I knew that this month’s update would have some good stuff. I could just feel it! And sure enough, when it dropped last week, my gut feeling was correct and there were some really great looking new P500’s as well as lots of good information about other upcoming happenings. Anytime you get news about a new COIN Series product it is a good day and the next Multi-Pack looks great. I also am very interested in the new CDG that deals with an age of revolution in Europe during 1848. That and much more was included in the update and I am excited to share that information with you.

In case you missed the Monthly Update email, here is a link: https://mailchi.mp/de4993df6d3b/march-23-update-from-gmt-new-p500s-final-art-and-rules-production-update-gmtone-and-developer-updates-and-more

One of the smaller but more interesting parts of the update was the restocking of several Hexasim titles back in the warehouse. These are not GMT titles but are sold by GMT due to a partnership agreement.

Back in stock:

Newly issued:

  • Waterloo 1815, Fallen Eagles 2 – The price remains unchanged, but virtually every major component has undergone significant changes. There is no update kit for the original Waterloo, Fallen Eagles

I have never played a game from Hexasim but I can tell you that several of these titles have snagged my attention. I am going to have to look into them a bit more and for these prices probably end up snagging a few.

New P500’s

This month there were 2 new P500’s added including 1848: The Spring Time of Nations and The Guerrilla Generation. There also was a single new P500 reprint offered in Men of Iron Tri-pack 2nd Printing.

1848: The Springtime of Nations

I am always a fan of Card Driven Games. There is something to be said for trying to utilize the hand of cards that you have been dealt to make the best situation possible. I also really like the back and forth tug-of-war nature of these games as one player will accomplish a thing and then their opponent will immediately start going about trying to walk that thing back. Really makes for a very interesting and tense experience. Then throw in an interesting historical setting that I don’t know all that much about and you have my interest. Such is the case with the new CDG offering in the update this month called 1848: The Springtime of Nations.

From the game page, we read the following:

1848: The Springtime of Nations is a 2-player CDG depicting the unprecedented wave of revolutionary activity that swept across Europe in the titular year of 1848. Based on the hit area control system pioneered by GMT’s 1989: Dawn of Freedom and Twilight Struggle, it pits the forces of “the Revolution” against those of the “Counter-Revolution” in a struggle to decide the future of Europe and the world.

The Revolutionary player controls the various insurgent and progressive movements trying to usher in a new order while the Counter-Revolutionary player leads the forces of reaction aiming to preserve the status quo. They will fight over and across the empires and nations of Europe, attempting to suppress their enemy’s influence and extend their own through a combination of political and military force—all the while navigating myriad historical events of the time.

And it uses the same area control system as Twilight Struggle? Yes please. And the game includes armies in addition to the political struggle so there will be some on board maneuvering and possibly combat of some type.

While 1848: The Springtime of Nations is at its core a political game, it does also include armies. The history of 1848 cannot be accurately told without its military side, including popular insurrections, the First War of Italian Independence, and ruthless suppression into 1849.

As the game progresses, the Revolutionaries will mobilize their armies as they spread east from France and Italy into Germany, Hungary, and Poland. But so too will the Counter-Revolution mobilize in an attempt to protect and consolidate their regimes. Thus, both sides will attempt to achieve by force what they cannot by influence.

There is lots to learn about this game and I am definitely going to reach out to the designer to get some more information to share. But, it does look and sound interesting and that is good enough for me at this point.

If you are interested in 1848: The Springtime of Nations, you can pre-order a copy for $46.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1033-1848-the-springtime-of-nations.aspx

The Guerrilla Generation: Cold War Insurgencies in Latin America

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

From the game page, we read the following:

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

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

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

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

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

Men of Iron Tri-Pack 2nd Printing

There are some systems that are just very playable. They are well designed, cover an interesting historical period or happening and have very interesting mechanics to boot. Such a series is the Men or Iron Series designed by Richard Berg. We played the new Tri-Pack in 2020 and really enjoyed the system. Now that Tri-Pack is getting a 2nd printing so even more gamers can experience what it has to offer.

The Men of Iron Tri-Pack is a large box game that includes the first three games in the Men of Iron Series including Men of Iron, Infidel and Blood & Roses, plus the Battle of Agincourt from C3i Magazine #22. This box is huge and heavy and is probably one of the greatest values in wargaming as there are three games and the box is packed full to the brim with counters, maps and player aids.

We really enjoyed our foray into the series and would love to continue playing the rest of the other scenarios.

