And just like that, we have more games and news about games! I love the Monthly Updates and absolutely hang around checking social media like 20 times per day around the middle of the third week of each month. And this month, I was expecting it to fall on Thursday and sure enough around 2:00pm EST it came….the glorious GMT Games Monthly Update email! This month we were introduced to two new P500’s. One of these is a deck builder, and I really love wargames that delve into more traditional board gaming mechanics, as well as Volume III in a very revered solitaire series. But as usual, there is plenty of other information shared including updates on digital products, conventions, upcoming future P500 additions and art samples.

In case you missed the Monthly Update email, here is a link: https://mailchi.mp/ee88ceca6eb3/june-22-update-from-gmt-new-p500s-production-update-tons-of-art-samples-and-more

The Update started with a comment from Gene about the busy level that has been going on recently at the warehouse with the many games that have been shipping out. This month, GMT has shipped out over 7,500 games from five different titles and they have an additional 6 games arriving that they are planning on shipping out next month. Who does all of that packing, organizing, labeling, charging and shipping? Well, the hard working office and warehouse staff….who I am sure don’t get much attention or fanfare but if they don’t do their jobs, and do them well, we all get upset about our games not getting to us quickly enough.

Gene took the time to write the following about them:

You all hear a lot about the designers, developers, and artists who bring you these games, and rightly so. We are really fortunate and blessed to work with such top-quality design and art teams. But I want to say a word here today about what a great job our office and warehouse team members are doing in getting this huge (for us) shipment of around 7,500 games out to you. They are about a week ahead at this point of where Tony and I projected they would be! And that’s working in the summer heat and with a few vacations sprinkled in here and there. I’m so proud of these office/warehouse folks! We have an experienced team of great people who are dedicated to getting you high quality games in well-packed shipments as quickly as possible. It looks like they’ll be finished with the current shipments by mid-week next week. I’m taking them all out for lunch at one of their favorite spots as soon as shipping is complete. I hope some of you will take the opportunity the next time you’re chatting with them or corresponding to share your appreciation for their hard work, skill, and dedication, as well.

I thought this was a nice touch and once again reinforced to me the family atmosphere that is GMT Games!

In other news:

Mr. President VASSAL and TableTop Simulator Modules. With copies of Mr. President now starting to arrive on your doorsteps, here are links to finished VASSAL and TTS Modules. These are both high-quality modules that should be very helpful to those of you with limited table space or those who just prefer to play online.

I just received my HUGE copy of Mr. President and I can tell you that it is definitely a table hog and playing it online is probably a pretty good idea!

In case you didn’t know, Rally the Troops is a newer online platform to play many of GMT’s great games. The game rules are automatically enforced so playing is a breeze and you can choose either live games or asynchronous games with your friends or potential unmet friends. Alexander has been playing the heck out of Andean Abyss and has logged something like 20+ games.

Play ANDEAN ABYSS, NEVSKY, RED FLAG OVER PARIS, and WILDERNESS WAR on Rally the Troops!

The site is a hobby project created by Tor Andersson.

All the implementations will guide you through the sequence of play with helpful prompts and highlight all possible actions. Some games have extra features that help you understand the situation—for example in Wilderness War you can visualize supply lines.

June 22nd Update: Red Flag Over Paris and Andean Abyss are now LIVE on Rally the Troops, and we are putting out a small set of updates to 2nd Edition Nevsky.

New P500’s

This month there were 2 new P500’s added including Imperial Fever and Fields of Fire Volume III: The Parachute Regiment. There also was 1 new P500 reprint offered in the American Revolution Tri-Pack 2nd Printing including Guilford, Saratoga and Brandywine.

Imperial Fever

Since becoming a wargamer about 8 years ago (and I know that many don’t consider me a wargamer and that is fine by me), I have always been intrigued by historical wargames/games that are a hybrid between Euro games and wargames and attempt to create a bridge across which many new gamers can enter the great hobby of historical gaming through comforting mechanics and beautiful production. Games such as the COIN Series, Churchill, Twilight Struggle, Time of Crisis, 1960: Making of the President and Versailles all published by GMT Games, The Shores of Tripoli and Votes for Women from Fort Circle Games and the Undaunted Series from Osprey Games. Games that are great entry points to the hobby that allow the players to learn something about history and to gain an appreciation for historically themed games. There are more and more of these hybrid games coming out and I think it is great. Well, this new offering called Imperial Fever is being promoted as a deck building game and that is very intriguing to me.

From the game page, we read the following:

Imperial Fever is a deckbuilding game for three to four players that recreates the period between 1881 and 1915. Players will vie for world dominance as they take on the roles of the United Kingdom, France, the Central Empires (Germany and Austria-Hungary), and the Emergent Powers (the USA and Japan).

It appears that this game is trying to set the table for the outbreak of The Great War and focuses on the Imperialism that burned across the globe in the latter part of the 19th century. But the game is more than just deckbuilding as it uses many other mechanics such as area majority and set collection.

