April is one of my favorite months due to Easter and the warming of the weather. And this month we got a good amount of newly baked wargames, still warm some of them because they are so new, for you to choose from. This month for the Wargame Watch I was able to find 28 games (including the 7 games from our sponsor VUCA Simulations). Interestingly though this was a cooler month for crowdfunding as I only found 4 different campaigns, which did contain a total of 6 games as one was a triple feature, featured on Kickstarter or Gamefound.

If you missed the March Wargame Watch, you can read that here at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2026/03/02/wargame-watch-whats-new-upcoming-march-2026/

This month again we have a sponsor for the Wargame Watch in VUCA Simulations. VUCA Simulations is a newer German publisher that is really crushing it with their graphics and production. Their games are also very good and we have really enjoyed several of their titles including Donnerschlag: Escape from Stalingrad, Traces of War and most recently New Cold War.

But I also want to point your attention to their In Development Section of their website to show you all of the great projects that they are currently working on. Here there are 7 different games listed with pictures of the beautiful covers and a description of the game itself. These titles include Thirty Years of Misery designed by Brian Asklev, Pacific Fleet designed Hiroyuki Inose, The Far Seas designed by Martin Anderson, In Fours to Heaven designed by Grzegorz Kuryłowicz, Gateway to Falaise designed by Andrew Glenn, 1916 – Prelude to Blitzkrieg designed by Paul Hederer and Saint-Lô – The Capital of Ruins designed by Clemm.

VUCA is really doing a great job with their games and we recently played one of their newest games in Imperial Elegy: The Road to the Great War 1850-1920 and it was a sublime experience. We only played 1 full hand with a full table of 6 players, but very much enjoyed what it was that we were trying to do and the production is just fantastic. Can’t wait to get this one back to the table soon!

But now onto the games for April!

Pre-Order

1. Company of Heroes – Desert Warfare Expansion + Reprint from Bad Crow Games Currently on Gamefound

Glitz. Bits. Content. Miniatures. If these things appeal to you and you like a tactical wargame experience then this is your chance. The well regarded Company of Heroes System has a Gamefound campaign for a new expansion called Company of Heroes – Desert Warfare Expansion and they are also offering the base game 2nd Edition as an add-on as you need it to play.

From the game page, we read the following:

The Company of Heroes – Desert Warfare Expansion + Reprint on Gamefound brings the Deutsches Afrika Corps (DAK) to the 2nd Edition board game, featuring high-mobility, mechanized, and elite units. This expansion enhances solo/co-op play with improved AI, offering a fast-paced, tactical tabletop experience with armored, hit-and-run tactics. The Deutsches Africa Corps adds specialized, agile desert combat forces with a focus on armored vehicles, Italian alliance units, and fast, bold maneuvers. The expansion includes a sophisticated AI for solo or cooperative play, featuring an AI commander, HQ board, action deck, and target selection priority cards. The AI is described as aggressive, frequently seizing objectives. The expansion includes new maps, units, and components to expand the core game experience. The campaign also offers a reprint of the 2nd Edition core box, required to play, featuring streamlined rules and high-quality components.

I am going to be honest here. I played the 2nd Edition. We enjoyed it but it wasn’t necessarily as amazing as I thought it would be. I mean the systems are interesting but it feels more Euro game like than wargame like and it is also extremely expensive. Now it is gorgeous and the miniatures, terrain and maps are very well done but I am not sure that this game lives up to the hype. Just my humble opinion.

If you are interested in Company of Heroes – Desert Warfare Expansion + Reprint, you can back the project on the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/companyofheroes/dak

As of April 1st, the Gamefound campaign has funded and raised $948,465 toward its $100,000 funding goal with 1,928 backers. The campaign will conclude on Thursday, April 16, 2026 at 12:00am EST.

2. T-34 Leader: The World War II Ground Combat Solitaire Strategy Board Game from Dan Verssen Games Currently on Kickstarter

A good solitaire game is always very much welcome on my table. I usually start these entries about solitaire gaming by saying I am not a solitaire gamer. Well, after playing the Leader Series from DVG for the first time about 8 years ago, that statement no longer applies. I used to really only play solitaire games when I had no other choice or available opponents. But, when I put these games on the table, my whole opinion has changed. The Leader Series is a solitaire gaming system that recreates modern combat, including ground combat, air warfare and even submarine warfare and sees the player creating, managing and outfitting a group of soldiers/boats/planes over the course of a variable length campaign. Some of the games offer individual combat systems that are included in the overall game and each handles their theater with specific rules and equipment used historically. Originally, all of the games were designed by Dan Verssen but more recently other designers have been taking up the reigns of the series. Such is the case with their newest offering in the series T-34 Leader designed by Vincent Cooper.

From the game page, we read the following:

You are the commander of a Soviet army combat group in World War II. You will take command in the hardest fought campaigns from Operation Barbarossa (1941) to the Battle of Berlin (1945).

Each of your Campaigns involve both operational and tactical decisions. At the start of a Campaign, you select the Units and Commanders to make up your force. During each Week of the Campaign, you decide which Enemy Battalions to attack, which of your forces to allocate, and then resolve each Battle using the Tactical Battlefield. Your Commanders gain Experience with every Battle, but they also suffer Stress. Each Week you must decide how hard to push your men to achieve Victory. T-34 Leader is a great game for both experienced strategy gamers, as well as new players. Each Campaign takes around 30 minutes to set-up, and each Battle can be resolved in 15 to 30 minutes.

T-34 Leader has been designed from the ground up as a Solitaire wargame. It is not an adaptation of a 2-player wargame and the rules have been specifically designed for the solo player. As a Solitaire wargame, you can play whenever you have time, at your own pace. T-34 Leader is the latest Tank Leader game from DVG, following Tiger Leader and Sherman Leader.

With that look, I will let you know that I very much love Sherman Leader and the ground combat for me is where it is at and I would think that T-34 Leader will be more of the same but on the East Front. I have played Sherman Leader the most in the series, using both short and long campaigns, and really enjoy its systems, the structure of the AI and the management of your units and Commanders. Really engaging and enjoyable experience of ground combat in World War II.

Here is a link to my video review for Sherman Leader that you can view at the following link:

If you are interested in T-34 Leader: The World War II Ground Combat Solitaire Strategy Board Game, you can back the project on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danverssengames/dvg-t-34-leader

As of April 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $38,484 toward its $30,000 funding goal with 148 backers. The campaign will conclude on Tuesday, April 7, 2026 at 3:02pm EDT.

3. Chalice of Poison: The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 from GMT Games

We met Akar Bharadvaj while attending SDHistCon in 2023 and played his award winning design Tyranny of Blood: India’s Caste System Under British Colonialism, 1750-1947 and very much enjoyed the experience and talking with him about game design. Since that time, he has been working on another designer called Chalice of Poison: The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988 from GMT Games, which was recently announced on their P500. Chalice of Poison is the first volume in a new series that models complex conflicts not only as clashes between adversaries in the air, land, and sea, but also as political struggles within the regimes and military forces fighting it.

From the game page, we read the following:

In 1980, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Iran, hubristically expecting to achieve a quick victory in a few weeks. Instead, the war became a brutal slog that lasted eight years. During the war, both countries had to choose between political and military objectives, balancing between the power of their military forces and the stability of their regimes. In Chalice of Poison you will play as the heads of two very different authoritarian regimes that have structured their militaries to be excellent at forestalling internal threats…but less effective at fighting foreign adversaries. Can you reform your military so that it’s effective enough to win the war, without accidentally creating a force that threatens your power?

A unique game on the Iran-Iraq War, the longest conventional war of the 20th century, and a historically important conflict underexplored in tabletop gaming.

Designed by Zenobia Award-winning designer Akar Bharadvaj, and inspired by Dr. Caitlin Talmadge’s academic research on the fundamental weakness of so-called “strong-man” authoritarian regimes.

Simple mechanics create a tense, dynamic, and meaningful decision space with an exciting narrative, capturing the dilemmas faced by regimes faced with both internal and external threats.

A two-player game that also plays well with four players on competing teams.

Includes two solitaire modes: A simple-to-operate “Al-Jazari” bot that offers a challenging non-player opponent. A more complex “Kissinger mode”—inspired by Mark Herman’s Peloponnesian War—in which the solitaire player represents both sides in the conflict. This mode abstractly models the international community, which cynically supported both sides in the conflict, ensuring a lengthy war in which neither country could win a decisive victory.

“At its most interesting, Chalice of Poison simulates warfare as a social battle as much as one involving tanks and bullets…This might sound complicated, but Bharadvaj presents these fluctuating power levels with refreshing clarity…Even at this early stage it’s an impressive and ambitious plaything. And its critique is unexpectedly timely, highlighting how strongman governments weaken their nations in the name of strengthening their regimes.” ~ Dan “Space-Biff” Thurot

If you are interested in Chalice of Poison: The Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988, you can pre-order a copy for $69.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1225-chalice-of-poison-the-iran-iraq-war-1980-1988.aspx

4. Pericles: The Peloponnesian Wars 460-400 BC 2nd Printing from GMT Games

We are admitted Mark Herman fanboys! I am not ashamed of that statement as he is a very good designer and such an interesting person. He has designed a series of games called The Great Statesman Series and there are such fantastic mechanics at play that create a very interesting non-traditional wargame feeling such as Churchill. The 2nd game in the series is called Pericles, unlike Churchill, pits 2 sides, the Athenians and the Spartans against one another. The real game-changer is that each side is made up of two factions. As such it plays best with 4 players, each working to not only have their side win, but to have their faction within that side end with the most honor, and thus be victorious overall. The good news for most of us, is that there’s bots for solitaire, or 3 player games and there’s a fascinating 2 player variant, where each player plays a faction on each side. GMT just put a 2nd Printing up on their P500 and I am so very glad that this game will get some more attention as it is a really great game.

From the game page, we read the following:

Pericles is a ‘sandbox’ (unscripted) wargame that covers the ENTIRE period of conflict described in Thucydides classic history on the Peloponnesian wars. Pericles is a 4-player game, where two teams of Athenian and Spartan factions fight for Hegemony in 5^th Century Greece. Each team of two represents a faction vying for control of their City States, strategy, and honor. Athens sees the Aristocrats debate issues with their opposing Demagogues, while in Sparta House Agiad and House Eurypontid contend for royal dominance.

Pericles uses elements from the Golden Geek best Wargame of 2015, Churchill, to simulate war as the extension of politics by other means. In the War portion of the game, it is US versus THEM (Athens versus Sparta), where each team implements their collective strategy to dominate Theaters of War, build economic strength, and fight battles to win Honor. In the respective Political assemblies, it is ME versus YOU (faction versus faction), where the battle for government control has to be balanced by your common interests in a series of wars that must be won, or all is lost.

Pericles uses an Issue Queue preplanning mechanic that the play testers have described as ‘insanely fun’. After your Political assembly has debated and won issues, these issues (military, league, diplomatic, oracle) are secretly placed on the military map in one of the twenty Theaters of war. If you or your opponents place a second issue into a Theater, it creates a queue of issues. Once all issues are placed, they are revealed and resolved one at a time. The order of issues in the queues and the order in which they are resolved across all Theaters tells YOUR story of the Peloponnesian wars.

Strategy in Pericles unfolds in how you create combinations of issues to achieve the historical narrative. Do you want to conduct a Periclean raiding strategy? Then you would play two military issues into a Theater to first move forces into position, then raid. Do you want to build a base in the enemy homeland (historically Pylos or Decelea)? Then you would conduct a military expedition, followed by a league issue. Do you want to raise an opponent’s ally in rebellion? Then you would deploy a diplomatic mission, and sow treachery for immediate or future advantage. It is in the placement, order, and resolution of the issues that the game allows you to explore and experience the broad range of historical situations without a script. 

What would a game of Hoplites and Triremes be without a battle mechanic? Battle in Pericles is based on armies and fleets being led by the classic generals of yore, represented as Strategos tokens. During the Political assembly, each faction uses historical personalities to acquire Strategos tokens. Use the Spartan general Brasidas and gain four Strategos tokens, while Epitadas only generates one. Strategos tokens can be thought of as military capital that is spent in the war to lead and move forces. If you send forces to a Theater with enemy forces, a land or naval battle will occur. All players then secretly commit Strategos to the battle. Then, the commanding general of the military expedition and their teammate reveal their Strategos commitment and move wooden land and naval units to the battle. Now the defensive commitment of Strategos is revealed, each side then reveals a random battle card value, and the winner is decided. The winner of the battle now has the option to fight a subsequent naval or land battle. The outcome of these tactical decisions determines if any fortified bases are destroyed by assault or siege. Then the next issue is resolved. Winning battles awards and reduces honor.

Here is a link to our video review that was created when we were younger, had more hair and were not very polished in any part of what we were doing:

If you are interested in Pericles: The Peloponnesian Wars 460-400 BC 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $71.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1223-pericles-the-peloponnesian-wars-460-400-bc-2nd-printing.aspx

5. Silver Bayonet: The First Team in Vietnam, 1965 – 25th Anniversary Edition 2nd Printing from GMT Games

We have had a great experience playing Silver Bayonet a few times over the years and I am glad that it is now getting a 2nd Printing of the 25th Anniversary Edition. Silver Bayonet: The First Team in Vietnam, 1965 – 25th Anniversary Edition is a revamping of their first ever game released all the way back in 1990.

From the game page, we read the following:

Silver Bayonet recreates the pivotal November 1965 battle between a full North Vietnamese Army Division and the US 1st Air Cavalry Division in the Ia Drang Valley. NVA expertise in lure and ambush tactics resulted in significant US casualties. US mobility and the ability to bring massive amounts of firepower to bear quickly virtually destroyed the attacking NVA division and forced a change in NVA tactics.

This re-issue of GMT Games’ 1990 CSR Award winning title that started it all keeps the original operational system, but streamlines to it to include innovative combat resolution integrating maneuver combat, close assault, artillery bombardment, and support from gunships and air sorties. 

Increased accessibility to primary and secondary source material has made it possible to make changes to more accurately represent both sides’ unique capabilities without significantly altering or breaking the base game system. The major changes involve patrols, ambushes, landing zones, and the 1st Cav Brigade HQ, while minor changes tweak movement, combat, and coordination game mechanics to showcase radically different strengths and weaknesses the FWA and NVA force brought to the battles in the Ia Drang Valley.

If you are interested in Silver Bayonet: The First Team in Vietnam, 1965 – 25th Anniversary Edition 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $48.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1224-silver-bayonet-25th-anniversary-edition-2nd-printing.aspx

6. I, Napoleon 2nd Edition Update Kit from GMT Games

As you probably know, normally Ted Raicer designs hard core hex and counter wargames such as The Dark Valley: East Front Campaign, 1941-45, The Dark Sands: War in North Africa, 1940-42 and The Dark Summer: Normandy, 1944. These games are fantastic experiences that are true wargames. But, he also has an eclectic side to him and has designed one of the classic card driven games on the subject of World War I in Paths of Glory. So when I heard that he had designed an interesting looking card based historical role-playing game the first thought that came to my mind was “How is he going to accomplish this feat?” Last year, I played I, Napoleon and did enjoy what it was doing even though it felt like it fell a bit short of its ultimate claim. But there is more of the game now and they are doing this Update Kit in case those who want to the updated cards don’t wish to order the Limits of Glory Expansion.

From the game page, we read the following:

For our customers who own the 1st Printing of I, Napoleon and want to upgrade to the 2nd Printing without purchasing the Limits of Glory Expansion, we’re providing an Update Kit.

This Kit includes:

• 60 Updated Cards
• 2 Divider Cards (1 New, 1 Adjusted)
• Rulebook
• Playbook
• 8.5″x11″ Player Aid
• Sticker Sheet (4 stickers to update the Game Board)

NOTE: The Limits of Glory Expansion includes the updated Cards, Divider Cards and Sticker Sheet, as well as a Rulebook, Playbook and Player Aid that can be used with both the expansion and base game.

I wrote a fairly in-depth First Impression style post on the game and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/10/16/first-impressions-i-napoleon-from-gmt-games/

I also did a review video and you can watch that at the following link:

If you are interested in I, Napoleon 2nd Edition Update Kit, you can pre-order a copy for $21.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1226-i-napoleon-2nd-edition-update-kit.aspx

7. Paper Wars Magazine Issue #116: Roma Invicta: The Roman Republic 400-50BC from Compass Games

Wargame magazines can be a bit hit and miss with their games. But, Paper Wars seems to really pick some great topics and systems to highlight in their pack-in games and this month there is a new pre-order for a game called Roma Invicta: The Roman Republic, 400-50 BC designed by Paul Kallia who did Roma Victrix: Campaigns of the Roman World from Compass Games.

From the game page, we read the following:

Roma Invicta: The Roman Republic & the Western Mediterranean by Paul Kallio is a 2-player, scenario-based design depicting several historic conflicts that occurred in and around the Roman Republic between 400 and 50 BC. This is a systemic brother design to Paul Kallio’s Roma Victrix boxed game. Each game turn represents one year. Infantry unit types include legions, heavy infantry, auxiliaries, and barbarians, and represent about 5,000 men each.

