Recently as you know, Alexander and I got the opportunity to attend the San Diego Historical Games Convention (SDHistCon) on the left coast. We were there for 3 days and enjoyed playing 11 total games but the best part was meeting a lot of the new designers that GMT Games is shepherding and mentoring. They are working with and also attracting some of the best and brightest minds in the business and getting to meet the likes of Jason Carr, Sam London, Jason Walonoski, Justin Fassino, David Thompson, Joe Schmidt, Dan Bullock, Cole Wehrle, Maurice Suckling and many others was the pièce de résistance. We also got to catchup with Alex Knight, who we met last summer at WBC, and he is a really talented designer and we got a chance to play his upcoming game John Brown, which was very unique and interesting and also got a look at his other Russian Revolution game that is being announced this month on the P500. We also met with Matthias Cramer and played a few of his new games, one of which is being shared on the New P500’s section of the update and I will talk about it more at that time. My point with this is that GMT attracts great designers because they work hard to make great games. And they also invest time in those people and support them through the process. It is exciting to see what is upcoming and also to think about what might be in the future as they continue to do their thing!

This month there were 2 new P500 additions offered including Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 and Wings for the Baron Deluxe GMT Edition. I got a chance to see Hammer and Sickle and its board while attending SDHistCon but didn’t get a chance to play it. There also were 2 reprints offered in Andean Abyss: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Colombia 3rd Printing and Serpents of the Seas 2nd Printing.

As is usually the case, there was plenty of other information shared including updates on GMT One products, development updates, upcoming future P500 additions and absolutely stunning art samples.

In case you missed the Monthly Update email, here is a link: https://mailchi.mp/814f408a7258/update-from-gmt-new-p500s-art-samples-production-designer-updates-and-more

At the start of the Update, Gene gave an accounting of his and Rachel’s trip to San Diego to attend the SDHistCon. We were able to them both there, if but only for a few brief moments, but it was definitely a great honor to see them and they were very friendly as I suspected. He shared a picture of both me and Alexander as we had played as the French in the “Celebrity” Liberty or Death game and had lost to the upstart Patriots played by Candice Harris and Cole Wehrle. I was glad for their victory but want to point out that Harold Buchanan, who was a terribly sore loser and played his own game very poorly, decided to be a King Maker and literally attacked our brave French warriors willy nilly only to increase our Combined Rebellion Casualties number in order to reduce our lead that we had going into the last turn. We ultimately tied with the Patriots and they win ties. So, there is always a truth behind every story shared and now you have ours.

You may have seen the picture shared in the Update of Alexander’s hairdo during the game. It was falsely reported that this was a wig when in actuality this is just the way Alexander’s hair gets after a long day of playing wargames! It was a great pleasure to play in the game but also to meet Gene and Rachel as well as other GMT personalities and designers. We had a total blast and plan on attending again next year!

Here are links to my Daily Debrief Series of posts sharing the games we were able to play while at SDHistCon:

Day 1 Daily Debrief

Day 2 Daily Debrief

Day 3 Daily Debrief

One other thing of note that was shared at the start of the Update was the fact that GMT is offering another opportunity to get mounted maps + the 3″ box for Downfall. Due to a lot of orders that came in after they’d already set the print run for this item, they ran out of the Downfall mounted map + 3″ box within a month. They still have lots of people who are asking to purchase these, so they are going to put them back up on P500 and do a 2nd Printing run so more people can get these swanky upgrades. So, if you want the mounted maps +  3″ box 2nd Printing item for your copy of Downfall (sold separately), you can order here! 

Developer Joe Dewhurst also shared the following updates on COIN Series Volume XIII Red Dust Rebellion and the new game offered on P500 Hammer and Sickle:

Joe Dewhurst – Development Update

Red Dust Rebellion has continued to be a major focus over the past month, but we are making fast progress now, with regular weekly updates being tested by a core group who are managing to play a game together most weekends. It’s exciting being able to hit our stride with development like this, and I always enjoy the back-and-forth discussion with a committed group of testers who are able to really dig into the details of a system. I’m doing something similar with a dedicated tester for The Guerrilla Generation, who is playing weekly games with me to try and identify any potentially problematic strategies in all four games. So, thanks again to all of our testers – without you we couldn’t make these games!


