GMT P500 for February 2010
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Welcome to the February 2010 edition of the GMT P500 update list.
Subscribe today: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/419612
Your help still required! I have the announcement dates for most of the games on the list, but not all of them. Still looking for data to complete the list.
January preorders were solid.
This is an exciting month here in Vancouver, with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games being in town.  It's going to be a busy month for me!
New this month: No new titles. After seven new titles last November, that's probably a good thing.
Making the cut:
No new titles.
(Tentative) Production Outlook:
February 2010
Chariots of Fire
Washington's War
March 2010
Leaping Lemmings - GMT has indicated that they have a financial benefactor to get this to print.
Stalin's War
April 2010
Normandy '44
Nothing Gained But Glory
May 2010
Barbarossa: Crimea
June 2010
Great Campaigns of the Thirty Years War
Summer 2010
Whichever game leads the P500 race between Urban Sprawl and Dominant Species.
Check out the latest preorder lists:
GMT's reprints TBA
Columbia Games TBA
MMP ASL P500 TBA
MMP P500 TBA
Legion Wargames Legion Wargames (LWG) Pre-orders - January/February 2010
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Current Preorders: 204 (+6)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $49 ($70)
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-296-urban-sprawl.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Comments: One of two "Euro-style" games that GMT is publishing. Either this or Dominant Species will be published next summer; which ever one is leading in the P500 poll.
Of the two, my preference leans towards Dominant Species.
Game Information: Urban Sprawl is a game for 2-4 players. Urban Sprawl abstractly models the growth of a town into a teeming metropolis.
Players assume the roles of entrepreneur, tycoon and politician—each helping in the development of a hypothetical “Anywhere, USA.” Wealth and Prestige will be earned and spent throughout the game. Buildings will rise only to later be demolished for better and larger fare.
Throughout the game, players will gather valuable Permits. These will result in either a wealthy Investment or the foundation of a new building Contract. Players will strive to become dominant in one or more building Zones in order to acquire beneficial political offices.
All of this eventually leads to the end game – a vibrant metropolis that is revered around the world – when the player with the most Prestige will be crowned the winner.
Game Design by Chad Jensen
Game Development by Kai Jensen
Players: 2-4
Play Time: about 45 minutes per player
Components:
- one game board
- four player mats
- 144 wooden cubes in four player colors
- four wooden cylinders in four player colors
- one orange wooden pawn
- 165 cards:
* 54 in the Building Permit deck
* 37 in the Town deck
* 37 in the City deck
* 37 in the Metropolis deck
- four sheets of die-cut tiles:
* 128 buildings
* 24 Vocations
* 6 Politicians
* 1 Contractor
* 6 Wealth markers
* 3 Prestige markers
* 1 Active Player marker
* 1 Extra Favor marker
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Current Preorders: 224 (+9)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $55 ($79)
Comments: One of two "Euro-style" games that GMT is publishing. Either this or Urban Sprawl will be published next summer; which ever one is leading in the P500 poll.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-295-dominant-species.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: 90,000 B.C. — A great Ice Age is fast approaching. Another titanic struggle for global supremacy has unwittingly commenced between the varying animal species.
Dominant Species is a game for 2 to 6 players that abstractly recreates a tiny portion of ancient history: the ponderous encroachment of an Ice Age and what that entails for the living creatures trying to adapt to the slowly-changing Earth.
Each player will assume the role of one of six major Animal groups—Mammal, Reptile, Bird, Amphibian, Arachnid or Insect. Each begins the game in a state of natural balance with regards to one another. But that won’t last: It is indeed “survival of the fittest.”
Game Design by Chad Jensen
Game Development by Kai Jensen
Players: 2-6
Play Time: 2-4 hours
Components:
* a 16-page full-color rulebook
* one 22” x 34” mounted game board
* six Animal Displays
* 27 cards
* 35 large and 14 small hexagonal tiles used to create “Earth”
* 270 wooden cubes in six colors representing the Species belonging to the six Animal groups
* 60 wooden cylinders used for the Animals’ Action Pawns
* 60 wooden cones used as the Animals’ Domination markers
* 108 round markers representing the Earth’s resources, called “Elements”
* 12 square markers used to show each Animal’s “Initiative” (turn order)
* one cloth bag
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Current Preorders: 296 (+16)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $42 ($59)
Comments: Given that naval games tend to be hit or miss with me and the ACW isn't a period of interest for me, I doubt it'll be on my preorder list.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-293-iron-and-oak.aspx
Game Information: Iron & Oak is game of ship-to-ship combat set during the American Civil War. As a tactical representation of naval warfare, each of the ships is accurately modeled for offensive capability including gunnery, ramming and spar torpedoes; for defensive capability including damage and five distinct armored or wooden hit locations; and for maneuverability, crew size and draft.
You command 70 famous ships of the era, including the Union: Onondaga, Tecumseh, Winnebago, Monitor, Osage, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Hartford, Essex, Carondolet, Kearsarge, Ossipee, Queen of the West, Iroquois, Spuyten Duyvil; and the Confederate: Tennessee, Virginia, Atlanta, Palmetto State, Arkansas, Albemarle, Alabama, Florida, General Beauregard, Sumter; and many more.