BONUS GAME MATERIAL:  This issue will include two new scenarios for play with WWII Campaigns: 1940, 1941, and 1942. For 1941, we have Festung Stalingrad. It covers the German counteroffensive to try to save the Sixth Army trapped in Stalingrad in December 1942. For 1940, we have the Operation Matador variant scenario by David Meyler.

Article highlights include previews of Rise to Glory and Iberian Tide, a work-in-progress report on Island Infernos, a Bitter Woods AAR, an alternate start scenario for Desert Tide, and a new optional fuel dump rule for The Last Gamble.

If you are interested in Paper Wars Magazine Issue #116: Roma Invicta, you can pre-order a copy for $41.95 from the Compass Games website at the following link: https://www.compassgames.com/product/issue-116-magazine-game-roma-invicta/

8. Limits of Glory: Campaigns VI & VII – Jersey New Jersey and A Strong War: The Conflict for North America 1755-60 from Form Square Games Coming to Gamefound April 7th

A few years ago, we became acquainted with Andrew Rourke through his Coalitions design from PHALANX that went on to a successful crowdfunding campaign and has recently been delivered. He has since been a busy guy with starting his own publishing company called Form Square Games and also publishing the first 5 designs in a new series called Limits of Glory that will take a look at the campaigns of Napoleon and other contemporary conflicts. In Campaign I, which is called Bonaparte’s Eastern Empire, the game is focused on the campaign of the French in Egypt between 1798 and 1801. Campaigns II, III and IV was Maida 1806 and Santa Maura & Capri. Campaign V was Donning the Sacred Heart which covers the Vendee Civil War and just recently fulfilled as I have my copy sitting on my gaming table awaiting and unboxing video.

And now, recently, he has announced came out about the next entry in the series which is a two-fer with Campaigns VI and VII called Jersey New Jersey and is set during the American Revolutionary War but also a 2nd game called A Strong War set during the French & Indian War. I think that these games are well timed with this year being the 250th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and I look forward to playing and exploring both of these games. I have also reached out to Andrew to see about him as well as the design duo of Mark Kwasny and John Kwasny for A Strong War doing another interview to give us a look inside the design and get more information for you to digest before the campaign kicks off on April 7th. But at this point the games look great and I love the art and the covers are very eye catching for sure!

From the game page, we read the following:

For the 2 games in the Limits of Glory Series:

Two exciting games in one box, Jersey covers the little known 1781 invasion by the French of the Island of Jersey as part of the American Revolutionary War. The game examines the impact of luck on events and challenges the skill of players to use their commanders to influence these events.

New Jersey covers the famous crossing of the Delaware and the battles of Trenton and Princeton using the same Limits of Glory System to test players ability to mitigate what luck throws at them by the skillful use of commanders and troop positioning.

Limits of Glory represents military campaigns at the highest command level, players take the role of theater commander and must manage their resources of men, material and skill to emerge victorious.

And for the other game in the offering called A Strong War: The Conflict for North America 1755-60:

The title, A Strong War, refers to the type of war the Abenaki Nation threatened to unleash on the land-grabbing British in 1753. The sparks of war, ignited in 1754 near Fort Duquesne by an obscure colonel of Virginia militia, George Washington, spread quickly; soon, flames engulfed the entire globe as England and France vied for control of empire. Over the next 5 years, Regular regiments from the French and British armies, American and French-Canadian provincial units, and Native warriors all fought in a chaotic and violent series of campaigns and frontier raids that culminated in the British conquest of French Canada and the defeat of the Native Nations (most of which had sided with the French).

A Strong War brings this war to life in a simple, fast-playing game. The map (covering the region stretching from Louisbourg to Alexandria, and from New York to Lake Erie) uses point-to-point connections to highlight the key locations that were targeted during the war. Using wooden cubes to represent the different types of forces used (French and British Regulars, British Colonials, French-Canadian Marines, French Bush Rangers, and Native American warriors), each player has only a few pieces (maximum 13 for the British and 10 for the French) to use each turn (one turn = one year, so there are 6 turns/years total).

The heart of the game is the unique combat system where players can deploy forces to a chosen battle and then commit them one by one; or they can call off the battle if it goes badly and save some of those forces for use later in the year. The types of forces committed also play a critical role in combat – the British want to mass their Regulars but the French want to bring in a mixed force to take advantage of the different skill sets each provides. Thus, tension is created in trying to decide if/when (or where) it is best to commit one’s forces: do you avoid combat completely; do you call off a combat that is going badly; or, do you go all in and commit your entire force? But if you lose a battle, initiative then swings to your opponent who may then launch an offensive.
Each player has several paths to victory, leading to a “different” game each time, and forcing players to choose between different strategies each turn. Finally, it is a quick game, taking just a couple of minutes to set up, and usually taking less than an hour to play to completion. The game also plays well solitaire, though there is no dedicated solitaire system.

If you are interested in Jersey New Jersey and A Strong War, you can learn more about the project on the Gamefound preview page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/form-square-games/jersey-new-jersey–a-strong-war

9. Campaign: Operation Bagration from Catastrophe Games Currently on Kickstarter

A few years ago, I played and very much enjoyed a cool little solitaire WWII card-driven game called Campaign: Fall Blau from Catastrophe Games and designer Martin Melbardis where the player attempted to breach the Soviet defenses on the East Front in the pivotal German summer campaign of 1942. The game system is very playable and simple, but has some strategic depth to it as the player has to make a lot of choices about what to go after, how to manage their scarce resources (fuel) and what generals to use to take advantage of their special abilities to amass enough VP to claim victory over the Soviet Union. They now have the counter punch of that game in a new entry in the series called Campaign: Operation Bagration and it is currently being offered on Kickstarter.

From the game page, we read the following:

Campaign: Operation Bagration is the follow-up to Campaign: Fall Blau, the acclaimed solo experience of trying to seize Stalingrad and the prized oil fields beyond. In this game the shoe is on the other foot, as you will be pushing the Red Army to retake the center of the occupied Soviet Union, setting up the capture of Berlin. Stalin is expecting fast results though, so once again you will be racing against the clock trying to achieve enough objectives before your supplies (and Stalin’s patience) runs out.

Campaign: Operation Bagration is a solitaire wargame that takes place during WWII and puts the player in charge of the Soviet summer offensive of 1944 against Army Group Center, code named operation Bagration. Pick your three generals and use your resources wisely in order to obtain your campaign’s objectives.

One month turns. Decide which card (objective) to go after, each with a unique set of Soviet defenses. Manage supplies required for each offensive, or choose to take an operational pause. Receive random event cards that are mostly beneficial but a few are Soviet counterattacks that can throw a serious monkey-wrench into your plans. Play continues until fall begins, and you must report to Stalin with your success or failure.

In order to meet Stalin’s expectations you need to be relentless, while carefully marshalling your troops and material. Drive too hard, and the Germans will crush one of your wings, and your push will stall out. But if you move too slow you know you will be summoned to a special meeting with Stalin, and that is a grim fate.

If you would like to learn more about how the game plays you can read through the rules document found on Board Game Geek at the following link: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/317786/draft-rules-as-of-feb-26

Also, by way of comparison, you can check out our preview video for the first game in the series called Campaign: Fall Blau:

We also published an interview with the designer Martin Melbardis and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2022/10/24/interview-with-martin-melbardis-designer-of-campaign-fall-blau-from-catastrophe-games-on-kickstarter-october-25th/

If you are interested in Campaign: Operation Bagration, you can back the project on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/campaign-fall-blau/campaign-bagration

As of April 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $1,138 toward its $500 funding goal with 14 backers. The campaign will conclude on Monday, April 20, 2026 at 8:51pm EDT.

New Release

1. VaeVictis Magazine Issue #185 Game Edition: Storm on the Ménez Hom 1944 from VaeVictis

VaeVictis is a very fine wargame magazine and they always have very interesting looking pack-in games on various subjects. This month, they have featured a scenario involving the 1944 attack on the Ménez-Hom peak on the Crozon peninsula in a game called Storm on the Ménez Hom 1944. But there is more as the magazine features articles on various wargames including Hubris from GMT Games, La Der des Ders from Hexasim, Thunder on the Mississippi from Multi-Man Publishing, Italia 1917-1918 from Nuts! Publishing, New Cold War from VUCA Simulations, Werwolf from Legion Wargames and many more.

From the game page, we read the following:

During the siege of Brest, the coastal batteries on the Crozon peninsula, on the southern shore of the harbor, were hindering the advance of the US Army. It was therefore crucial to silence them. To achieve this, the barrier closing off the peninsula had to be breached: the Ménez-Hom peak, rising to 330 meters. This mission was entrusted to the FFI-FTP battalions of central Finistère. It took three weeks, from August 12th to September 1st, 1944, and the reinforcement of a US cavalry brigade to finally defeat the German, Russian, and Caucasian defenders.

If you are interested in VaeVictis Magazine Issue #185 Game Edition: Storm on the Ménez Hom 1944, you can order a copy for €16.50 ($19.12 in US Dollars) from the VaeVictic website at the following link: https://www.vaevictismag.fr/en/special-game-issue/287-vaevictis-185-game-issue.html

2. The Coming Storm II: Quadrigames of the Fourth Coalition: October 1806-June 1807 from Operational Studies Group

Large Napoleonic wargames are always interesting. Operational Studies Group does some big games on the subject and their newest offering is called The Coming Storm II: Quadrigames of the Fourth Coalition: October 1806-June 1807 and deals with four different battles including Jena-Auerstadt, Pultusk/Golymin, Eylau and Friedland.

From the game page, we read the following:

These four games explore the major battles of 1806–07, where the French Army encountered two different opponents with different capabilities, from the leadership-challenged Prussians in Saxony to the chaotic battle conditions in winter against the Russians. Based on OSG’s Special Studies, which provide a turn-by-turn narrative of the four battles. Each game shows the approach to the battlefield on the day before battle. The Jena-Auerstadt game has both battlefields on one map and allows both sides to redeploy before battle.

We are offering a new edition, with new maps—not too much different in detail—but rendered in Charles Kibler’s naturalistic style. TCS2 will be updated to use the Universal Deck and latest series rules (deck not included). With few exceptions, the counters will be identical to the first edition.

This is a very popular series of games amongst Grognards and I have heard many people recommend these titles to both of us. We have yet to take the plunge and get one but one day we will…one day!

If you are interested in The Coming Storm II: Quadrigames of the Fourth Coalition: October 1806-June 1807, you can order a copy for $140.00 from the Operational Studies Group website at the following link: https://napoleongames.com/products/the-coming-storm-ii

3. The Maid Ascendant: The Siege of Orleans, October 1428-May 1429 from High Flying Dice Games

Paul Rohrbaugh and his company High Flying Dice Games is a designer I love to follow. He is always doing games on smaller or lesser known conflicts and I just find his work to be superb and really draws me in. Recently I saw where he was releasing a game on the Siege of Orleans and I do like siege games! The game is called The Maid Ascendant and really looks pretty interesting and is definitely a unique subject for a game.

From the game page, we read the following:

The Maid Ascendant is an introductory level wargame on the siege of Orleans. The siege marked the debut of Joan of Arc as a military commander, and a campaign that would see the English eventually evicted from France and the end of the Hundred Years War.

“Begone, or I will make you go!” – Jeanne d’Arc’s command to English and Burgundian troops besieging Orleans.

If you are interested in The Maid Ascendant: The Siege of Orleans, October 1428-May 1429, you can order a copy for $16.95 from the High Flying Dice Games website at the following link: https://www.hfdgames.com/maid.html

4. Mr. Lincoln’s War from Compass Games

You can’t have enough good American Civil War games and Compass Games has been working to bring out a new edition of a classic called Mr. Lincoln’s War designed by Mark McLaughlin.

From the game page, we read the following:

Mr. Lincoln’s War is a historical game which captures the epic struggle of the American Civil War. From their first major battle at Bull Run in 1861, through the campaigns of Vicksburg, Gettysburg and Atlanta and until the final days at Appomattox in 1865, the armies of the Union and the Confederacy raged across America wreaking havoc and bloodshed on a scale never before or since witnessed in the New World.

This box set is organized into two sub-games, “Army of the Tennessee,” which deals with the war in the western theater, and “Army of the Potomac,” which deals with the war in Virginia. Each has four short scenarios that recreate the maneuvers and battles of Shiloh, Gettysburg, Atlanta, and other monumental Civil War contests. Campaign games enabling the players to fight the war in the West or East are provided with each sub-game. They may be combined to play the Mr. Lincoln’s War grand campaign that simulates the entire Civil War, on both fronts.

If you are interested in Mr. Lincoln’s War, you can order a copy for $99.00 from the Compass Games website at the following link: https://www.compassgames.com/product/mr-lincolns-war/

5. Volume II Civil War Heritage Series Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 and 1864 from GMT Games

Several years ago, Mark Herman designed a very unique and simple American Civil War game called Gettysburg that appeared in C3i Magazine #32. That game became the basis for his Civil War Heritage Series with the first volume being Rebel Fury that focused on five battles from the Chancellorsville and Chickamauga Campaigns. He has long mentioned working on the follow-up to that game and we finally are getting it with Army of the Potomac.

From the game page, we read the following:

Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 and 1864 is the second volume in the Civil War Heritage Series and the follow-up game to the innovative and acclaimed Rebel Fury. Army of the Potomac uses the same core rules as Rebel Fury, so players familiar with Rebel Fury will be able to jump right into the action. Each battle in Army of the Potomac is quick-set-up, quick-playing, and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low, allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle.

Army of the Potomac covers the battles of Spotsylvania II, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and the entire Seven Days battle (McClellan vs. Lee), including the prelude Seven Pines (McClellan vs. Johnson) when Johnson’s wounding brought Lee into the command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Each battle places you, the player, in the role of the Army Commander (Grant, McClellan, Lee, Johnson). You maneuver your army to find the enemy’s flanks, concentrate your forces for an attack, and determine where to commit your artillery assets.

I think that one of the most interesting parts is that this new game can be played with Rebel Fury as also included are two bonus scenarios to allow owners of Rebel Fury to fight Spotsylvania II and begin the Campaign scenario from Wilderness to Cold Harbor using their original Rebel Fury map.

Last summer, while attending WBC in late July, we sat down with Mark Herman and did an interview/overview of Army of the Potomac and you can watch that video at the following link:

If you are interested in Volume II Civil War Heritage Series Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 and 1864, you an order a copy for $77.00 from the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1108-army-of-the-potomac.aspx

6. Baltic Empires: The Northern Wars of 1558-1721 from GMT Games

This one is very much anticipated by me and I feel like I have been waiting in it forever since its announcement in 2022. Baltic Empires is a grand looking game that focuses on the conflicts between the states of the Baltic region during the early modern era. The wait is now over as they game is set to ship on April 17th.

From the game page, we read the following:

Baltic Empires is an approachable 2-5 player strategy game about conflicts between the states of the Baltic region during the early modern era, a transformative period of religious conflict, large scale warfare, and constant struggles for power. Players will have to develop their economy, strengthen their administration, secure trade hubs, and finally build armies to become the dominant power of the Baltics. Denmark-Norway, Sweden, Russia, Poland-Lithuania, and Prussia will fight for hegemony, using variable victory conditions that reflect their respective historical objectives.

During the 16th & 17th centuries, religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics swept Europe, vast colonies were established by the maritime powers, and a series of wars were fought against Louis XIV’s Kingdom of France to maintain the balance of power, eventually culminating in the War of Spanish Succession. While this history might be familiar to many, the related conflicts around the Baltic Sea that took place during these centuries are less well-known.

Where did the French, English, and Dutch acquire the materials they needed to build and maintain their vast navies that won them their colonial empires? Where did they acquire the food they needed to feed their sailors and growing populations? Where did the Swedish juggernaut that suddenly emerged and changed the course of the Thirty Years War come from, and why didn’t its great power status last? How did the Russian and Prussian Empires that became so powerful in later periods first emerge on the European stage? The Baltic region was crucial to the history of Europe, and the conflict for influence over the Baltic Sea was closely intertwined with the balance of power in Western Europe. The outcome of the wars and societal transformation in the Baltic region, from the collapse of the Teutonic Order in Livonia in 1558 to the end of the Great Northern War in 1721, shaped European and world history up until the present day.

Baltic Empires presents these less well-known conflicts in a fun and accessible format, while also doing justice to the fascinating history of the Baltic Sea region during this period. The game features 5 asymmetric factions with different strengths, forces, and historical objectives, along with the capacity to develop their states by investing in economic infrastructure and recruiting key historical characters that offer unique game effects. The game also includes several scenarios for variable player counts and durations, offering additional flexibility and replayability.