I’m also excited that we are bringing Hammer and Sickle to P500 this month, by new-to-GMT designer Alex Knight. Alex’s previous (and first) game Land and Freedom was a unique three-player, semi-cooperative take on the Spanish Civil War, which is accessible to new players while still being interesting and engaging for those with more experience.

Hammer and Sickle is a step up in complexity and length from that, but still easy to teach and fairly quick to play, with plenty of room for negotiation and betrayal between all four players. The Russian Civil War is a notoriously difficult topic to turn into a boardgame, an extremely complex conflict sprawling over two continents and with potentially dozens of individual factions, but Alex has smartly boiled it down to just four factions and focused on the European theatre. The resulting game manages to capture some of the core dynamics of the conflict, namely the struggle for resources and the loose alliances between revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, without getting bogged down in trying to simulate every last detail. Playtesting for the game is open now, and I can’t wait to see what you all think of it! – Joe

New P500’s

As shared above, there were 2 new P500 additions offered including Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 and Wings for the Baron Deluxe GMT Edition. There also were 2 reprints offered in Andean Abyss: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Colombia 3rd Printing and Serpents of the Seas 2nd Printing.

Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921

In the summer of 2022, while attending WBC in Pennsylvania, we met and played a game with Alex Knight (in case you were wondering the game was Nicaea from Hollandspiele). He is an aspiring new designer, with a quick mind and rapier wit and at the time he was working on his first designer which covers the Spanish Revolution and Civil War called Land and Freedom: The Spanish Revolution and Civil War. Since that time, and the success of the game, he has embarked with a few additional design projects one of which has been picked up by GMT and is called Hammer and Sickle and deals with the tumultuous time of the Russian Civil War.

From the game page, we read the following:

Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921 is a fast-paced, four-player asymmetric game covering one of the most desperate and world-shaping conflicts of the 20th century, in which four competing ideologies battled for supremacy over the former Russian Empire.

Each season, players will alternate using Action and Commander cards to rally their forces, spread or clamp down on Agitation and Nationalism, and launch offensives into enemy territory. An event card played by each player at the start of the season will determine initiative order and have a unique effect on the game, while at the end of each season players must gather Food from the countryside (Sickles) to feed their factories (Hammers) and generate Firepower, or else risk rising Agitation and eventual Anarchist uprisings! After six seasons the player who has completed the most objectives and whose alliance is most successful will be victorious, determining the fate of Russia.

So you can see that this game is not a traditional wargame but has such interesting mechanics that are sure to create a tense game with lots of player interaction including combat, bidding and negotiations. These elements are all winners in my book and are sure to create a very interesting experience of a game.

Highlights:

  • Four asymmetric factions with unique tokens, powers, and paths to victory. Each faction has its own distinct set of cards, including Actions, Commanders, Events, and Objectives. The balance of power swings between the two alliances, but each faction approaches victory by achieving their individual objectives.
  • A tight economy that demands all factions compete over two limited resources: Food and Firepower. Rural ‘Sickle’ territories produce Food, but only half as much in Winter seasons as in Summer seasons. Urbanized ‘Hammer’ territories produce Firepower, but only if the workers receive Food. If you cannot pay Food to your Hammers, they instead produce Agitation, strengthening the Anarchists.
  • Combat is based not on random die rolls but on bidding, negotiation, and bluffing. Factions adjacent to Combat may choose to intervene if it suits them or demand compensation either for doing so or for sitting out. Players secretly commit a Commander (with a unique power) or a Bluff card, along with their troops. They also secretly bid Firepower, which removes enemy troops. The side with superior remaining force wins the Combat, while the losing side must retreat or be captured.
  • Opportunities for short-term and long-term planning, through selection of Events, Objectives, Propaganda, and investment in permanent upgrades for the Bolsheviks, New Nations, and Whites.
  • An accessible ruleset that encourages fast-paced, interactive play. Lower complexity than traditional COIN games or other popular asymmetric games like Root.