Components
* One 11” x 17” map
* Rule Book
* Play Book
* Two 8-1/2” x 11” Player Aid Reference Cards
* Campaign Game Status Sheet
* Ten dice (2 x d10, 4 x d8, 2 x d6, 2 x d4)
* One deck of 94 Action Cards
* One deck of 16 Navy Yard Cards
* 76 4” x 3-1/2” Ship and Fort Data Cards
* 70 1” x 1/2” ship counters
* 114 9/16” status and informational counters
* 140 1/2” status and informational counters
Number of Players: 2 or more
Game Design: James M. Day
Game Development: Chris Janiec
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Current Preorders: 358 (+20)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $55 ($79)
Comments: This one's grabbed my interest. I like card based games, and I like games about air battles. Definitely on my radar.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-297-wild-blue-yonder.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: In 1992, GMT released Rise of the Luftwaffe, the first Down in Flames WWII air combat card game. That game covered the early part of the War in Europe, from 1939 to early 1942. It was followed a few years later by the 8th Air Force expansion module, which added aircraft and campaigns for the latter part of the war.
Since then there have been two more games, two packs of additional aircraft, and a large number of C3i modules for the series. However, the original two games have been long out of print. GMT has considered a number of options to address that, from straight reprints to a base game/ campaign module arrangement. Finally, though, the company has decided to P500 an entire new game covering the WHOLE war in the ETO.
Wild Blue Yonder will be a true deluxe Down in Flames product. It will contain 16-20 full campaigns, nearly 300 aircraft cards, plus all of the necessary targets, resource sheets etc. needed for play. All of this will be packaged in a large box similar to the ones for the Combat Commander games.
Many of the campaigns will be on the same subjects as those in Rise of the Luftwaffe, 8th Air Force and various C3i modules. However, they will not be simple reprints of those campaigns. For example, due to card mix limitations the Fall of France campaign in Rise of the Luftwaffe included only one type of French aircraft. This will not be the case in the new game.
In addition, Wild Blue Yonder will contain two different types of campaigns, Land Campaigns and Strategic Bombing campaigns. The first type will be the familiar “standard” DiF campaign that players of the system are used to. The second type, though, will give both players a fixed “order of battle” along with reinforcements and replacements that they will have to use throughout the campaign. This will reflect the more attritional nature of these air campaigns.
Wild Blue Yonder will also include a number of Tour of Duty mini-campaigns. Each of these will be a series of dogfights from the careers of various well-known aces of the war. Those of you who want to more about this can check out C3i #21, which contains a Tour of Duty campaign featuring the Pacific ace George Welch.
Finally, the game will include at least one solitaire campaign for players who don’t have an opponent available.
Wild BlueYonder promises to be the best Down in Flames game yet. So strap on your parachute and get ready to take to the skies!
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Current Preorders: 358 (+0)
First announced: August 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: One of the highlights of BGG.Con 2009 for me, and a definite strong buy recommendation from me. Trust me, if you like block games, this one will wow you. It's a real shame that there was no growth for this one this month!
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-289-pax-baltica.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: Pax Baltica™ is a Grand Strategy Game covering the entire Great Northern War (1700-1721) and recreates the intriguing conflict that is often considered a side-show of the War of Spanish succession. Yet the conflict probably have had greater impact on Europe’s political, cultural and social developments than the latter.
Components:
* 1 Map
* 1 set of rules
* 20 control-markers (5 red, 5 blue, 5 green, 5 white)
* 60 1*1*1/2'' wooden blocks : 24 blue, 16 green, 12 white, 8 red.
* 1 stickers sheet for mounting on blocks.
* 4 dice
Regular Price: $55.00
P500 Price: $38.00
Game Design and Development: Stefan Ekström and Göran Björkman
GMT Development: Scott Muldoon
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Current Preorders: 391 (+11)
First announced: February 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $35 ($50)
Comments: There is a new AAR posted to GMT's web site. Mark has been doing yeoman's work getting the word out on this game.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-270-red-winter.aspx
Game Information: It is the winter of 1939 and the Soviet Union has just declared war on Finland. Bombers unleash a downpour of destruction on the Finnish capital of Helsinki. In the David and Goliath struggle that follows, the Russians swarm across the border and push back the Finns in victory after victory. The future appears grim for Finnish independence.
Red Winter will contain:
· One 22”x34” map
· One countersheet of 5/8” counters
· One Rulebook with illustrated examples
· One Play Book with over a dozen scenarios, extensive historical and game play notes, designer’s notes, and optional rules and variants
· One Turn Track card
· Two identical player aid cards
· Two six-sided dice
· One ten-sided die
DESIGNER: Mark Mokszycki
RESEARCH: Vesa Teräs, Mark Mokszycki
PLAYTESTER: Keith Mageau, Eric Edwards
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Current Preorders: 392 (+6)
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $48 ($69)
Comments: Continuing its slow climb to making the cut.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-238-rebel-raiders-on-the-high-seas.as...
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a comparatively short and simple game of the naval conflict at sea and on the great rivers in the American Civil War. Easily playable in less than three hours, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is a strategic contest between two players, one seeking to reunite the Union by force, the other to maintain its new independence in the face of the escalating industrial might and resolve of its northern brother. More of a representation than a detailed simulation of that conflict, the game is intensely engaging, highly interactive and moves along quickly, with players constantly responding and reacting to their opponent’s moves.
Components
One 22 x 28 map
One Short Rule Book
Eight six-sided dice
One deck of 110 cards
6 Plastic Stands for Leaders
4 Blue Cannon Pawns
1 Grey Cannon Pawn
176 5/8” ship, leader and battery counters
100 ½” cargo, victory point, control and informational counters
20 small plastic tokens
Regular Price: $69.00
P500 Price: $48.00
Game Design: Mark McLaughlin
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Current Preorders: 447 (+10)
First announced: May 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $45 ($65)
Comments: Looks like a fun game and it already has some fans. Growth has seemingly stalled though.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-278-the-supreme-commander.aspx
Game Information: The Supreme Commander is a game designed for 2-5 players covering the entirety of World War II in the European Theater of Operations (ETO), from September 1939 to the end of the war. While there are plenty of other ETO games out there, The Supreme Commander effectively models all of the primary aspects of the war in a simple, straight-forward manner.