We published an interview on the blog with the designer Brian Asklev and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2022/03/28/interview-with-brian-asklev-designer-of-baltic-empires-the-northern-wars-of-1558-1721-from-gmt-games/

We also did a series of History Behind the Cards with Brian and you can read those posts at the following links:

#41 Tsar Boris Godunov and #33 Corfitz Ulfeldt

#29 Joachim Frederik Blumenthal and #6 Bohdan Khmelnytsky

#27 King Sigismund III Vasa and #9 Maurice of Nassau

#28 Thomas Roe and #37 Markus Fugger

#10 Janusz & Boguslav Radziwill and #12 Louis de Geer

#17 Georg von Derfflinger and #8 The False Dmitrys

#2 Tsar Peter the Great and #48 Tycho Brahe

If you are interested in Baltic Empires: The Northern Wars of 1558-1721, you can order a copy for $104.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-954-baltic-empires-the-northern-wars-of-1558-1721.aspx

7. Three Days of Gettysburg Deluxe Edition from GMT Games

A very popular series featuring one of the most gamed battles of the American Civil War! Quite the combination. And to add to that, a Deluxe Edition treatment with new counters, some new rules, new and updated maps and lots of scenarios. This is a great value for any gamer who wants to game one of the most iconic battles of the American Civil War.

From the game page, we read the following:

GMT Games and the GBACW design team are proud to announce Three Days of Gettysburg Deluxe Edition, the ultimate edition of the definitive game on the Battle of Gettysburg. First published in 1995, 3DoG has stood the test of time as one of the most popular games of the Great Battles of the American Civil War Series.

This series is one of the hobby’s longest-lived design concepts, springing from the legendary regimental level Gettysburg game—Terrible Swift Sword (SPI)—designed by Richard Berg in 1976. Under GMT, the rules system has remained stable but has shown remarkable flexibility to allow each game to smoothly incorporate additional rules to reflect the historical battles. The series relies on interactive chit-pull mechanics to simulate the often-chaotic nature of the 19th Century battlefield at the regimental level.

Three Days of Gettysburg Deluxe Edition will include ten plus scenarios. They range from small Skirmisher contests on half sized maps to the ultimate Gettysburg experience on four full full-sized maps depicting the entire battle, including the East Cavalry Battlefield! Other scenarios will depict both the first and second day of the struggle. Experienced players will be able to play many of the scenarios in one sitting. The 3DoG Deluxe Edition will include many exclusive rules to represent the special situations at Gettysburg, including new Skirmisher rules. However, many of the rules are optional, allowing players to decide for themselves what level of complexity they want.

New components and exclusive rules include new cavalry counters, CSA dismounted cavalry counters, corrected artillery types, two types of skirmisher units, artillery sections for some scenarios (Calef’s battery on the first day!), and artillery overshoot. The new maps continue to use Mark Simonitch’s beautiful artwork but include stonewalls, the Devil’s Den, and sloping hexes to better represent the unique terrain at Gettysburg. The large rock formations are represented differently from earlier editions, and artillery will find moving up the slopes of Little Round Top as difficult in the game as it was in the battle.

And just take a look at this big beautiful map of the game….by the talented Mark Simonitch!

If you are interested in Three Days of Gettysburg Deluxe Edition, you an order a copy for $108.00 from the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1057-three-days-of-gettysburg-deluxe-edition.aspx

8. Dreams of Empire Expansion Kit – Seeds of Empire: The Wars of South & Central India, 1730’s-1750’s from Red Sash Games

Red Sash Games have a reputation for very large, very long playing games that are focused on interesting historical events. This month, they announced their newest offering with their printing partner Blue Panther and it is an expansion to their Seeds of Empire game focused on the wars in South & Central India during the 1730’s through the 1750’s. The game is called Dreams of Empire Expansion Kit – Seeds of Empire: The Wars of South & Central India, 1730’s-1750’s and really looks to be pretty interesting.

From the game page, we read the following:

Seeds of Empire is the second in a series of operational war games covering conflict in India during the 18th Century, using Red Sash Games’ LaceWars rules. SOE extends the environment of Dreams of Empire to include the whole of Central India (the Deccan) and extends the timeline into the 1750s to cover the Second Carnatic War.

The expansion includes several new Powers, divides the Marathas into Clans, and adds Factions for the two — not one, but two — major succession crises simultaneously taking place in the Deccan and Carnatic. This is the period when John Company, the British East India Company, finally got involved in the geopolitics of the Subcontinent. It was the highwater mark of the French presence, and a watershed for the Maratha Confederacy, while for the Mughal Empire it was a period of steep decline.

Seeds of Empire offers eight unique scenarios:

1. The Second Carnatic War: this scenario uses only the original map set (most of the action took place in a very confined area). Featuring the return of Chanda Sahib and Governor Dupleix, with Bussy-Castelneau, Clive of India, Stringer Lawrence (Father of the Indian Army), and above all, Mohammad Ali Khan.
2. “Early Start”: An ‘early start’ variant of the same scenario in which Chanda Sahib has the opportunity to slay Anwar ud-Din (or vice versa). Historically the death of Anwar kicked off the Second Carnatic War.
3. “Capture of Devikotta”: An even earlier start that allows the players to simulate the EIC‘s capture of Devikotta from Tanjore under the guise of restoring the Raja.
4. “French in the Deccan”: A ‘French in the Deccan’ scenario using only the new maps, focusing on the war for control of the Viceroyalty of the Deccan and the activities of the various Maratha clans.
5. “Deccan + Dreams of Empire”: A 1740s Deccan sandbox scenario matching the timeline of the original DOE Campaign Game, showing what the Marathas were getting up to.
6. “Full Territory”: A Campaign Game for the Second Carnatic War that combines the maps.
7. “Both Carnatic Wars”: A Campaign Game for the 1740s combining the original DOE Campaign with the 1740s Deccan scenario. This scenario can be extended to create a Grand Campaign covering the period of both Carnatic Wars.
8. “Malabar War”: A small scenario set in Malabar, showcasing the continued expansion of Travancore against Cochin and its allies.

Like Dreams of Empire, Seeds of Empire assigns the various Powers to the players as and when they Activate. However, the Second Carnatic War also creates semi- permanent Alliances, with the French on one side and the British on the other, though only acting as ‘auxiliaries’ to the great Indian lords.

To help the players cope with the material, the original rules, scenarios, charts, and (some) displays have been duplicated, with the new material from Seeds of Empire inserted into the relevant places. The expansion also includes errata and small fixes to the game system.

This is not a complete game and will requires ownership of Dreams of Empire to play.

If you are interested in Dreams of Empire Expansion Kit – Seeds of Empire: The Wars of South & Central India, 1730’s-1750’s, you can order a copy for $240.00 from the Blue Panther website at the following link: https://www.bluepantherllc.com/products/seeds-of-empire

9. Ace of Aces: Powerhouse Series Deluxe Edition from Mr. B Games

A classic reborn is how I would classify the next offering on this list. With very unique mechanics trying to provide the experience of dueling it out with an enemy biplane over the fields of World War I, Ace of Aces is now making a comeback with the Powerhouse Series rebirth all the way from 1981.

From the game page, we read the following:

Ace of Aces: Powerhouse is an exciting game of World War 1 aerial dogfighting. Each player is the pilot of a fighter plane in the skies over France trying to shoot down their opponent. The players each have a book that shows the position of their opponent, and what maneuvers they can perform to line up their machine guns on their target. Through an innovative matrix system, the players can fly through the sky and attempt to drive away their enemy. Each game takes 15-20 minutes to complete!

The mechanic used in this series is a very cool little flip book called a Dogfighting Book that has various pictures representing the maneuvers of your plan and the enemies. These flip books are nicely crafted and there is one for both the German Fokker DVII and the British SPAD XIII.

If you are interested in Ace of Aces: Powerhouse Series Deluxe Edition, you can order (but it does still say pre-order) a copy for $99.99 from the Mr. B Games website at the following link: https://www.mrbgames.com/products/pre-order-ace-of-aces-powerhouse-series

10. Commander: Romans v Dacians – A Solitaire Wargame from Mike Lambo

Over the past several years, print and play solitaire wargames have gained a lot of traction in our hobby. A solitaire wargame that is very affordable at $10-$15 and can be purchased and downloaded online. What is not to like? And the name of Mike Lambo has been tied to a lot these games as he has designed 20+ of these titles and has built quite the rabid and loyal fanbase. His newest game is called Commander: Romans v Dacians – A Solitaire Wargame and can be downloaded from Wargame Vault.

From the game page, we read the following:

In the rugged hills and forests of ancient Dacia (today located in the European country of Romania) Rome fights a war unlike any it has faced before. The legions advance into a land of ridges, valleys and fierce tribal resistance, where every skirmish can turn the tide of battle. You command a small Roman force consisting of legionaries, praetorian guard, cavalry, archers, and spearmen, tasked with holding the line, breaking the enemy, or seizing vital ground before the Dacian horde overwhelms you. Opposing you are the warriors of King Decebalus – swift, unpredictable, ferocious and deadly. Cavalry smash into formations with startling power, warriors surge forward in wild charges, swordsmen hold the line with grim resolve, and archers and falxmen harass and surprise from the rear. Each battle unfolds differently as both armies are drawn at random, events disrupt your plans, and reinforcements arrive to mix things up.

This is a tense solo wargame of tactical decision making and battlefield chaos. Every turn demands adaptation and every clash counts. No two battles will ever play the same, and victory is never guaranteed until it is achieved.

In the game, the Player will be commanding the units of the Roman Empire as they battle a seemingly endless stream of fierce Dacian fighters.

This game is a solitaire wargame. You play the game, and the enemy is controlled by the game (or ‘AI’). You will need three standard six-sided dice to play. It is recommended that the counters provided on the final page of the game are used to play this game (especially for the units). Simply stick them to card and cut them out. A video demonstrating how generally to do this can be found on the Mike Lambo Games YouTube channel.

If you are interested in Commander: Romans v Dacians – A Solitaire Wargame, you can order a print and play copy for $11.99 from Wargame Vault at the following link: https://www.wargamevault.com/en/product/562242/commander-romans-v-dacians-a-solitaire-wargame

As usual, thanks so much for reading along and sticking with me this month as I navigated through the many websites and game pages looking for new and interesting games to share.

Finally, thanks once again to this month’s sponsor VUCA Simulations!

-Grant

A few years ago, after playing all of the games in the Great Statesmen Series, we heard of a new game in the series from a designer not named Mark Herman and I was immediately interested and intrigued as we have had so much fun with Churchill, Pericles and Versailles 1919. Congress of Vienna from GMT Games is a diplomatic card driven wargame based on Churchill and is the 4th game in the Great Statesmen Series. The game is set during the years of 1813-1814 and sees players take on the role of the main characters of the struggle between the Napoleonic Empire and the coalition of Russia, Austria, and Great Britain with their Prussian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish allies. We played the game recently while attending Buckeye Game Fest and then played a full campaign again while attending the World Boardgaming Championships and absolutely were amazed at the changes and innovations to the system introduced by the designer Frank Esparrago.

I posted a fairly in-depth overview of the game in my First Impression post and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/08/06/first-impressions-congress-of-vienna-from-gmt-games/

-Grant

Anticipation! Something that we feel for things that we are interested in, whether it be family trips, sporting events, time off, holidays or hobbies. Anticipation keeps our minds focused on something that we feel and hope will be a good thing that brings us great joy. I feel anticipation each year for the new wargames that we are going to get to play many of which we will have been waiting upon….sometimes for years. Each year since year 3 of the blog (having been started in 2016), I have posted this list highlighting my most anticipated wargames for the upcoming year. The list has grown each year with the first entry consisting of 11 games in 2018, then growing to 12 games in 2019 and 2020, ballooning to 18 games in 2021 and then settling on just 10 games in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and then 11 games in 2025. This year, I will focus on 15 games because I cannot help myself! In case you missed my post from last year, you can read that here: Most Anticipated Wargames of 2025!

Once again the same as I did last year, I wanted to put this caveat out there. The games chosen for this list might not fit your definition of a wargame. I feel that historical and wargames are somewhat interchangeable terms because of the quote from Clausewitz “war is a mere continuation of politics by other means”. Wargames to me are a broad category not simply relegated to hexes, counters and a CRT. Don’t get me wrong. I really like hexes, counters and a CRT. But wargames can include none of these three things and be considered wargames to me. But that is probably a debate for another time. Once this post is shared, I expect many comments and questioning statements from you our audience and I have come to actually “anticipate” reading these. So sit back, relax and get ready to have your paradigm about what a wargame is shifted!

Battle Commander: Volume I – Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns from Sound of Drums

I have been following this project for the past couple of years after it had a very successful Gamefound campaign in November 2024. I just really like the way the game looks to be laid out and executed and frankly anything designed by Carl Paradis has been good such as the No Retreat Series. Another tactical Napoleonics game sounds like something that I am very much in need of and am hotly anticipating this title. Battle Commander: Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns is at the Brigade/Division scale, is supposedly very playable, with no downtime or complex computations or mechanics. Because it is being published by Sound of Drums, the package will be super-deluxe, using a very large box, allowing the 2-sided mounted maps to be folded only once, game pieces will be painted-on wood blocks of different shapes, so no annoying stickers to apply, you’ll have a couple dozen blocks per side in a game, often less. Also, no dice, almost no markers, and the emphasis is on the gameplay!

The crux of the game engine will be the deck of event cards, that will also take care of all the combat results and other dice functions and the cube-pull mechanism, that will manage player unit activations, but also turn end, when combat and rally happens, and other similar game happenstances. It’s all a very granular affair. The whole package has a definite “Kriegspiel” look, with all the graphics done in a contemporary Napoleonic style, with a very different way of maneuvering units on the field of battle compared to other Napoleonic games.

From the game page, we read the following:

Battle Commander intends to recreate historical 18th-19th century battles. It features a fresh framework focused on providing two key aspects: command decision and maximum playability.

In Volume I, you act as Army Commander in a series of six dramatic Battles fought during Napoleon’s two Italian campaigns. Volume II will cover engagements of the Second and Third Coalitions, including Austerlitz and the Battle of the Pyramids.

In Battle Commander, you struggle against the chaos of battle, making meaningful high-level decisions, not micro-managing your troops: that’s your colonels’ job! Good card play is paramount for Battle success, but make no mistake: this is not a card-driven, but a card enhanced game.

Cube-pull activation is used to manage game phases (movement, combat, rally, card draws etc.), and cards for the interactive combat system and events, allowing for a myriad of possibilities and solitaire-friendly gaming. No dice, no complex odds counting, no markers, no play downtimes, no sure thing!

A persona card represents each Commander, his specific abilities and your Army’s resources; the all-important Subordinate Leaders are integrated in an innovative multi-role card system.

Morale and troop skill are a core mechanic: demoralizing the enemy goes a long way towards winning the fight, with Armies slowly degrading in performance, until the breaking point! Casualties are managed effortlessly, and a correct “Battlefield Look” maintained at all times. With a game piece count similar to Chess, you’ll be able to assess your going in one quick “coup d’oeuil”.

This one looks to be interesting! And Carl Paradis is a very good designer as we have played lots of his No Retreat! Series games and enjoyed them.

We posted an interview on the blog with the designer Carl Paradis and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/07/17/interview-with-carl-paradis-designer-of-battle-commander-volume-i-napoleons-italian-campaigns-from-sound-of-drums-coming-to-gamefound-july-20th/

If you are interested in Battle Commander Volume I: Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns, you can late back the game on the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/sound-of-drums-gmbh/battle-commander-volume-i

I am 100% confident that Battle Commander Volume I: Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns will be out this year and I am very much looking forward to playing it.

Valiant Defense Series Volume V: Guadalcanal: The Battle for Henderson Field, Oct 23-26, 1942 from Dan Verssen Games

The Valiant Defense Series originally designed by David Thompson has been one of my favorite solitaire wargame series of the past 8 years. Each of the volumes in the game addresses very specific situations and always have a very interesting take with fun mechanics, great art and fantastic production. The torch for the series though appears to be passing to a new designer in Vincent Cooper. He has been working on Guadalcanal: The Battle for Henderson Field, Oct 23-26 1942 for the past few years and it had a successful Kickstarter campaign in July 2024.

From the game page, we read the following:

Valiant Defense Series Volume V: Guadalcanal: The Battle for Henderson Field (Oct 23-26, 1942) from Dan Verssen Games is a solitaire wargame where players command US forces defending a fixed perimeter against waves of Imperial Japanese Army troops. It focuses on the pivotal four-day battle, utilizing card-driven AI to simulate intense, often nocturnal, combat, similar to Pavlov’s House. 

Players will command the 1st Marine Division and the 164th Infantry Regiment, defending the Lunga perimeter against the Japanese 17th Army’s major October offensive. Similar to Pavlov’s House, you manage multiple layers of defense, including the Cactus Air Force (Wildcats and SBD’s), supply lines from Task Force 62, and the 11th Marine Artillery Regiment. The game emphasizes the “Night” setting of Guadalcanal’s jungle warfare, utilizing unique card illustrations to show Japanese columns advancing through the dense foliage toward your perimeter.

This all started about 3 1/2 years ago when I first played Pavlov’s House. I say played. I ‘played’ the game for about 10 minutes…and then I sat there in stunned disbelief at how a game could be sooooo good!!!! By the time I finished there were two very clear ideas for games fully formed. I contacted DVG to see if there was any interest and they put me in touch with David Thompson. I didn’t hold much hope. There was no reason for him to trust his IP to me, a person he didn’t know.

