Hermann Luttmann is a great designer and I just love his solitaire takes on historical battles. His newest design is a solitaire game called A Hell So Terrible: Verdun 1916 from GMT Games that focuses on the German assault on the city of Verdun in 1916 during World War I. Keep in mind that Hermann is a very creative designer and uses lots of very interesting and chaotic design elements to create a very interesting and satisfying gaming experience. Also, most of his games are just that, with very engaging gameplay and a lot of the unknown that will hit you in the face from time to time! I just love his games. We reached out to Hermann and as always he was more than willing to share more about the design.
*Keep in mind that the design is still undergoing playtesting and development and that any details or component pictures shared in this interview are for prototype purposes and will definitely change prior to final publication as they enter the art department.
Grant: Hermann welcome back to the blog. What is your upcoming game A Hell So Terrible about?
Hermann: Thanks so much for having me back again! This is getting to be a bad habit. A Hell So Terrible is currently on the GMT P500 list and covers the German assault on Verdun during World War I. The offensive was launched on Feb. 21, 1916, and its ultimate goal was, as Chief of Staff Erich von Falkenhayn infamously stated, to “bleed France white”. This design sets up the solitaire player commanding the German army at Verdun. The player must push the various German Corps forward along nine different tracks across three main sectors, all of which converge on the city of Verdun and its last ring of fortresses. But the player only has a limited amount of time to close the noose around Verdun, as at the start of July, the Allies will be launching their huge offensive along the Somme River and vital German resources will need to be diverted to defend that front. So, this game design combines a little bit of push-your-luck with a little bit of tower-offense (reverse States of Siege, if you will), and a dab of historically-weighted chaos, to give you a nice flavorful stew of military simulation and game play fun.
Grant: What is the meaning of the title? What did you hope to convey about the game to the players?
Hermann: We actually went through a number of different titles, and I had this one neat quote I found:
“Humanity is mad! It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre! What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible. Men are mad!”— Second Lieutenant Alfred Joubaire in his diary during the Battle of Verdun (May 23, 1916).
The BBC also used a version of this quote for the Verdun chapter of their special Great War TV series – “Hell Cannot Be So Terrible”. Gene Billingsley came up with the final, truncated version for the game’s title. I take great pride in my game’s titles, and this is no exception. I want the titles to be poetic, artistic, and memorable and thus are usually portions of famous quotes, book chapter titles, etc. By doing so, the title has a meaning and conveys to the player a hint of what the game is about. In this case, as you may surmise, it is supposed to be a bit depressing and gloomy, preparing the player for a difficult Great War grind. The player will experience, in abstract and harmless form of course, the tough slog and frustrating pace of a WWI offensive against an entrenched enemy.
Grant: I see that you described it as a “tower offense” game. What does this mean?
Hermann: This clever twist on the “tower defense” label was created by the game’s developer, Marco Poutre, and I just love it. A tower defense game traditionally means that a player is located in the relative center of the game board, and they are required to defend that center from a foe advancing from multiple directions. Lose the center and lose the game. A Hell So Terrible flips that dynamic around 180 degrees. You are the approaching German attacker moving along multiple axes of advance and the French enemy “bot” is the central defender, trying desperately to keep you away from Verdun.
A prototype copy of the board with counters. Not final art.
Grant: Furthermore, the player takes on the role of the attacker. How did this change your design focus?
Hermann: Primarily, the game design must provide the player with strategies of offense and exploitation, rather than that of defense and blocking. The game’s mechanics are structured to offer ways and means for the Germans to conduct actions against the enemy, rather than offer just reactions to enemy moves. You are the instigator and thus drive the action with your play. But that’s not to say that the French “bot” sits idly by…it will counterattack and it will generally do that in the spot which least suits you and your plans.
Grant: Why was this a subject that drew your interest?
Hermann: Well, as you may or may not know, World War I has always been a primary interest of mine. It is just so rich with gaming opportunities because there are so many interesting fighting fronts featuring many different armies. The war is loaded with fairly obscure yet fascinating battles and campaigns and making them each “gameable” is a real challenge. Designing a playable game out of trench warfare was one of my earliest self-inflicted gaming challenges and that all lead directly to the In Magnificent Style push-your-luck style system, which has now come full circle to A Forlorn Hope from Wharf Rat Games (which actually does cover trench warfare). In the A Hell So Terrible game design, that aspect of pushing your troops ”against the wind” of enemy fire (but at an operational scale now) seemed to fit really well with what a game about Verdun should simulate.
Grant: What is your ultimate design goal with the game?
Hermann: Simply, to provide the player with as much angst and anxiety as possible! This operation is perfect for the push-your-luck and tower offense approach. The player is placed under a severe time constraint, so the requirement to not only keep moving forward (even when it seems unwise to do so) but also the need to harbor the few resources you have available in the game (more on that later) is a perfect combination of game play juggling. The player must pick the best spots to attack, when to attack, and with what expenditure of assets. And to keep all these moving parts in a playable, accessible format that doesn’t overstay its welcome is the design goal.
Grant: What from trench warfare during WWI and the numerous attacks on Verdun was most important to model?
Hermann: Well, there are quite a few factors that I really wanted to get into the design to make it feel right. Obviously, the French defensive positions are deep, layered, and unpredictable. There are multiple chains of trenches, forts, and terrain features that must be overcome. How do you, as the attacking Germans, go about penetrating these defenses and inflicting as many casualties as you can on the defending French? Well….planning, logistics, bombardment, flanking, reconnaissance, and determination are the tools to overcome those traditional WWI obstacles. Using a design-for-effect principle, there are simple mechanics built into the game that allow the player access to each of those tools, but at the same time, they are not always available and certainly aren’t limitless.
The player must assess each phase of the game and play it to their best ability, utilizing these historic tools to pry loose the French defenses. So, all these factors are important to model to get the best full experience of attacking in WWI.
One other critical thing I wanted to model is the unknown. What I mean is, the French defenses were mostly hidden and they were deep. Though the player can see the French units on the game board, their strengths are unknown until engaged and even the effect of your artillery bombardments is unknown until you actually have units enter those spaces. This is a huge aspect to WWI trench warfare – you are just never sure what the enemy is doing nor what kind of shape they are in. This fog of war really creates a high level of tension and requires the player to try their luck sometimes, even when it might not seem advisable. And the game will constantly be changing the state and makeup of the French defenses, including allowing them to hit back at unexpected times with counterattacks. All these aspects of WWI warfare are critical to include to give the proper experience, and they are all found in this game.
Grant: What sources did you consult about the details of the history? What one must read source would you recommend?
Hermann: The Price of Glory by Alistair Horne is my “must read” source.
Verdun 1916: They Shall Not Pass from Osprey Publishing.
Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War from Oxford University Press by Paul Jankowski.
And in addition to published books, I reviewed various online articles and video documentaries.
Grant: What other games did you draw inspiration from?
Hermann: Honestly, none. I know you guys have covered a number of the other Verdun games and I know that there are some really good ones. But A Hell So Terrible is, I feel, a unique wargame approach to this campaign and as such, I don’t like to be influenced by other games when I begin a design. That goes for most of my other designs as well, by the way. Again, that’s not to say that other game designs aren’t great games – most are. But I don’t want to allow myself to be subconsciously swayed one way or the other by another designer’s approach, unless I’m actually using an operating system as my core engine (like States of Siege, for example). That’s not to say that I won’t read the background and historical information that is contained in other games or read the associated historical articles in a game magazine. But for the most part, I do not consult other games to get design ideas.
Grant: What are the Activation dice and how do they work?
Hermann: One of the driving inspirations for this game’s design approach was the idea of using an activation dice mechanic in a wargame. This is a relatively new game mechanic, at least in my experience, and I first encountered it in the Claustrophobia game series. I’ve come to appreciate the fact that it is an almost perfect blend of randomization and player decision making, all in one simple mechanic. You roll a bunch of dice – the random part – and you must then assign those dice to particular tasks – the decision part. My twist on that concept is that I marry that idea with the ability to change the kind of dice you roll and then apply the entire push-your-luck concept on top of that. There are two types of dice – Movement and Casualty – and after all dice are rolled, one of each is assigned to an activated unit. This will tell you how far a unit can move and how many casualties it will suffer just from moving (i.e., representing the constant enemy “wall of fire”).
Grant: How has the dice activation streamlined the game? Why does this work so well?
Hermann: The dice activation system not only tells you how you can move your units but also resolves the persistent enemy fire without needing the player to resolve a dozen separate combats. There are two categories of activation dice – Movement and Casualty. The Movement dice come in two types – Advance (green dice) and Infiltration (black dice) while the Casualty dice also come in two types – Friction (orange dice) and Suppression (red dice).
The Advance die allows normal movement results and is the default movement die unless the player opts to spend Command Points to upgrade one or more of these dice to Infiltration dice. The Infiltration dice represent the deployment of Stosstruppen, highly skilled and specially equipped assault troops, and as such these dice allow more movement. Because Command Points are a limited resource, the player must make that critical decision whether to spend those points to get the more efficient Infiltration dice.
The Friction die is assigned to a unit to represent the amount of enemy fire it is receiving and it is the default die unless the assigned unit has its Support marker (representing the supply trains and supporting local artillery) nearby. If the marker is with or adjacent to the activated unit, the player may automatically substitute the Suppression die for the Friction die. The Suppression die represents the tactical artillery (present with the Support marker) bombarding the enemy and thus suppressing the enemy troops and their defensive fire. The problem is that Support markers are hard to move and rarely are able to keep pace with their associated German unit.
Thus, the player is left with some interesting command decisions, even though a unit’s movement and vulnerability is randomly determined by a simple die roll.
Grant: What time pressure is felt by the player?
Hermann: Like all game designs that have any kind of push-your-luck aspect to them, time has to be of the essence. If there is no time pressure, there is no reason to push and take chances. In this game, each turn is half-a-month and the player must accomplish the German goals by the end of the 10th Game Turn, which is the end of June, 1916. The Somme offensive starts at the beginning of July and this marks the point where the Germans must have achieved a victory at Verdun in order to compromise that offensive. The player will find that it is a long slog to capture the ring of French fortresses and get to the outskirts of Verdun in time. So, they will be compelled to push hard and take risks to get to the inner sanctum before the end of the game.
Grant: What type of experience does this create? What are the toughest decisions forced on the players?
Hermann: The experience will hopefully be, as I said before, one of anxiety and fun all mixed into one package! And despite the random events and numerous dice rolls, there is a parade of tactical and strategic decision-making the player must navigate each and every turn. Just to list the toughest and most critical…
Which Activation dice do you assign to which unit?
In what order do you activate the units? This matters because you can maneuver your units to create flank attack benefits.
How do you spend your limited Command Points?
Where do you place your Bombardment and Big Bertha markers?
How far do you push your combat units forward before you have to slow them down to allow the Support markers to catch up?
Do I spend precious time to do a Reconnaissance before attacking?
Grant: How does the solitaire bot for the French function? How does the AI prioritize its decisions?