Murmansk convoy, Lend-Lease, diplomacy, the strategic U-Boat campaign, technological advancement, strategic bombing campaigns, naval invasions, the economy and military production, partisans – All of these elements and more are included in a surprisingly easy-to-learn game.
Note: We are doing much of the final system and balance testing of this game online using a (beautiful) Vassal module. We are definitely interested in additional testers who are new to the game at this stage. If you are interested in helping out, please contact developer Paul Marjoram at pmarjora@gmail.com.
Components:
* Rulebook
* (2) 24x36 maps with large hex pattern (one map is back-printed with a standard size 5/8" hex version so you can play the whole game on one map - for you guys with limited table space)
* Diplomatic Track (cardstock)
* Player aid card
* 560 Counters (Corps and Army-sized units)
* 6 x Force Pool cards for France, UK, US, USSR, Italy, Germany
* 2 ten-sided dice
Designer: Dan Holte
Developer: Paul Marjoram
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Current Preorders: 470 (+28)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Not There Yet
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: Another strong month of growth for this sequel to Men of Iron, Volume I: The Rebirth of Infantry and it looks like it will soon make the cut. There's obviously a lot of pent up demand for medieval wargames.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-292-infidel.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: The Battles of Dorylaeum, Antioch, Ascalon, Harran, Montsigard, Arsuf
Fast playing . . . easily understandable rules . . . unusual battles . . . lots of action . . . lots of color . . . lots of cavalry … great leaders . . . lots of Fun. That’s what you get with GMT’s series on Warfare in the Middle Ages, Men of Iron. The system demonstrates why cavalry reigned supreme during the era of The Crusades with the second game in the series, Infidel.
Infidel focuses on the major battles of the early Crusades era between the Christians and the Muslims. This is a period that saw cavalry reign supreme, and pitted the European heavy cavalry – armored “knights” - system against the Eastern/Turkish light cavalry tactics.
The battles include:
* Dorylaeum (1097): The Crusader line of march, including the people’s Crusade and Peter the hermit, as well as all the great 1st Crusade Leaders, are “ambushed” by Kilij Arslan and his crack Seljuk cavalry.
* Antioch (1098): The exhausted, starving and depleted Crusaders – they had few horses left – have just taken Antioch and are now faced with a large Turkish army, under Kerbogha, sent to retake the city.
* Ascalon (1099): The Crusaders, having seized Jerusalem, turn south to fend off the suddenly active large army of The Fatimids, with their crack Mamluk heavy cavalry.
* Harran (1104): Baldwin II of Edessa seeks to maintain control of his little kingdom in northern Syria, something Soqman, atabeg of Damascus, is not happy to allow. One of the first major Crusader defeats.
* Montgisard (1177): Saladin attempts to destroy a small army from the Kingdom of Jerusalem with an army more than five times its size. Though there are only 400 knights, the Crusaders are led by the remarkable Baldwin IV, The Leper King. The outcome - one of the greatest Crusader victories. See if you can carry off this stunning upset!
* Arsuf (1191):The classic battle between Richard I Lionheart and the Ayyubid Army of Saladin highlighting the major facets of each army in an unusual moving battle.
Each game of INFIDEL includes:
* Two 22” x 32”game-maps, backprinted
* 2 sheets of counters
* Rules Booklet
* Battle Book
* Charts and Play Aids
* 2 ten-sided dice
* Two pieces of wood to make your own True Cross
Designed by RICHARD H. BERG
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Current Preorders: 481 (+3)
First announced: 2008
Current Status: Not There Yet - but, GMT has announced it will be printed in spring 2010 thanks to a benefactor.
I still say this is destined to be a classic! Get in on the bandwagon now! 
Preorder Price (List Price): $25 ($35)
Comments: If you're sitting on the fence about this one, you should hop off now and preorder. I'm telling you, you'll be kicking yourself if you don't.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-143-leaping-lemmings.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: Leaping Lemmings is a humorous hobby or family game for 2-6 players. Each player controls a cloned clan of lemmings that have been specially trained to compete with the other lemming clans, all trying to scurry down a canyon and hurl themselves over a cliff. Distance and style points are important. One lemming diving with style and élan is worth as many as five of the more mundane divers. But beware the hungry eagles circling overhead or your lemmings might not even make the cliff edge!
Playtime: 30-90 minutes (15 minutes per player)
Components:
# 1 Rulebook (8 pages)
# 1 map board (13 ½" x 24")
# 2 eagle dice
# 104 die-cut cardboard counters
# 6 Clan Player-aid Cards
# 1 Quick-start Player-aid Card
# 1 deck of 55 Cards
DESIGN & RULES: Rick Young & John Poniske
DEVELOPER: John Foley
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Current Preorders: 534 (+7)
First announced: June 2007
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $35 ($50)
Comments: A good looking game that I'd love to try it out.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-139-blood-and-sand.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: The Campaign for North Africa, 1941-42
What, another North Africa game? Yes … but here is something almost completely different from any WWII Campaign game you've seen: no CRT (or any other tables), buckets o' dice, and cards … all used in a totally new approach to gaming that can be learned in 5 minutes and played in a few hours.