But I gave it a try and David, it turns out, is one of the nicest people you can ever come into contact with. After some back and forth, the idea for Guadalcanal – The Battle for Henderson Field was born (not, in fact, one of the original ideas, but we’ll see what the future holds for them…).

Art by the supremely talented Nils Johansson   

Thank you to all the play testers, and in particular Glenn Saunders, Shane Freshwater and Martin Fenwick Charlesworth   Much more to come from out design team in the near future!!!

We posted an interview on the blog with the designer Vincent Cooper and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/07/29/interview-with-vince-cooper-designer-of-valiant-defense-series-volume-v-guadalcanal-the-battle-for-henderson-field-oct-23-26-1942-from-dan-verssen-games-coming-to-kickstarter-july-30th/

If you are interested in Valiant Defense Series Volume V: Guadalcanal: The Battle for Henderson Field, Oct 23-26, 1942, you can pre-order the game for $60.00 on Backerkit at the following link: https://dvg-valiant-defense-guadalcanal.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders?ref=bk_preorder_collection

The most recent update on this one’s progress says that the game was sent to the printer in December 2025 and that this process could take “months”. With that being said, my guess is that this will shipping in the spring, probably around April.

Volume II Civil War Heritage Series – Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 & 1864 from GMT Games

Several years ago, Mark Herman designed a very unique and simple American Civil War game called Gettysburg that appeared in C3i Magazine #32. That game became the basis for his new Civil War Heritage Series with the first volume being Rebel Fury that focused on five battles from the Chancellorsville and Chickamauga Campaigns. He has been working on the follow-up to that game and we finally will get it with Army of the Potomac.

From the game page, we read the following:

Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 & 1864 is the second volume in the Civil War Heritage Series and the follow-up game to the innovative and acclaimed Rebel Fury. Army of the Potomac uses the same core rules as Rebel Fury, so players familiar with Rebel Fury will be able to jump right into the action. Each battle in Army of the Potomac is quick-set-up, quick-playing, and deeply interactive. The density of counters in each scenario is low, allowing you to see and experience the big picture of the battle.

Army of the Potomac covers the battles of Spotsylvania II, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, and the entire Seven Days battle (McClellan vs. Lee), including the prelude Seven Pines (McClellan vs. Johnson) when Johnson’s wounding brought Lee into the command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Each battle places you, the player, in the role of the Army Commander (Grant, McClellan, Lee, Johnson). You maneuver your army to find the enemy’s flanks, concentrate your forces for an attack, and determine where to commit your artillery assets.

I think that one of the most interesting parts is that this new game can be played with Rebel Fury as also included are two bonus scenarios to allow owners of Rebel Fury to fight Spotsylvania II and begin the Campaign scenario from Wilderness to Cold Harbor using their original Rebel Fury map.

While attending the WBC last summer, me sat down with Mark Herman and he gave us an overview and insight into the game and its focus. You can watch that interview at the following link:

If you are interested in Volume II Civil War Heritage Series Army of the Potomac: Campaigns of 1862 & 1864, you can pre-order a copy for $49.00 from the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1108-army-of-the-potomac.aspx

The most recent update from GMT Games from late January was that Army of the Potomac is currently at the printer but doesn’t have an expected shipping date as of yet. My guess is this one will be on our tables sometime in early summer.

First Man in Rome – Strategikon Book II: The Civil War and the Fall of the Republic from Thin Red Line Games

If you are a monster wargame fan then you are probably familiar with Thin Red Line Games and the genius behind the madness Fabrizio Vianello. They are a small but passionate publisher and my favorite thing about them is that Fabrizio speaks in his military jargon so fluently that it is such a thematic boost to the games they produce. Over the past couple of years, we have posted interviews with Fabrizio covering their Cold War Gone Hot games called Die Festung Hamburg and In a Dark Wood as well as the first game in a new Ancients series called The Fate of All: Alexander’s Campaign Against the Persian Empire. Following along in that Strategikon Series is the new volume called First Man in Rome that was announced during the fall of last year.

From the game page, we read the following:

Citizens, the creation of the great mosaic depicting the beleagured civil war between Caius Iulius Caesar and Cneo Pompeius Magnus continues! 

As already discussed in the Senate, we intend to represent the entire civil war, from the crossing of the Rubicon in 49BC to the defeat of the last Pompeian forces in Spain in 45BC. So it’s not just a glimpse of this epic confrontation, but the whole struggle for the greater good of the Res Publica.

I can now share some details on the map, almost at its conclusion. The map will be probably divided in six parts, each one with the size of a “standard” map. Due to the enormous extension of the conflict, the scale has been increased from 30km to 60km per hex, and the rules will be adjusted accordingly.

I know that this is not much detail but I assure you that Fabrizio is making great progress with the game design. I am adding this game to the list because I am hoping it will be published in 2026 but I have no intel or insider information that leads me to believe it will be. We published an interview with the designer on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/11/17/interview-with-fabrizio-vianello-designer-of-first-man-in-rome-strategikon-book-ii-the-civil-war-and-the-fall-of-the-republic-from-thin-red-line-games/

If you are interested in First Man in Rome – Strategikon Book II: The Civil War and the Fall of the Republic, you are encouraged by the designer to reserve a copy immediately by writing a votive tablet (email) to info@TRLGames.com! Don’t miss your chance to join the Legions and defend the Res Publica!

Rising Dragon: Platoon Level Combat in 2034 from Flying Pig Games

Several years ago, we played a very fresh and innovative wargame called Armageddon War, which is a platoon level scenario based game set in the near future. The game focuses on the Mid-East, pitting Israelis, Russians, and Americans against age-old adversaries. The game felt very fresh and new as it adds a few new tricks to a tried and true hex and counter tactical wargame system. And Flying Pig Games pulled out all of the stops on production with huge hexes, beautifully large counters and custom dice. Now, finally, Flying Pig Games and Greg Porter are unveiling the next volume in this series called Rising Dragon: Platoon Level Combat in 2034 and it looks awesome!

From the game page, we read the following:

October 1, 2034 marks the beginning of the conflict that unfolds in Rising Dragon, a standalone game and campaign setting for the Armageddon War System. With the United States turning inward in the wake of the catastrophic ‘Armageddon War’, China seizes the moment to assert its territorial claims, letting the world know that it is now the unchallenged power in the region. This sets the stage for a military showdown that spans East Asia, with Taiwan at the epicenter.

• Platoon Level
• Scale of 150 meters per hex
• 15 minutes per turn
• Continuous Chit-pull Activation
• 18 stamped dice for combat resolution
• Naval, amphibious, and urban conflicts
• Age: 14+
• Players: 2
• Playing Time: 1-3 Hours
• Scenario based 

The game introduces cutting-edge technologies, including hypersonic missiles, advanced amphibious operations, and features detailed maps that bring the battlegrounds of Taiwan and the wider region to life. Scenarios include the Chinese invasion of Taiwan, where hypersonic missile systems like the PRC Heaven Sword devastate Taiwanese defenses. 

OPLAN 5027 Supplement 

OPLAN 5027 expands the conflict further, introducing North and South Korean hostilities, where players can engage in both the defense and offense of Korea’s border zones. With Rising Dragon, players can immerse themselves in a fast-paced, near-future conflict, where technological advancements and strategic decision-making determine the fate of East Asia.

Gameplay is continuous and fluid. There are no turns, just continuous activations. The intensity of a unit’s close combat modifier is determined not only by its weapons but also by the tactics you choose to use for the assault or defense, and when you fire on a unit, it has the option of taking cover or returning fire. The number of dice and the color of dice rolled, determine the number of hits.

Formations are activated by chit draw (nothing new there), but returned to the draw cup not at the end of a turn, but rather in a continuous manner. When chosen, a formation marker is placed on the activation track, to the right of the last-drawn formation. When only one chit remains in the cup, the two leftmost chits are returned to the draw cup. Simple, continuous. 

If you are interested in Rising Dragon: Platoon Level Combat in 2034, you can learn more about the project at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/markhwalker/rising-dragon-platoon-level-combat-in-2034?ref

I am unsure if this title will be ready this year but am hoping that it it. The Kickstarter campaign was funded in November and I see no reason why this cannot be fulfilled by the end of the year.

Rebel Tide: The American Civil War, 1861-1865 from Compass Games

There is no secrete that we really enjoy Gregory M. Smith designs and we also count him as a close friend so take that for what it is worth. He is a great designer and has put together some of our favorite narrative-driven solitaire wargames, such as Silent Victory, The Hunters and The Hunted, but also has done some great 2-player strategic level games on various historical periods including Imperial Tide, covering WWI, and Pacific Tide, taking on the Pacific Theater of WWII. His new game in the system deals with the American Civil War and is called Rebel Tide.

From the game page, we read the following:

Rebel Tide: The U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865 is a two-player strategic level game that places you in command of either the USA (Union) or CSA (Confederacy) during the Civil War. Each turn consists of a year, during which multiple card plays occur. These give the players movement, combats, entrenchments, and other actions. At the end of each year, players must make critical decisions on which cards to re-buy in an attempt to win the war outright or to win by placing the other side in a disadvantageous position by 1865. Rebel Tide is based on the popular, action-packed Imperial Tide/Pacific Tide game system by Gregory M. Smith, with many combat and strategic decisions to challenge players in just a single evening’s game.

The core of the game is the unique card re-buy system, in which players take their annual production (adjusted for blockades and blockade runners) and decide which cards they need for the upcoming year.  Cards not only provide for reinforcements, but allow for movement, combat, and entrenchment. Which cards to rebuy is without question one of the key decisions the player must make to prepare for next year’s operations.

The game has infantry units for all of the major participants, cavalry, and artillery units. Naval operations are mainly abstracted, although the Confederate player must worry about Farragut invading a port from the sea. Besides the focus on card play, the game features a small footprint (one standard map) and also is designed to be played in just a single evening – estimated at 3 hours for experienced players to fight the entire war.

But don’t worry because the game is not just a reskin of the same system used in those other two games, although the system is really interesting, but instead attempts to create new mechanics and elements to tell the proper story of the struggle for the soul of the country in the 1860’s.

One new mechanic in Rebel Tide is the Political Track, which is an abstract measure of the support of England and/or France to the Confederacy. If this track reaches the maximum early in the war, it can trigger an early CSA victory.

Another new key mechanic in the game system is the addition of historical Leaders, who range in ability from excellent (5) to poor (2). Bad leaders may be “sacked” and removed from the game and randomly replaced by the expenditure of a movement action. Leaders are vital in advancing after combat and also can add strength to an attack’s total combat power.

While attending WBC a few summers ago, we had a chance to sit down with Gregory M. Smith to cover a few of his upcoming designs and Rebel Tide was included in that discussion. Here is a look at our video interview with Greg:

We also published an interview on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/01/15/interview-with-gregory-m-smith-designer-of-rebel-tide-the-american-civil-war-1861-1865-from-compass-games/

If you are interested in Rebel Tide: The American Civil War, 1861-1865, you can pre-order a copy for $54.00 from the Compass Games website at the following link: https://www.compassgames.com/product/rebel-tide-the-american-civil-war-pay-later/

As of February, Rebel Tide was the 4th next game to be published according to Compass Games website so I would think that this will be in our hands early summer.

Brandywine 1777 – A Time for Heroes from Les 3 Zouaves

As you know, I love a good game about the American Revolution and last fall (September) month I noticed a new game going to Gamefound on the Battle of Brandywine Creek on September 11, 1777. The game is from a new company that I don’t know much about called Les 3 Zouaves but looks really great.

From the game page, we read the following:

The smoke of musket fire hangs in the air. The Brandywine River glistens behind your lines. Across the field, redcoats are on the move — and one bold decision could tip the balance of the entire Revolution.

You hold command.

Will you outwit your enemy? Will you strike with daring precision, or hold the line against impossible odds?

Play as General Howe or General Washington in a tense, card-driven clash of minds.

Every decision matters. Every move could rewrite history.

And only one can emerge victorious.

Brandywine 1777 is more than a battle: It’s your chance to prove you are a true tactician… a hero of the Revolutionary Wars.

In Brandywine 1777, you assume the role of George Washington, facing a bold and elusive enemy. Activation Cards are your principal tool —used to commit your forces at just the right moment… if you can anticipate the British plan.

But it’s never that simple. Each card lists several potential formations—some real, some misleading—and you’ll never have enough activations to do everything you need to do. Choose wisely, bluff cleverly, and stay one step ahead.

You’ll be balancing:

• Major activations – few in number, but vital,
• Minor activations – flexible but limited,
• And Bonus activations, which cost precious cohesion but can turn the tide when used effectively.

We published an interview on the blog with the designer Yves Roig and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/10/06/interview-with-yves-roig-designer-of-brandywine-1777-a-time-for-heroes-from-les-3-zouaves-currently-on-gamefound/

If you are interested in Brandywine 1777 – A Time for Heroes, you can late pledge the game from the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/les-3-zouaves/brandywine-1777-a-time-for-heroes?ref=explore-creator-page

This one is a stretch to add to this post but once again I am being optimistic.

Limits of Glory Campaign V: Donning the Sacred Heart from Form Square Games

A few years ago, we became acquainted with Andrew Rourke through his Coalitions design from PHALANX that went on to a successful crowdfunding campaign and is a game that I am very much looking forward to and have been since that time. He has since been a busy guy with starting his own publishing company called Form Square Games and also publishing the first 3 designs in a new series called Limits of Glory that will take a look at the campaigns of Napoleon and other contemporary conflicts. In Campaign I, which is called Bonaparte’s Eastern Empire, the game is focused on the campaign of the French in Egypt between 1798 and 1801. Campaigns II, III and IV are Maida 1806 and Santa Maura & Capri. Last year, they ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for the fifth campaign and volume in the Limits of Glory Series and it is set during the French Revolution and the Civil War in the Vendée in 1793 and is called Donning the Sacred Heart. I very much have enjoyed our plays of this series with its use of Glory and chance in managing your leaders and their inherent elan and leadership.

From the game page, we read the following:

The French Revolution was not welcomed by all in France. The staunchly Catholic and Royalist leaning Vendée Militaire was a region unwilling to sacrifice its youth to the voracious appetite of the Republic’s military conscription machine, and the people of the Vendée were prepared to fight to defend their beliefs. Donning the Sacred Heart covers the vicious Civil War in the Vendée from March until December, 1793. All combatants and significant commanders are included and the game causes Multiple strategic decisions every turn. Your decisions will decide victory or defeat, the easy to play mechanics produce a subtle game with full player agency. Complete player engagement throughout.

Tension builds as the Event Clock drives the game, neither player being able to depend on events going their way, or knowing when the game will end.

We published an interview with the designer Andrew Rourke and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/08/11/interview-with-andrew-rourke-designer-of-limits-of-glory-campaign-v-donning-the-sacred-heart-from-form-square-games-currently-on-gamefound/

If you are interested in Limits of Glory Campaign V: Donning the Sacred Heart, you can late back the project on the Gamefound page at the following link: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/form-square-games/donning-the-sacred-heart-limits-of-glory-campaign-v

I would expect this one to be fulfilled in late summer as the most recent update in late January was that the games would be shipping soon.

An Impossible War: The First Carlist War in the North, 1834-1838 from Bellica 3rd Generation

A few years ago, we did an interview with David Gómez Relloso covering his well thought of Crusade and Revolution: The Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 from Compass Games that was getting a deluxe edition and on Kickstarter at the time. Since that time, we have played the game and really enjoyed it. Recently, I spoke with Francisco Ronco and he informed me that his company Bellica 3rd Generation was doing a new game by David called An Impossible War. That game covers The First Carlist War in the North of Spain and is currently in the process of being fulfilled so it won’t be long now.

From the game page, we read the following:

An Impossible War is a game about the decisive years of the First Carlist War in the North. Infantry and cavalry are represented by blocks, which introduce fog of war into operations. There are also artillery counters (field and mountain artillery) and logistics units (supply trains and backpacks).

The main map is a point-to-point board covering the northern theater of operations: Navarre, the Basque Country, and surrounding areas of La Rioja, Burgos, and Cantabria. In addition to provincial capitals, major towns and other localities are shown, along with primary and secondary routes of communication. There is also a smaller map of the rest of peninsular Spain, showing the regions affected by the Carlist uprising and allowing expeditions being launched from the North.

Each turn, players compete for initiative and carry out a variable number of actions. There is also a card deck for each side, including historical, operational, and tactical events. The cards add background and unpredictability to the game, helping make each session different. This is NOT a card-driven game, but one assisted by cards.

An Impossible War simulates the historical conflict, which featured numerous skirmishes, few major battles, and significant siege warfare. It is an asymmetric game in which each side has strengths and weaknesses. Players must exploit their advantages and mitigate their disadvantages to achieve victory.

The Carlist player must make use of superior mobility and unit quality to consolidate territory, wear down the enemy, and threaten cities. The Liberal player must contain and suppress the insurrection; they have more troops, but of lower quality and plagued by logistical nightmares. Additionally, they must quell uprisings and chase down Carlist expeditions across the rest of Spain.