Hermann: The French bot works mostly through the Event Cards, though as stated before the French firepower is also inherent in the Casualty dice effect. The events are almost all based on things that actually happened or could have happened during the Battle of Verdun and though they won’t occur in exactly the same order chronologically, many are weighted to have different effects depending on the month in which the card is drawn. The French are always tenaciously defending, but the cards dictate when reinforcements arrive, the deployment of fighter aces, the bombarding of German units, the appearance of random patrols, and the launching of counterattacks. And the location of many of those counterattacks is often influenced by how much progress German units are making on their tracks… r in other words, how close they are to Verdun itself.
Grant: What is the flow of the game?
Hermann: Each Game Turn begins with the draw of an Event Card and this card can affect any position or area across the game board. The player determines if they receive any additional Command Points and then resolve a dogfight procedure to determine which side has Air Superiority this turn. Then the player conducts any desired Artillery Bombardment, placing such markers face down on French units. The player selects which of three sectors to activate – left, center, or right. Before activating units in each sector, another Event Card is drawn and often, its effects apply just to the chosen sector (but not always). Units of the chosen sector move and fight until all are Spent for the turn. Then another eligible sector is chosen, another Event Card is drawn, and its units move and fight until Spent. Once all units on the map are Spent, the player calculates any Victory Points earned, and resets for the next turn.
Grant: What are the Events that start a turn? What are some examples of these events?
Hermann: The Event Card that is drawn to start the turn (during the Initial Event Phase) is the same as the others – they all come from the same deck. But this first card may affect the game differently. If it does, it will say so right at the top of the card. So, for example, the “Shell Shock & Attrition” card is especially devastating if drawn as the Initial Event. If drawn at the start of a Sector activation, it requires the German units of that Sector (only) to each take an immediate Morale Test (which could result in their becoming Spent before they even get to activate). If this card is drawn during the Initial Event Phase, it affects all the German units on the game map and every unit must take an immediate Morale Test!
Grant: How are Command Points used? How are they earned?
Hermann: Command Points (CP) are the currency with which the player can do some really cool bonus actions or get gameplay benefits. Using CP to the best of your ability is a key to winning the game. The player gets 15 CP to start the game and then earns some more each turn, but fewer and fewer as the game progresses. This is an abstract way to simulate the breakdown of communications between German headquarters and the troops, as well as reflecting the degrading of confidence in the operation, especially by Crown Prince Wilhelm himself. Certain Event Cards also grant additional CP. Command Points are used throughout the game to do a number of special actions, including purchasing Infiltration dice, re-rolling combat dice, replacing losses, using Attack Momentum (see below), redeploying units, etc. All powerful tools when used at the right moment in the game.
Grant: What is the need for the dogfighting step? How does this play out?
Hermann: The Dogfight Step is a part of the Air Campaign Phase, which just generally reflects what is happening in the skies above the Verdun battlefield.
The Dogfight is a simple competitive dice roll, with the side who has Dogfight Advantage at the time (as listed on the Turn Record Track) getting to roll two dice and use the higher roll. The winner gets to bump the Air Superiority marker one box in their direction. Who has Air Superiority at any point in the game can affect some events, but most importantly for the player, if the Germans have Air Superiority, they have more Bombardment and Big Bertha markers available to use in the turn (simulating that the German Drachen – balloons – are free to fly to observe and guide artillery fire). Again, a simple thematic mechanic that reflects a complex issue.
Grant: How does heavy bombardment work?
Hermann: During the Heavy Artillery Bombardment Phase, the player deploys a certain number of Bombardment and/or Big Bertha markers onto the game map. At the very start of the game, there is a special step called the Trommelfeuer Step which allows the player to place 20 Bombardment and 5 Big Bertha markers around the map. This is to simulate the massive preliminary barrage the Germans conducted before the assault. During all the other game turns, the player gains a certain number of Bombardment Points, based on where the Air Superiority marker is located. Bombardment Points are spent to purchase Bombardment and Big Bertha markers to place face down on French units or into the special Voie Sacree (Sacred Way) area, which was the logistical lifeline for the French forces. The markers each have variable effects on their back sides, ranging from no effect to utter destruction. But these markers are randomized and the player does not know what effect applies to the targeted French units until a German unit enters their space for combat or the player takes the time to conduct a Reconnaissance action to reveal and apply the marker immediately. A Big Bertha marker placed in the Voie Sacree area can interdict that area and delay French supplies and reinforcements, which is enacted by nerfing certain Event Cards.
Grant: What is the layout of the board?
Hermann: The boards shows the entire area around the Verdun fortress complex. There are nine movement tracks and each track has a dedicated German unit and Support marker. Each of these tracks are made up of a series of eight spaces. Most spaces have a terrain feature associated with them – clear, forest, hills, fortress, or trench. There are also a number of landmark spaces that have special game effects (ex: Fort Douaumont). The tracks are also divided into three Sectors, each representing a major segment of the German army attack zone. The left Sector has only two tracks, the center Sector is the main attack zone with four tracks, and the right Sector has three tracks and is the left bank of the Meuse River, which was manned by the Bavarian Corps. Every German unit starts in its own trench area and must move up the track toward Verdun, encountering and hoping to defeat French units along the way.
A prototype copy of the board. Not final art.
Grant: What dangers are present for the advancing Germans?
Hermann: My goodness…there’s a myriad of dangers for the German player. The French can not only offer a stubborn defense of their trenches and forts, causing you casualties and loss of time, but they can also bombard your units and whittle them down from afar. Logistical considerations are numerous, as the player needs to carefully use the Command Points in the right spots and must have the Support markers keep a steady pace to support their associated German fighting units. The air war has to be won consistently to maximize artillery bombardment. The player is going to be severely curtailed by Event Cards and coping with those while also taking advantage of the few good Event Cards is essential. Finally, the most dangerous factor of all is the passing of time. The player only has ten turns to accomplish a lot and every minute lost during those ten turns can make all the difference between victory and defeat.
Grant: How does Fog of War work? Why was this important to include?
Hermann: Well, as with most of my games, I love dabbling with the three F’s of War…the Fog of War, the Friction of War, and the Fortunes of War. And this design has all those elements in it. The player of course has to deal with the uncertainty of the Activation dice rolls and the unknown of the combat dice rolls (see below). Along with that, the Event Cards are always throwing a new, unexpected wrench into the works. In fact, the player does not even know definitively how effective their artillery bombardment has been! On top of all that, French units are deployed face down and their exact strengths are not revealed until contact is made or until the player spends time to scout out the units with the Reconnaissance action. These are all important elements to include in the game because these are exactly the same challenges the German army and its commanders had to face at Verdun. And as with all games that lean on the historically-weighted chaos theory of design, having this level of Fog of War in a game design not only makes it more realistic, but it makes it a more fun game as well.
Grant: How does combat and losses work?
Hermann: Combat in this game is pretty straightforward. Each side in a combat totals up their SP and rolls a D10 which is added to their SP to get a Combat Score. The French get an extra die to roll (using the higher result) and/or additions to their Combat Score if located in certain terrain. The German units can get re-rolls and/or an extra die if they are using an Infiltration die for their activation, or spend a Command Point, or have a flanking unit. Some Event Cards can affect combat as well. Each side gets a total Combat Score and inflicts Hits on the opponent based on that score…the higher the score, the more casualties are inflicted. This yields interesting combat results as both units scoring high means huge casualties for both sides, regardless of who wins. Then the side with the higher score wins the combat, and the opponent must retreat. The actual difference in scores can affect units differently. For example, if a German unit wins a combat by only one point, it will hold the position as the winner but it will become Spent, meaning it is done for the turn! Too many of these kinds of wins can spell doom for the German player. A large margin win will allow the German unit to choose pursuing the enemy and continuing forward or consolidating and bringing its Support marker up one space. Tough choices!
Grant: What is the concept of Attack Momentum?
Hermann: Ah, that’s my sly little “gamey” mechanic for this design. I wanted to add another twist to the Activation dice assignment mechanic that also acts as a mitigation against bad luck – or in this case, technically a mitigation for good luck. So, the idea is that if the player assigns two good Activation dice to a unit, instead of having to re-roll those dice the next Game Turn, the player can instead spend a Command Point and keep those dice with that unit but must count down each die by one number. So, for example, if you assign a “6” Movement die and a “5” Casualty die for a unit, you could spend a CP and activate that unit again with a “5” Movement die and a “4” Casualty die (assuming the unit was not Spent during its first activation). So, good dice stay with the unit, but lose their potency over time. Historically, this simulates a commander seeing a unit performing well and then directing assets and leadership to that unit to exploit their superior performance.
Grant: How do you model German Command Efficiency?
Hermann: Well, in games where there is significant dice rolling, I do like to use the “doubles = something special” mechanic, because you know that the odds will produce a certain number of doubles rolls during the course of the game. As such, I like to make something special happen when they are rolled that the player can exploit, and in this game the use of a doubles Activation dice roll is actually more in the control of the player because the doubles can be “created”. What do I mean? For example, if you are rolling Activation dice for the right Sector (three tracks, so three German units), you’ll roll a total of six dice – three Movement dice (Advance and/or Infiltration) and three Casualty dice (Friction and/or Suppression). This creates a pool of dice results from which you will assign two dice per German unit – one Movement and one Casualty die for each. Thus, if you have two matching dice, you can grab those two and create a doubles result for that unit. An assigned doubles result triggers German Command Efficiency and it allows you some options for activating that unit. You have one of three options you can apply – increase the Movement result by one type (ex: change the result from Move 1 to Move 2); reduce the strength point loss from the Casualty die by one; or move the unit’s Support marker up one space. The chosen benefit is applied, along with the normal dice roll results, when the unit is activated. Again, a simple bonus to reflect the superior abilities of the German officer corps.
Grant: What type of an experience does the game create?
Hermann: I’m hoping that the game creates an intense gaming experience. One in which the player can exercise tactical and strategic options in an effort to carry out a particular plan, but coupled with the excitement of the unexpected challenges by – and sometimes, assistance from – the Gods of War. This should be a gaming experience of tough decisions and of taking calculated risks. And ultimately, I think this will inevitably come down to a nail biting ending.
Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?
Hermann: I’m really proud of the fact that I think I got almost every crucial element of simulating the early stages of the Battle of Verdun down to workable and accessible mechanics. The game’s core mechanics and use of historically-based Event Cards drives a narrative that draws the player directly into this era and into the drama of this particular battle. To be able to do that and still keep the game accessible and easily playable is, for me, the ultimate goal and I think A Hell So Terrible achieves that goal.
Grant: What other designs are you working on?
Hermann: My, my… t’s a busy year for sure! Here we go:
They March Against Us: Leipzig 1813: This is the first game in the Bonaparte’s Sword Series, which will essentially be Napoleonic Blind Swords. Roger and Richard at Revolution Games are playtesting it right now and so far, so good. It should be available this year.
A Forlorn Hope: This game is Wharf Rat Games’ first published design and just finished a very successful crowdfunding campaign. We’re now working on getting it all finished up and designing the stretch goals that were achieved. This one is going to be a real beauty and I can’t wait until people actually get to play it.
Dawn of the Zeds: Designer Edition: Yes, Dawn of the Zeds is back and this is the newly redesigned version of the classic. I’ve updated the mechanics, especially the combat system. It will have the traditional map layout and characters of the previous three editions, but I’ve also added a ton of new stuff as well. This is published by Blue Panther and I think (hope) will be a huge hit.