Most of the rules and mechanics for Blood & Sand will be familiar to anyone who has ever played a wargame. However, Designer Richard Berg, no stranger to this campaign, has added to this accessible simplicity a combat system that rates units for how many dice they get to roll on their behalf, as well as what kind of dice (small arms or Heavy Weapons). No CRTs, no sirree!
The game also uses cards, one deck (of 27) for each player (whose cards are somewhat different from those of the other player) to enhance the game. (The cards don't "drive" the game and they can be left out, if you're so inclined.) The cards are part of a Resource system that gives the players a number of points which they can use to buy cards, rally units, build fortifications, or bring in Reinforcements. The RP choices are theirs, but there are far more choices than points.
The cards, themselves, give the players "Opportunities", from using their (or negating their opponent's) tank capabilities, to getting more supplies, to special Breakthrough and Reaction movement, to forcing the Allies to Withdraw units, to the effects of Rommel and other leaders.
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Current Preorders: 546 (+11)
First announced: February 2009
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: This looks like it will be an interesting game to play. The chit pull with the either/or for the allies versus the more flexible German chits should make for some interesting tactical decisions.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-271-case-yellow.aspx
Game Information: September 1st, 1939: Germany invades Poland, setting off the Second World War. Except for minor attacks, France and Great Britain, the victors of World War One, do nothing. The Allies view the short Polish campaign of 1939 as a case of a newer, larger army winning out over an older, smaller army. Certainly the massed panzers are impressive, and need to be emulated, but the winter months see little positive activity on the Allied side. Missing the more vital lessons of the Polish campaign, the Allies are content to wait. Not only do their armies outnumber the Germans in terms of manpower, tanks and artillery, they have the advantage of operating on the defensive. Meanwhile the Germans feverishly apply the lessons they learned in Poland, and hone their operational techniques. The surprise German conquest of Norway jolts the Allies out of their lethargy. They do not have long to wait for the next blow.
May 10th, 1940: Germany unleashes its Blitzkrieg upon the western Allies. Six weeks later, the war ends in a smashing German victory. Four Allied national armies have vanished. The tiny Dutch and Belgian armies, pulverized in battle, have surrendered. Great Britain rescues most of the soldiers in the BEF, but their heavy weapons and vehicles remain on the beaches of Dunkirk. The island nation begins to re-arm, but for now is out of the fight. The proud French Army, with many regiments tracing an unbroken lineage back to the 1600s, suffers the most catastrophic defeat of modern times before France surrenders.
How did this happen? The Germans, realizing they could not win a repeat of World War One, set about reinventing the offense. Their formula included massed tank formations, an air force dedicated to close tactical support, and most importantly, a command and control system based on the use of radios. Allied tanks and soldiers were often equal or superior to their German counterparts – when given the opportunity to properly deploy and prepare. Unfortunately, such opportunities were few and far between. The Germans had securely positioned themselves inside an Allied decision making process that often took days to execute, rapidly concentrating, overwhelming defenders and then exploiting success. Certainly there were answers to every German innovation, but in six short weeks the Allies did not have the time to find them.
Case Yellow is a simple, but accurate, simulation recreating this monumental campaign. Each game turn is divided into eight action segments. Each player has four action chits. The initiative player selects the first action chit to play. The remaining seven chits are placed in an opaque cup and drawn randomly. In most cases the Germans have the initiative and go first by playing one of their four action chits. Each German chit is marked for movement or combat, and the German player chooses what his army will do (though the German player during the course of a turn must use two chits for movement and two chits for combat). At the end of movement, any panzer or motorized formation adjacent to Allied units has the option to attack. If combat is chosen, all German units adjacent to Allied units may attack if allowed by terrain.
Two Allied chits are marked two for movement and two for combat – not both. The creaky Allied command structure will bedevil the Allied player throughout the game. Need to move? Sorry – you just drew a combat chit. Set up to attack? You drew a move chit, and only the number of motorized formations equaling the roll of a six-sided die can attack.
Zones of control reflect that the infantry of both sides still fight by the rules of World War One. Infantry units must stop when entering an enemy zone of control. Mount a one hex infantry attack against a defender hex, and you attack only the units in the defender hex. Mount a two hex (or greater) infantry attack against a defender hex, and all adjacent enemy hexes must also be attacked (large-scale infantry attacks take time to set up, and the defender has the time to integrate adjacent units into the defense plan).
Motorized units play by different rules, though the Germans with their better-trained, veteran formations do it much better than the Allies. Simply stated, any motorized unit with a Troop Quality (TQ) higher than any adjacent unit may disregard those adjacent units’ zones of control for purposes of movement, combat and retreat. Only a solid line is proof against motorized unit exploitation and envelopment, and only so long as combat does not create gaps. Additionally, motorized units only may attack a defender hex from two hexes without engaging any other adjacent defender units – the speed of motorized concentration allows the attack to go in before a traditional defensive response can be established.
The Luftwaffe is present in overwhelming strength, allowing the German player to negate the toughest defensive positions if necessary. Each Luftwaffe asset marker provides a one column shift on the combat table. Each Allied air asset marker provides the same shift, but there are far fewer Allied markers – not that the Allies had far fewer planes (they had almost as many), but the Allied air-ground coordination was so cumbersome that planes usually did not arrive in time to influence the battles being fought.
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Current Preorders: 628 (+67)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: This one is jetting up the P500, and it wouldn't surprise me if this one made it to press this year.
An interview with Volko has been published here - http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/boardgamenews/comment...
A lot of interesting comments about how the game plays.