We published an interview with the designer David Gómez Relloso on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/07/14/interview-with-david-gomez-relloso-designer-of-an-impossible-war-the-first-carlist-war-in-the-north-1834-1838-from-bellica-3rd-generation/

If you are interested in An Impossible War: The First Carlist War in the North, 1834-1838, you can order a copy for 120,00 € from the Bellica 3rd Generation website at the following link: https://bellica3g.com/en/product/una-guerra-imposible/

This game just recently became available and I actually own a copy and am in the process of doing an unboxing video0 and learning the rules to play it with Francisco Ronco (owner of Bellica 3 G) at the end of the month.

Song for War: Mediterranean Theater from Invicta Rex Games

While attending Buckeye Game Fest in the spring of 2022, we met two new designers who had a very cool looking prototype copy of their new game setup in the War Room called Song for War: Mediterranean Theater. Chris Helm and Seth Stigliano were really nice guys who obviously had put a ton of time into their game and it was immediately evident that this was going to be a different experience. Unfortunately, because of our crazy schedule of events and already committed to games at the convention, we were unable to sit down and play the game but did get a quick overview and crash course into the design as well as a good look at the awesome components.

The game was funded on Kickstarter in 2025 and we have been told that the game will be available by the end of 2026.

From the game page, we read the following:

Song for War is a tabletop strategy game based in the contested regions of southern Europe, north Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea during World War II. Representing one of four nations, players must work together as the Allies (US or Great Britain) or Axis (Germany or Italy). Players have the option to set strategy, move units, attack and defend as individual nations or simultaneously as the Allied or Axis team. Innovative mechanics allow players to deploy their land, sea, and air units strategically as combined forces, with faster units moving first and more often, followed by heavy units with stronger firepower. Take strategic objectives, control shipping lanes and resupply, deploy new technologies and units, and recreate historical events to defeat the enemy and win the day.

One of the best parts is the asymmetry built into the design for each of the nations. This gives the game some feeling of reality versus everyone just having the exact same units with the exact same abilities. I also am really interested in each nations’ special units and want to see how these things work and feel as the game is played.

Fellow content creator Zilla Blitz did a preview for the game in 2023 and you can check that out at the following link:

We posted a designer interview with Chris Helm and Seth Stigliano during the first campaign and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/02/27/interview-with-chris-helm-and-seth-stigliano-designers-of-song-for-war-mediterranean-theater-from-invicta-rex-games-coming-to-kickstarter-february-28th/

Here is a link to our newest interview with Chris and Seth outlining some of the changes to the design: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/04/07/interview-with-chris-helm-and-seth-stigliano-designers-of-song-for-war-mediterranean-theater-from-invicta-rex-games-coming-to-kickstarter-april-16th/

If you are interested in Song for War: Mediterranean Theater, you can pre-order the game at the Invicta Rex Games website at the following link: https://www.invictarex.com/songforwar

The Lions of El Alamein from VentoNuovo Games

Last year, while perusing the internet, I found mention of an upcoming block wargame on the battles in and around El Alamein in World War II from VentoNuovo Games. The game covers the Axis and Commonwealth Forces clash in the North African Theater in Egypt during 1942 and really looks to be pretty interesting. The game is called The Lions of El Alamein and was successfully funded on Kickstarter.

From the game page, we read the following:

What is The Lions of El Alamein? North Africa, 1942. The Battles of El Alamein were a series of battles fought in Egypt between Axis and Commonwealth forces between July and November 1942.

The terrain of El Alamein, close to the Qattara Depression, was chosen by the British after the Tobruk rout because it was the only geographical segment that could offer a defense in depth capable of protecting the Nile Delta and the Suez Canal. The game offers five scenarios to play all the battles fought at El Alamein from July to November 1942.

A turn is made of Impulses and each turn represents a month of real time. Each hex represents a distance of about six kilometers from side to side. Units vary from brigades to battalions, most of them HQ’s, armored, artillery, motorized, or infantry.  The game employs the newly developed SLIT engine. 

Complexity depends on the scenario played and the optional modules applied, thus varying from 2 to 4 out out of 5. Average game duration is less than a hour for the short battles, and about 1-4 hours for the three major battles.

We posted a small interview with just 5 questions with the designer Emanuele Santandrea and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/01/23/micro-interview-with-emanuele-santandrea-designer-of-the-lions-of-el-alamein-from-ventonuovo-part-i/

There was supposed to be a series of these small interviews in a run up to the Kickstarter but there was a language misunderstanding (that I still cannot figure out) and I believe that I offended the parties involved and the series was cut short after just one entry. Shame really as I was liking what I was seeing and hoping to bring more of it to you!

If you are interested in The Lions of El Alamein, you can late back the project on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/m41/the-lions-of-el-alamein

I recently received a shipping notice on that one and would expect it to arrive by the end of February.

Model’s Counterattack: The Battle of Radzymin and Bagration’s End from Dissimula Edizioni

A few years ago, Sergio Schiavi broke onto the scene with his new company called Dissimula Edizioni with their first Kickstarter called Radetsky’s March: The Hundred Hours Campaign and that game was then followed a few years later by From Salerno to Rome: World War II – The Italian Campaign, 1943-1944 and then their third game called Give Us Victories: The Chancellorsville Campaign. Now, they have launched a very interesting looking East Front wargame during the summer of 1944, after Soviet forces launched a series of offensives that annihilated much of the German army but Field Marshal Model rallied some intact forces and counterattacked managing to halt temporarily the Soviet forces. This game is called Model’s Counterattack: The Battle of Radzymin and Bagration’s End and is currently available.

From the game page, we read the following:

In the summer of 1944, Soviet forces launched a series of offensives that annihilated much of the German army. During their advance they went as far as the Vistula, arriving near Warsaw. Field Marshal Model, by rallying some relatively intact forces and counterattacking, managed to halt, at least temporarily, the Soviet forces. While all this was happening east of the Vistula, the city of Warsaw rose up behind it…

The game lasts a total of ten turns; during each turn both players, altering each other, move and fight with their forces on the map, trying to conquer or defend key positions. During the course of the game some particular historical events may occur such as the arrival of reinforcements or the
Warsaw uprising. At the end of the game, the victory conditions are checked and victory is awarded to the player who scores the most points.

Each hex on the map represents a distance of approximately two kilometers, side to side. Each turn represents one day of real time; units vary from brigades to battalions. The map represents the area where the main bales took place, east of Warsaw. Above it is printed a hexagonal grid which serves to regulate some aspects of the game. Warsaw is considered as a single area, an area where only German forces can transit or mass. Tables and tracks are printed on the map and are used to record
and regulate some game functions:

• Game Turn Track
• Track for the Warsaw Uprising
• Track for the allocation of German forces in
  Magnuszew
• General points Track
• Artillery available / used
• Soviet losses / German losses
• Luftwaffe available / used

That map is just gorgeous and I am very much looking forward to this one. We published an interview with the designer Sergio Schiavi on the blog and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/12/11/interview-with-sergio-schiavi-designer-of-models-counterattack-the-battle-of-radzymin-and-bagrations-end-from-dissimula-edizioni-currently-on-kickstarter/

If you are interested in Model’s Counterattack: The Battle of Radzymin and Bagration’s End, you can purchase a copy for 59 € on the Dissimula Edizioni website at the following link: https://www.dsimula.com/model

COIN Series Multi-Pack II The Guerrilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America from GMT Games

Stephen Rangazas has been active behind the scenes over the past few years with his development work on Fall of Saigon: A Fire in the Lake Expansion. He used his background and research capabilities to great effect as he did the background work on the Event cards for that game. From that experience, he has now come forward with a few of his own designs in The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire, which was announced in 2021 as well as Sovereign of Discord announced in 2022. Now, he is working on a new COIN Series Multi-Pack that deals with insurgencies in Latin America during the height of the Cold War called The Guerrilla Generation.

From the game page, we read the following:

The Guerrilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America is the second COIN Multi-Pack, containing four separate games exploring a series of thematically related insurgencies. Building on the The British Way, this new multipack allows players to explore variations in insurgent groups’ organizational structures, strategies, and relationship with civilians, across four insurgencies in Central and South America between 1968 and 1992. During this part of the Cold War era, Latin America experienced an incredible number of different insurgent groups, many inspired by the Cuban Revolution featured in Cuba Libre, ranging from popular backed rural insurgencies, flexible urban guerrillas, externally sponsored raiders, and brutal ideologically rigid groups. This multipack features a game exemplifying each of these types of insurgencies, to offer players the chance to compare different approaches to rebellion highlighted in the quote by scholar Jeremy Weinstein above. The Guerrilla Generation also offers four longer and more complex individual games than those found in The British Way, as well as an entirely different approach to the linked campaign scenario, which combines two games into a simultaneous side-by-side experience.

This Multi-Pack includes four full games in one box, which is a fantastic value that will allow players to explore four different conflicts set during the height of Cold War Latin America between 1968 and 1992. Each game uses a unique ruleset building on the same general mechanical structure, ensuring that they are easy to pick up while still offering a distinctive experience.

I also love these Multi-Packs because they have a small board footprint with each of the 4 games playing in under 2 hours and taking place on a single 17” x 22” board. But, the game doesn’t just treat these games as individual as they are designed to experience at least a portion of the full span of the period and be used to learn more about these insurgencies.

There is also a “Resisting Reagan” Campaign designed into the game. A linked campaign scenario allowing up to 4 players to play El Salvador and Nicaragua side-by-side, with new mechanisms to represent the Central American peace and solidarity movement’s efforts to resist the Reagan Administration’s aid to both the Salvadoran government and the Contra insurgency, by influencing Congress and American public opinion.

We published an interview on the blog with Stephen Rangazas and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/02/25/interview-with-stephen-rangazas-designer-of-coin-series-multi-pack-ii-the-guerilla-generation-cold-war-insurgencies-in-latin-america-from-gmt-games/

If you are interested in The Guerilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America, you can pre-order a copy for $69.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1032-the-guerrilla-generation.aspx

In the most recent GMT Games update from January, the game was listed as being at sea, meaning that it has been printed and is in transit to the warehouse. Hoping that this one sees our table in April/May.

Small Battles of the American Revolution, Volume I: The Battle of Cowpens

While attending the World Boardgaming Championships in July 2024, I was able to meet up with Dave Stiffler (acting as Developer on the project) and Bruno Sinigaglio who is the designer to get an early look at the upcoming debut release in the Small BoAR Series called The Battle of Cowpens.

I didn’t get any pictures because they didn’t have the components along to show but learned a lot about the design and how it changes the Battles of the American Revolution Series from GMT Games. First off, the scale is the major difference as it is 1/8th of the scale used in the normal series. This means 25 yard hexes and 2-3 men per counter. They also have included both rifle fire and musket fire which is a change as musket fire is simply an abstracted part of the close combat mechanic in BoAR. They also have added some new mechanics to account better for things like morale and being shaken or even shattered.

I have known about this game for a while now, actually nearly a few years or so, but am very excited to see this one see the light of day and hope that the reception is great and that the game does well because I would like to see more small battles covered in future volumes.

From the game page, we read the following:

Two critical battles were considered turning points in the American Revolutionary War: the Battle of Saratoga in New York and the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina. The Battle of Cowpens was a catalyst to a series of events that led eventually to the surrender of the British at Yorktown. Small BoAR Volume I, The Battle of Cowpens, puts players directly into the milieu of this decisive contest.

The goal of the Small BoAR design concept is to include small yet critical battles that otherwise do not fit the scale of the historically simulating and highly successful Battles of the American Revolution (BoAR) system designed by Mark Miklos. This new system, aptly termed Small Battles of the American Revolution (Small BoAR), was designed by Bruno Sinigaglio working closely with Mark Miklos to preserve the continuity and popularity of the original Battles of the American Revolution game system.

Although extremely important to the history of the Revolutionary War, the Battle of Cowpens involved slightly over 1000 participants per side. In the Battles of the American Revolution system, which represents 100 men per strength point, this would equate to only ten or so combat factors per side. The scale for the battle of Cowpens, on the other hand, is 12 men per strength point, or one-eighth that of the BoAR system. The map scale is also correspondingly reduced to 25 yards per hex from the BoAR scale of 200 yards per hex. The time scale is approximately four minutes per turn as compared with one hour per turn in BoAR.

I think that one of the best parts of this new series, aside from the size and scope of the battles covered being smaller, is that they have not just rested on their laurels and reproduced the BoAR System but have added new mechanics and elements to better deal with these battles and to model the smaller scale battles.

Although Army Morale, the game-within-the-game in BoAR, is faithfully preserved in Small BoAR, and the Small BoAR sequence of play resembles that of BoAR and will look familiar to anyone who has played games in the original series, certain novel elements appropriate to the new scaling have been added. These include:

• The ability to designate cavalry units in reserve
• Artillery Fire conducted both offensively and defensively
• Simultaneous ranged musket Fire as a complement to ranged rifle fire
• A Cavalry Reserve Phase where units designated in Reserve may charge after the normal Close Combat Phase
• And Opportunity Card Management

As mentioned earlier, I had the honor of sitting down with Bruno Sinigaglio and Dave Stiffler to discuss this new series and The Battle of Cowpens. Here is a link to that video interview:

If you are interested in Small Battles of the American Revolution, Volume I: The Battle of Cowpens, you can pre-order a copy for $48.00 from the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1140-the-battle-of-cowpens.aspx

In the most recent GMT Games update from January, the game was listed as going through final art and proofreading so production should be in the next few months and possibly this one will be ready in the fall.

Imperial Borders – The Congress of Vienna from Nightingale Games

Put this game in the expensive, overproduced, huge, Ameritrashy wargame section if you are looking for a categorization of what it is but Imperials Borders: The Congress of Vienna from Nightingale Games is designed by Larry Harris (he of Axis & Allies fame) and is somewhat of an alternative history game that includes a system of written orders that is really very cool as we played this system with War Room a few years ago. The game is nearing finalization and shipping after successful Kickstarter campaign last year.

From the game page, we read the following:

Imperial Borders – The Congress of Vienna is an alternative historical board game designed by Larry Harris (designer of Axis & Allies) that lasts about 4 to 6 hours.

PREMISE – What if the Congress of Vienna failed to establish peace? 2 to 6 players control the major nations of Europe during the aftermath of war with Napoleon. Establish a dominating presence of power and wealth through clever diplomacy and strategic warfare…

THE HEART OF THE GAME – Establish a dominating presence of power and wealth through clever diplomacy and strategic warfare…Plotting, scheming, deal-making, and backstabbing are fundamental to winning the game. The timing of exactly when to make your play for domination of Europe is a most challenging dilemma.

HOW TO WIN – Each Nation’s final score is their sum of Prestige points gained gradually over the entire game and the value of all their controlled Territories and Elite Forces in the last Game Round. The highest total score wins the game.

END GAME – Starting in the 5th Game Round, the Congress of Vienna convenes. A blind vote is held as to whether to settle for peace or to continue the conflict. Each subsequent Game Round the results are weighted more heavily towards peace.

This game is very highly produced, with hundreds of plastic miniature units (including infantry, cavalry, artillery and ships of the line) and an absolutely huge and stunning looking board. This one is for sure going to become a game we play at conventions and with large groups of friends. We backed the game and are very much looking forward to playing it!

If you are interested in Imperial Borders: The Congress of Vienna, you can pre-order the game from the Nightingale Games website at the following link: https://www.nightingale-games.com/imperial-borders

With a quick look at their website, it appears that they are readying the game for delivery and then retail sale this summer. You will want to keep your eye out on that page to get information and learn more about the game.

Whew! I am wiped out now. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this list (I know I had a good time writing it!) and I hope that you have a good financing plan to purchase all the gaming goodness coming soon. Let me know what games you are looking forward to in 2026 as I always like to hear your thoughts. With so many good games upcoming it is really hard to cover them all!

-Grant

We picked up Churchill back in 2014 when it first was printed. From what I could tell at the time was that it wasn’t getting a lot of buzz amongst board gamers on BGG and there were only 2 YouTube videos about the game where we could learn a little more (one from Mark Herman and his wife, the other from Stuka Joe). I realize now that I was wrong to a large extent about the presumptive popularity of the game. First, we had bought it while it was brand new so the buzz was just getting started in a major way. Secondly, Churchill is viewed by many as a wargame and as such many euro gamers are hesitant to give it the try it so rightly deserves. But the game system and what it is trying to do is just fantastic with its debating over issues, seeing those issues translate to action on the board in the further prosecution of the war and then the way that people work to coordinate their actions. Just a really solid system.

A few years ago, after playing all of the games in the Great Statesmen Series, we heard of a new game in the series from a designer not named Mark Herman and I was immediately interested and intrigued as we have had so much fun with Churchill, Pericles and Versailles 1919. Congress of Vienna from GMT Games is a diplomatic card driven wargame based on Churchill and is the 4th game in the Great Statesmen Series. The game is set during the years of 1813-1814 and sees players take on the role of the main characters of the struggle between the Napoleonic Empire and the coalition of Russia, Austria, and Great Britain with their Prussian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish allies. We played the game recently while attending Buckeye Game Fest and then played a full campaign again while attending the World Boardgaming Championships and absolutely were amazed at the changes and innovations to the system introduced by the designer Frank Esparrago.

