo game players.
- If there is anything that defines an a leader series game, it's cards. And this Eagle Leader is no exception.
- So, lots of gameplay learning that goes on, I think, as you play the game more.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video RaOx9qWbyAU
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83381 · mention_pk 209955
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Successful destruction of enemy targets.
- Effective use of ECM pods and suppression attacks.
- Managed to avoid significant aircraft damage despite enemy fire.
- Destroyed ground site targeted.
- Cleared the skies of enemy fighters in round two.
Cons
- Pilots accumulating stress (Graphite).
- Expended a significant number of missiles on suppression attacks.
- Missed opportunities to hit targets due to range or failed rolls.
Thematic elements
- NATO aircraft in campaign missions
- Cold War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign play — The episode is part of a larger campaign with progress tracked across episodes.
- Dice Rolling — Used for attack rolls, defense rolls, and determining damage or effects.
- electronic countermeasures (ECM) — Pods used by aircraft to jam or deflect incoming enemy fire.
- Flight model/altitude — Aircraft can change altitude, affecting weapon effectiveness (e.g., ground targets at low altitude).
- Pilot stress — Pilots accumulate stress from near misses or certain events, which can degrade performance.
- Suppression attacks — Missiles fired to negate enemy attacks.
- Targeting and range — Enemies and player aircraft have defined ranges for attacks, influencing engagement and movement.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Can we destroy the fuel depot? And can we get out with all five of our pilots?
- Our strategy is to basically try to knock everything out that can shoot us down and get our bombers inside here to drop their bombs.
- This was going to be a bloody round.
- I'm going to call this one halfway done, we will continue in the next episode with our bombing run.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video YiMDnunAY2s
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83340 · mention_pk 209711
Click to watch at 0:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Destroyed the fuel storage target.
- All aircraft returned successfully.
- Gained experience points for all pilots.
- Positive homebound event (XP gain).
- Campaign progress made in recon and intel tracks.
Cons
- Disappointing performance from Alamo's ground bombs.
- Pilot stress accumulated, with Graphite becoming shaken.
- Not enough victory points for a great evaluation yet.
- No pilot promotions achieved in this session.
Thematic elements
- World War II aerial combat campaign
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Altitude management — Aircraft can be at different altitudes (e.g., 'low altitude'), which affects their capabilities and target availability.
- Area of effect damage/targets — Bomb damage is determined by a range of numbers on the dice roll and a target number required for hits. The fuel storage needs 10 hits.
- Campaign progression tracking — The game tracks victory points, recon, intel, and pilot stress over multiple missions.
- Dice rolling for combat resolution — Players roll dice, often with modifiers, to determine the success of attacks (e.g., shooting missiles, firing cannons, dropping bombs).
- event cards — A 'homebound event' card is drawn upon returning, offering choices with consequences.
- Pilot stress and experience — Pilots accumulate stress from missions and gain experience points, which can lead to promotions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Our rough plan for round four is to knock this MIG out of the air, start damaging the fuel storage if we can, move in Alamo and Gringo, our two ground bombers, and then in round five, drop all our ordinance on the fuel storage.
- We need 10 total hits on this fuel storage.
- Oh, that was so disappointing. I had high hopes for that.
- The fuel storage though only could take 10 hits and that sends it into oblivion.
- Everybody gets an experience point for scarce resources on the way home.
- If the campaign were to end today, we would still be at the dismal evaluation.
- So, none of our pilots get promoted.
- We're halfway through this two-day campaign.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video -IZJ2lA0dRc
Zilla Blitz Other at 0:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 82935 · mention_pk 208401
Click to watch at 0:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Entertaining
- Role-playing element
- Engaging missions
- Fun system
- Appeals to many interests (board games, war games, PC games)
- Modern air combat leader game
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- NATO squadron of planes and pilots
- Cold War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource Management — Managing pilot fatigue and stress is a key aspect.
- Role-playing — Pilots gain experience and can become stressed or tired, affecting their ability to fly.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- In this video series, I look back over the games I played in the previous month. Be they traditional board games, historical board games, PC board games.
- I think for games that are entertaining in particular, I like the role-playinging element of them because you've got to skill up your pilots as they're going through these different campaigns.