A Primitive Madness: Antietam 1862: The third Black Swan Series game by Flying Pig Games will indeed cover the Battle of Antietam. This one will be a bit different, as the scale has changed to accommodate the smaller battlefield. This will have the same huge maps and elite production of the other games.
At Any Cost: Metz 1870: This game will be republished by Hexasim sometime this year. I am reviewing the original game and probably updating a chunk of mechanics to allow the game to play more smoothly and quickly. And it will have all new artwork.
Kill All Fermitians!: A republication of an older game (Volters Lead the Way!), this is going to be published by Flying Pig Games as a deluxe push-your-luck science fiction game. The new artwork with this one is amazing!
Nemto: A big, multiplayer, cooperative science fiction wargame that will be published by Nuts Publishing. This is going through all original artwork right now and even some professional background story telling to add to the game. It tells the story of human mercenary companies sent to an alien planet to lay claim to its powerful natural element – pinnaclium.
More Brains!: Have you ever wanted to play as a zombie? Of course you have! Well, here’s your chance. Another new company, Jackl Games (run by Randy Lein from Legion Wargames) is going to publish this multiplayer game that I co-designed with Ryan Heilman. Each player controls a team of Alpha Zeds, zombies who are accumulating brain power and with each new brain, a new skill. Very different and very fun.
Thanks so much to Grant and Alex for allowing me to write about A Hell So Terrible! I hope gamers enjoy it. All the best! Hermann
As always it was a pleasure speaking with you Hermann. I am very excited about this one as it sounds very interesting and is a gaming subject that I have a great interest in as you mentioned. I am looking forward to our next opportunity to meet up and play some games!
May is here and the grass is growing, birds and bees are out busily going about their lives and summer is just around the corner. And with all of this change, there are tons of new games that are appearing on both pre-order and as new releases that I am looking forward to getting on my table. Now, if I could only have more time or discover a time manipulation method! This month for the Wargame Watch, I was able to find 25 games (including the 5 games from our sponsor Sound of Drums). I was also able to find 4 games being offered on Crowdfunding through Kickstarter.
This month we have a sponsor for the Wargame Watch feature in Sound of Drums who has made some really great games over the past few years including their History of the Ancient Seas Trilogy (HOTAS: HELLAS, HOTAS: DIES IRAE and HOTAS: MARE NOSTRUM), 1793: Patriots & Traitors, Eylau 1807 and a few others. Sound of Drums really has a great approach to game design and they also are committed to high quality production with great components, fantastic art and really sharp graphic design. They are definitely a publisher to keep an eye on and you should give their games a try!
Most recently, they released the first volume in their Napoleonic Wars tactical level Battle Commander Series designed by Card Paradis called Battle Commander Volume I – Napoleon’s Italian Campaigns. The Battle Commander Series recreates historical 18th-19th century battles and features a fresh framework focused on providing two key aspects: command decision and maximum playability. In Volume I, the player takes on the role of an 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 the Battle of Austerlitz and the Battle of the Pyramids.
In Carl’s own words, here is what the game is focused on and attempting to model:
The system is at Brigade/Division scale, is very playable, with no downtime or complex computations or mechanics. I am a game component maniac, so the package will be super-deluxe, using a very large box, allowing the 2-sided mounted maps to be folded only once (think of the 70’s Avalon Hill flatboxes maps), 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, the emphasis is on the gameplay!
The crux of the game engine will be ( 1 ) the deck of event cards, that will also take care of all the combat results and other dice functions, and ( 2 ), 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.
They also recently released the Assault Sicily ’43 – Primosole BridgeExpansion for the Assault Sicily ’43 base game. We got a chance to play a scenario from this one with the designers Wolfgang Klein and Erich Rankl while attending Essen Spiel last fall and we had a great time with the new innovations and mechanics as well as the beautiful new production of the expansion.
The big new game that Sound of Drums is offering on pre-order at this time is the Designer Edition of No Retreat! The Russian Front 1941-1945 from designer Carl Paradis.
I am very much looking froward to this one as we have played the Deluxe Edition from GMT Games several years ago and very much enjoyed the system and its narrative on this titanic confrontation on the Eastern Front of World War II. I am interested to see what they change, both mechanically and graphically, and how the final product turns out. The cover though is simply amazing and shows off the skill of their graphic designer Marc von Martial and new artist Wouter Schoutteten.
From the Sound of Drums website, we read the following:
No Retreat! The Russian Front – Designer’s Edition is the definitive evolution of Carl Paradis’ acclaimed Eastern Front wargame.
Building upon the original 2008 release and its later Deluxe editions, this new version refines gameplay, streamlines core systems, expands the Event Card deck to a full 70 cards, enhances solitaire play, and introduces upgraded visuals by renowned artists Marc von Martial and Wouter Schoutteten.
With dual maps, optional historical-symbol counters, dual layered Army Mats, and deluxe player aids, the Designer’s Edition represents Paradis’ final, authoritative vision for his landmark design.
This isn’t just a reprint. It’s the version the designer always dreamed of — crafted after 45 years of studying the Russian Front.
They also have lots of games in the oven and we got a look at a few of them at Essen Spiel including Operation Valkyrie, which is a solitaire game that simulates the events immediately after the attempt to assassinate Hitler on July 20, 1944 and The Great Escape, which is a cooperative game about the escape attempt from the infamous Stalag Luft III POW Camp during WWII. Both look amazing and there are preview pages already published on Gamefound so I would expect them to kickoff sometime in the near future.
As you can see, Uwe Wallentin and his team at Sound of Drums are busy working on some great projects and I cannot wait to see where they go and what they attempt to tackle in the future.
But now onto the games for May!
Pre-Order
1. Foxes and Lions: Renaissance City-States in the Age of Machiavelli from GMT Games
We have played all of the games in the series designed by Ed Beach, including Here I Stand (multiple times), Virgin Queen (multiple times but not as many as HIS) and Tanto Monta (once) with our most recent play being a full 5-player game in March while attending Buckeye Game Fest, and the series is just special. The card driven mechanic simply makes the series and it really is a bit of a sandbox as you can win in various and sundry ways. Recently, GMT announced the fourth entry in the series called Foxes and Lions:Renaissance City-States in the Age of Machiavelli designed by the duo of Paul Wright and Liz Davidson. This one looks to be epic and is set during the Italian Wars. I am very keen on a new addition to the series and look forward to diving in and learning more about the game over the next year or so.
From the game page, we read the following:
Foxes and Lions: Renaissance City-States in the Age of Machiavelli is the next game in the series that includes Here I Stand, Virgin Queen, and Tanto Monta. Focused on the warring city-states and dominions of Renaissance Italy during the era known as the “Italian Wars” (specifically, the period from 1494 to 1527), this game zooms in on the Italian peninsula. Unlike many other games on the Italian Wars, Foxes and Lions puts the focus on Italian experiences of this era of enormous upheaval, which also saw some of the greatest cultural splendors that we now associate with the period known (not without controversy) as the Renaissance. The game depicts the political, military, economic, religious, and cultural affairs of five key Italian powers brought to life by players (Florence, Milan, Naples, the Papacy, and Venice).
Players will struggle to create political legitimacy for themselves while contending with both Italian rivals and external great powers intent on conquest of their own objectives in Italy (France, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire). For those who have played other series games, much will be familiar mechanically, but there are many new concepts and mechanics to enjoy, including experimenting with different government types, managing local sentiment, and gathering precious florins to pay for mercenaries and their fickle condottieri captains.
Furthermore, players will be faced with the possibility of collective defeat to the great powers. Players will individually pursue Virtù Points, drawing on Machiavelli’s famously pliable conception of political ability and military strength, while at the same time striving to avoid collective defeat by loss of Italian Virtù. Dwindling Italian Virtù embodies Machiavelli’s abiding fear of great power domination of Italy. Players will each attempt to win without Italy falling into the subjection that was historically its fate, and should they fail to prevent that, the game ascribes blame to the specific players viewed as the scourge of Italy and the new lapdog of the great powers. Can you thread the needle between your Italian rivals’ ambitions and the threat posed by the great powers of Europe?
In case you thought that maybe they are squishing a square peg into a round hole or just copying the tried and true system then you will be glad to find out there is lots of new to explore in the design.
Concepts and Features New to the Series
Political traditions—These are the governments (current and past) that define the political character of any given space in the game (featuring merchant republics, feudal aristocracies, princedoms, theocracies, tribute states, and vassals). In keeping with Machiavelli’s respect for founders of institutions, lawgiving will be an available action that permits you to attempt to alter governments in your dominion. Each space under your control may have a very different political arrangement, which affects its prosperity, unit construction capability, and many other things. Your central government (that of your capital) may also change over time.
Sentiment—This captures the current attitude of the local population to the government overseeing it. The scale of sentiment reflects Machiavelli’s own terminology, ranging from “Hated” to “Feared,” to “Feared and Loved” (the latter an ideal Machiavelli thought hard to achieve, opting instead for being “Feared” whenever a choice between fear and love was unavoidable).
New unit types—Regulars are split into citizen militia and feudal levies, alongside a more detailed look at mercenaries (with elite variants including the Swiss reisläufer and the Imperial landsknechte).
Condottieri captains—Twenty of the colorful, talented, and sometimes treacherous mercenary captains of the era will be available to players in competitive blind bidding for their services, with each captain reflecting unique battlefield abilities, vulnerabilities, and other surprising game impacts. Captains are essential to success in the game, and if not properly paid and retained, will go up for auction again; they may even be suborned and taken from you by nefarious rival actions. Among the captains are the infamous Cesare Borgia, Fabrizio Colonna, Giovanni delle Bande Nere, and “El Gran Capitán” himself, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba.
Money economy—Alongside the high-level political capital of command points (CP) already familiar to CDG players, Foxes and Lions features the cold, hard cash that mercenaries and dominions crave. Florins are collected by a trade action connected to the prosperity of the various governments in one’s dominion. The florin economy will be necessary not only to pay or bribe mercenaries and captains, but also for espionage, government maintenance, and more. Player treasuries are hidden behind a screen, so no one is ever quite sure of a rival’s wealth. Should you run out of florins for a required or desired expenditure, the banks will be available to lend to you at exorbitant interest rates, and failure to repay may cost you dearly.
Espionage available from turn one—Nefarious measures are available to players from the outset of the game, including familiar operations from Virgin Queen like Gain Intel and Assassination, now supplemented with Pacification, Foment Rebellion, Sabotage Fortifications, and Suborning others’ employed condottieri to your cause.
New patronage systems and figures—For those familiar with Virgin Queen, patronage now features three tracks (artists, scientists, and humanists) with 10 figures of each type. Patronage targets may now be selected rather than randomly drawn, and each affords unique game effects. Among the 30 patronage subjects are figures such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Copernicus, Pacioli, Paracelsus, Machiavelli, Manutius, and even a prying poet-courtesan, Tullia d’Aragona.
New ruler dynamics—Each player will have an often-volatile lineup of rulers who will transition based on circumstances in the game (26 rulers in total across five player powers). In the case of the Papal States, a conclave procedure involving all five players will determine the next pope whenever the current pope dies (however mysteriously).