I posted a fairly in-depth overview of the game in my First Impression post and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/08/06/first-impressions-congress-of-vienna-from-gmt-games/

-Grant

This year has been a bit of a blur for me with work, personal commitments and family matters and I just feel like I have not been giving much attention to the blog. But, I am back now and ready to get right back to it with the next entry in our Wargame Watch feature. This month, I was able to find 18 games to highlight! Of that total, 3 games were offered on Crowdfunding.

If you missed the January Wargame Watch, you can read that here at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2026/01/01/wargame-watch-whats-new-upcoming-january-2026/

This month, we again have a sponsor for the Wargame Watch in Wharf Rat Games, which is a new publisher on the block owned and operated by the tandem of Ryan Heilman (designer of games such as Brave Little Belgium, White Eagle Defiant: Poland 1939 and Ginormopod 2050 A.D.: Attack of the Giant Bug Monsters) and Wes Crawford (designer of Engine Thieves: The Andrews Railroad Raid of 1862 and The Pursuit of John Wilkes Booth). 

Wharf Rat Games: A New Era in Board Gaming

Founded by industry veterans Ryan Heilman and Wes Crawford, Wharf Rat Games is a Baltimore-based publisher dedicated to high-quality, light-to-medium-weight games. Our mission is to deliver engaging historical, sci-fi, and fantasy themes that can be played in under 90 minutes, making them accessible to both casual and experienced players.

Featured Title: A Forlorn Hope by Hermann Luttmann

Wharf Rat Games is thrilled to announce their debut title, a revitalized vision from legendary designer Hermann
Luttmann.

• The History: Originally pitched over a decade ago as the mechanical precursor to the hit In Magnificent Style, this game returns to Hermann’s original vision of WWI trench warfare. Here is a link to the Rat Chat show where Hermann discusses the history of In Magnificent Style:

• The Gameplay: A solo or 1–3 player cooperative experience using a tense push-your-luck mechanic. Players command a regiment charging across No Man’s Land, balancing bold advances against the threat of becoming pinned under relentless enemy fire.
  
• The Content: Features six scenarios covering iconic battles such as The Somme, Verdun, and The Lost Battalion.
  
• The Stats: 1–3 Players | 45–90 Minutes | Estimated 2.5 BGG Weight.

Launch Details

Wharf Rat Games is gearing up to launch their Backerkit campaign on February 10th. Early Bird Special: Back the game on the first day to get it for just $69, a savings of $20 off the MSRP!

You can connect with Wharf Rat Games on the following social media outlets:

Website: wharfratgames.com
Email: info@wharfratgames.com
Facebook: Wharf Rat Games
Bluesky:  wharfratgames.bsky.social
X (Twitter): @WharfRatGames
Instagram: @wharf_rat_games
YouTube: @WharfRatGames

But now onto the games for February!

Pre-Order

1. A Forlorn Hope from Wharf Rat Games Coming to Backerkit on February 10th

Wharf Rat Games is a new publisher recently started by the dynamic duo of Ryan Heilman and Wes Crawford. I have interviewed both of these guys a few times for their own designed games and also hung out with them quite a bit at conventions including Buckeye Game Fest in April 2024 and the World Boardgaming Championships in August 2024. I am really happy for them that they have taken this plunge and created their own publishing company. I know they know games. Have been in the industry for a while now and also have great connections with many designers and would be designers and I am sure that they will bring many quality offerings to our tables over the next decade plus.

But there is more than just their introduction here as they have signed their first game and it is from a designer we all know and love – Hermann Luttmann. A Forlorn Hope places solo players or up to three cooperative players in command of a battalion charging across No Man’s Land to capture enemy trenches during World War I. Success requires careful balancing of bold advances and timely retreats to avoid casualties, maintain cohesion, and keep troops from becoming pinned under relentless enemy fire. Over a decade ago, Hermann pitched a groundbreaking design to Alan Emrich at Victory Point Games—a push-your-luck mechanic within a wargame framework, originally set in the WWI trenches. While the concept was well-received, Alan suggested a Civil War theme instead, leading to the creation of In Magnificent Style, based on Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg. This game went on to be published by Victory Point Games and later by Worthington Publishing.

From the game page, we read the following:

A Forlorn Hope is an abstract simulation wargame of a typical trench assault, modeling those attacks that were conducted during the First World War (1914-1918). The player represents an attacking regiment of troops consisting of three battalions, with each battalion made up of two or three assault companies (depending on the number of players).

The game uses a “press-your-luck” design philosophy that will challenge you with tough decision-making and risk-taking throughout the game. The goal is for the player(s) to drive their forces across No Man’s Land in the quickest and most efficient manner possible to achieve the best level of victory.

A Forlorn Hope is designed both for solitaire and multiplayer co-operative play. Numerous scenarios are included, starting with a basic assault scenario (which is ideal for learning the intricacies of the game system), then adding multiple historically-based scenarios simulating actual battles from World War I that offer a slightly more complex and layered gaming experience. Each scenario features singular aspects of the historical battle it is simulating, and each will therefore be a unique gaming experience.

We recently published an interview with the designer Hermann Luttmann and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2026/01/28/interview-with-hermann-luttmann-designer-of-a-forlorn-hope-from-wharf-rat-games-coming-to-backerkit-february-10th/

If you are interested in A Forlorn Hope, you can learn more about the project on the Backerkit project page at the following link: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/wharf-rat-games/a-forlorn-hope-can-you-make-it-across-no-man-s-land/launch_party

The project is set to launch on Tuesday, February 10th.

2. Napoleon at War Deluxe Edition from Decision Games

Over the past couple of years, Decision Games has been going back through their catalog and doing these Deluxe Editions of several of their games including Red Dragon Green Crescent Deluxe Edition in 2024 and Blue & Gray Deluxe Edition in 2025. They now have tabbed several more games for this game treatment and the first that I will share is Napoleon at War Deluxe Edition.

From the game page, we read the following:

Napoleon at War Deluxe Edition reprints the original SPI QuadriGame consisting of four separate battles, each among the most important of the Napoleonic Wars: Marengo, Jena-Auerstadt, Wagram, and the Battle of Nations at Leipzig. This new deluxe edition has a full-color instruction booklet, new counter and map artwork, with 9/16” counters, two back printed 22” x 25.5” mounted game boards, and new player aid cards. The basic rules to all four games in the Napoleon at War Series are standardized. Each game has its own exclusive rules, which include historical set up and reinforcements, special rules, player’s notes, and commentary by the game’s designer. The game mechanics used in this series are based on the popular Borodino-Napoleon at Waterloo game system. The scale of each game ranges from 400 to 800 meters per hex, while each game turn represents between one and two hours of real time. Units range in size from demi-brigades through divisions, with each strength point representing between 250 and 350 men or an equivalent amount of artillery.

Movement is sequential and single-phased. Zones of control are rigid, and combat is mandatory between adjacent opposing units. Stacking is limited to one unit per hex. The Combat Results Table is relatively uncertain, with odds of 4 to 1, or better, necessary to ensure at least a “Defender Retreat” result. Terrain ranges from the Austrian parade grounds south of Wagram to the rough and forested battlegrounds of Jena-Auerstadt. Game length varies from the five-turn First Day Scenario of the Battle of Nations to the 20 game turn Grand Battle Scenario of that same game which simulates the entire three- and one-half-day Battle of Leipzig, the largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars.The games, though graphically enhanced from the originals, remain the same. Now enhance your enjoyment with this new deluxe edition of another SPI classic!

If you are interested in Napoleon at War Deluxe Edition, you can pre-order a copy for $89.00 from the Decision Games website at the following link: https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P3040

3. Year of the Rat Vietnam 1972 Deluxe Edition from Decision Games

The 2nd game that is being offered up for pre-sale with a new Deluxe Edition is Year of the Rat Vietnam 1972, which was originally designed by John Prados and now redesigned by Joseph Miranda.

From the game page, we read the following:

On 30 March 1972 the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) launched its “Easter Offensive” into South Vietnam, attempting to either win the war decisively or improve the North’s negotiating position at the Paris Peace Talks. Surprised by the large-scale attack, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) rallied, and supported by US airpower, launched counterattacks into the fall, finally repulsing the Communist offensive.

Year of the Rat Deluxe Edition recreates that decisive campaign. Powerful NVA divisions operate alongside Viet Cong regiments and decoys, evading the ARVN while striking quickly at vital towns and bases. ARVN elite airborne, ranger, and marine units respond, creating a tense asymmetrical contest of big unit battles and hard-fought sieges, with increasing American airstrikes and worsening NVA supply capabilities.

This Deluxe Edition enhances the original, acclaimed SPI game design (published during the campaign) with a half-century of research and analysis, providing updated orders of battle and terrain analysis. Three scenarios and fifteen order of battle variants cover a wide range of game options, including operations into Laos and Cambodia.

Additional features include:

• New graphics on enlarged maps and counters

• Expanded Allied airmobile operations and units

• NVA divisional reorganization and tank regiments

• Full 1971–72 US order of battle

• Australian, Royal Thai, Cambodian, and Khmer Rouge forces

• Vietnamese and US Navy riverine units

• ARVN base camps and regional forces

• Extensive optional rules

Year of the Rat Deluxe Edition offers you the opportunity to explore and make decisions in a campaign that changed the course of war and peace.

If you are interested in Year of the Rat Vietnam 1972 Deluxe Edition, you can pre-order a copy for $65.00 from the Decision Games website at the following link: https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P%2D3042

4. 1812: The Campaign of Napoleon in Russia Deluxe Edition from Decision Games

The third and final game getting a facelift from Decision Games is 1812: The Campaign of Napoleon in Russia Deluxe Edition.

From the game page, we read the following:

Napoleon invaded Russia with 600,000 troops of which only about 110,000 escaped in organized formations. The largest factor in this enormously deadly campaign was supply. The ability of a Napoleonic army to supply itself depended heavily on the surrounding countryside. Areas were stripped of resources to supply the army, which had to move or starve within a very short period. 1812 Deluxe Edition treats this difficulty of command as a central point, through the game’s area depletion system.

1812 Deluxe Edition upgrades the original SPI 1812 Strategic Area Map Game with a full-color rulebook and player aid cards, new artwork, larger counters and an enlarged map on a mounted game board.

Players must battle attrition, supply, and enemy forces to win. 1812 offers three scenarios, starting in June, late August, and early October, each with free and historical set-up options. Optional rules add leaders and fortresses, while new variant rules provide additional leaders, battle plans, and elite guard forces. Other than adding the variant rules, and incorporating clarifications and known errata, no major changes have been made to the original SPI rules.

1812 Deluxe Edition provides you the opportunity to see if Russia falls to Napoleon’s conquest, or survives, spelling the eventual doom of the Napoleonic Empire. Open this new deluxe edition and see if you can change history.

If you are interested in 1812: The Campaign of Napoleon in Russia Deluxe Edition, you can pre-order a copy for $89.00 from the Decision Games website at the following link: https://shop.decisiongames.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=P%2D3043

5. Checkpoint Charlie from GMT Games

I love a different style and focus of wargame. A game that takes a look at an important but somewhat obscure or rarely addressed topic such as espionage or intelligence. And this month, GMT Games announced such a game in Checkpoint Charlie, which is a solo or cooperative game focused on SIS espionage missions in Berlin in the 1960’s.

From the game page, we read the following:

Checkpoint Charlie is a solitaire or cooperative game of British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) espionage missions in Berlin in the early 1960s.

West Berlin is an isolated outpost of the Western Powers in the center of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). East Berlin, on the other side of the Berlin Wall, is a base of operations for Soviet KGB agents and the Stasi secret police. This is a city of spies, a focal point of worldwide espionage in the growing Cold War. In this game, you send your assets (agents) on missions and use your influence and foresight to help them complete objectives before they are detected and compromised by KGB agents. As you play through these missions, you will:

• Ensure that an important defector gets safely out of the city.
• Make contact with a dissident Russian scientist on the other side of the Berlin Wall.
• Gather intelligence in East Berlin and return safely to the West
• Entrap a troublesome KGB agent with tempting intelligence.
• Sow distrust between KGB and Stasi agents.
• Identify a Soviet mole among your SIS agents and wait for them to reveal themselves.

Can you accomplish all of this in secret, as the very public events of the Cold War change the political landscape of Berlin itself?

This is a game about your assets staying one step ahead of the KGB and completing missions without being detected. Each mission starts with a different cast of assets and KGB agents, a set of items that may help complete the mission, and multiple historical events that can change the situation. Victory conditions are specific – getting an asset out of the city, making contact with a new source, or even crossing the Berlin Wall to gather important intelligence and returning without getting caught. There are no victory points or turn limits in Checkpoint Charlie, just objectives your assets must complete before they are compromised or overwhelmed by the growing web of KGB surveillance. The game map includes iconic locations like Checkpoint Charlie, Glienicke Bridge (the “Bridge of Spies”), and the notorious Berlin Hilton, each with unique game effects. You will manage a hand of cards that represent assets, items, and locations on the map. On your turn, you’ll play a card to influence the situation, and when you take a card from the Draw Area to refill your hand, every SIS asset and KGB agent in the city will move and take actions based on which card you chose. New Intel may appear on the map, locations may be placed under KGB surveillance, and Event cards may affect specific locations.

In Checkpoint Charlie, you are not a field agent. You are a planner, a director monitoring the situation but limited in how much you can directly intervene. That sense of influencing the situation but often just having to watch as events unfold is created by the core mechanic of Checkpoint Charlie: the Draw Area below the map. This area contains five face-up location, asset, or item cards. Chits representing each of the tokens on the city map (your SIS assets and the KGB agents) are placed above each of the cards in the Draw Area. After playing a card from your hand, you will draw a card from either end of the Draw Area, and then the remaining four cards will shift left or right to fill the empty position before a new card is drawn to fill the row. In this way, every card in the Draw Area shifts one space whenever you draw a card. This is important because every token in Berlin then moves closer to the location, asset, or item on the card directly below their chit. In the example below, the cards have shifted and the empty spot has been filled. Now the Dentist will move to Mehringplatz. Jester will move one location closer to Checkpoint Charlie, and KGB Agent Svetlova will move toward the 1958 Rambler at RAF Gatow.

This game looks extremely interesting and I am very much excited to learn more about it. I am going to reach out to the designer Russ Brown to get some more information to share.

If you are interested in Checkpoint Charlie, you can pre-order a copy for $48.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1211-checkpoint-charlie.aspx

6. Here I Stand 500th Anniversary Reprint Edition 3rd Printing from GMT Games

Here I Stand is one of the greatest Card Driven Games I have ever played, and we have played a lot in our time. I have played this game more than 10 times and found each experience to be simply sublime, even though it takes 10-12 hours to play. The game now has a 3rd Printing of the Deluxe 500th Anniversary Edition and you need to get you a copy and find someone to play with.

From the game page, we read the following:

Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 is the first game in over 25 years to cover the political and religious conflicts of early 16th Century Europe. Few realize that the greatest feats of Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Ignatius Loyola, Henry VIII, Charles V, Francis I, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernando Cortes, and Nicolaus Copernicus all fall within this narrow 40-year period of history. This game covers all the action of the period using a unique card-driven game system that models both the political and religious conflicts of the period on a single point-to-point map. There are six main powers in the game, each with a unique path to victory.

If you own the original (non-500th Anniversary edition) Here I Stand, here are the upgrades you will find in the deluxe 500th anniversary edition. Enhancements include: 6 brand new cards added to the deck, including Thomas More, Thomas Cromwell, Rough Wooing, and Imperial Coronation. Revisions to over 15 existing cards including Copernicus, Master of Italy, and Machiavelli to allow for more exciting in-game play and additional possibilities for diplomatic deals. A new Chateau construction table is now used to resolve France’s Patron of the Arts home card plays. Several Virgin Queen rule updates are incorporated back into Here I Stand, affecting minor power activation, piracy, space trading, and foreign wars.

There also is included the special 2-player variant which pits the Protestants versus the Catholics in a modified form of the game. But it is still good and this is how we first played the game.

Here is a look at my written review on the 2-player variant of the game: https://theplayersaid.com/2018/03/19/holy-war-for-two-in-under-3-hours-a-review-of-here-i-stand-wars-of-the-reformation-2-player-variant-from-gmt-games/

Here also are links to a series of Action Point posts on the blog that explain some of the rules revolving around the religious portion of the game:

Action Point 1 – Special starting conditions and steps for the Reformation

Action Point 2 – The Diet of Worms

Action Point 3 – Three specific available Religious Actions, including Biblical Translations, Publishing of Treatises and Calling Theological Debates

Action Point 4 – The Schmalkaldic League

If you are interested in Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation 1517-1555 500th Anniversary Edition 3rd Printing, you can pre-order a copy on the P500 game page for $66.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1214-here-i-stand-500th-anniversary-reprint-edition-3rd-printing.aspx

7. Special Component Pack for The Last Hundred Yards Vol. 5: For King & Country from GMT Games

If you didn’t know we really enjoyed The Last Hundred Yards very much as well as Volume 2: Airborne Over Europe. The system is extremely interesting for a tactical game and uses some novel elements in regards to how victory points are scored including a focus on time and casualties. Really an excellent system! Now, even though there are 5 total volumes that have been released, including most recently Volume 5 For King & Country, Mike Denson has forged ahead with an interesting expansion called a Special Component Pack.

