As has been my custom over the past several months, when the monthly update email comes from GMT Games, I write up a summary of the new games and the status of my personal list. Each month, I peruse the email very carefully, salivating at the new P500 offerings futilely hoping to resist their siren call. I also love the monthly update as they give updated information on the Tentative Production Schedule to feed my addiction.  Several months ago I wrote a blog post on the amazing P500 system from GMT Games and how I feel about this blessing and curse in my life! My feelings haven’t changed since then but I now better understand the power that this little program has! I handled the update much better this month than I have in the recent past (see my August update post…yikes!) but still succumbed to the temptation…and only added 1 new P500 game to my ever growing list! This month featured no new games so only adding one is a very minor victory in my mind, but a victory nonetheless . With yesterday’s update email, I have added the following game to my P500 list:

Roads to Leningrad, Battles of Soltsy and Staraya, Russia, 1941 designed by Vance von Borries – https://www.gmtgames.com/p-595-roads-to-leningrad-2nd-printing.aspx

This now has brought my total outstanding ordered P500 games to date to 18 (was 19 but Cactus Airforce was removed from the list in July)!

You might be asking yourself, what is wrong with Grant? Why does Grant have so many games on P500?, and Why can’t he control himself? Well, let me tell you why I just had to add this great game to my list.

Roads to Leningrad, Battles of Soltsy and Staraya, Russia, 1941

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As I have said before, I don’t have any Eastern Front WWII games in my collection.  I do have No Retreat: The Russian Front coming in November and have ordered The Russian Campaign, but a third game can’t be a bad thing. This game is medium complexity and has high suitability for solitaire, which is something that interests me with these large hex and chit war games, as I can set it up on my table and play when I have a few minutes. Also, this is the 2nd edition and they are fixing some rules problems, updating the map and player aides (full color) and also there are 528 counters! I love counters and this game has 528. I need to warm up my clipper. What a great looking game!

Conclusion and Summary of my P500 Orders

I would like to wrap this post up with a summary of where my 18 P500 games stand as of October 21st. I routinely check the status of each of my games and also will show the change in orders as compared to the last time I wrote them down on September 17th.

  1. 1989: Dawn of Freedom – 136 [+13 orders] – Another good month of progress but why is this game moving so slowly? I have heard and read that it is amazing!
  2. Triumph & Tragedy: European Balance of Power – 541 [+46 orders, made the cut!] Over the last 30 days it hit the target and we will be charged for this game on Monday, October 24th! I should have a few plays of this bad boy in by Thanksgiving. My first “block game” and did I mention it was nominated for the BGG War Game of the Year in 2015?
  3. Here I Stand: Wars of the Reformation – 381 [+7 orders] I love anything about the Reformation! Holy War anyone? Also assigned a tentative shipping date of 2Q 2017. I can wait as I will have many new games to play before then!
  4. Space Empires 4x – 257 [+24 orders] 4x games are awesome and I love a good Sci-Fi themed game! Also assigned a tentative shipping date of 2Q 2017.
  5. The Hunters – 371 [+39 orders] WWII submarine warfare with the vaunted U-Boats!
  6. Navajo Wars – 268 [+24 orders] I love stories and games about Native Americans.  When I was a kid I read dozens of history books on Native Americans. Read my interview with Joel Toppen about Navajo Wars and Comancheria.
  7. The Last Hundred Yards – 392 [+40 orders] A WWII tactical game that exhibits the actions and reactions of real troops from initiative, to communication and other factors. Yes, please! Read my interview with designer Mike Denson that was posted earlier this week!
  8. Hitler’s Reich – 563 [+17 orders, made the cut!] WWII Card Driven Game that plays in under 2 hours. I will be reaching to Mark McLaughlin soon for an interview.
  9. Colonial Twilight: The French-Algerian War, 1954-62 – 1,153 [+32 orders, made the cut!] I love the COIN Series of games and Brian Train is an amazing designer. Read my 3 part interview with him on CT. (Part I, Part II & Part III). Assigned a tentative shipping date of 2Q 2017!
  10. Bayonets & Tomahawks – 479 [+74 orders] – I love a good game about the French & Indian War. Read my interview with designer Marc Rodrigue about B&T!
  11. Holland 44′ – 862 [+156 orders, made the cut!] – Airborne paratroopers over the fields of Holland. Plus, Mark Simonitch can surely design a great game – see The U.S. Civil War. Assigned a tentative shipping date of 3Q 2017! Read my interview with designer Mark Simonitch about Holland ’44.
  12. Imperial Struggle – 1,443 [+160 orders, made the cut in 1st day!] Assigned a tentative shipping date of 3Q 2017! I have reached out to designer Ananda Gupta for an interview.
  13. No Retreat: The Russian Front – 466 [+29 orders] – I have desperately wanted an Eastern Front WWII game and this one fits the bill! Tentative shipping date of Mid-Late November!
  14. Pericles: The Peloponnesian Wars – 956 [+69 orders, made the cut!] – I love any game designed by the great Mark Herman and have loved playing his other recent game Churchill and this will be sure to impress as well. Assigned a tentative shipping date of March 2017! I have reached out to Mark for an interview and it should be posted in the next few weeks.
  15. Ariovistus: A Falling Sky Expansion – 689 [+312 orders, made the cut!] – I love Falling Sky and when this one was offered, it didn’t take me long to order it! A 5th playable faction and some new upgraded components for the base game. My interview with c0-designer Volko Ruhnke was posted a few weeks ago.
  16. The Russian Campaign – 704 [+484 orders, made the cut!] – I still don’t own an Eastern Front game and this one is THE quintessentially respected volume! It will be mine.
  17. Cataclysm A Second World War – 610 [+47 orders, made the cut!] – I am very interested in this sandbox style game of World War II that starts in 1933 and where anything can happen including French tanks rolling into Berlin? I have reached out to both Scott Muldoon and Bill Terdoslavich for an interview which should be posted sometime next week!
  18. Roads to Leningrad – 73

I only ordered one new game this month on the P500! I have made significant progress in my struggle….it took GMT offering no new games…but it was still progress!  Please consider helping me out by P500’ing one or all of these great games on my list! You will be helping me personally as I can get to play these great games sooner and you also will be helping out GMT Games, who has given us all such great joy with their creations!

-Grant