Variable impulse order—Players may bid their florins to change the impulse order for a given turn, creating dynamic opportunities for surprising your enemies—or lying in deadly wait for them.
More opportunities to declare war mid-action phase—No game about Machiavelli’s era would be complete without the temptations and risks of back-stabbing rivals, even erstwhile allies, including in the middle of a turn. Great coalitions (like the historical “Holy League”) may form, but no alliance is ever truly safe.
2. Chariots of the Gods: A Module for the Great Battles of History Chariots of Fire Game from GMT Games
My experience with the Great Battles of History Series is not very deep. I own SPQR Deluxe Edition and have played it and enjoyed it and it is a beautiful monster with around 6 full counter sheets and 6 double sided maps with 19 scenarios. There is a lot of game here in each of the volumes in the series! The series is really very deep and there are a lots of rules and exceptions based on the different units that are included in each scenario. The game system really emphasizes the important role of command on the ancients battlefield. Leaders are the most important counters in the game and consequently without leader’s order, the player will find that their very powerful and important phalanx and legions will not be able to take any actions, even moving closer to the enemy. There is a new expansion module that was recently announced that deals with Ancient India covering the period of 1700 to 1800 BCE called Chariots of the Gods.
From the game page, we read the following:
Chariots of the Gods (CG) simulates tactical-level combat in the period of India’s ancient Vedic era. Covering a period extending from roughly 1700 to 800 BCE, the age of Vedic India was one of sweeping battles between great kingdoms for supremacy over northern India. This was the age of the chariot-knight, whose prowess with the compound bow from his speeding war-car inspired legends. Often the bravery of the charioteer, whose skill in commanding the vehicle safely through the chaos and danger of the ancient battlefield was no less legendary.
Given the heroic nature of the age, the Chariots of Fire Heroes rules have been expanded to portray the fighting styles in the Vedic poems. All scenarios feature Heros and Heroic Challenges. Rather than Heroes engaging in personal combat only on foot, the Vedic heroes duel each other from a moving chariot wielding their bows. The Hero counter represents not only the Hero, but his Charioteer, and his Chattra (banner) all of which may be hit by his opponent.
CG introduces three new unit types:
Javelin Infantry: Javelin/light spear armed troops with no armor and no missile capability, fighting in loose formations. These units provide the shock power for most of the tribes.
Dismounted Chariots: Noted on the reverse side of the CH-2 counter, these are the knights on foot rather than in their chariots. This mode is mostly useful for traversing rivers and other non-chariot favorable terrain.
Lance Armed Cavalry: Early light cavalry armed with lances with limited Shock capability.
There are special rules for river crossings, strongholds, and given the coalition type armies in the larger battles, rules for Tribal Flight.
Battles included in the Module
Hariyupiya River (ca. 1660), the Anu vs. the Vrcivans
Invasion of the Purus (ca. 1540), the Puru-Bharata vs. the Turvasha-Yadu
Battle of the Dasyus (ca. 1500), the Puru-Bharata vs. the Dasyus
Khandava Expedition (ca. 1415) the Bharata vs. the Kikatas
Parushni River (ca. 1400), Tritsu and Bharata vs. the Kings of the Puru Confederation
Yamuna River (ca. 1400), Tritsu and Bharata vs. the Kings of the Puru Confederation
The typical tribal army consists of mixture of Chariots, bow armed infantry, and javelin armed infantry with minimal shock capability. The Vrcivans, Dasyu, and Kikatas are infantry armies composed of Shock or Barbarian infantry along with bow armed infantry. The battles against the Daysu and Kikatas play out on rough terrain which tends to neutralize the Chariots mobility. The Vrcivans, on the other hand, need to force their way across a river and then contest the chariots in open terrain. The other three battles are set piece affairs occurring on mostly chariot friendly terrain showcasing the full capabilities of that weapons system and the dueling Heroes of legend.
If you are interested in Chariots of the Gods: A Module for the Great Battles of History Chariots of Fire Game, you can pre-order a copy for $37.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1230-chariots-of-the-gods.aspx
3. Liberty! A Military History Survey of the American Revolution from GMT Games
In our travels to several gaming conventions over the years we have made some great friends, which include gamers, designers, publishers, other content creators, etc. While attending the World Boardgaming Championships a few years ago, we had the chance to interview Mark Miklos who is the creator of the Battles of the American Revolution (BoAR) Series. We also have interviewed Mark several times for new volumes in the BoAR Series, including for Volume XI: The Battle of Green Spring: Prelude to Yorktown, July 6, 1781, Vol. X Battle of White Plains as well as play several of the games in the series at WBC and SDHistCon including Savannah and Germantown. Mark is a very enthusiastic student of the American Revolution and has now taken all of that knowledge and written a book on the subject that was offered up for pre-order by GMT Games this past month called Liberty! A Military History Survey of the American Revolution.
From the page, we read the following:
War has been defined in many ways; as a continuation of politics by other means, as the locomotive of history, and as Hell. Whatever your definition, war is undeniably a spectacle. And in all the spectacle of war, the conflict variously known as the American Revolution, the Revolutionary War, or the War of American Independence has seldom been equaled for its cosmopolitan nature or for the allure it has on the popular imagination.
Here the Ancient Regime, the New World, and the world of the indigenous First Nations collided across oceans and in forest depths, in urban centers and on the frontier, atop mountains, on fertile plains, and across great rivers. Faith and great doctrines were tested. This was the Age of Reason which saw a reexamination of politics, economics and science and, with the vigor of a fledgling leaving its nest, took umbrage against the constraints of a still-enduring older social order.
What began as an assertion of the rights of Englishmen transformed into a movement for independence that ultimately led to a second world war in as many decades. An erudite debate that included statements such as, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety,” or, “If this be treason, make the most of it,” led to a sanguine test of arms and yet fully one third of the people in the American colonies simply asked to be left alone to live a common life as it had commonly been led.
Just in time to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence, Mark Miklos, in his new book, Liberty! A Military History Survey of the American Revolution presents us with the arc of this epic story, a story of the quest for Liberty. Alternating between a 20,000-foot overview and comprehensive detailed analysis, this book informs what you may not know and refreshes what you may already know about the military perspective of the American Revolution.
Anchored on the original essays that appeared in his Battles of the American Revolution Series by GMT Games, Mark has expanded upon his original work to include new chapters, summaries, and transitions which present a compelling and cogent story. Mark has researched the most comprehensive chronological listing of over 600 battles, sieges, engagements, skirmishes, raids, ambush and sanguine quarrels across the nine-year duration of the war which provide context for the primary chapters.
The book features a foreword by Harold Buchanan, designer of GMT Games’ Liberty or Death and the creative force behind the SDHistCon franchise, as well as appendices, comprehensive endnotes, a bibliography, twenty four maps and dozens of illustrations.
As Mark writes, “The dawn of the American Revolution was a period much like others in human history. There was famine and plenty, avarice and charity, misery and joy. Yet something else unique and profound was manifesting, the spark of Liberty.”
Follow that journey in quest of Liberty. Revisit the great battlefields. Renew your acquaintance with heroes, villains and scoundrels along the way, and enjoy the story as Mark takes you on the journey in Liberty! A Military History Survey of the American Revolution.
4. Cuba Libre: Castro’s Insurgency, 1957-1958 5th Printing from GMT Games
Any time a game is on its 5th Printing that should tell you something right there. The game is interesting. The game is fun to play. The game teaches some really great history. Well, in the case of Cuba Libre, all of the before are true and then some. The 2nd game in the COIN Series, Cuba Libre is the smallest of the series in map spaces although All Bridges Burning comes close. This game is usually put forward as a good starting point for the series for new players and we would wholeheartedly agree with that, although I would say even above that is that you should have a passion and interest in the history first and foremost.
From the game page, we read the following:
Following up on GMT Games’ Andean Abyss, the COIN Series next volume, Cuba Libre, takes 1 to 4 players into the Cuban Revolution. Castro’s Marxist “26 July Movement” must expand from its bases in the Sierra Maestra mountains to fight its way to Havana. Meanwhile, anti-communist student groups, urban guerrillas, and ex-patriots try to de-stabilize the Batista regime from inside and out, while trying not to pave the way for a new dictatorship under Castro. Batista’s Government must maintain steam to counter the twin insurgency, while managing two benefactors: its fragile US Alliance and its corrupting Syndicate skim. And in the midst of the turmoil, Meyer Lansky and his Syndicate bosses will jockey to keep their Cuban gangster paradise alive. Cuba Libre will be easy to learn for Andean Abyss players—both volumes share the same innovative COIN system. Like Volume I, Cuba Libre is equally playable solitaire or by multiple players up to 4—and with a shorter time to completion than Andean Abyss. But Cuba Libre’s situation and strategic challenges will be new.
Here is a link to our most recent COIN Series Ranking Video:
5. Panzer: The Game of Small Unit Actions and Combined Arms on the Eastern Front 4th Printing from GMT Games
Panzer is a well regarded system that I have personally never played even though I like tactical games and combined arms is always fun because you get to use tanks. That is sad but one day I will get to it. GMT recently announced a new 4th Printing of the game and maybe this is my chance.
From the game page, we read the following:
Panzer is a complete game system designed for small unit actions from platoon to battalion-sized formations in World War II. The primary focus is Armored Warfare simulation, but Leg (Infantry) and Towed units are also part of the game. Each 7/8” double-sided counter represents a single vehicle, towed gun or aircraft. The 5/8″ double-sided leg unit counters represent squads, half-squads and sections, including their attached weapons.
It’s a modular rules system with Basic, Advanced and Optional rules, which the players can mix and match according to taste – you can keep it simple or make it as complex as desired. All Unit data is included on the full-color Data Cards. The streamlined chit-based command system moves the action along at a brisk pace.
The base game comes with 10 Scenarios, some of which are aimed at new players and use only the Basic rules.
Note on 4th Printing: This will be a straight reprint of the previous printing, with any known errata corrected.
If you are interested in Panzer: The Game of Small Unit Actions and Combined Arms on the Eastern Front 4th Printing, you can pre-order a copy on the GMT Games P500 game page for $65.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1228-panzer-4th-printing.aspx
6. Combat! Blitzkrieg from Compass Games
Compass has been churning out new volumes for the Combat! Series over the past few months with volumes focused on Crete, Arnhem and the Eastern Front. I love that there is such a variety in the topics and settings of these solitaire tactical level wargames and look forward to seeing how the system branches out to involve other historical conflicts but also to see how they innovative and make each volume feel like it belongs to the period with new mechanics and unit types. This month, they announced the newest volume in the series called Combat! Blitzkrieg. This volume focuses on squads of Polish, French, or early-war German soldiers and the fighting ranges from the open fields of Poland to the snowy woods of Norway, to the villages and cities of Belgium and France. The game comes with 11 scenarios, 6 bonus Armor scenarios, a competitive 2-player mode, a comprehensive Random Scenario Generator which is always a good innovation to add variety to any game, a Campaign Game and the ability to combine with other 2nd-generation Combat! Series volumes.
From the game page, we read the following:
Combat! Blitzkrieg is a stand-alone solitaire game of man-to-man combat in World War II. This game depicts the countless squad-level actions that were fought as part of the first campaigns of the war, with the player commanding a squad of Polish, French, or early-war German soldiers in those engagements.