From the game page, we read the following:

The series is designed for quick learning and easy play. Game rules are short, there are no turns—play is continual, with opportunities to steal play from your opponent—and combat resolution is a single die roll. Playing time is about 1-3 hours per battle.

The series is also for the gamer who enjoys playing solitaire. The system is designed for both individual and face-to-face play without any loss in insight or fun. It allows a player or players to see what happened in these famous battles and why. There are no purpose-built solitaire rules, but many players play that way.

If you are interested in Men of Iron Tri-Pack 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $59.00 from the GMT Games website at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1034-men-of-iron-tri-pack-2nd-printing.aspx

New P500’s on the Horizon

One of the features that I have always enjoyed about these Monthly Updates has been the New P500’s on the Horizon where Gene Billingsley shares a few cryptic comments about an upcoming project and we are supposed to somehow decipher his meaning from these “clues”. With that being said, and my alibi for total failure having already been stated, here goes my guesses for this month:

Here is a brief tease for P500 additions lining up in the coming months. This month’s new The Guerrilla Generation was highlighted (somewhat inaccurately) last month as “A multipack of games set in South America.” Note that this is not a comprehensive list (nor will I preview EVERY game we have planned), so I will switch these up a bit from month to month. Over the coming 1-6 months, I anticipate that we will add:

  • An expansion/sequel for one of our most popular COIN games – this one is interesting and I have a few thoughts on it. I know that the phrase “one of our most popular COIN games” can be inclusive of 3 or 4 titles but since I know there was a planned Cuba Libre expansion Invierno Cubano a few years ago that was removed from the P500 I am going to say for Cuba Libre.
  • A new Deluxe Treatment of one of our classic tactical 19th century wargames – my guess here is Manoeuvre designed by Jeff Horger. It currently has a 3rd Printing up on the P500 but I have seen them do this in the past and turn an already planned 3rd Printing into a Deluxe Edition.
  • A 20th century CDG set in South Asia – I think that this is reference to the upcoming Twilight Struggle: South Asian Monsoon designed by Jason Matthews. This is following in the footsteps of Twilight Struggle: Red Sea – Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Here is a look at a board capture picture I found while trolling Twitter:
  • A new Fields of Fire title – we talked with Ben Hull at WBC last year and he spoiled that he is working on Fields of Wire: WWI.

Charging & Shipping

The following information for Charging and Shipping was copied directly from the Update:

Current Charges/Shipments: We started shipping the following games earlier this week:

Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East

Atlantic Chase, 2nd Printing

Clash of Sovereigns

Grand Prix New Track Pack

Next Charges/Shipments: We plan to charge for the following items in early-mid April, and begin shipping within a week after charging:

Seas of Thunder

The British Way

As is usually the case, GMT is working hard on lots of great games and we are going to be busy here at The Players’ Aid in 2023!

Project Updates and Sample Art

One final thing that I wanted to share this month is all of the great sample art that has been shared as a part of various games as they run up to production. The first piece shown was the near final board for The Weimar Republic designed by Gunnar Holmbäck. Here is a link to our interview on the game that was published in July 2020: https://theplayersaid.com/2020/07/20/interview-with-gunnar-holmback-designer-of-the-weimar-republic-from-gmt-games/

The next item shown in the update was the near final board for Downfall: Conquest of the Third Reich designed by John Butterfield and Kai Jenson.

At the beginning of the update, the box back for Flying Colors: Under the Southern Cross: South American Naval Battles in the Age of Sail, 1811-1841 was shown and here it is:

You can really get a good feel for the game by reading the details on the back of the box, kind of like when I was a kid and would sit and read the back of the cereal box at the table as I devoured my cereals of choice including Captain Crunch, Quisp, Honey Comb, Lucky Charms or Frosted Flakes!

I want to end this post by sharing our recent content on our blog and YouTube Channel for GMT Games including reviews/interviews/unboxing videos:

Interview with Francisco Gradaille Designer of Cuius Regio: The Thirty Years War

Flashpoint: South China Sea – Action Point 2

Top 10 Wargames of 2022! highlighting GMT Games designs such as Salerno ’43

Interview with Stephen Rangazas Designer of Sovereign of Discord: A Fire in the Lake Expansion

Flashpoint: South China Sea – Action Point 3

Video Review: Flashpoint: South China Sea

There you have it…another fantastic GMT Games Monthly Update! We are getting ready to play several of their newest releases including Inferno: Guelphs and Ghibellines Vie for Tuscany, 1259-1261 and Banish the Snakes.

Please let me know what caught your interest from the update and what GMT Games products that you have been enjoying lately.

-Grant