Game Link: https://gmtgames.com/p-294-labyrinth.aspx
Game Information: Labyrinth takes 1 or 2 players inside the Islamist jihad and the global war on terror. With broad scope, ease of play, and a never-ending variety of event combinations similar to GMT's highly popular Twilight Struggle, Labyrinth portrays not only the US efforts to counter extremists' use of terrorist tactics but the wider ideological struggle--guerrilla warfare, regime change, democratization, and much more.
From the design and development team that brought you the award-winning card-driven game Wilderness War, Labyrinth combines an emphasis on game play with multifaceted simulation spanning recent history and near future. In the 2-player game, one player takes the role of jihadists seeking to exploit world events and Islamic donations to spread fundamentalist rule over the Muslim world. The other player as the United States must neutralize terrorist cells while encouraging Muslim democratic reform to cut off extremism at its roots. With the game's solitaire system, a single player as the US takes on ascending levels of challenge in defeating al-Qaeda and its allies.
The jihadists must operate in a hostile environment--staying below the authorities' radar while plotting terrorist attacks and building for the Muslim revolution. Will Iran's Shia mullahs help or hinder the Sunni jihadists? Will the gradual spread of Islamist rule bring final victory--or will it be a sudden strike at the United States with an Islamic weapon of mass destruction?
The United States has the full weight of its military force and diplomacy at the ready--but it can't be everywhere: will technological and material superiority be enough? US forces can invade and topple Islamist regimes, but how will the Muslim “street” react? And if quagmire results, how will the US find its way out?
Labyrinth features distinct operational options for each side that capture the asymmetrical nature of the conflict, while the event cards that drive its action pose a maze of political, religious, military, and economic issues. In the parallel wars of bombs and ideas, coordinated international effort is key--but terrorist opportunities to disrupt Western unity are many. The Towers have fallen, but the global struggle has only just begun. “Let's roll!”
GAME CARDS
Labyrinth contains 110 playing cards, including:
* Tora Bora
* Patriot Act
* Predator
* Iraq WMD
* Renditions
* Leak
Playing cards also include:
* Martyrdom Operation
* Taliban
* Kashmir
* Wahhabism
* Madrassas
* Zarqawi
* Abu Sayyaf
* IEDs
Playing cards also include:
* Tony Blair
* Danish Cartoons
* Ex-KGB
* Lebanon War
* Mossad & Shin Bet
* Hijab
* Loose Nuke
…and so much more!
GAME CONTENTS
* One Counter Sheet
* 22x34 inch Map
* 110 Playing cards
* Rules Booklet
* Two Player Aid sheets
* One Solitaire Play sheet
* 30 Wooden Cubes
* Four 6-sided dice
GAME SCALE
TIME: About 1 year per hand of cards
PLAYERS: 1-2
MAP: Point-to-Point system
GAME DESIGN: Volko Ruhnke
GAME DEVELOPMENT: Rob Winslow
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Current Preorders: 573 (+11)
First announced: ??
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: American Revolutionary War is not a period of interest for me, but I know this series is well regarded.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-277-germantown-1777.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: The Battle of Germantown took place on October 4, 1777, outside the city of Philadelphia and less than a month after the British victory at the Battle of the Brandywine Creek (September 11.)
GMT is pleased to offer the latest in Mark Miklos' popular and critically acclaimed American Revolutionary War series: Volume VII, Germantown, 1777.
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Current Preorders: 567 (+11)
First announced: -
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $45 ($65)
Comments: American Revolutionary War is not my period.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-239-pensacola-1781.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: The Siege of Pensacola pits a numerically large but fragile Spanish army, supported by a small corps of French allies against a smaller, feistier British army enjoying strong fortifications and highly mobile Indian allies. As the Spanish player you will need to determine where you will build your siege gun redoubts and will then have to protect your soldiers from raiding British units to finish the works in time to mount an effective bombardment. As the British player, you have far fewer forces, but armed with special raiding rules, your Regulars, Tories and Indian allies must harass and erode Spanish morale, while delaying the construction of Spanish siege works for as long as possible in the hope of keeping your three forts intact to face the coming coup de main.
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Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
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Current Preorders: 567 (-3)
First announced: June 2008
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: I know this has made the cut, but it feels to me like this is a really niche genre of game.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-233-nightfighter.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed (but since it requires a referee, I'd say it's very low)
Game Information: NIGHTFIGHTER is a game of air warfare in the night skies of World War II.
The game requires two participants: a player and an umpire.
The game details the development of night fighting tactics over Britain, the Reich and the Pacific. Using a brand-new 'blind' play system, an umpire controls the attacking forces and moderates the defending player, who must find, fix and destroy the incoming bombers.
Nightfighter will recreate the tactics of night fighting, from the 'cat's eye' fighting of the London night blitz to the Mosquito intruder operations at the end of the war. Scenarios include Freya AN interception in the Dunaja dark fighting zones, Himmelbett zones, the introduction of AI radar, Wilde Sau and Zahme Sau tactics. The evolution of electronic systems and countermeasures is modelled, including the use of 'Airborne Cigar' and 'Window' jamming, and 'Serrate' radar homing.
There is a huge variety of aircraft in the game, from early Do217s and Ju88 fighters, to advanced fighters such as the He219. Rarities such as the Ta154, Me262B-1a and the Japanese J1N1 Gekko will be included. Schräge Music ('Jazz Music') oblique gun systems are modelled. The Allies get 'cat's eye' Hurricanes, Blenheims with AI Mk IV radar, Beaufighters with Serrate and various marks of Mosquito, including the NF.30 with the advanced AI Mk X radar. Pacific operations will see P-61A 'Black Widow' fighters engaging Japanese bomber threats over Saipan and F4U-2s engaging torpedo strikes against the fast carriers.