In the 11 scenarios, the fighting rages from the open fields of Poland to the snowy woods of Norway, to the villages and cities of Belgium and France. It is bursting with value, whether enjoyed on its own or combined with other games in the series, such as Combat! Eastern Front, Combat! Tunisia & Sicily, or Combat! Crete. The comprehensive Random Scenario Generator (and Campaign Game) further expands your gaming possibilities. With this tool, players can generate a limitless supply of unique scenarios for Combat! Blitzkrieg.
Combat! Blitzkrieg also includes new easy-to-use Armor rules, along with 6 extra Armor scenarios. Tanks, anti-tank guns, and infantry anti-tank weapons are included for the French, Poles, and Germans, as well as the Italians, British, Soviets, and Americans, for use with previous series games.
One of the things that I do like about this system and the various volumes is that it is not just cookie cutter churning out new games but each game has their own unique elements modeled into the game play as special rules or changes to account for the history of the setting. Here is a look at the changes in this new volume:
Other new features in Combat! Blitzkrieg include:
New Terrain types, including a Steeple, Graveyard, Fence, and Barricades.
Flamethrowers for use against enemy defenses.
Competitive Play rules for head-to-head battles!
Combined rulebook containing the special rules from previous Combat! volumes.
Plus, you get rules for air support, fortifications, city fighting, light mortars, weather, fire, and much more, making this the most comprehensive Combat!volume yet published!
7. Iberian Tide: The Spanish Civil War from Compass Games
Recently, we have been playing a lot games on the Spanish Civil War. It is a fascinating period of history leading up to the start of World War II and we have really played some great games on the subject including most recently Crusade & Revolution from Compass Games and The Republic’s Struggle from NAC Wargames. The Tide Series is the brain child of Gregory M. Smith and he is now working with a newer designer in Michael Vitale to tell the story of the Spanish Civil War in a Card Driven Game with the newest volume in the series called Iberian Tide: The Spanish Civil War.
From the game page, we read the following:
Iberian Tide is a 2-player operational-level game that places you in command of either the Nationalists (Franco and his German/Italian support) or the Republicans (Government troops and their Soviet/International support) during the Spanish Civil War. Many would point to this conflict as a ‘warm-up’ for World War II.
Starting with “Viva La Muerte” in 1936, the Nationalists try to quickly knock out the Government by attempting to capture Madrid, all while each side tries to organize amidst the chaos of the Coup.
Each turn, or ‘Block’ is about 3-6 months long, during which multiple card plays occur. These give the players movement, combats, ‘Dug-In’ positions, units and other actions or items. At the end of each Block, players must make critical decisions on which cards to re-buy in an attempt to win the game. Iberian Tide is based on the popular, action-packed “Tide” system of card-driven games (Pacific Tide, Imperial Tide, Rebel Tide, Desert Tide), with many combat and strategic decisions to challenge players in just a single evening’s game.
While the game is probably best as a 2-player game, there is a dedicated solitaire mode.
While Iberian Tide is designed as a 2-player experience, an additional option for solitaire play is provided by the inclusion of a Solitaire Bot. This “Bot” creates action priorities for the non-human player, and has the advantage of being simple enough to implement without spending an inordinate amount of time as the non-player
8. To Kyiv! The Russian Invasion of Ukraine from Compass Games
I know that many designers and publishers have a strict “no current ongoing war designs allowed” policy. I also understand that not all games are for all gamers and that is fine. With that being said, with the events in Ukraine over the past 4+ years, it is just a matter of time before we get several of these designs (this being the 3rd I am aware of with the other 2 games being 2022: Ukrainefrom Conflict Simulations Limited and Defiance: 2nd Russo-Ukrainian War 2022-? from GMT Games). The situation in Ukraine is a study in modern warfare and I for one am glad that this game is coming to light. The newest game to tackle this ongoing conflict is To Kyiv! The Russian Invasion of Ukraine from Compass Games designed by Ivan Notario.
From the game page, we read the following:
A Card-Driven Wargame of the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aiming to rapidly seize Kyiv and replace the country’s government. The campaign soon stalled in the face of determined Ukrainian resistance, exposing deep flaws in Russian planning and logistics.
To Kyiv! simulates this modern conflict at the brigade level, covering the chaotic early months of the invasion and the prolonged struggle that followed. Players alternate playing event and action cards that drive military, political, and logistical developments across the theater of war.
The game features variable turn lengths, reflecting the fluctuating tempo of operations, from rapid breakthroughs to extended periods of stalemate. Success requires balancing offensive ambition with the hard realities of supply, morale, and international support.
Designed as a serious historical simulation, To Kyiv! seeks to model the strategic and operational dynamics of the war as faithfully and respectfully as possible. It does not glorify or justify the conflict, but rather aims to help players better understand its complexity and consequences.
I am very much looking forward to this design and to see how it explores a conflict that has so recently been, and continues to be, in the headlines! I also love a good CDG and this one looks very promising.
I normally don’t highlight non-wargames in this Wargame Watch but this next game is just too juicy looking to not share. Do you love a good pirate game? With broadsides, walking the plank, scurvy, boarding parties and booty? Well, you are not alone and there will soon be another great game on the market to quench that thirst for mayhem and adventure with Pirate Hunter: 1718 designed by Joe Carter. I think that the best part about this game is that it is a solitaire game and Joe Carter is a very good designer who is doing a lot of them great titles.
I do own the first game in this series called Golden Age of Piracy: 1718 but have not had a chance to get it played yet as it sits atop my very high and ever growing pile of “to be played” games. A shame really as it looks amazing!
From the game page, we read the following:
Pirate Hunter: 1718 is a solitaire, tactical-level, open-ended sandbox game—being part wargame, part adventure game, and part RPG. As captain of a Royal Navy ship during the year 1718, you are tasked with hunting down and defeating pirates, with your ultimate goal being to attack and shut down the notorious pirate town of Nassau!
Ship-to-ship combat, boarding parties, and the search for buried treasure are to name but a few of the adventures that await you on your patrols across the high seas. But beware of lurking dangers such as the destructive Kraken or the haunting Ghost Ship, all the while you sail the crystal blue waters in pursuit of marauding pirates, fame, and fortune.
10. Rebel Tide: The U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865 from Compass Game Currently on Kickstarter
There is no secret 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 Tide Series 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 Tidegame 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:
As of May 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $9,098 toward its $2,500 funding goal with 101 backers. The campaign will conclude on Monday, May 4, 2026 at 10:00am EDT.
11. Battle Box – Age of Sail from Feral Wizard Currently on Kickstarter
Small and unique wargames are a rare commodity in our hobby of large and bloated 1,000 counter and multiple map monster games. Nothing wrong with bloated but sometimes it is nice to have a simple and quick to set-up game that is interesting and fun to play. Well, I found this offering on Kickstarter called Battle Box – Age of Sail and it simply looks amazing. It fits into a mint tin and seems to have a lot of flexibility and interest.
From the game page, we read the following:
Battle Box – Age of Sail is a complete naval wargame within a small tin box that fits in your pocket, perfect for a quick game on the go or even full naval campaigns.
The game in full display.
Battle Box – Age of Sail includes ships, battle mat, dice, scenarios, and cards for in-game effects such as critical hits and special ship rules.
4 ships and tracking tokens in different colors.
3 double-sided sections of a hexagonal grid battle mat; with open sea on one side and terrain features such as coastline, island and shoals on the other side.
4 dice and 1 set of rules to play in under 30 minutes while capturing the tactics and flavour of age of sail warfare.
18 cards with ship status tracking, critical effects, ship upgrades, narrative scenarios based on real events, a wind rose (plus wind token), and advanced rules for frigate duels.
And all of it fits within a small and neat tin box!
The set of 4 ships, each of a different colour, are used to represent generic men-of-war and merchant ships. The status, crew quality, ship upgrades, and critical hits on each ship are tracked by means of cards and a token matching the ship’s colour.
Ship Cards – Track ships status and bonuses/penalties deriving from it, such as an eager crew aboard a frigate, or a merchant ship so damaged that can’t sail effectively.
Upgrade Cards – Special rules that can be assigned to each ship for special scenarios, such as a fighting captain or a weatherly ship.
Critical Effect Cards – Attached to a ship as reminder of the critical conditions she is suffering, such as a raging fire or a mast going down.
As of May 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $10,175 toward its $270 funding goal with 230 backers. The campaign will conclude on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 9:01am EDT.
12. Old School Tactical Volumes II and III: The Pacific and WestReprint from Flying Pig Games
Old School Tactical from Flying Pig Games is a tactical combat system that focuses on World War II to date. The game focuses on the simulation of small unit combined arms engagements where historical units, weapons, armor and vehicles will duke it out on a beautifully crafted board full of hexes. During a turn, players will go back and forth using an Impulse Point System to activate units to either Move, Assault Move or Fire. The players will play through a predetermined amount of rounds and at the end, victory points and casualty points will determine which side is the victor.
The first volume in the series was Old School Tactical Volume 1 Eastern Front 1941/1942 and focused on battles between the Russians and Germans. Old School Tactical Volume 2 West Front 1944/1945 was a follow-up effort and focused on the titanic struggle in Europe following the D-Day landings in 1944 with battles between the Americans and Germans. Then came Old School Tactical Volume 3 Pacific 1942/1945 which includes battles between the Japanese and their Special Naval Landing Force and the American Marine Corps. Since that time they have done Volume 4: The Italian Theater and Volume 5 German invasion of France during 1940. But, they are now doing a reprint campaign for Volumes II and III and it is currently on Kickstarter.
From the game page, we read the following:
War is often remembered in sweeping movements across maps and history books, but it is decided in far smaller moments—when a single squad holds the line, when a machine gun nest refuses to fall, or when a bold maneuver turns confusion into opportunity. Old School Tactical is built to capture those moments. It is a squad-level system that places you in direct command of infantry, leaders, heavy weapons, and armored support, where every decision carries weight and every action can alter the course of a battle.
This Kickstarter brings together four outstanding entries in the acclaimed Old School TacticalSeries: two core games and two expansions that span the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II. Together, they offer a complete and deeply immersive tactical experience built on a system known for its accessibility, tension, and replayability.
At the heart of Old School Tactical is a design philosophy focused on clarity and engagement. The rules are streamlined without sacrificing meaningful decision-making, allowing players to quickly grasp the system while still exploring its tactical depth. Each turn is driven by an impulse-based structure that keeps both players involved, eliminating downtime and ensuring that every moment at the table feels active and consequential. The system emphasizes maneuver, firepower, leadership, and timing—core elements of battlefield command—while remaining intuitive and fast-playing.
This reprint Kickstarter offers four different games including Vol. III: Pacific War 1942–1945, Hell Bent Expansion, Vol. II: West Front 1944–1945 and Ghost Front Expansion.
Here are links to some of our content on these 2 fine games.
Video: So What is Old School Tactical? – A Look at the Old School Tactical System from Flying Pig Games:
Video Review: Old School Tactical Volume II with Airborne Expansion:
For my part, I think that Old School Tactical is one of the finest tactical systems out there. Its ability to generate the gory details of close quarters squad level combat while keeping the game rules relatively lite and intuitive is quite miraculous. We love it and I would definitely highly recommend the system to anyone that hasnt tried it.
