I tuned in to the Compass Townhall Thursday night like I usually do. It’s always a solid watch. It is part industry update and part therapy session. It also has a bit of “let’s see if Bill’s about to light the fuse.” And if I’m being honest, yeah… a small part of me shows up. I just want to see if we’re getting Rant Mode activated.

This week? Oh, we got it.

Bill had some things to say about the critics of the latest Combat! Volume 3: Arnhem. You all know from my previous post that this one didn’t exactly knock my counters off. So, I figured I’d sit back. I decided to listen carefully and gather a few observations.

So my fellow wargame enthusiasts, grab a cup of coffee. Adjust your bifocals. Tell me… am I making sense here? Or have I wandered completely off into the tactical tall grass?

3…2…1… Rant on!

The show was rolling along just fine. Bill was being Bill. Updates, commentary, a few chuckles — standard Thursday night programming. Then somehow Combat! Volume 3: Arnhem got mentioned… and you could almost see it happen in real time.

The pin was pulled.

And suddenly nobody on the panel wanted to be the guy holding the grenade.

Bill fired back at the critics, especially the folks on BoardGameGeek who’ve been calling the system broken, unfinished, even “unplayable.” That’s strong language in our little cardboard corner of the world. “Unplayable” is basically DEFCON 1 for wargamers.

Now as you all know, Combat 3 was my first entry into the series. I didn’t have Volumes 1 or 2 sitting on the shelf to compare it to. I wasn’t coming in with ten years of system knowledge and laminated player aids. I came in fresh.

And I wasn’t exactly blown away.

Was it broken? Honestly… I don’t know. I didn’t have a baseline. I just knew I wasn’t feeling that “oh man, I can’t wait to set this up again” vibe. And for the price of modern wargames, that vibe matters.

Now, I don’t spend my days living in the BGG forums. I’ve got enough rules to read already. Bill mentioned all the heat coming from the comments section. Of course, I had to wander into the arena.

And yes, some folks were coming in hot. Errata complaints. Map scale frustrations. System criticism. A few posts that felt like they were written mid-eye twitch.

Were some of them over the top? Absolutely.

But here’s the thing: these are grown adults who paid real money for a premium-priced game. If they feel frustrated, they get to say so. That doesn’t make them villains. It makes them customers.

Now, should we treat every BGG rant like it’s gospel? Of course not. That way lies madness. I set a game up first. Then, I push some counters. I form my own opinion before diving into the comment trenches. Then I’ll check to see, am I aligned with the majority? Or am I the crazy one yelling at clouds?

With Combat 3… I think it’s a little of both.

And that’s where it gets interesting

We always have choices!

I have options as a consumer. This applies when I’m not 100% thrilled with a product, including wargames. I have alternatives. Same as anybody else.

Option one?
Call the publisher. Vent. Rant. Question the life choices of the designer. Maybe toss in a dramatic sigh before hanging up.

Sure, that might feel good for about seven seconds. But it doesn’t fix the rulebook. It doesn’t resize the map. And let’s be honest… it mostly just makes me look like a guy who needs to go touch some grass.

Option two?
Put the game back on the shelf. Let it cool off. Let me cool off. Check BoardGameGeek in a few months. See if errata shows up. See if clarifications smooth things out. Maybe give it another shot with fresh eyes and a fresh cup of coffee.

That’s a totally reasonable path.

Option three?
Full keyboard warrior mode.

Trash can. Caps lock. “UNPLAYABLE.”
Blame the system. Blame the designer. Blame the hexes. Blame the font size.
That’s the nuclear option. And honestly? That’s not who I want to be over cardboard and ink.

So I chose option four.

I packed it up carefully. Sent a note to Noble Knight Games. Traded it in for store credit.

Yep — I lost a few bucks.

But here’s my thinking: maybe another wargamer out there has been dying to try Combat 3. Maybe they love the system. Maybe they’ve played Volumes 1 and 2 and this one fits perfectly into their rotation.

Now it’s off my shelf. It’s no longer staring at me like an unfinished campaign. Someone else might be having an absolute blast with it.

That feels like a win-win.

I don’t have to stress about it. They get the game they want. The hobby keeps moving.

Not every game has to be for every player.

And that’s okay.

Now, a quick note to Bill.

First off, it’s your company. Your money. Your risk. Your world. You’ve built multiple businesses, and I have zero doubt you’ve dealt with your fair share of… colorful customers. Anyone who’s ever run a business knows this truth: some folks are just wired to complain. And some people genuinely aren’t happy unless they’re making someone else unhappy.

Those people exist. They always will.

But here’s my gentle counterpoint.

Consumers get to rant.

Just like YOU get to rant.

That’s the free market, baby. 😄

The difference for me? I’m 60 years old. A verbal rant from someone I don’t personally know isn’t going to bruise my ego. In fact, I’ll admit it, I get a chuckle out of your Thursday night explosions. It’s part of the show. It’s authentic. It’s real.

And here’s the important part: I respect you. I genuinely do. I love a lot of the games your company publishes. There are some fantastic titles in that catalog.

For the most part.
Because let’s be adults here, nobody bats a thousand. Not designers. Not publishers. Not gamers. We all swing and miss sometimes.

Your rants, even the occasional “those people are stupid” moments, aren’t going to change my buying habits. Why? Because I’m selfish. I buy games based on topics I love and systems that interest me. I’m not shopping based on personality, political or religious beliefs. I’m shopping based on cardboard.

If the game looks good, I’m in.

If it doesn’t land for me, I move on.

So Bill, keep doing you. Rants and all. It makes Thursday nights entertaining.

And to my fellow consumers: remember, you’ve got options. You can rant. You can shelf it. You can sell it. You can revisit it. How you handle disappointment says more about you than it does about the game or the publisher.

As for me?

I’m off to set up a game, push some cardboard, and find my wargame zen.

Because at the end of the day… that’s why we’re here.