- It just ticks off so many buttons.
- This DLC takes you to the 1800s and gives you a half dozen or so campaigns to fight in Europe using the same system.
- I'm finding in addition to enjoying the gameplay, I'm learning a lot about the history behind these events, which is just for me it's, you know, it's one of the reasons why I play historical board games is to to you deepen my engagement with the history, and this has been doing that as well.
- So, it's a very simple game that I find has a lot of different ways I feel like I can play this and do well.
- I went back and forth between two candidates for quite a while.
- So, I feel like my strength of conviction is stronger with this one.
- By nature I tend to gravitate more towards historical conflict simulation games rather than traditional board games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video vqft_kEEg5o
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 82786 · mention_pk 208001
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Offers a compelling dogfight experience with many planes.
- The 'lucky break' event card made the mission more manageable and exciting.
- Pilot abilities and stress mechanics add strategic depth.
- The game allows for exciting moments like successful missile jams and pilot kills.
- The host found the mission engaging and fun to play and showcase.
Cons
- The initial 'large strike' mission was considered too easy and less interesting for a video.
- Alamo accumulated significant stress, degrading his performance.
- An error was identified in Duo's loadout regarding missile types.
- The mission duration was reduced due to an event card.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Altitude Adjustment — Aircraft can adjust altitude, which can provide combat bonuses.
- Campaign play — The game is played over multiple days with a continuing narrative and pilot progression.
- Dice Rolling — Combat and evasion rely on dice rolls, modified by pilot skills, equipment, and situational factors.
- Evasive Maneuvers — Pilots can attempt evasive maneuvers to reduce damage, often resulting in stress.
- event cards — Inbound event cards can significantly impact the mission, affecting turns, enemy spawns, or player abilities.
- loadout customization — Pilots can be armed with various missiles and equipment, with constraints based on weapon points and mission type.
- Mission selection — Players choose from available targets and missions, with options for main and secondary objectives.
- Pilot Abilities — Some pilots have unique special abilities, such as Alamo's 'Snacko' ability to reduce stress on multiple pilots.
- Pilot Selection — Players select a team of pilots from a larger pool, considering their skills, stress levels, and aircraft.
- Stress System — Pilots accumulate stress, which degrades their performance and can lead to a 'shaken' state.
- Suppression Missiles — A mechanic allowing players to fire missiles to negate enemy attacks.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Normally, when I make a gameplay video, I don't change anything. None of the die rolls, none of the cards, nothing. I just take what we get.
- So, it's pretty much just shooting ducks in a barrel, uh, as it is right here.
- I'm going to pick the offensive counter air because I think this will be a lot of fun to show.
- So, we're down to three turns. This is going to be crazy.
- Wow, this is excellent. So lucky break. This works out very well for us.
- So, all in all, um, wow. Okay. I mean, it it's that we we survived that fairly well.
- So, now it's time to let loose the dogs of war.
- We had an error in Duo's life here. The Weasel can't arm AIM7s that have a range of two. They can only arm AIM9s and they have a range of one.
- I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments on our dog fight so far.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IkT-vw_PFss
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 82682 · mention_pk 207752
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Successful mission completion with no plane losses.
- Pilots gained experience and were promoted.
- The campaign concluded with a good evaluation.
Cons
- A rule interpretation mistake in the first mission might have made the campaign easier.
- Could have achieved a higher victory point total with different mission choices.
Thematic elements
- dogfighting and mission completion
- aerial combat during a campaign
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign Tracking — The game involves tracking victory points, infrastructure, and target status to evaluate campaign success.
- Dice Rolling — Dice rolls are used extensively to determine the success of attacks, jamming enemy fire, and hitting targets, often with modifiers.
- Experience Points and Promotion — Pilots earn experience points for flying missions and achieving objectives, leading to promotions and improved stats.
- Missile Combat — Players fire various missiles (e.g., AM7, AM9) at enemy aircraft, with outcomes depending on dice rolls and plane/pilot modifiers.
- Pilot Stats and Abilities — Pilots have different stats like air-to-air skill, ECM pods, and special abilities that affect combat and stress levels.