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Current Preorders: 588 (0)
First announced: May 2005
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $41 ($59)
Comments: I'm starting to wonder if this one will ever get printed. It's starting to feel like vaporware.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-127-sekigahara.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: "Sekigahara is a simple 3-hour block game based on the campaign in 1600 that unified Japan. Hidden information on blocks & cards, but no dice. Cards are not events (this isn’t a typical “card-driven wargame”) but rather motivation (suited by clan). Units fight only when a matching card is produced."
Additional differences:
(1) A lot of ‘game’ in 3 hours: many decisions, historical feel. The mechanics are really simple. Feels more like the event in question than most 3-hour wargames. Doesn’t bog down.
(2) Elegant graphical design. Japanese kanji and symbology; minimalism in blocks, board and cards. Mark Mahaffey has done amazing work.
(3) ‘Randomization’ subordinated to uncertainty. Plays like poker sometimes. You know how strong you’ll be in a hypothetical battle, and your opponent knows how strong he/she will be, so you read each others’ actions to gauge whether you want to initiate it.
(4) Double game being played: (a) units in position, (b) units motivated enough to fight. Most games would be all about (a) and leave (b) to the dice, but here you know in advance the effectiveness of your troops, by looking at your cards. The game is true to history in this regard (the campaign turned on defections & abstentions). Unit combat performance was too essential to the outcome of this campaign to leave to the dice.
(5) The combat system, with hidden forces and sequential deployments, is novel. Christophe Sancy made a great graphical illustration of a climactic combat sequence. It’s posted on Boardgame Geek.
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Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
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Current Preorders: 600 (+4)
First announced: June 2008
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $55 ($79)
Comments: I've seen the newly posted sample graphics and I have to say that I didn't like them. I'm feeling good about the game though!
I wonder if Z-Man's Wars of the Roses: Lancaster vs. York will suck up any potential pre-orders for this one though.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-234-crown-of-roses.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: Crown of Roses is a 3-hour block game set during the turbulent years of the Wars of the Roses in 15th Century England. This 35-year long conflict saw the extinction of a large number of noble houses, and would eventually set the house of Tudor upon the throne.
In Crown of Roses, players take on the roles of the dynastic giants - the House of Lancaster and their Beaufort cousins, and the House of York. The four player game adds in the powerful House of Stafford, and the ever-scheming Richard Neville and his son, Richard of Warwick, the 'Kingmaker'.
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Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
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Current Preorders: 604 (+1)
First announced: December 2005
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $39 ($55)
Comments: I love card wargames and am looking forward to this one.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-128-sun-of-york.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this …
"Sun of York" (Richard III, Ace I, Scene 1)
The Wars of the Roses (1453-1485) were the result of the struggle for the English crown between the Houses of Lancaster and York … both descended from the Plantagenet line … both with equal claim to the throne. By the end of the bloody struggle, both houses would be extinct and the crown grasped by the first of the Tudors.
Sun of York is a card game depicting the tactical battles fought between these two royal houses.
Represented by the cards are all the day's major leaders, including King Henry VI (too weak a leader to maintain control of the kingdom), Margaret of Anjou (Henry's strong-willed and manipulative queen), King Edward IV (organizational genius and longest holder of the Crown), King Richard III (charismatic leader of questionable morals) and Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick (the "King Maker"). Each Leader is rated for combat ability and his affect on the morale of the troops he leads.
Troop cards include foot soldiers, missile units, pole arms and cavalry, all of different types and qualities, including mercenaries from the Continent. Each troop card is rated for its cohesion (the amount of damage it can sustain as well as deal out), its ability to move around the battlefield, and its combat quality.
A variety of terrain cards are included, and are used to configure the battlefield prior to play.
"Special" cards are included to provide period flavor and enable results so prevalent during a period where great heroics and insidious backstabbing by allies were common.
The heart of the game system (and that which separates it from similar games) is its "Orders" system. Generally, leaders on the battlefield give orders to the units under their command. Units without leaders can only move through the play of Orders cards (unused Leader, Terrain and Special cards). Calling up reinforcements also requires the play of Orders. Often, players will have to make the choice between discarding excellent troops in order to get any kind of troop into battle before their line collapses. This simulates wonderfully the chaotic melees these battles often became, and the difficulty the commanders had in retaining control of their forces once they engaged.
All the major (and several minor) engagements are included in Sun of York, as well as a random setup, for a total of twenty scenarios! Also included is a campaign system allowing players to fight out the Wars, one battle at a time, to their bloody conclusion.
Components include 220 cards, player aid sheets, one sheet of 140 status markers, and five six-sided dice.
Playtime runs an hour or two.
Designed by Mike Nagel
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Current Preorders: 652 (+16)
First announced: June 2009
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $59 ($85)
Comments: This one is just happily chugging along. It remains to be seen if this overtakes Combat Commander: Europe in popularity - will tanks make that much of a difference? Or will this just be another good game to have in the collection?
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-279-fighting-formations-grossdeutschla...
Game Information: ighting Formations is intended to be an ongoing series of wargames covering WWII tactical combined-arms combat at the platoon and squad levels. Each game in the series will feature a distinct combat unit, highlighting battles in which that unit participated as well as its particular order of battle and fighting characteristics. The first title in the series is "Grossdeutschland Infantry Division" (FF:GD). Future titles aren't yet set in stone but could be devoted to other famous divisions (Big Red One), Corps (Afrika Korps), regiments (442nd RCT), Commando troops, Ranger battalions, etc.