This one is very intriguing and I am very keen on getting with Alex to do a designer interview on the game and how it works.

If you are interested in Hammer and Sickle: Hunger and Utopia in the Russian Civil War, 1918-1921, you can pre-order a copy for $62.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1081-hammer-and-sickle.asp

Wings for the Baron Deluxe GMT Edition

Talk about interesting and unique games! This month the most interesting game announced was the Deluxe GMT Edition of Wings for the Baron, which is a WWI economic centered game that sees players taking on the role of various companies designing and building aeroplanes for use in the fighting of The Great War.

From the game page, we read the following:

The Great War has been going on for nearly two years, and the Western Front has become a series of fruitless attacks and counterattacks. Germany must control the air to break the stalemate and win the war. The army turns to the aeroplane manufacturers to build the best planes to drive the Allies from the sky. Wings for the Baron gives you control of one of six companies, competing for lucrative contracts and the prestige of producing the best designs. Can you steer your business to produce the best fighters, bombers, and/or reconnaissance planes? Can you manage rising inflation, outwit your opponents through subterfuge and espionage, and lead your company to success?

Wings for the Baron is a 1 to 6 player game of economic and technological development in the German aeroplane industry during World War I. The Standard Game focuses on German fighter development, and the Extended Game adds development of bombers and recon planes. Experienced players can play the Standard Game in about 45 minutes and the Extended Game in about an hour, making Wings for the Baron perfect for repeat play. The Deluxe GMT Edition adds to the gameplay of this beloved game by adding components and rules for a new sixth company (Siemens-Schuckert), as well as all-new art by artist Tim Allen and deluxe components.

I just love wargames that take into account other aspects of the war industry, such as the manufacture of arms, ammunition and the like or the logistics of getting these armaments to the front to be used, and this one seems to be a really interesting look at the aeroplane industry during WWI. Sign me up as I am extremely interested. I have never played the original version but I am sure that this edition will be the definitive one with new components, new art and some new content like a new playable company.

Let’s take a little bit of a deeper look into how this economic competition wargame plays out:

Each turn, a company has five actions they can perform: Build additional factories, conduct Espionage to learn the technologies from another company, increase your plane’s efficiency with new Design technology, conduct Research to find new technologies, or take your papiermarks to a neutral country and convert to gold by performing a Bank action. But there’s a catch: you can only perform a limited number of actions each turn! You will have to carefully combine these actions with your chosen Events, which can impact rival companies or benefit your own. Events range from obtaining a Talented Engineer for your company (which helps your Design rolls) to improving one of your designs by using technology obtained from captured Allied aeroplanes.

As the war rages on, the specter of Inflation lingers every turn. Inflation is unpredictable, and may be moderate or severe. Savvy owners will know when to use their actions to convert their papiermarks to Gold and when to risk Inflation. Inflation never causes you to lose your carefully stashed Gold! Additionally, the effects of the war are felt through the resolution of a War Status card which impacts Allied and German Morale, available contracts, and Allied plane technologies.

The design also includes solitaire and 2-player variants designed by Ken Keller which allow players to pit themselves against two (or three or four!) other Non-Player Companies (NPC’s) in the Extended Game.

If you are interested in Wings for the Baron Deluxe GMT Edition, you can pre-order a copy for $62.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1083-wings-for-the-baron-deluxe-gmt-edition.aspx

Andean Abyss: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Colombia 3rd Printing

The first game in the COIN Series is simply a masterpiece! This game was originally published in 2012 and I didn’t get to actually play and experience the game until around 2019 when the 2nd Printing was released. Over the past several months, I have played about 40 games of Andean Abyss on Rally the Troops! and each time I play it I fall more in love with the game and with the COIN Series itself. If you haven’t played Andean Abyss, you are missing out. But you are in luck, as they just announced a 3rd Printing run.