As of May 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $62,668 toward its $12,000 funding goal with 280 backers. The campaign will conclude on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 12:00 noon EDT.
13. Blitz Creed – The Card Game from Blitzcreed Currently on Kickstarter
I love a good card based wargame. They are definitely a change of pace and a lot of the times are really great experiences. This past week, I found a new and interesting looking card based wargame called Blitz Creed – The Card Game on Kickstarter and wanted to make sure to share it with you.
From the game page, we read the following:
In the wake of global conflict, powerful countries fight for supremacy. Territories shift hands, alliances crumble and soldiers await their commands. Enter Blitz Creed where players engage in intense battles and use their wits to emerge victorious in this world of relentless warfare.
Blitz Creed is a fast-paced, military-themed card game where players battle for global dominance. Set in a world of strategic warfare, players control countries and deploy soldiers to engage in battles and conquer regions. The game combines elements of military strategy, outsmarting opponents and anticipating the moves of others in a contest of wits and power.
In Blitz Creed, you use a deck of 110 cards that include countries, soldiers, dispute cards and reinforcements. You’ll strategically play your cards to deploy soldiers, attack other countries while protecting your regions. Each country has a strength which determines it’s ability to win or lose a battle. There are also special cards like Regional Strike, which let you unleash powerful attacks on your enemies.
The goal is simple: conquer and secure 3 regions by collecting the required number of countries. The first player to secure 3 regions becomes world leader & wins the game.
As of May 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $4,346 toward its $2,625 funding goal with 75 backers. The campaign will conclude on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 6:54am EDT.
14. Cry Havoc– Medieval Man to Man Combat from Footsore Miniatures & Games Currently on Kickstarter
Nostalgia is a real thing and we have it for many of the things from our childhood. Sometimes that nostalgia is kind of like fool’s gold, meaning that we see something differently than it really was and have a favorable memory of it because it might have been one of our first tries of something that we love. But, nostalgia doesn’t always mean that those feelings are not real and true. Well, I recently came across one of these “nostalgia grab” wargame Kickstarters for a game that originally published in 1981 called Cry Havoc – Medieval Man to Man Combat from Footsore Miniatures & Games. I have looked into this one, even though I didn’t play it during my formative years, and have jumped on the bandwagon and backed the project. Word of warning though. The Kickstarter page is quite sparse and you really cannot get a good feel for what the game is other than a few beautiful pictures of what appears to be lovingly hand drawn boards and art.
From the game page, we read the following:
The original game of medieval combat returns in a fantastic remastered edition, featuring new art from Gary Chalk. Time to bring dramatic clashes of mail-armored knights to your tabletop.
The original 1981 edition of Cry Havoc
In 1981, Gary Chalk and Standard Games collaborated to create Cry Havoc!, combining simple rules with gorgeous hand-drawn art and compelling narrative scenarios. The game became the introduction to wargaming for many gamers worldwide, and the original version can still be found on many tabletops, a testament to the game’s quality and presentation.
Fast forward to 2026, and Gary has collaborated with his friend Mark Farr at Footsore Miniatures to clean up and remaster the original game with new artwork, maps and tokens. The game remains the same classic wargaming experience, and is completely compatible with the original 1981 version (if you’ve still got one on your shelf or tucked away in an attic).
I love the look of this one and even if the game is lacking having the beautiful boards and art in my possession will be worth the $80 I will pay for the game.
As of May 1st, the Kickstarter campaign has funded and raised $50,162 toward its $20,267 funding goal with 624 backers. The campaign will conclude on Sunday, May 3, 2026 at 1:14pm EDT.
New Release
1. A Mad Endeavor: The Fight for Stoney Point, July 16, 1779 from High Flying Dice Games
With this year being the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the start of the American Revolutionary War here in America, I would expect to see a bunch of Am Rev focused wargames being released and to date this year we have seen 3 new ones (Trying Men’s Souls from Against the Odds Magazine and Battle of Pensecola 1781 from Strategy & Tactics Magazine) with the most recent of the bunch being A Mad Endeavor: The Fight for Stoney Point from High Flying Dice Games. I ordered a copy of this one and it arrived last week and looks to be a pretty good little game. Paul Rohrbaugh specializes in these little known and smaller scale battles throughout history and he uses an interesting card activation system that adds some of the unknown to the game and keeps it lite and interesting.
From the game page, we read the following:
The British outpost at Stony Point along the Hudson River prevented any movement by the Americans along this crucial waterway. It also allowed the British nearly unfettered transit that could cut off the New England colonies from the rest of United States. Such a position had to be taken and reduced. To that end, General Washington ordered General “Mad” Anthony Wayne to assemble a strike force to take Stoney Point by assault. What ensued was one of the most daring assaults in the Revolutionary War.
Can you as the British player hold off the Rebel’s attack at Stony Point? Will you as the Americans take the Loyalist stronghold to help secure New England’s position in the revolution? Learn and enjoy!
If you are interested in A Mad Endeavor: The Fight for Stoney Point, July 16, 1779, you can order a copy for $18.95 from High Flying Dice Games website at the following link: https://www.hfdgames.com/stoney.html
2. Cuius Regio: The Thirty Years War 1618-1648 from GMT Games
We have been collaborating with Francisco Gradaille a bit over the past few years as we have posted interviews for his first published design Plantagenet: Cousins War for England, 1459-1485, Onoda from Salt & Pepper Games as well as some other more generic game design and scenario articles. He now has a new game being fulfilled at the end of May called Cuius Regio: The Thirty Years War 1618-1648.
From the game page, we read the following:
Cuius Regio explores the operational military aspects of the pivotal period in European history called The Thirty Years War and focuses on the maneuvers and battles that shook Europe for three decades.
The Thirty Years War unfolded in four main phases: the Bohemian Revolt from 1618 to 1625, the Danish intervention from 1625 to 1630, the Swedish intervention from 1630 to 1635, and the French intervention from 1635 to 1648. It concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which finally established a new status quo in Europe, the concept of the sovereignty of states, and shifted the focus of continental politics from southern Europe to the northern states.
The game is an operational scale game and contains all the grandeur you would expect on such an interesting and compelling conflict.
For two players, Cuius Regio is played on an operational-strategic scale. Each turn covers one year, and each hex is approximately nine miles across. Infantry and Cavalry strength points represent approximately 1000 men each, and an Artillery strength point is approximately five guns. Each leader has a Leadership Rating that affects how many troops he can lead and his effectiveness as a leader. Players maneuver their leaders and their armies around Central Europe, conquering cities, engaging in battles, gathering supplies, and preparing armies for yearly campaigns to gain control of the cities of the Holy Roman Empire.
The game includes scenarios covering the Bohemian Revolt, the Danish intervention, the Swedish intervention, the French intervention, and a Thirty Years War campaign of 31 turns lasting from 1618 to 1648. Each scenario has a unique character, and the game can be played in as little as an hour and a half (for a short scenario) or can be a multi-session game for the full campaign.
The turns are divided into two seasons (summer and winter), and each turn has a variable duration that depends on the number of armies activated. In addition, armies can conduct operations several times but become less effective as they accumulate fatigue during each action.
Combat is an integrated system for field battles and sieges and is resolved by a die roll, modified by each army’s leadership, composition, and condition, on a simple Battle Results Table.
If you are interested in Cuius Regio: The Thirty Years War 1618-1648, you can order a copy for $71.00 ($45.00 if you order quickly before they are shipped near the end of May) from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-971-cuius-regio-the-thirty-years-war.aspx
3. Empire of the Sun, 5th Printing from GMT Games
If you have followed us for long you know that we really love Empire of the Sun and have played it several times. The game is simply fantastic and really implements the CDG mechanic perfectly with the events of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. Furthermore, if a game is on its 5th Printing now especially with the 4th Printing having been announced at the end of 2020, that says something about it.
From the game page we read the following:
Empire of the Sun is Mark Herman’s third card driven design since he introduced the system to the hobby in We The People. EotS is a strategic level look at the entire War in the Pacific from the attack on Pearl Harbor until the surrender of Japan. EotS is the first card driven game (CDG) to move the system closer to a classic hexagon wargame, while retaining all of the tension and uncertainty people have come to expect from a CDG. Players are cast in the role of MacArthur, Yamamoto, Nimitz, and Mountbatten as you direct your forces across the breadth of the globe from India to Hawaii and from Alaska to Australia. This is represented on a single map based on a 1942 equal area projection of the entire theater of conflict.
As in other games using the CDG system, players try to maximize the impact of their cards even as they hide their intentions and traps from their opponent. The player is faced with a wide set of clear strategic choices. The focus of EotS is on directing major offensive axes of advance. The Japanese early in the game are challenged to achieve their historical expansion as Allied forces battle the clock to react with their in-place forces trying to achieve maximum damage to the hard-to-replace Japanese veteran units.
If you don’t have this one, you need to get it now. Not only is the price right but the game is simply amazing. And it will be in a near perfect form with the 5th Printing.
We have lots of content on our blog and channel for you to choose from but here are a few of those pieces.
Empire of the Sun – Basic Training Episode 1 – Card Anatomy Video:
Empire of the Sun – Basic Training Episode 2 – Counter Anatomy Video:
If you are interested in Empire of the Sun: The Pacific War, 1941-1945, 5th Printing, you can order a copy for $88.00 ($56.00 if you order quickly before they are shipped near the end of May) from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1114-empire-of-the-sun-5th-printing.aspx
4. The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire 2nd Printing from GMT Games
I have said it before but Stephen Rangazas is a rockstar! Plain and simple. He has done some yeomen’s work over the past few years with games like Fall of Saigon: A Fire in the Lake Expansion, Sovereign of Discord: A Fire in the Lake Expansion and the recently released The British Way. The British Way is a really clean and quick playing 2-player COIN in a quad pack and we just love it. And it is now getting a 2nd Printing.
The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire covers four British counterinsurgency campaigns during the process of decolonization immediately following World War II. These include campaigns against larger insurgencies that sought to contest territory and topple colonial rule through armed conflict, such as in Kenya and Malaya, but also smaller more clandestine armed groups that sought to wear down British prestige to force a withdrawal as in Cyprus and Palestine.
From the game page, we read the following:
The British Way: Counterinsurgency at the End of Empire is the first of several COINSeries Multipacks, containing four separate games exploring a series of thematically related insurgencies. Between 1945 and 1960, the British fought four major “emergencies,” as they referred to their counterinsurgency campaigns, each trying to manage their retreat from empire. The four games in this pack focus on exploring British counterinsurgent responses to a variety of different opponents, including communist insurgents in Malaya, militant nationalists in Kenya, and smaller and more clandestine terrorist organizations in Palestine and Cyprus. The games adjust the core COIN Series mechanics to provide a compelling new way of handling two-player conflicts, while also streamlining several mechanics to quicken gameplay. The British Way offers an approachable introduction to the COIN Series for new players, while presenting experienced players with four mechanically distinct games to explore and compare.