- stress management — Pilots incur stress during missions, which can be managed through abilities or reduced at the end of the day.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- So, we've completed the offensive counterair mission.
- So, the story of Duo we did get keep him through the missions we did he did survive he did get a kill and he did get promoted so a big success for Duo.
- So, I think a lot could have happened depending on that was a pretty big mistake, right?
- So, I feel like on the whole we did get because I shifted those missions a little bit, we probably got what would have been an average campaign and we did okay with it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PfuJVwW7TP8
Zilla Blitz Discussion at 22:43 sentiment: positive
video_pk 35743 · mention_pk 106918
Click to watch at 22:43 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- leader-centric air warfare
- World War II air combat
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I cannot wait for Pacific Chase.
- This is part of his recon series.
- If SD Histcon is probably two-thirds historical games and maybe one-third other games, Circle DC is probably half and half.
- Thank you to everybody who supports the channel.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video yTwtHxgGHZo
Zilla Blitz Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 27720 · mention_pk 80939
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Deep campaign customization with multiple campaigns and potential expansions
- Rich loadout options and aircraft versatility across air-to-air and air-to-ground roles
- Clear, structured process for starting a campaign (campaign choice, squadron selection, pilot skills)
- Visible tracking tools (campaign log, target deck, recon/intel track) that support replayability
- Tension and drama from random target draws and real-time planning against bandits and sites
Cons
- High learning curve for new players due to many interacting rules (skills, WP, special options, intel tracking)
- Reliance on random draws can create uneven experiences between sessions
- Some aircraft and rules may feel dense or complex for casual players
Thematic elements
- air superiority and tactical air campaigns; campaign management with squadron-building and risk
- 1986, El Dorado Canyon campaign over Libya during the Cold War
- campaign-driven, scenario-based, tutorial-like overview for first-time players
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Campaign log and tracking — A physical or printable campaign log to track pilots, skills, special options spent, kills, and campaign outcomes for historical recall.
- Campaign selection and length — Choose an eight-campaign core game with expansion options, then pick a short, medium, or long campaign, which dictates how many days/missions you will play and what resources are available.
- Event cards and inbound/outbound timing — Each mission draw can trigger event cards that affect inbound or over-target conditions, sometimes offering benefits, sometimes penalties.
- Events — Each mission draw can trigger event cards that affect inbound or over-target conditions, sometimes offering benefits, sometimes penalties.
- Limited Points — A campaign-specific currency used to buy pilot skills, upgrade aircraft, and otherwise enhance capabilities; different campaigns grant different totals.
- Loadout and weapon point management — Each aircraft has weapon points (WP) and can be loaded with missiles, bombs, and ECM pods; limited WP may force strategic loadouts depending on mission stage and target penalties.
- Pilot and aircraft pairing — Eight pilots are paired with eight aircraft cards; each pair has multiple skill cards (newbie, green, average, skilled, veteran) and pilots can be upgraded with special skills.
- Reconnaissance and intel track — Successes in missions advance reconnaissance and intel tracks, increasing the number of target cards drawn on future missions and altering mission risk.
- Special option points (currency) — A campaign-specific currency used to buy pilot skills, upgrade aircraft, and otherwise enhance capabilities; different campaigns grant different totals.
- Target deck creation and bandits/sights — A campaign deck of target cards is created, then sites and bandits are drawn to form mission-specific threats; reconnaissance and infrastructure influence future draws.
- Token Pairing — Eight pilots are paired with eight aircraft cards; each pair has multiple skill cards (newbie, green, average, skilled, veteran) and pilots can be upgraded with special skills.
- Track Advancement — Successes in missions advance reconnaissance and intel tracks, increasing the number of target cards drawn on future missions and altering mission risk.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a tabletop board war game that allows you to fly tactical air operations as a NATO squadron during various campaigns of the Cold War.
- Special option points... currency of Eagle Leader.
- Duo, good luck.
- A short campaign, you always have eight pilots and planes available for in the pilot and plane go together.
- The currency of Eagle Leader... you can buy pilot skills, and you can also use them in this case to buy into your campaign a plane that is a little bit stronger than the average plane.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
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