From the game page, we read the following:

We are offering this Special Pack for players who purchased The Last Hundred Yards Volume 5: For King & Country because the necessary modules to play all the missions are not currently available. This pack includes all components (German counters and maps) necessary to make Volume 5 a Stand-Alone Game. With this Pack, players will be able to play every mission included in the module.

Components included in the for King and Country Special Zip Lock Pack:

• 7 double-sided geomorphic maps (14 maps total)
• 1 full color Rules booklet (latest edition) (44 pgs.)
• 1 full color Playbook (40 pgs.)
• 2 full-size ¾” counter sheets (German)
• 1 half-size mixed counter sheet

If you are interested in Special Component Pack for The Last Hundred Yards Vol. 5: For King & Country, you can pre-order a copy for $26.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1213-special-component-pack-for-the-last-hundred-yards-vol-5-for-king-country.aspx

8. Dice in the Dirt: A Tactical Print and Play Skirmish Game from Michael Shane Mecham Currently on Kickstarter

Recently, I have really been enjoying several Print and Play solitaire wargames. They are inexpensive, easy to create and setup and then most of them have some really engaging and interesting gameplay. This month, I came across a new offering called Dice in the Dirt: A Tactical Print and Play Skirmish Game designed by Michael Shane Mecham and I jumped on it pretty quickly.

From the game page, we read the following:

Dice in the Dirt is a fast, tactical print-and-play skirmish game for two players.

Each player commands a six-soldier squad fighting over a dense, modular battlefield where pressure, positioning, and timing matter more than raw firepower. The game uses blind-bag activation, suppression mechanics, and standard dice to create tense, unpredictable engagements.

Dice in the Dirt is not about killing fast—it’s about pressure.
Suppression locks soldiers in place. Actions are scarce. Timing matters more than firepower. Victory comes from forcing your opponent to waste precious moments under fire.

This is a complete, digital-only release designed for quick setup and focused play.

It really seems pretty interesting and the best part about these Print and Play games is that the cost of entry is so low that it is worth taking a chance on. I am a backer and look forward to playing this one.

If you are interested in Dice in the Dirt: A Tactical Print and Play Skirmish Game, you can back the project on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diceinthedirt/dice-in-the-dirt

As of February 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $521.00 toward its $100.00 funding goal with 32 backers. The campaign will conclude on Friday, February 6, 2026 at 9:57am EST.

9. Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel from Catastrophe Games Currently on Kickstarter

Catastrophe Games is a small publisher who just really puts out interesting games. I have played several of their games and enjoyed them all. Recently, they announced a new game called Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel designed by Paul LaFontaine.

From the game page, we read the following:

Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel is a basic Kriegsspiel kit in a box. You will have everything you need to play a game of Kriegsspiel: a map and counter sheet for the umpire and two players, along with a very basic resolution system. 

This game benefits from hundreds of hours of face to face and online playtesting, with the system refined to allow an experienced umpire to launch and complete a simple scenario in just over an hour. 

The scenario book runs scenarios across time: while most of the scenarios focus on the 19th century, it also shows how to run modern skirmishes (WW2) while allowing ancient battles as well (Alexandria versus the Persian Empire)

Scenarios include:

Scenario 1 – Dennewitz 1813 
Scenario 2 – Scheldt 1944 
Scenario 3 – Gettysburg 1863 
Scenario 4 – Waterloo 1815 
Scenario 5 – Gaugamela 331BCE 
Scenario 6 – Leuthen 1757 
Scenario 7 – Magenta 1859 
Scenario 8 – Blenheim 1704 
Scenario 9 – Königgrätz 1866 
Scenario 10 – Breitenfeld 1631 

But wait, you might ask, how can you run so many and various scenarios off one central Europe map? What Paul did was take the central element of the battle and found a location on the map that most represents the fight. This is an elegant way to allow a single map to be used for multiple battles. 

Kriegsspiel began as a past time for Prussian nobles. Eventually a version was presented to their king who then required its use for training Prussian officers. Many attribute some of the Prussian success in the 1870 Franco-Prussian war to the widespread use of the Kriegsspiel amongst the Prussian officer corps. 

After the war Kriegsspiel games were used by many nations to train their leaders. Now the descendants of the original Kriegsspiele live on in the form of software driven exercises for staffs at various levels. However the focus on command and control is still the key factor in these modern games.

Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel offers players a chance to return to form of the original games, with simple counters and maps, allowing players to forge their own tactics and plans. 

If you are interested in Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel, you can back the project on the Kickstarter page at the following link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/campaign-fall-blau/battle-decisions-kriegsspiel

As of February 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $3,313.00 toward its $500.00 funding goal with 55 backers. The campaign will conclude on Monday, February 2, 2026 at 7:00pm EST.

10. Operation Overlord from VUCA Simulations

VUCA Simulations is a new company on the scene the last few years and they are coming out with some really great looking games. We have played several of their games and always have a great experience with them. One of their newest pre-order offerings is called Operation Overlord designed by Clem. It covers the D-Day invasion and as usual looks to be of the highest quality and production.

From the game page, we read the following:

Operation Overlord is a deep, historically grounded strategic wargame that simulates the Normandy invasion and the critical battles that followed from June to August 1944. One player commands the Allied SHAEF forces, planning and executing the largest amphibious operation in history, while the opposing player takes the role of Oberbefehlshaber West, defending the Atlantic Wall and attempting to delay the Allied advance long enough to alter the course of the war.

Rather than focusing on tactical skirmishes, Operation Overlord operates at the operational–strategic level, where timing, logistics, intelligence, and command structure are decisive. Players maneuver divisions and army corps across a detailed map of Normandy, manage supply networks and reinforcements, execute historical and fictional operations, and influence battles through doctrine, supports, and event cards.

Each month begins with high-level planning: the Allied player secretly schedules strategic and special operations, while the German player designates key cities as Festungen, to be held at all costs. Weekly turns then unfold through intelligence gathering, supply allocation, reinforcement arrivals, and alternating unit activations that combine maneuver and combat into a tense, fluid system. Fog of war is maintained through hidden unit values and simultaneous combat card reveals, ensuring constant uncertainty and meaningful decision-making.

Victory is not measured simply by territory, but by time and consequences. The German player is unlikely to drive the Allies back into the sea—but every week gained has far-reaching implications for morale, resources, and other fronts of the war. Likewise, an Allied breakthrough ahead of schedule can dramatically reshape history. Each scenario and campaign outcome includes historically reasoned consequences that frame the result within the broader context of World War II.

With multiple scenarios (June, July, August, and a full campaign), robust asymmetry, and a strong emphasis on planning and operational art, Operation Overlord offers a demanding and rewarding experience for players seeking a serious, historically informed wargame.

If you are interested in Operation Overlord, you can pre-order a copy for €107,99 ($118.79 in US Dollars) from the VUCA Simulations website at the following link: https://vucasims.com/products/operation-overlord

11. Kawanakajima 1561: Battles of the Sengoku Jidai from Serious Historical Games

A few years ago, a new company called Serious Historical Games released the first in a new series of games focused on the Sengoku Jidai period and the battles of the time. This game was called Nagashino 1575 & Shizugatake 1583: Battles of the Sengoku Jidai and it is part of the Age of the Warring States Series. Since that time they have released Volume 2 and now are getting Volume 3 ready for pre-sale, which focuses on the battle of Kawanakajima in 1561. These games are excellent and overall, the quality of the production is amazing, especially the counters and the colors used for the various clan banners.

From the game page, we read the following:

Kawanakajima 1561, the most epic battle of Sengoku Jidai, is the third volume in the Sengoku Jidai series. The game features a one-sided area map measuring 23.1 × 33.1 inches (59.4 × 84 cm), 216 beautifully illustrated counters, and a 24-page bilingual rulebook (English & French). It also includes two player aids and two scenarios: one historical and one alternative.

The scale represents 300–400 meters per area, 30 minutes per turn, and 500–1,000 men per counter. A full game lasts 2 to 4 hours and is ideally suited for two players. Kawanakajima 1561 is an area-movement wargame designed to deliver intense, fast-paced engagements.

Prepare for swift and brutal battles, where maneuver, timing, and tactical decisions are the keys to victory.

The Battle of Kawanakajima (1561) was fought between the armies of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen, the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima is one of the most famous clashes of Japan’s Sengoku period. Renowned for its daring maneuvers, sudden attacks, and legendary duels, it epitomizes the art of war practiced by rival daimyo at the height of samurai warfare.

If you are interested in Kawanakajima 1561, you can pre-order a copy for 60,00 € ($71.46 in US Dollars) from the Serious Historical Games website at the following link: Kawanakajima 1561 – Serious Historical Games

New Release

1. They Came In Threes! The Final Word in Solo Sci-Fi Madness from Tiny Battle Publishing

I love a good Sci-Fi solo game and have played quite a few over the years. But one that still sticks out in my mind is Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi! from Tiny Battle Publishing, which is designed by Hermann Luttmann. Recently, I saw where Tiny Battle Publishing was offering a multi-pack of these Sci-Fi games and I wanted to share it with you. The multi-pack is called They Came In Threes! The Final Word in Solo Sci-Fi Madness that contains 3 full solo games including Space Vermin from Beyond!, Invaders from Dimension X! and the aforementioned Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi!.

From the game page, we read the following:

They came from beyond time, beyond reason… and they brought friends.

Strap in, Commander—this is the ultimate solo sci-fi slugfest! They Came In Threes! cranks the chaos to maximum warp. For the first time ever, three of designer Hermann Luttmann’s bizarre, brain-busting solo science fiction games are gathered in one battle-scarred box. Lead brave Galactic Marines against interdimensional horrors, titanic biomech monstrosities, and insectoid swarms that shouldn’t exist—but definitely do.

This deluxe package includes:

• Invaders from Dimension X! – A reality-warping solo game where your foes don’t follow logic… or sanity.

• Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi! – Massive, rock-like entities stomp across a doomed world. Can you outwit their merciless programming?

• Space Vermin from Beyond! – Bugs. Big ones. Hungry ones. And they’re coming for your outpost in waves.

• A Slick New FAQ & Scenario Book – Includes 3 scenarios, 8 counters for Invaders from Dimension X and an FAQ for each title.

Each game offers fast, intuitive solo play with unpredictable enemies, evolving scenarios, and that signature “what the heck just happened?” flavor. Whether you’re repelling alien warlords, dodging titanic footfalls, or holding the last line against a tide of teeth and slime, They Came In Threes! delivers old-school thrills in glorious technicolor terror. Three games. One box. Unlimited weirdness.

I have played the Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi! game and have done the following Action Point posts on the blog:

Action Point 1 – Marines of the 124th Galactic Marine Raider Battalion and Their Various Actions

Action Point 2 – The Bot Forces of the Colossi

Here is a link to my video review of the game:

If you are interested in They Came In Threes! The Final Word in Solo Sci-Fi Madness, you can order a copy for $75.00 from the Tiny Battle Publishing website at the following link: https://tinybattlepublishing.com/shop/ols/products/they-came-in-threes

2. Field Commander: Robert E. Lee from Dan Verssen Games

I have had various communications on social media with a fledgling designer named Vince Cooper over the past few years as he has embarked on a design odyssey for a few different wargames. Both he and I share an affinity for the designs of David Thompson and especially for the Valiant Defense Series. Through these online communications, I became aware of Vince’s first design called Field Commander: Robert E. Lee. I have played several of the games in the series including Field Commander: Alexander and Field Commander: Rommel and enjoyed them both. So my interest has been immediately sparked for this game. The game had a successful Kickstarter campaign last year and is now shipping and available for purchase.

From the game page, we read the following:

Field Commander – Robert E. Lee builds on the design and gameplay of Field Commander – Napoleon (currently ranked #97 in the Wargames category on BGG!!) to put the player firmly in control of the Army of Northern Virginia during the American Civil War, with the Union forces controlled by an AI.

The game includes 5 campaign and to keep the campaigns decision-heavy and focused on the critical aspects, some of the dates for the games noted may be different to the historical dates of a longer campaign. The campaigns include:

Seven Days Battles (June 25 – July 1, 1862)

Second Manassas (August 22 – August 30, 1862)

Antietam (September 14 – September 17, 1862)

Chancellorsville (April 30 – May 3, 1863)

Gettysburg (July 1 – July 3, 1863)

We posted an interview with the designer Vince Cooper recently and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/07/03/interview-with-vince-cooper-designer-of-field-commander-robert-e-lee-a-civil-war-solitaire-strategy-game-from-dan-verssen-games-currently-on-kickstarter/

If you are interested in Field Commander: Robert E. Lee, you can order a copy for $139.00 from the Dan Verssen Games website at the following link: https://dvg.com/product/field-commander-robert-e-lee/

3. Battle Hymn Vol. 2 – Shiloh and Bentonville from Compass Games

We really enjoyed our play experience with Battle Hymn Volume 1: Gettysburg and Pea Ridge from Compass Games in 2019. The rules were very approachable with lots of good details that were based in history, a good combat system that keeps the battle interesting and engaging but is simply withering and the game evokes a lot of emotions. I played as the CSA and it was heart breaking knowing the outcome and seeing what those men would have encountered going against those formidable Union defenses as they had the high ground and were not going to give it up easily. The newest volume in this series is now out and is called Battle Hymn Volume 2 – Shiloh and Bentonville.

From the game page, we read the following:

Battle Hymn Volume 2 is the long-anticipated sequel game release to Volume 1 and includes two complete games: Shiloh and Bentonville. Battle Hymn is the new brigade-level system based upon the latest research into Civil War combat. This new entry introduces an extension map for Gettysburg (Volume 1) for a complete alternative history of the entire battle. Designed by Charles S. Roberts Award-winning designer Eric Lee Smith.

Shiloh: The First Great Battle depicts the two-day battle of Shiloh. (4 Scenarios & 1 Full Campaign)

On April 7th and 8th of 1862, the Battle of Shiloh was fought in Tennessee along a sluggish river and centered on a church called Shiloh. America would never be the same. The first day of battle harvested more casualties than all of America’s previous wars combined. It got worse. While the Confederates caught Grant’s army off guard, he stood his ground; reinforcements arrived, and he counter-attacked and won the battle. As a reward, he was demoted. But Lincoln spared Grant his career, and the result is history.

Bentonville: The Last Great Battle simulates the final major battle of the war. (4 Scenarios)

Outside Goldsboro, North Carolina, on March 19th, 1865, Confederate forces under General Joseph Johnston made one last desperate attempt to destroy one wing of Sherman’s army. The Confederates caught them by surprise, and it was a close-run thing for an afternoon, but it ended in tragedy and defeat for Joe Johnston. It was the last major battle of the war and a needless pity.

Gettysburg 1862 is pure conjecture and simulates a completely hypothetical battle. (1 standalone Scenario, 2 new Scenarios combining Vol 2 with Vol 1)

The lost order was never lost, Antietam never happened, and the Confederates entered Gettysburg a year early, facing George McClellan rather than George Meade. Stonewall Jackson is alive; the cavalry for both sides are there, and the meeting engagement happens along different lines.

Also includes rules to modify existing scenarios to add the new map to Vol 1 Scenarios & Full Campaign.

If you are interested in Battle Hymn Volume 2 – Shiloh and Bentonville, you can order a copy for $85.00 from the Compass Games website at the following link: https://www.compassgames.com/product/battle-hymn-vol-2-shiloh-and-bentonville/

4. Sensuikan: Japanese Fleet Submarines, 1941-45 from Compass Games

Another solitaire game…..from Gregory M. Smith? Wow, he is a machine! Sensuikan: Japanese Fleet Submarines in WW2, 1941-1945 is a solitaire, tactical level game that places you in command of a Japanese Fleet submarine from Pearl Harbor until the end of the war in 1945. After choosing a class, your mission is to conduct special missions as assigned by the Combined Fleet. The player will take their submarine on assigned missions with the objective to complete said missions, as opposed to necessarily sinking merchant vessels (although that is sometimes an objective). You will be advancing your crew quality and increasing your commander’s rank and awards—all while remembering you have to make it home amidst diminishing odds of survival as the war progresses.

From the game page, we read the following:

A fascinating historical addition to Sensuikan is three new modules: the Aircraft Module, the Midget Sub Module, and the Kaiten (suicide torpedo) Module. These modules facilitate play if a player is assigned to a submarine that is equipped with one of these special capabilities. The system is packed with rich technical detail based on the various submarine classes used by Japan. There are no less than 17 classes of submarine to choose from. These include:

Types A, B, C

Junsen (3 classes)

Kirai-Sen Class

Kaidai (5 classes)

Type B. 3 and Type C. 3

Sen-Toku and Sen-Taka Classes

Type A (Modified)

The different classes have historical equipment, sometimes including aircraft in watertight hangars, midget submarines, and later in the war, suicide torpedoes. You may be assigned to special missions based on your class’s capabilities – perhaps a midget submarine attack on Pearl Harbor or Australia, the bombing of the U.S. west coast, or possibly even an attack on the Panama Canal.