The four games in one box is a tried and true method as in the old SPI Quads and recently has had somewhat of a return with not only this new COIN Series Multipack format but with other publishers such as Compass Games and Brief Border Wars I, Brief Border Wars II and Brothers at War: 1862.
The British Way and the COIN Series Multipack has the following highlights:
Four full games in one box: Explore four different conflicts set during the twilight of the British Empire in the 1940’s and 1950’s. 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.
A new adaptation of the classic COIN system: Improved two-player sequence of play and a versatile Political Will track for determining victory.
Unique mechanisms reflecting the British approach to each conflict: New Villages in Malaya, the ‘Pipeline’ in Kenya, Curfews in Cyprus, and Mass Detention in Palestine.
Small board footprint with quick-but-deep gameplay: Each game plays in under 90 minutes and takes place on a single 17×22” board.
An “End of Empire” Campaign: A campaign scenario allowing players to play the four games in a linked series with a cumulative scoring system, random ‘external’ events relating to British decolonization, and new mechanics to integrate each game into the campaign.
As you know, I love the COIN Series, and this new multi-pack format is very exciting as it provides us more access to smaller, lesser gamed subjects that are fast playing. It also provides to us as players a comparable view at different types of conflict and how they affect the populace and the overall success of these efforts. I think this type of approach won’t work with every conflict and many conflicts will be better served in the framework of the larger COIN Series as their own standalone games. In speaking with Stephen on this very subject, he has shared that his “…hope is that a series of multipacks might provide new ways for wargamers to think about conflict and help cover some topics that would be difficult to design or sell as standalone products”.
5. The British Way: Enemy of My Enemy from GMT Games
In April 2024, we got the announcement that the first entry in the COIN Series Multi-PackThe British Way got a new expansion called The British Way: Enemy of My Enemy and more than that there were to be variants for the existing conflicts covered in the game.
From the game page, we read the following:
The British Way: Enemy of My Enemy is an expansion for The British Way, including two entirely new games on “prequel” conflicts using the Malaya and Palestine maps and expanding the base game experience with new variants for all four conflicts originally covered. The British Way: Japanese Occupation puts the British and the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) on the same side in their efforts to resist the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War II. The British Way: Arab Revolt allows players to explore the brutal suppression of the Arab Revolt (1936-1939) that preceded the Jewish insurgency covered by the original Palestine game. The two new games involve entirely new mechanics to capture the unique features of each conflict and can each be linked to the original Palestine and Malaya games, which also allows them to feed into the “End of Empire” Campaign Scenario. The two new games in the expansion allow players to explore how British attempts to combat earlier threats to colonial rule involved collaborating with local armed groups that they would later end up fighting against (Jewish paramilitary groups in Palestine and the MCP in Malaya), ironically strengthening and preparing these groups for two of the conflicts featured in the The British Way.
So 2 new games in The British Way: Japanese Occupation and The British Way: Arab Revolt that use 2 of the existing boards. But there is more. The variants to me seem like the most interesting part as they add new elements to all of the 4 base games. For Palestine, they are adding a free functioning Lehi insurgency that does some neat looking things (I am not sure if these are a type of Bot or if it is controlled by the player). In Malaya, they add additional Jungle bases for the insurgents that make them harder to get to and the British get SAS units that can do that job, plus an additional 4 new Event Cards. In Kenya, we get a new British Detention Deck and the Mau Mau get a few leaders. And finally in Cyprus, are added some new Turkish group cell pieces to hinder the British. These expanded elements look very interesting and I think continue the focus of the game on studying the types and form of insurgency/counterinsurgency at the end of the British Empire across the world. Just fantastic!
If you are interested in The British Way: Enemy of My Enemy Expansion, you can order a copy for $67.00 ($42.00 if you order quickly before they are shipped near the end of May) from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1107-the-british-way-enemy-of-my-enemy.aspx
6. Air & Armor: V Corps, Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe from Compass Games
Another Cold War Gone Hot game. A look at 1985. This topic always makes for a fantastic wargame as there is lots of armor, aircraft and support technologies that pits the United States and NATO against Russia and the Warsaw Pact powers in the late Cold War period in 1985. It seems there have been lots of these games come out in the last few years or so and I always welcome a new one. Air & Armor: V Corps, Tactical Armored Warfare in Europe is an entry in the Operational Air & Armor Series that specifically focuses in on the the famed U.S. V Corps.
From the game page, we read the following:
Air & Armor is a highly realistic game system designed to simulate modern warfare at a grand tactical level. In the Cold War Series, set in 1986, players simulate a hypothetical Soviet attack on NATO forces in West Germany. V Corps depicts the collision of two Soviet armies, the 28th Army and the 1st Guards Tank Army, with the famed U.S. V Corps in ferocious battles from Fulda to Frankfurt. The U.S. 3rd Armored and 8th Infantry Divisions, covered by the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, attempt to halt the advance of four Warsaw Pact motor rifle divisions and five tank divisions in a titanic struggle for the approaches to Frankfurt.
Air & Armor employs a highly interactive game system with asymmetric rules, modeling each alliance’s different command-and-control capabilities. The game simulates all major aspects of modern warfare, including reconnaissance, combined arms operations, air, helicopter, and artillery strikes, chemical and electronic warfare, and combat engineering. Multiple levels of hidden intelligence produce a true “fog of war” experience and provide plenty of opportunities for deception, surprise, and ambush. Play this game to experience what it would have been like to command a Cold War division in battle.
V Corps includes 12 scenarios, each depicting a unique battle situation, most of which are playable in a single sitting. Players can choose to play the game in Open Mode or Hidden Mode. In Open Mode, each player knows his own unit strengths but cannot see his opponent’s. In Hidden Mode, unit strengths remain a mystery to both players until the moment of contact. Hidden Mode makes for highly entertaining solitaire play.
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 Sound of Drums!
French board game publisher Fentasy Games has launched a new platform aimed at providing publishers with a more affordable way to get their higher complexity titles into the hands of retailers and gamers.
Company founder and CEO Florian Gigot told BoardGameWire Fentasy had scored several successes since launching towards the end of 2024, including localisations of complex titles El Burro and Stephens – but said its major challenge in that time had been “the structural reality of the traditional distribution model”.
He said, “We realised that for a small publisher, a ‘critical success’ doesn’t always translate to a ‘financial success’ once the middlemen take their cut. The same applies to many of my partners around the world.
“…between squeezed margins, production costs, and trade discounts, even a popular game can become a financial failure. For an independent publisher, this means increasing difficulty in funding subsequent projects – and ultimately, a real risk of going out of business.
“In this context, profitability is no longer a secondary objective, but a condition for survival.”
Gigot hopes newly launched platform BoardGameCommerce will give publishers of higher complexity games with smaller print runs – of between 500 and 1,000 units – a more sustainable financial option than the traditional board game industry distribution model.
Gigot said BGC differs, however, in that Fentasy commits to producing the game the moment it goes onto the platform, saying, “We don’t ask the community to carry the industrial risk – we carry it ourselves because we believe in the project.”
He said that model helps Fentasy and other publishers measure real demand for their titles, as well as giving visibility to game makers that might not be possible amid the plethora of new games battling it out through traditional distribution.
Gigot added that BGC also offers retailers “a professional interface to secure limited stock with high margins of up to 55%”, with no payment required until the game is ready to ship.
He told BoardGameWire, “I absolutely see this growing. In fact, BGC is designed to be an agnostic platform. We are already in talks with other small publishers who face the same ‘strangulation’ within traditional distribution.
“We want to offer them the same resilience we built for ourselves – bringing everyone together on a single, global platform. It makes it much easier for gamers and retailers to find exactly what they are looking for in one place.
“The icing on the cake is that all publishers using the BGC platform have access to a shared licensing ecosystem. For example, if Publisher A adds a game to BGC and is looking for a partner to localise it, Publisher B can check the available licenses for their country and initiate a business discussion immediately.
“BGC takes 0% commission on these deals – the goal is simply to be stronger together.”
Gigot said Fentasy aims to release between three and five titles each year, with about half going through BGC and half, such as its localisation of Animal Rescue Team and upcoming strategy title Microlonies, through traditional distribution.
The BoardGameCommerce platform
The publisher’s first release through BGC is Iron Games’ Mesopotamia-themed territory builder Papyria, with future titles set to arrive on the platform before the end of next year including Martin Wallace space exploration design Casus Belli and Masaki Suga’s chocolate industry strategy title Bean to Bar.
Other Iron Games releases available through BGC include Discordia and its Magna expansion, Pandoria and Ploc, while Fentasy’s French localisation of Uwe Rosenberg design Kanal – previously Oranienburger Kanal – is also present on the platform.
But Gigot added, “Titles like Animal Rescue Team and Microlonies will still follow the traditional distribution model. We aren’t abandoning big distribution – we are simply choosing the right tool for the right game.
“There is no ‘hostility’ toward the traditional model – it just isn’t built to sustain niche titles effectively.”
Gigot said Fentasy’s biggest successes since its late 2024 launch have included Kikai – Bricolage Heads, which he said moved more than 4,000 copies “in a short window for a game of its complexity”.
He added that 2026 release Microlonies “is following the same successful path. It proved that a hungry audience exists for deep, high-production-value games”.
Fentasy’s success to date has persuaded Gigot – who runs the company as “a small, agile core team of one person” – to expand its scope internationally, with him telling BoardGameWire the business is moving towards a 60% international / 40% France split.
He said, “We are always looking for new partners to localize our games in their countries and to localise their games into French.
“Our goal for 2027 is to achieve a synchronized BGC launch for our expert line across Europe (Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain) and Canada, China, allowing local publishers / retailers to bypass the heavy costs of international imports.”
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.
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.
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:
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
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 5th 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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 HeritageSeries 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:
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.
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 WarSeries.
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!
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:
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
“Full Territory”: A Campaign Game for the Second Carnatic War that combines the maps.
“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.
“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 SeriesDeluxe 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.
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.
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!
While I have not played a bunch of games focused on the Punic War, the few that I have played are very good and I am always interested in a good Ancients combat game. Last fall, GMT Games announced a new 2nd Punic War game called Punicus: The Second Punic War designed by a newcomer in Carlos Oliveras. I have been very eager to learn more about this game and reached out to Carlos recently for an interview and he graciously accepted.
*Keep in mind that the design is still undergoing playtesting and development and that any details or component pictures shared in this interview may change prior to final publication as they enter the art department.
Grant: Carlos welcome to our blog. First off please tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies? What’s your day job?
Carlos: Thank you for supporting the hobby in these times. As for me, I’m a guy—well, more like a man with presbyopia now—who’s starting to struggle to read the counters without glasses. I’m into the same things most people of my generation grew up with: films, books, and music, plus a hobby that wasn’t nearly as widespread in Spain in the ’80s and ’90s: games—Eurogames, role-playing, video games, and above all, wargames. And to pay for all that, I work as a naval architect.
Grant: What has motivated you to break into game design? What have you enjoyed most about the experience thus far?
Carlos: I’ve been involved in wargames for quite a while. For instance, I was the rules editor for Mark Simonitch’s Stalingrad ’42, I put together the player aids for Craig Besinque’s Conquest & Consequence, and I translated Successors into Spanish—so I suppose the next natural step was this: designing my own game.