The game features a unique approach to this complex and important period of world history, including the following innovative aspects:

  • A deckbuilding mechanism that will allow players to pursue different strategies.
  • A variety of other mechanics, including area majority, push your luck, tug of war, technology tracks, and set collection.
  • Competition between players in different areas: national prestige, military power, naval dominance, colonial expansion, and key strategic areas.
  • International tensions that may culminate in the outbreak of the First World War.
  • A wide range of political agendas that will allow players to choose among different paths to victory.
  • A rich Event deck that poses additional challenges to players, ranging from international conflicts to political mishaps at home.
  • The influence of non-player powers such as Russia, China, Holland, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.
  • The full game is playable in under four hours, once players are reasonably familiar with the rules.

I am very intrigued by this one and cannot wait to get more information about the design and have an interview with the designer.

If you are interested in Imperial Fever, you can pre-order a copy for $58.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1050-imperial-fever.aspx

Fields of Fire Volume III: The Parachute Regiment

Fields of Fire is a solitaire game system that gives players the challenge of commanding a rifle company between World War II and Present Day. The game is different from many tactical games in that it is diceless and card based. There are two decks used to play. The Terrain Deck is based on a specific region and is used to build a map for the various missions your company must perform.

Alexander loves this game and even has gone as far as getting designer Ben Hull’s autograph on his copies of the rulebooks. He gushes when he talks about it and really does enjoy playing the game. He also hunts down Ben Hull every year at WBC and spends what seems like hours with him. I have already chatted with him and he is very excited about this new volume.

From the game page, we read the following:

Fields of Fire Volume III sees the long awaited introduction of the British to Ben Hull’s masterpiece of tactical infantry command. From the burning streets of Arnhem to war-torn Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in this new, stand-alone volume from the team behind Fields of Fire Deluxe Edition, we follow the 2nd Battalion of The Parachute Regiment, commonly known as “2 PARA,” across over 60 years of military history.

As Britain’s elite Airborne Infantry, the Parachute Regiment are used as spearhead troops and are often inserted behind enemy lines, by parachute or in modern times by helicopter. Lightly equipped due to the nature of their insertion, they need all their training, resilience, and fighting spirit to survive until other units can fight their way to them.

Alexander is giddy as he is getting a game for his “people” and he cannot wait to play this one. So what is new in Volume III? The answer is lots! This volume is also designed by a newcomer in Colin Parsons and it will be interesting to see the new direction he takes the series. Speaking of new directions here is what is new in this volume.

Highlights – What’s New in Volume III

  • When the company radios fail, make do with more uniquely British options like bugles.
  • Use unique British weaponry such as PIAT anti-tank weapons during WWII and vehicles like Scorpions and WMIK in the more modern theatres of the Falklands and Afghanistan.
  • Urban Defensive missions! Fight amongst rubble and fires, and try to hold on to your pocket by whatever means necessary as the enemy attacks utilizing a completely new urban offensive enemy hierarchy chart.
  • Experience the constraints of modern day combat as you try to determine whether groups of people and incoming vehicles are hostile or merely civilians going about their lives.
  • Collapsing buildings, an enemy helicopter attack, special forces, mine-sweeping duties, night assaults, and much, much more!

If you are interested in Fields of Fire Volume III The Parachute Regiment, you can pre-order a copy for $87.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1051-fields-of-fire-volume-iii-the-parachute-regiment.aspx

American Revolution Tri-Pack 2nd Printing

After owning this one for a few years, we finally got it to the table a few summers ago and played the Brandywine game. I really like tactical feeling games and this one is definitely in that genre as you are moving smaller typically regimental unit counters around the board. The Battles of the American Revolution Series is a long standing and well respected series of hex and counter wargames that portray specific American Revolutionary War battles. The series is designed by Mark Miklos and is published by GMT Games and there are a total of 10 Volumes in the series with the most recent release the Battle of White Plains. The Tri-Pack offering brings three of the most famous games from the system to gamers as many of them have been long out of print and very hard to get.

From the page page, we read the following:

In order to get several of the popular Battles of the American Revolution Series games back in print, we are offering an American Revolution Tri-Pack. This all-in-one boxed package is composed of new editions of the flagship games in the series: Saratoga, the long-out-of-print Brandywine, and Guilford/Eutaw Springs. As you’ll note, there are considerable additions and changes from the original games, as designer Mark Miklos has endeavored to create and update the finest version of these games that we’ve produced to date. Plus, the package includes double-sided mounted maps for all four battles!

The best thing about the Tri-Pack is that the package is a huge value as there are 3 full games, mounted mapboards and tons of counters. The price for the 2nd Printing is a complete steal and is well worth the cost.

Here is a look at our unboxing video to get a better look at the package:

We also shared our thoughts about the game and how it plays in our video review:

If you are interested in the American Revolution Tri-Pack 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $51.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1052-american-revolution-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 very cryptic comments about an upcoming project and we are supposed to somehow decipher his meaning from these “clues”.

