Game Info
Year
2025
Players
2
Age
14+
Playtime
360 min
Complexity
3.5/5
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
A tactical simulation of the Battle of the Wilderness (May 5-6 1864) where players refight this pivotal American Civil War engagement
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video YglMHKizFQE
Zilla Blitz Other at 0:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80598 · mention_pk 196624
Click to watch at 0:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Quick to learn and play
- Playable and easy to get to the table
- Clean counter design
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- American Civil War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Two-player scenario — The host mentions they will be setting up and trying a two-player scenario playing two-handed.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a State of Siege game where you play as a solo player essentially.
- This looks extremely juicy. If you like soliter games, if you like tactical combat, I think this one's going to be a lot of fun to play.
- This looks like for fans of Japanese history and if you like multiplayer games that are going to give you a grand strategic experience, this like this one looks like it could be a lot of fun.
- This is an outstanding series.
- Halls of Haggar was fishly hard to win, but a fantastic gameplay experience and was very well regarded. This looks like the same type of experience, but another theme, another gameplay element, and more good work from Tom Games.
- Why am I interested in this game? Well, I was reading a book about Greek history, per Greek and Persian history a while ago, and there wasn't I realized there wasn't really a lot of games that focused specifically on naval combat in the ancient era, the era of triams and all the different reams here.
- Combat Commander Adversary solves one of the weaknesses in the game and that given the card-based nature of the play of Combat Commander, it's not a game that is very amenable at all to solitire play.
- This is a dream come true. This looks really fun to be able to play Combat Commander Solitaire and have a a smart and and savvy opponent to go against.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video etp5m5Mp4S8
Zilla Blitz Rules Teach at 0:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80522 · mention_pk 196108
Click to watch at 0:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Accessible war game with a modest rule set.
- Low complexity and easy to access.
- Captures the rugged landscape of the battle.
- Modest rulebook and playbook.
- Good range of scenarios and gameplay lengths.
- Solo-friendly despite being a two-player game.
Cons
- Artillery is difficult to use effectively due to terrain.
- Cavalry is not modeled.
- Gameplay length can be very long for campaign scenarios.
Thematic elements
- Refighting the great battles of the American Civil War
- American Civil War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area of control — Units exert a zone of control in surrounding hexes. Moving into an enemy's zone of control stops movement, with exceptions for woods hexes in this game.
- Breastworks — Units can build breastworks during the organization phase, which provide defensive bonuses.
- combat resolution — Combat involves defensive fire, offensive fire, and an optional melee phase. The combat results table is used, and casualties also trigger morale checks. Stacking is one unit per hex, but multiple leaders can be in the same hex.
- Command and Control — Command and control is modeled. Units must be within a certain range of commanders (division, core, or army) to be considered in command. Scenario-specific rules can alter these ranges.
- loss tracking — The game includes a loss track, and every strength point lost equals a victory point for the opponent.
- Morale checks — Unit morale is represented by the color of the box on the counter (black for veteran, green for less experienced, gold for elite). Units must make morale die rolls when suffering losses to avoid breaking or routing. Different morale levels have different target numbers for rolls.
- scenario-based play — There are 13 scenarios in the game, and the gameplay length varies greatly based on the scenario.
- Strength points — Counters represent brigades and leaders, and the bottom right of the counter shows the strength points of the unit. Counters have a shattered side for when strength is reduced. Strength point markers are used to track losses.
- Terrain effects — Terrain effects combat and movement. Woods are noted as being dense and often blocking line of sight, impacting artillery use and zone of control.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Wilderness 1864 from Worthington Publishing might be something for you.
- This battle was the fifth bloodiest battle in the American Civil War and fought in dense wooded landscape, which largely negated the use of cavalry and artillery.
- Wilderness 1864 is volume seven in Worthington Publishing's American Civil War Brigade series, which is designed as a low complexity, easy to access tabletop war game series that lets you refight the great battles of the American Civil War.
- The rulebook is very modest and this is a series rulebook version 1.5.
- So, you've truly got a range of scenarios and a range of gameplay lengths in here.
- It's tough to use and tough to use well [referring to artillery].
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video oX5tq8DKASA
Zilla Blitz Rules Teach at 0:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80441 · mention_pk 195820
Click to watch at 0:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Smoothness and simplicity of the rule set.
- Easy to learn and play quickly.
- Lightest American Civil War series available.
- Learning one game allows playing others in the series.
- Captures the feel of American Civil War combat (routing, rallying, terrain impact).
- Beautiful map and counters, elegant design.