There are a lot of fun parts to creating a game, but there’s one aspect that may not be strictly “design” and yet is genuinely enriching: working with so many people from so many different places. You realize that despite differences in countries, cultures, and ways of being, people—if they want to—can understand each other, and we’re not as different as we sometimes think. If there were more wargames, there’d be less war. Coming away with that conviction leaves you with something genuinely positive.
Grant: What is your upcoming game Punicus about?
Carlos: I haven’t exactly found some untouched topic that no one has ever made a wargame about — honestly, I wasn’t that original. It’s another Second Punic War game: Hannibal, Scipio, and the whole cast. It’s a block wargame with cards of medium complexity, designed to be playable in an afternoon.
Grant: What games gave you used in inspiration for your design? Why?
Carlos: Punicus is built on Craig Besinque’s HellenesSystem, one of my all-time favorite games—one of Craig’s real gems. I’ve played it so much that I always wanted to see it applied to other settings: the Second Punic War, the Gallic Wars…I kept hoping Craig would eventually design something along those lines. In the end, I got over my hesitation and decided to do it myself.
Grant: What is the scale of the game? Force structure of units?
Carlos: Because this war is so long, if I want the game to be playable in an afternoon it has to take a very strategic, high-level view. Each turn represents one year. As for the units, given how diverse (and sometimes contradictory) the sources are, I’ve adapted the order of battle to what produced the best balance during playtesting. For example, even though it seems Hannibal began the war with more elephants than his brother, in the game they both start with the same number of elephants.
Grant: How are the units represented? What is the layout of the blocks?
Carlos: The units are essentially wooden blocks with stickers. In short, the sticker shows the unit type (infantry, auxilia, cavalry, etc.); its Combat Value (the number of dice it rolls in combat); its Combat Rating, which determines when it attacks (in alphabetical order) and what it hits on or uses to cause routs; its Movement Rating; and, very importantly, its Home Box, which tells you where that unit can be recruited.
Grant: What advantage do blocks offer the design?
Carlos: Basically, it’s the fog of war. And not just because you don’t know what unit is in a given block—you also don’t know its exact strength state, since a single block can have up to four step levels. On top of that, there’s the physical feel of handling something solid like wood, which—without taking anything away from cardboard counters—is simply satisfying. I know that’s not strictly a design point, but it matters. If I have the choice, I’ll always prefer playing Punicus on the table rather than on Vassal.
Grant: Why was this a subject you wanted to create a game on?
Carlos: I love history, and I have to admit that when I was a kid, Hannibal’s campaign really blew my mind—elephants, crossing the Alps…to me it was like a movie, with the extra thrill that it had actually happened. Years later I was lucky enough to play Mark Simonitch’s Hannibal, and it made me feel like a kid again. So when I found myself with the chance to create a Second Punic War game using the Hellenes engine, I didn’t hesitate. And yes—designing it has been just as fun as discovering who the Carthaginians were back then, and as fun as playing Hannibal years later.
Grant: What are the unique features with the system used for the game?
Carlos: If we compare it to Hellenes, what sets Punicus apart is basically three things. First, the addition of non-combat units such as Generals and Catapults. Generals, for example, improve the units they are stacked with, and if that general also happens to be an active leader for their side, they can apply their special ability. For instance, Marcellus’s special ability improves the assault capabilities of the units with him. Second, new actions like production, piracy, and diplomacy—yes, you can take cities by sending ambassadors and persuading their citizens they’ll be better off with you. And third, the addition of a personal player board where each side can invest Supplies into researching projects, letting you shape your long-term strategy.
Grant: What unique elements of the Punic Wars did you want highlight in the game?
Carlos: I’d like the game to capture two things. First, the asymmetry between the sides. Carthage starts with tremendous striking power, but its enemy is far away. Rome is a sleeping giant: it loses battles, but it keeps standing—unyielding, impossible to discourage. You know it will wake up; how long it takes, and what form that awakening takes, will shape the rest of the war. Second, I wanted to reflect how the war evolves. Early on, players have fewer options, but as the campaign advances new possibilities open up to explore—investing in projects, diplomacy, piracy, and so on. The idea is that turns shouldn’t feel repetitive as the game goes on.
Grant: What various unit types are included in the game? What is unique about these units?
Carlos: There are three classes of units: Civians, Barbarians, and non-combat units. Civians represent the era’s city-based forces: Infantry, Auxilia, Cavalry, Elephants, and Fleets. Each unit type has something that makes it distinct. For example, Cavalry can perform a special attack called Harrying. Elephants are a powerful arm, but with the drawback that they can panic your own troops. Barbarians are slow but hard-hitting units, with the key trait that they dissolve in Winter—unless they are with Hannibal. Finally, there are the non-combat units: Generals and Catapults. They cannot operate on their own, but they can significantly influence battles.
Grant: How are cards used in the design? What are Action Points?
Carlos: The game is played in Years. At the start of each Year, each player is dealt six cards. In each of the seasons that make up the Year, players choose one of their cards face down and reveal them simultaneously. The card’s orientation determines whether the player will resolve its event or use its Action Points—one or the other. Each Action Point allows you to take one action, chosen from: Movement Actions (from standard Maneuvers to Piracy actions), Building Actions (recruiting and reinforcing), Production and Diplomacy.
Grant: Can you share a few examples of the cards?
Carlos: Yes, of course. Here is the “Hannibal Leads Carthage” Card and its key features. This card starts on the Carthaginian player board. It is a Leader card: while it remains on the player board, it grants its player its Leader Value (additional Action Points) and also gives Hannibal’s block a Virtus, or special ability—in this case, it means that any Barbarians with him do not dissolve in Winter. You can also see a value labeled Damage. When a unit crosses a mountain border, or a Fleet runs into a storm, you draw a card to see whether it takes damage.
Grant: How are cards used for research?
Carlos: At the start of the Year, players still play their cards either as events or for Action Points, but in this segment those Action Points are not used to take actions. Instead, they are used either to make an offering to a god (which will allow future appeals to that god to do things like reroll dice) or to invest Supplies in projects. This is the only time projects can be researched. That means that if, in the previous Year, a player didn’t produce Supplies—or spent them on maintaining troops during Winter—they may have no opportunity to research at all.
Grant: What different research options are available and what are their benefits?
Carlos: There are basically three branches: one that boosts production, one that increases naval power, and one that benefits land forces. It’s also worth noting that the projects for each side are not 100% symmetrical, which further differentiates how Rome and Carthage play.
Grant: How does activation work?
Carlos: Units don’t activate on their own; players have to spend their cards’ Action Points to move them. In other words, if a player plays a card as an Event, they won’t be able to move their units that season—the only combat they might still carry out is siege attrition from sieges established in earlier turns. Likewise, if a player plays a card for Action Points but it only provides 1 AP and they spend it on something other than movement—for example, using that AP to produce—then their troops won’t move that season. So each turn you have to think carefully about what you do, because your Action Points are limited: if you do one thing, you can’t do another. It’s that Twilight Struggle feeling of always being short on points—more or less.
Grant: What is the layout of the player boards?
Carlos: The player boards are dual-layer boards, so units and Supply cubes can sit neatly recessed in place. Each player board has a Praetorium, an area that holds units the player cannot recruit at the start of the game; these units will enter play later through Diplomacy Actions or Events. There is also the Proiecta section, where players invest and accumulate Supply cubes while researching projects. At the top, there are slots to hold groups of blocks in case the stack becomes too large to keep on the main map. At the bottom of the player board are the Rostra, where each side places the cards of its active leaders.
Grant: What key choices are forced upon the players?
Carlos: Each season, the player has to ask themselves which card to use and how to use it: for Action Points or for the Event. On top of that, the decision must factor in that the number of Action Points has a direct impact on initiative—who will act first that season. In principle, you don’t know in advance whether you will go before your opponent or not, so even what you intended to do with your Action Points when you committed the card may have to change, because your opponent has altered the board situation. That card-use choice is a recurring one every turn, but there are more decisions. For example, when you are besieging a city and the battle phase arrives, you have to decide what to do: attrition or assault. And for the defending side, when you are assaulted you have the option to capitulate—you lose the city, but in a less dishonorable way than if you were to lose the assault. Also, in battles a side can always choose to withdraw at the start of its round to execute an ordered retreat and limit losses.
Grant: How does combat work?
Carlos: It’s fairly straightforward. In a battle, blocks are revealed and sorted alphabetically by their Combat Rating. Blocks attack in letter order (A/B/C/D…), with defenders acting before attackers when the letter is the same. A block attacks with a number of dice equal to its printed Combat Value, and it scores hits and routs according to its Combat Rating. For example, an A2 block would attack first because it’s an “A” unit, scoring hits on 1–2 and causing routs on 5–6. Each hit reduces the strongest opposing block, and each rout forces the weakest opposing block to leave the battle. When all blocks in the combat have attacked, the Combat Round ends. Combat Rounds repeat until one side is eliminated or retreats. Combat also changes depending on the battle type. For example, in an Assault, the forces inside the city are treated as A2 blocks and they also receive a defensive bonus.
Grant: How is victory achieved?
Carlos: There are different types of victory. A Decisive Victory requires reaching 15 points and controlling an enemy Core City. A Negotiated Victory can be achieved with only 12 points. If neither of those victory conditions is met and the game reaches the end of its campaign years (which, in principle, players also won’t know in advance), a final comparison determines who wins—or whether the game ends in a draw.
Grant: What do you feel the game models well?
Carlos: What I think the game models well is the overall course of the war. It’s not that it perfectly models individual battles or grand strategic movements, because the game is somewhat sandbox in that respect. It’s more about the feeling that, with the sides being so different, both players are under constant pressure to perform at their best—because one mistake can swing the whole game. It feels like a war, not just a series of skirmishes. For example, Carthage starts with an impressive striking force, but its native recruitment base is far away and the war is long, so there’s constant pressure: victory can’t rely on a single great general forever. Rome, on the other hand, knows its potential is enormous, but it has to survive long enough to actually bring that potential online before its opponent brings it down.
I have come to Italy not to make war on the Italians, but to aid the Italians against Rome. – Hannibal Barca
Grant: What has been the experience of your playtesters?
Carlos: I think they’re having a good time. The fact that they want to play it again means the game has them hooked. And beyond that, their help has been invaluable—adding rules that turned out to be fundamental, or even almost creating cards like Mutiny. We’ll most likely put out a call for a new round of playtesters in an upcoming GMT newsletter, so if anyone’s interested, keep an eye out.
Grant: What are you most pleased about with the design?
Carlos: What I’m enjoying most is that the playtesters (including the developer, Joe Dewhurst) have had very few questions about the rulebook wording. It also helps that I started from a very polished manual like Hellenes.
Grant: What other designs are you contemplating or already working on?
Carlos: Right now, almost all my time goes into Punicus, but I have rough outlines for a block game about the Spanish Civil War (something like Spain Front, maybe) and a solo game about a certain Julius Caesar.
I love a good block wargame! And, in my opinion, this game looks extremely interesting and I am very much excited to learn more about it. I also very much like the idea of investing in technology and projects. Just such as neat addition to any wargame as you have to balance investing in replacements for your lost troops or new abilities and strength.
Anmelden