Here is a brief tease for P500 additions lining up in the coming months. This month’s new Imperial Fever was teased last month as “A pre-WWI deckbuilding game (for you Time of Crisis fans).” The new Fields of Fire Volume III: The Parachute Regiment was highlighted back in March as “A New Fields of Fire Title.” 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:

  • A new and expanded edition of one of our most popular pre-20th century titles
  • New content for The Last Hundred Yards
  • An Ancients-themed game in a popular series
  • A fun, challenging, and fast-playing game of WWII tactical combat

I really don’t have any guesses for these hints. Does anyone know what these games might be?

Charging & Shipping

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

Current Charges/Shipments: GMT is currently shipping all P500 orders for the following games : 

Border Reivers
Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020
People Power
The Barracks Emperors
Under the Southern Cross 

Next Charges/Shipments: They yhave another large shipment arriving in the warehouse within the next two weeks. They plan to charge and then ship all of these together in mid-late July in order to save customers on shipping as much as possible through their “Consolidated Shipping” feature.

The games they’ll charge and ship in this batch are:

18 India

CDG Solo System Pack #2

Liberty or Death, 3rd Printing – here is a link to our written review of the game: https://theplayersaid.com/2017/03/01/turning-the-wargaming-world-upside-down-a-review-of-liberty-or-death-the-american-insurrection-by-gmt-games/

North Africa ’41 – here is a link to our interview with designer Mark Simonitch: https://theplayersaid.com/2023/05/08/interview-with-mark-simonitch-designer-of-north-africa-41-the-western-desert-march-to-december-1941-from-gmt-games/

North Africa ’41 Mounted Maps

Plantagenet – here is a link to our interview with designer Francisco Gradaille: https://theplayersaid.com/2021/12/14/interview-with-francisco-gradaille-designer-of-plantagenet-cousins-war-for-england-1459-1485-from-gmt-games/

Frankly, everyone needs to snap up a copy of Liberty or Death 3rd Printing (this is a very good game and one of my favorites in the COIN Series) and North Africa ’41.

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 the update on various games as they run up to production.

The first art sample/item they showed on the update was the box back for Panzer North Africa designed by Jim Day. They also previewed the final cover which is pretty good from Antonis Karidis.

Panzer North Africa is designer Jim Day’s newest game in the acclaimed Panzer System of World War II small-formation armored and infantry combat. Now players can take command of armored formations of German, Italian, or British forces and refight key engagements in the North African desert from mid-1940 to late 1942. For Panzer veterans and newcomers alike, this stand-alone game requires no previous ownership of other games or modules in the Panzer Series.

They next showed off the final cover and box back for Prime Minister designed by Paul Hellyer. This is a game that I really don’t know much about as I was never able to get an interview with the designer but this cover really ratchets up my interest for the game for sure. It is a really nice and clean look at the history of the Prime Minister position covered by the game which is during the reign of Queen Victoria from 1837-1901. I also love the color selection! Prime Minister is off to the printer and my guess is they will be shipping this in the fall.

Next they shared a look at the final map for the upcoming Mark Herman design Rebel Fury, which covers six battles from the Campaigns of Chancellorsville and Chickamauga during the American Civil War. Rebel Fury uses the low-complexity Gettysburg system featured in C3i Magazine #32.

This map is pretty great looking although you really need to zoom in to get an idea for the detail and the terrain.

They also showed off a countersheet.

The next item they showed off was an assortment of art assets for Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged, 1068-1071, which is Volume V in the Levy & Campaign Series.

First was the card backs for the Arts of War cards used in the game. I really love the purple color chosen. Purple is always a majestic color and the gold accents used on the letters and the pennant really matches the feel of the game and the series.

They also showed off a couple of the Command Cards. I love the contrast of the light blue used here and the font used is perfect for the period and setting. The art in GMT’s games just keeps getting better and better and I really find that these clean and nice looking components help me to get into the setting thematically and have an overall engaging experience.

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

Best 3 Games with…The French & Indian War! featuring Wilderness War and Bayonets & Tomahawks from GMT Games

Sovereign of Discord – A Fire in the Lake Expansion – Event Card Spoilers with Designer Stephen Rangazas – #P37 Operation Sunrise

Interview with Jerry White and Ed Ostermeyer Designers of Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare

Rebellion: Britannia – Resistance Against Rome in 1st Century Britain – Event Card Spoilers with Designers Maurice Suckling and Daniel Burt – Card #4 The Power of the Druids, The Tribes Bristle and Petuaria

Rebellion: Britannia – Resistance Against Rome in 1st Century Britain – Event Card Spoilers with Designers Maurice Suckling and Daniel Burt – Card #5 Salt Trade, The Tribes Bristle and Prasutagus Dies

Sovereign of Discord – A Fire in the Lake Expansion – Event Card Spoilers with Designer Stephen Rangazas – #P71 Madame Nhu

Best 3 Games with…Series! featuring the Combat Commander Series and the COIN Series from GMT Games

Rebellion: Britannia – Resistance Against Rome in 1st Century Britain – Event Card Spoilers with Designers Maurice Suckling and Daniel Burt – Card #6 Tin Mines, The Tribes Bristle and Cartiverllaunos

Unboxing Video: Great Battles of Julius Caesar Deluxe Edition

Thanks for reading along and for the support that the community gives us. We appreciate it.

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

-Grant