One of the slightly terrifying things about publishing a set of wargames rules is finally putting them in the hands of other wargamers. After years of writing, playtesting, rewriting and tweaking, All Hell Let Loose: Great War is out in the world, and other people are starting to take a look at it.
I’ve known Alex Sotheran of Storm of Steel for a while, having been interviewed by him at a couple of shows, and I’ve always enjoyed his hobby updates and the show highlights, principally because I’m too busy at shows running my own games to be able to see other games. So when the rules were finally published, I sent him a copy as a small thank you for the support and conversations we’ve had at previous shows.
Alex is an archaeologist and an avid wargamer, and his Storm of Steel channel is one of the best wargaming channels on YouTube. He covers book and game reviews, actual play, hobby updates and produces some of the best wargame show highlights and summary videos around. I’ve been very lucky to have been interviewed by Alex in a number of his show highlights videos over the years.
Alex is also a keen Great War wargamer, has undertaken archaeological digs on WW1 sites and recently guided the Little Wars TV gang around some WW1 battlefields. He really knows his Great War.
Of course, I also hoped that he might like the game enough to give it a try — and, if I was particularly lucky, perhaps even take a look at it on Storm of Steel.
I’m delighted to say he has, and that he’s responded very positively to some of the key concepts underpinning the rules.
In the video, Alex takes a detailed look through the rule book and talks about the things that caught his attention, including the way the game handles command and activation, its modular approach to different mechanisms, particularly artillery, and the sandbox nature of the ruleset.
Alex is planning to do a video refight of my Nimy Bridge scenario and, if all goes well, he may showcase a larger game as well. I’m absolutely made up — and more than a little relieved — by his first impressions.
A huge thank you to Alex for taking the time to read through the rules and make the video. If you haven’t seen it yet, I’d encourage you to give it a watch and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
And if you’re new to All Hell Let Loose: Great War, hopefully Alex’s first impressions will give you a good idea of what the game is about.
The rules are available in hardback from Caliver Books and also on Wargame Vault.
I’m really looking forward to seeing where the game goes from here — particularly as more people start putting their own armies on the table and fighting their own battles.
Keep your dice rolling,
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