But, as with Greg’s best solitaire games, this game doesn’t just focus on the hardware you use to complete missions but the crew also plays a pivotal role as they have skills and can advance with experience throughout the campaign.

…the human aspect of the war is captured as the submarine Commander (the player) and his crew can improve over time via skills acquisition. In addition to having combat modules to facilitate ease of play, the game includes a major change by including the “Major Event” markers that track the war’s progress and possibly involve the player in supporting the Major Events as they occur.

If you are interested in Sensuikan: Japanese Fleet Submarines in WW2, 1941-1945 you can order a copy for $85.00 from the Compass Games website at the following link: https://www.compassgames.com/product/sensuikan-japanese-fleet-submarines-1941-45/

5. A Distant Plain: Insurgency in Afghanistan 4th Printing from GMT Games

As you may know from my previews and reviews, I love the COIN Series of games by GMT Games. They are a fantastic vehicle to allow me personally to engage in the struggles throughout history between great powers and those that are considered rebels or traitors. Each of the volumes that I have personally played is a highly enjoyable delve into the time period depicted.  The game mechanics are so well designed, that I am allowed to totally immerse myself not only in the theme, but actually in the philosophy, mindset, motivations and direction of each of the factions. A Distant Plain is no different for me and I am truly pleased with this game and love it. And am not surprised at all that it has now had a 4th Printing as it really is just that good.

From the game page, we read the following:

Afghanistan—scene of tribal, ethnic, colonial, and Cold War conflict across the ages.  Into this cockpit dropped a multinational post-9/11 coalition to root out al-Qaeda and replace the hardline-Islamist Taliban regime that harbored it.  A quick invasion and regime change portended quiet reconstruction and good governance, but it was not to be so.  In their sanctuary across Pakistan’s border, the Taliban rebuilt for an insurgency that would ensnare the Coalition in the tangle of Afghan rivalries, shifting allegiances, and warlordism that the West could at first only distantly grasp. A Distant Plain teams Volko Ruhnke, the award-winning designer of LABYRINTH—The War on Terror, with Brian Train, a designer with 20 years’ experience creating influential simulations such as Algeria, Somalia Interventions, Shining Path, and many others.

A Distant Plain features the same accessible game system as GMT’s recent Andean Abyss but with new factions, capabilities, events, and objectives.  For the first time in the Series, two counterinsurgent (COIN) factions must reconcile competing visions for Afghanistan in order to coordinate a campaign against a dangerous twin insurgency:

• As the Coalition, how will you secure popular support for an Afghan Government that cares more about corrupt patronage and control than legitimacy?  Your high-tech forces are capable, but your publics are pressuring you to keep your footprint small:  how will you stabilize this complex country and get out?
• As the Government, how can you run the country when your foreign partners continually redirect your war effort?  You can reshape Afghanistan’s human terrain by encouraging the resettlement of millions of refugees, and your Coalition-trained forces are potentially the most numerous of any faction.  But they are unsteady, and your war chest is not your own:  how will you keep your allies’ firepower in-country long enough to ensure that you are the top dog once they leave?
• As the Taliban, how will you come back against the potent forces arrayed against you?  Islamism, Pashtun ethnic solidarity, and your Pakistani friends behind you will help you recruit and move with ease amidst the enemy.  But not all Afghanistan is Pashtun, its warlords are treacherous allies at best, your fighters are seasonal, and Pakistan’s word is ever uncertain:  can you sting the occupier and his puppets to reawaken Islamic revolution without drawing an unrelenting fire upon yourself?
• As the Warlords, how will you secure your traditional ways against the intrusive centralizers of Kabul and the Taliban?  You profit from the country’s lucrative opium crop, and your money can talk loudly to the Government’s venal officials.  But your fighters have neither the equipment of the Coalition, the numbers of the national army and police, nor the fanaticism of the Taliban:  how will you block this latest cast of combatants from unifying the country and imposing their rule on you?  

Afghanistan is not Colombia!

A Distant Plain adapts familiar Andean Abyss mechanics to the conditions of Afghanistan without adding rules complexity.  A snap for COIN Series players to learn, A Distant Plain will transport them to a different place and time.  New features include:

• Coalition-Government joint operations.
• Volatile Pakistani posture toward the conflict.
• Evolution of both COIN and insurgent tactics and technology.
• Government graft and desertion.
• Coalition casualties.
• Afghan returnees.
• Pashtun ethnic terrain.
• Multiple scenarios.
• A deck of 72 fresh events.

As with each COIN Series volume, players of A Distant Plain will face difficult strategic decisions with each card.  The innovative game system smoothly integrates political, cultural, and economic affairs with military and other violent and non-violent operations and capabilities.  Terror, drug trafficking and eradication, highway extortion and sabotage, drone strikes, and many more options are on the menu. 

If you are interested in A Distant Plain: Insurgency in Afghanistan 4th Printing, you can order a copy for $91.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-961-a-distant-plain-4th-printing.aspx

6. Men of Iron Volume VI: Purgatorio: Battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines from GMT Games

There are some systems that are just very playable. They are well designed, cover an interesting historical period or happening and have very interesting mechanics to boot. Such a series is the Men or Iron Series designed by Richard Berg. We played the new Tri-Pack in 2020 and really enjoyed the system. It was just really playable and ultimately created some great narratives. Since that time, we got a copy of Volume V Norman Conquests but have yet to play it (I am actually clipping the counters right now). This new volume is set in Italy and looks to be really good!

From the game page, we read the following:

The struggle between monarchs in Europe, particularly between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Pope, would spawn well over a hundred years of conflict in Italy. The Investiture Controversy caused a split between the Italian city states and even the people within the city states. Guelph was the name given to those who supported the Papacy—while the Ghibellines were the supporters of the Holy Roman Empire. Guelph cities tended to be farther away from the Papal States and closer to the Holy Roman Empire, and Ghibelline cities tended to be farther away from the Holy Roman Empire and closer to the Pope’s temporal power.

Battles raged across Italy from the mid-1100’s to the mid-1300’s with both sides ending up on top at one time or another. This sixth Men of Iron game (Men of Iron Volume VI: Purgatorio: Battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines) covers some of those battles: beginning with Frederick Barbarossa trying to recapture rebelling provinces in Italy in the late 12th century, taking a spin through the 13th century with a few battles that spelled the end of direct Hohenstaufen rule of Italy, and ending with a war that myth says was fought over the theft of a bucket from one city by another!

The battles include:
Legnano 29 May 1176 – Frederick Barbarossa fights the Lombard League for control of northern Italy.

Cortenuova 27 November 1237 – Frederick II, grandson of Barbarossa, tangles with the second Lombard League for control of northern Italy.

Montaperti 4 September 1260 – Florence and Sienna fight one of the bloodiest battles in medieval Italy—as seen on TV, or in GMT’s Inferno!

Benvento 26 February 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily, dies in battle in southern Italy against Charles I, King of France, earning Charles I the title King of Sicily.

Tagliacozzo 23 August 1268 – Conradin III, King of Jerusalem, is captured and executed after a battle in southern Italy against Charles I, King of France and Sicily.

Campaldino 11 June 1289 – Florence and Arezzo fight in northern Italy. Famous Italian poet Dante Alighieri fought in the battle. Later, his brand of Guelph would lose power in Florence, and he would be forced into exile.

Zappolino 15 November 1325 – Modena and Bologna fight, not over an oaken bucket stolen from a well, but over a long standing feud replete with raids and reprisal that had occurred almost a century.

If you are interested in Men of Iron Volume VI: Purgatorio: Battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, you can order a copy for $71.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1116-purgatorio-men-of-iron-volume-vi.aspx

7. Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare from GMT Games

Jerry White is one of our favorite designers. He focuses on mostly solitaire wargames but he is very good at what he does and has a real talent for making a playable game out of any historical situation. Over the past couple of years, titles likes Atlantic Chase, Storm Above the Reich and Skies Over Britain have been released by GMT and are simply fantastic games that tell a great narrative. A few years ago, his newest title was announced that covers the development of submarine warfare during the American Civil War and is in partnership with Ed Ostermeyer called Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare. This game looks great and I am very much looking forward to playing it.

From the game page, we read the following:

Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare is a solitaire board game that casts the player in the role of inventor/entrepreneur in mid -19th century America. The game is set during a historical moment when the business environment has gotten rather dynamic – it is the tumultuous landscape of the American Civil War. The player’s task is to design, build, and put to use a submarine during that war.

Infernal Machine can be played either in scenario form or campaign. In a campaign, you can choose the city or port where the project’s machine shop will be located. Since construction materials and labor costs money, your role as entrepreneur comes into play as you seek out Investors to join your team; their cash will provide the funds that help your Fishboat take shape. As Inventor, your design gives form and substance to the size and shape of your submarine, and to its capabilities. Will it carry a snorkel? Will its prow have a spar-mounted torpedo as the primary weapon?? Will it tow a captive mine instead? Will it have dive planes? Will it be powered by the muscle strength of a crew cranking the propeller or will you install a boiler engine?

To bring blueprints to life, you will need to hire Mechanics, whose engineering expertise keeps your infernal machine’s construction on schedule. Once assembly is complete, your Mechanics can join the crew, using their repair capability to keep the machinery and the vessel running smoothly. Journeymen can also lend a hand on the shop floor and inside the Fishboat, while Sailors bring nautical know-how as well as sheer brawn.

While your machine shop is busy getting started with the submarine’s construction, the game reminds you that the war drags on, and it is an unstable business environment. Prices for materials and labor fluctuate. Current events can affect your construction schedule and your machine shop’s performance. Public, and even personal circumstances may force your hand. You may decide to push your Fishboat into the water before you feel it is optimal, or push your crew into battle with little training. So many decisions. Where do you turn and how do you find out what you need to know?

We published an interview with the designers Ed Ostermeyer and Jerry White and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/06/05/interview-with-jerry-white-and-ed-ostermeyer-designers-of-infernal-machine-dawn-of-submarine-warfare-from-gmt-games/

If you are interested in Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare, you can order a copy for $93.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-963-infernal-machine-dawn-of-submarine-warfare.aspx

As usual, thanks so much for reading along and sticking with me this month as I navigated through the many websites and game pages looking for new and interesting games to share.

Finally, thanks once again to this month’s sponsor Wharf Rat Games!

-Grant

As you know, we very much enjoy multi-player wargames and anytime there is a new multi-player game coming out we very much sit up and take notice. In early 2024, Columbia Games launched a Kickstarter for a game on the Napoleonic Wars called Alliance: Multiplayer Napoleonic Wargame. Alliance is billed as a 1-7 player strategic level game of diplomacy and warfare in the Napoleonic Era with a Columbia Block System twist. The game is huge and plays best with more players. The players take on the roles of different nations during the time and you can play as Austria, England, France, Prussia, Russia, Spain, or the Ottomans. We recently played a full 7-player game and had a grand old time. While the game is not perfect, and there are some quirks that you must get past, the game is really pretty fun and interesting and could be one of those main staples at gaming conventions where you need a lot of players. 

I also wrote a fairly in-depth First Impressions post and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/03/06/first-impressions-alliance-multiplayer-napoleonic-wargame-from-columbia-games/

-Grant

With this My Favorite Wargame Cards Series, I hope to take a look at a specific card from the various wargames that I have played and share how it is used in the game. I am not a strategist and frankly I am not that good at games but I do understand how things should work and be used in games. With that being said, here is the next entry in this series.

Card #60: French Leader Napoleon from Congress of Vienna from GMT Games

Congress of Vienna from GMT Games is a diplomatic card driven wargame based on Churchill and is the 4th game in the Great Statesmen Series. The game is set during the years of 1813-1814 and sees players take on the role of the main characters of the struggle between the Napoleonic Empire and the coalition of Russia, Austria, and Great Britain with their Prussian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Swedish allies. Congress of Vienna has two different but related phases including the conference table where players first debate over the control of issues germane to the factions and the period of the war and second these issues are then used on the battlefield to recruit units, attack and take overall command of battles. The players will be playing cards from their hands to “debate” over the various issues that were placed on the table, which include all types of things such as Military Operations, Recruitment, who will lead the combined Coalition forces (Generalissimo), Future of French Government, British Financial Aid, Liberalism vs. Absolutism, Austrian Neutrality and several other issues, and then later the players will use their accumulated Resources gained from the issues to enact action on the Military Map and do things like mobilize troops, place Military Support Markers and the ultimately to conduct warfare.

The game relies on cards and cards can be used to negotiate, i.e. move an issue to your National Track. Cards can provide a particular issue with positive and negative DRM’s depending on which nation plays them and can also be traded with another player during the Diplomacy Phase. Certain cards are better than others for debating an issue moved by another player; and finally, if they are saved for the War Phase, staff cards can be used to modify dice rolling in battles. These are very versatile cards and the players will have to learn them and their benefits in order to be effective at the game.

In this entry, we are going to take a look at the French Leader Napoleon card, which is one of the more powerful cards in the game. There is actually quite a bit of information found on the card but it all has a purpose and clearly explains when it provides bonuses when used on the various issues such as Minor Country Issues, French Recruitment as well as its various Dice Roll Modifiers during combat. This card is very powerful and must be used at the appropriate times for what the player is trying to do. Early in the game, the card can be used for its French Recruitment ability to gain new troops, the French will then gain 2 additional Units to use. When used during the Diplomacy Phase to effect the location of issues at the conference table, if used to move any issue it will provide a free French Military Operations Marker to be used on the battlefield to cause units to attack. The uses of Napoleon are many and players will need time to best understand when and where to use his abilities. But, his most impactful use is on the battlefield where he will grant various DRM’s depending on what French army he is commanding. If used with the Grande Armée, he will grant a massive +6 DRM while when being used for the Army of the Elbe he will only grant a +3 DRM. As the games wears on, and the Allies are at the gates of Paris, if used in defense he will grant a -3 DRM to the Allies attacking. These choices are very important and the correct choices will need to be made at the right time to be successful.

After playing now a few times, I am here to say that Congress of Vienna is probably my favorite game in the Great Statesmen Series. I believe that this game has matured the system and made it something that is more than where it started. Congress of Vienna is very much more like a true wargame and was extremely interesting. We are still learning and need to keep playing this one but I did enjoy what it was that we were doing.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) was a French military and political leader who rose to power during the French Revolution (1789-1799), became Emperor of the French (1804-1814/1815), and conquered much of Europe through brilliant, though costly, military campaigns, leaving a lasting legacy as one of history’s most famous and controversial figures, known for his strategic genius and ambition. He implemented significant legal reforms like the Napoleonic Code but ultimately faced defeat and exile, cementing his image as a complex figure of power and downfall. 

Born on the island of Corsica to a family of Italian origin, Napoleon moved to mainland France in 1779 and was commissioned as an officer in the French Royal Army in 1785. He supported the French Revolution in 1789 and promoted its cause in Corsica. He rose rapidly through the ranks after winning the siege of Toulon in 1793 and defeating royalist insurgents in Paris on 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. In 1796, he commanded a military campaign against the Austrians and their Italian allies in the War of the First Coalition, scoring decisive victories and becoming a national hero. He led an invasion of Egypt and Syria in 1798, which served as a springboard to political power. In November 1799, Napoleon engineered the Coup of 18 Brumaire against the French Directory and became First Consul of the Republic. He won the Battle of Marengo in 1800, which secured France’s victory in the War of the Second Coalition, and in 1803, he sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States. In December 1804, Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French, further expanding his power.

We have done 2 videos on this game including the following RAW Video after out 1st play at Buckeye Game Fest in May 2025:

We then did the following full Review Video after our 2nd play at WBC last July:

In the next entry in this series, we will take a look at Mobile Vulgus from Time of Crisis: The Age of Iron and Rust Expansion from GMT Games.

-Grant

As you know, we very much enjoy multi-player wargames and anytime there is a new multi-player game coming out we very much sit up and take notice. In early 2024, Columbia Games launched a Kickstarter for a game on the Napoleonic Wars called Alliance: Multiplayer Napoleonic Wargame. Alliance is billed as a 1-7 player strategic level game of diplomacy and warfare in the Napoleonic Era with a Columbia Block System twist. The game is huge and plays best with more players. The players take on the roles of different nations during the time and you can play as Austria, England, France, Prussia, Russia, Spain, or the Ottomans. We recently played a full 7-player game and had a grand old time. While the game is not perfect, and there are some quirks that you must get past, the game is really pretty fun and interesting and could be one of those main staples at gaming conventions where you need a lot of players. 

I also wrote a fairly in-depth First Impressions post and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2025/03/06/first-impressions-alliance-multiplayer-napoleonic-wargame-from-columbia-games/

-Grant