GAME FLOW: In each scenario, one player will take command of elements of the featured unit while the other assumes control of the opposing forces. These two players will alternate giving orders, activating their units on the map for various military functions. Players attempt to achieve victory by moving their combat units across the game map to attack their opponent’s units and to achieve as many scenario objectives as possible. The degree to which a player succeeds or fails is measured by a scenario’s specific victory conditions—be it the destruction of enemy units, the taking of vital mapboard objectives, or the exiting of friendly units off the opponent’s map edge.
ORDERS & INITIATIVE: Each game turn is divided into ten orders, with each player performing a variable number of these orders. In each turn, the sequence of play is fluid – with orders being given by the active player and reactions being taken by both players – depending upon the relative initiative level at any given moment. Fighting Formations is also not the typical Igo-Yougo fare with a strict sequence of play. Instead, the base game engine is an impulse-type back and forth mechanic whereby the various Orders carry with them a certain cost in Initiative. The game has a “pool” of 40 Initiative that is “spent” to give orders and then to activate units for those orders. At the end of every order the player with the most Initiative is able to give the next order. In response, the opponent can also spend Initiative to conduct both Opportunity Fire (at moving units) or Reactive Fire (at firing units).
ASSETS: The game has Asset cards -- including smoke, artillery, air support, man-portable support weapons and demolitions -- but is not card-driven. Each Asset will either take the place of a standard order or provide the player with some form of reactionary capability during an order.
SPECIAL RULES: FF:GD is a stand-alone game in the Fighting Formations game series. While utilizing the basic rules, FF:GD’s playbook includes specific terrain, fortification and unit special action rules in order to more accurately portray tactical warfare as experienced by the participants in Russia during this time period.
SCALE: The scale of the game is 75 meters per hex with turns representing about 5 minutes of real time.
UNITS: Units represent infantry squads, guns with their inherent crews, and individual vehicles. Platoons are also employed. Leaders are abstractly represented by Command markers, each one coordinating the actions of friendly units within a scenario-defined radius.
COMPONENTS: This first game has the following components:
* four back-printed 22˝ x 34˝ game mapsheets
* five sheets of die-cut counters
* 55 cards
* a 24-page Series Rulebook
* a 48-page Playbook
* one double-sided Track Display
* two double-sided 8.5” x 11” player aid cards
* ten dice (two each of 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided)
* 10 wood cubes
* one wood pawn
Designer: Chad Jensen
Game Developers: Kai Jensen and John A Foley
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Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
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Current Preorders: 660 (+12)
First announced: March 2008
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: I find the Spanish Civil War a fascinating period of pre-WWII history - any good book recommendations? I've only read Orwell's Homage to Catalonia
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-227-the-spanish-civil-war.aspx
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: In July 1936, part of the Spanish Army rose in rebellion against the government of that young republic. What was expected to be no more than a short and relatively bloodless coup d’etat, degenerated instead into a fratricidal civil war that raged for almost three years. Within weeks of the outbreak of the war both sides began to receive support from abroad, in the form of military advisors, volunteers, weapons and troops from England, the USSR, France, Germany, Italy, the USA, Czechoslovakia, among many others.
After the first few months of fighting, fought out by colonial-war-style militia columns, highly mobile but having scarce firepower, both armies evolved into large armies that fought a war characterized by late World War I tactics and early WW2 weaponry. In fact, the war of 1936-1939 became both a cockpit for the struggle of ideas of the 1930s as well as a test bed for some of the tactics and weapons that would be used in 1939-1945. Many historians consider the Spanish Civil War as the first clash of the coming world war.
The Spanish Civil War is a quick playing, moderately complex operational simulation of this war. Brigade-Divisional level, monthly turns for the first phase of the war and bimonthly turns from November 1936 until the end of the war. 480 1/2" counters and 1 big hex map. One grand campaign and multiple scenarios, including some What-if? scenarios speculating with WW2 beginning in September 1938 or a hypothetical Axis invasion of Spain and Portugal in 1941-42, complete with German Panzers, the Portuguese army, or British and Free French expeditionary forces.
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Current Preorders: 715 (+2)
First announced: -
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $45 ($65)
Comments: I got in late to the Musket & Pike genre, but I really enjoy this series. I think these scenarios will be really interesting. I'm hoping to play much more of this series in 2010.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-242-nothing-gained-but-glory.aspx
Game Information: This volume features several pivotal battles in Baltic region of the late 17th century - a period where rulers struggled to centralize power in their realms, and to introduce permanent standing armies instead of expensive mercenary forces. It shows the highly trained and well led army of Sweden struggling to defend its massive gains from the Thirty Years War and the Northern Wars of 1655-1661 against the forces of Denmark and Brandenburg, reinforced by contingents from Austria, the United Provinces, Münster, Hesse-Kassel and Poland.
The personalities in the game include the great Swedish warrior king Carl XI, Brandenburg´s Frederick William (the Great Elector), and King Christian V of Denmark-Norway. Never before have so many monarchs been in one M&P box!
Nearly all the scenarios in this module are smaller than the typical Musket & Pike scenario, and thus take less time and space to play. For the same reasons it is a great introductory game to the series.
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Current Preorders: 824 (+7)
First announced: -
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $38 ($55)
Comments: Another great looking game from Ben Hull. Looking forward to getting this one on the table.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-41-great-campaigns-of-the-thirty-years...