- Engaging gameplay.
Cons
- Markers feel like unfinished prototypes and detract from visual appeal.
- Difficulty distinguishing between Union and Confederate troops due to similar colors.
Thematic elements
- Battle of Wilderness
- American Civil War
Comparison games
- A Most Fearful Sacrifice
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Artillery — Artillery fires at half strength when deployed adjacent to an open field in woods.
- Breastworks — Breastworks provide a defensive advantage and confidence to a unit.
- Command and Control — Units must be within a certain distance of a leader to be considered in command; otherwise, they are useless.
- leadership — Leaders provide bonuses to morale and melee combat, and are essential for rallying troops.
- Line of Sight — Woods hexes block line of sight, making artillery deployment tricky.
- Melee — A two-step process involving defensive fire from the defending unit followed by an offensive attack.
- Morale checks — Units must pass morale checks when taking casualties or after certain combat events to avoid breaking.
- Tide of Battle Markers — These markers can be used to re-roll a die once per scenario, representing a critical turning point.
- Victory Points — Victory is determined by casualties inflicted and control of victory point locations.
- Zone of Control — Normally, units exert a zone of control into adjacent hexes, but in this game, zones of control do not extend into wooded hexes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Eight pages of rules means you are up and playing the game very fast.
- Once you learn how to play one of the games in this seven-game series, you are 90% there to playing the other six games.
- It's a beautiful game. I really like the map. I love the counters, the cleanness of the counters. It's got an elegant, smooth design that draws you right in.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hLA5ilOrEJE
Zilla Blitz Other at 6:30 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80219 · mention_pk 194895
Click to watch at 6:30 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Really enjoyed this one
- Takes a different approach by distilling down to the essence
- Very light rule set
- Good American Civil War game action
- Simple to learn
- Quite a bit of fun
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- American Civil War action
- American Civil War
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Light ruleset — Host mentions the goal was 'to make a very light rule set'.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is looking really, really good. Very interesting topic and a very creative design.
- Baggie games are always fun, too, because they come in my mailbox rather than at my front door. So when they arrive, you're like, "Oh, it's a magazine." And then you open up saying, "Oh, it's a game."
- So, it's the flip side of Silent Victory with all of the implications and fun of that.
- This is a tactical combat game, fantas fantasy combat game set in Greek mythology.
- 46% of viewers said yes to this question.
- I figured most people wouldn't have space. Most people wouldn't have the time and most people Yeah.
- I feel like I'm not in the Grognard club until I do one of these experiences.
- Especially now that half of us have done this, I feel left out.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video bgHVW7gnR4w
Zilla Blitz Other at 4:21 sentiment: positive
video_pk 80127 · mention_pk 194535
Click to watch at 4:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Played repeatedly over the course of June
- Really like the Most Fearful Sacrifice and Blind Swords
- Much more accessible Civil War series
- Really fun
- Streamlined compared to more complex systems
- Having a ball playing this one
- Good job of capturing the wooded, dense nature of this battle
- Surprised me a lot
- Not too simple for my tastes
- Historical enough for my tastes
- Nice tight package
- Looking forward to playing more games in the series
- Nothing but positive experiences
- Want to play it again after finishing a scenario
- Want to read more about the history of this battle
- Captures casualties in combat in a unique and immersive way
- Intriguing attribute that keeps pulling me in
Cons
- Thought it might be too simple
- Thought it might not be historical enough
Thematic elements
- American Civil War combat
- American Civil War, densely wooded battle
Comparison games
- A Most Fearful Sacrifice
- Blind Swords
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hex Encounter — Hex encounter Civil War game.
- Solo Play — I've been only playing solo, playing two-handed solo, but it's working great.
- streamlined rules — Only has an eight-page rule book.
- Strength Point System — Units start out with strength points... As you have combat, they're going to lose like one, two, maybe three strength points... As it gets down gets down to halfway, you flip it over and usually that involves a morale deterioration as well.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This month I think has a very interesting collection of games, one of which will probably surprise people as it's not something I generally have talked about on the channel.
- I said I'm going to play for like an hour. Next thing I know, it's 4:00 in the morning.
- But the gameplay is amazing.
- So, this game captures, I think, casualties in combat in such a unique and just immersive way that I've not seen in many other games.
- So, as much fun as I've had with Cyberpunk 2020 2077, and again, I've stepped away from it. I've like, 'Okay, I've gone I've shut myself off for it for a while until I can control myself.
- So, game of the month for June 2026, Wilderness 1864.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5