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: Great Campaigns of the Thirty Years War (GCo30YW) is a two-player game of operational warfare in the 17th Century. Armies maneuver on a point to point map of Southern Germany based on the road network available at the time. Each game is centered around a major battle or full campaign season. A Turn is a month divided into a variable number of impulses. Each army has a hand of Campaign Cards that control the amount of activity it may perform, the supplies it must expend, and a special action. Each impulse features one card play per army. Forces are concealed off map so players are faced with limited knowledge of the enemy. The major activities are maneuver, foraging, besieging fortifications, and an occasional battle. GCo30YW is a low-complexity game with emphasis on the players maneuvering their forces, but many decisions await. The low rules complexity allows each player, rather than being encumbered with rules, to focus on choices regarding how to manage his campaign.
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Roger's Reviews: check out my reviews page, right here on BGG!
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Current Preorders: 887 (+61)
First announced: November 2009
Current Status: Made the cut!
Preorder Price (List Price): $49 ($70)
Comments: Another month of robust growth. Although it may be hard to believe, I've actually not played C&C:Ancients, but this one will be hitting my table (hopefully a lot!) once it's released.
Game Link: http://www.gmtgames.com/p-291-commands-colors-napoleonics.as...
Complexity: Not listed
Solitaire Suitability: Not listed
Game Information: The Napoleonic historical period has always been one of our favorites and was actually the second historical game that we developed using the Commands & Colors system. The Wars of Napoleon rules at first glance may seem more complex than other Commands & Colors games, but if you are familiar with the game system, you are only a few short steps away from taking Command. Even if you have never played before, learning the fundamentals of the game system is straightforward and will be an enjoyable endeavor.
For the game group in Orlando, Wars of Napoleon is one of our favorites. There is a wealth of subtle and bold features that set it apart from other historical periods and it truly embraces the tactical doctrines of France and the various nations that fought against Napoleon.
* The Napoleonic period showcases a unique balance between the roles of Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery on the battlefield.
* In combat, a unit's battle strength is directly tied to the number of blocks present in the unit. Therefore, as a unit suffers block loses its combat effectiveness is reduced.
* An Infantry unit, by forming square, can reduce the effectiveness of the most gallant Cavalry charge.
* Artillery in combined arms combat along with an Infantry or Cavalry melee attack can produce the most devastating results.
* As with other Commands & Colors games, the battle dice resolve combat quickly and the Command cards provide a fog of war and will present players with new challenges and opportunities for victory.
* When in Command, the battlefield tactics you will need to execute conform remarkably well to the historical advantages and limitations inherent to each Napoleonic Army. For example, as the French Commander you will want to maneuver your infantry units into a position to take advantage of their melee attack dice bonus. While a British Commander will want his line infantry to take up a defensive position and stand and volley fire with a dice bonus. The other major powers also have similar seemingly simple advantages that can impact a battle and will influence your Command style for that army.
The core Wars of Napoleon game will feature French, British and Portuguese troops, while the expansions will showcase one Coalition army that opposed Napoleon.
Core Game Contents
* 1 Mounted Battlefield Gameboard
* 4 Sheets containing 56 double-sided Terrain Tiles and 2 Infantry in Square tracks
* 70 Command cards
* 8 Battle dice
* French, British and Portuguese Blocks and Label sheets
* 3 National Unit Reference Cards
* 1 Rule Book
* 1 Scenario Booklet containing 15 battle scenarios
As I said before, the Napoleonic historical period is one of my favorites and although it has taken some time to bring it to market, I truly believe, after working with the guys at GMT on Commands & Colors: Ancients, this will be a perfect fit and another outstanding game product.
Richard Borg
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Current Preorders: 903 (+10)
First announced: -
Current Status: Made the cut.
Preorder Price (List Price): $49 ($70)
Comments: Breaking the 900 barrier almost in time for publication.
Game Link: http://gmtgames.com/p-272-chariots-of-fire.aspx
Game Information: GBoH ventures back into the mists of time, into an area of military history that has seen little coverage by the hobby: The Bronze Age, or the Age of the Chariot. From approximately 1700 BCE to 1200, the abrupt end of The Bronze Age, the chariot reigning supreme on the battlefield. It was the first “modern’ weapon system, and chariots controlled most of warfare until actual cavalry appeared in the middle of The Iron Age.
But how did chariots work as a tactical weapon system? There is no complete agreement on what they did, or how they were used, but CHARIOTS OF FIRE will show you our view of the many applications – and many types of chariotry - there were, providing GBoH-ers with the complete and definitive chariot rules . . . from combat to mobility, from the first battle wagons of the Sumerians to the two-man, fast-moving light chariots of the Egyptians, often complete with specialized Runner Infantry, to the heavy 3-man Hittite wheels.
And to do that we are providing nine -yes 9! – battles. Two – Sumer (ca. 2320 BCE, featuring the legendary Sargon the Great) and Sekhmen (1875) – are pre-chariot. The remaining seven - Megiddo (ca. 1479), Senzar (1470), The Astarpa (1312), Kadesh (1300), Nihriya (1230), Babylon (1225), and Troy (1200), all feature chariot corps. And the last one, Troy, has an extra: Homer’s heros! (But no gyros.)
And of armies we have plenty, and a truly colorful bunch they are: Sumerians, Akkadians, all sorts of Egyptians, Canaanites, Hittites, Mitanni, Arzawans, Assyrians, Babylonians and the Mycaean Age Greeks.
Components:
* 2 and 1/2 game-maps, back-printed
* 3 sheets of multi-color counters
* Rulebook
* Scenario Book
* Charts and Tables
Game Design: Richard Berg and Mark Herman
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