From the game page, we read the following:

Andean Abyss takes 1 to 4 players into this multifaceted campaign for control of Colombia: guerrillas and police, kidnapping and drug war, military sweeps and terror. Each of four factions deploys distinct capabilities and tactics to influence Colombian affairs and achieve differing goals. Players place and maneuver 160 wooden pieces across a colorful map and exploit event cards that cannot be fully predicted. Accessible mechanics and components put the emphasis on game play, but Andean Abyss also provides an engrossing model of insurgency and counterinsurgency in Colombia—smoothly accounting for population control, lines of communication, terrain, intelligence, foreign aid, sanctuaries, and a host of other political, military, and economic factors.

A look at Andean Abyss on Rally the Troops! Such a fantastic interface.

I have really grown to love this game and as it is the genesis for the vaunted COIN Series, it is really a great experience to get the series at its purest, most unadulterated and true version as the ideas for the system distilled from the beautiful mind of Volko Ruhnke.

If you are interested in Andean Abyss: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Colombia 3rd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $57.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1082-andean-abyss-3rd-printing.aspx

Flying Colors Volume II – Serpents of the Seas 2nd Printing

If you follow us, you know of my affinity for any game set in the American Revolutionary War. I also really have enjoyed our plays of naval wargames such as Atlantic Chase from GMT Games and Captain’s Sea from Legion Wargames. This title addresses both of these areas in one box.

From the game page, we read the following:

Serpents of the Seas is the second stand-alone volume in the Flying Colors Series of naval combat games and represents frigate actions and the rise of the American Navy.

Unlike the larger battles between ships of the line depicted in Flying Colors (Volume I), Serpents of the Seas includes sixteen battles from the American Revolutionary War era and the War of 1812 that involve smaller ships—from tiny gunboats with only one or two cannon through “5th Rate” frigates of less than 50 guns.

Also depicted are three dozen “Ship Duels” between one or two vessels on a side, like the mighty Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) against her foes Java and Guerriere. To make these duels more challenging, an all new initiative system has been created using activation cards that might grant players a jump on their opponents but limit their flexibility in the process. The cards can also be used as events that provide additional shipboard flavor. These new systems are fully compatible with the original Flying Colors game, with mechanics that can be selected a la carte.

If you are interested in Flying Colors Volume II – Serpents of the Seas 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $48.00 on the P500 game page at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1071-serpents-of-the-seas-2nd-printing.aspx

Charging & Shipping

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

Finished Shipping:

C&C Napoleonics Expansion 5: Generals, Marshals, and Tacticians, 2nd Printing

C&C Samurai Battles, 2nd Printing

Prime Minister

The Last Hundred Yards: The Russian Front

Next Charges/Shipments: The batch of games should arrive in the warehouse in about a week. They plan to charge for the following games on Monday, November 27th and start shipping about a week thereafter.

2023 Replacement Countersheet

Banish All Their Fears

Norman Conquests: Men of Iron Volume V

Tanto Monta

The Plum Island Horror

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. 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:

  • Another Multi-Pack game in a popular series – I am guessing that this is an entry in the COIN Series Multi-Pack but I am just guessing. I know that Stephen Rangazas is working on the Guerilla Generation but I am unaware of any other projects he has been working on in this area.
  • A cool new strategy game from Matthias Cramer – This one I know as we played this while attending SDHistCon. This will be the very cool little CDG called Lenin’s Death, which deals with the power struggle between Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin for control of Russia following the strokes suffered by Lenin. The game plays in about 30-45 minutes and has some very interesting mechanics where players struggle over the control of various issues such as the Politburo, control of regions that provide new powerful cards for the players and the NKVD which keeps the army under control and out of the other player’s reach.
  • TWO new products for the Combat Commander Series – I also have inside information on this one and know what they are. I had dinner with Kai Jensen at SDHistCon and she let slip the new volumes upcoming which include Combat Commander: Spanish Civil War, Combat Commander: Pacific Islands and Combat Commander: Afghanistan.
  • An expansion for a popular 2023 release – could this be an expansion of the very popular solitaire game Mr. President? I could see lots of expansion possibilities with this including Mr. President 2: Electric Boogaloo or Mr. President: Even More Presidents!. If this is the case, I am very much interested in this.
A look at the cool little CDG Lenin’s Death designed by Matthias Cramer.

I know I had some inside information from my attendance at SDHistCon, and I want to make sure that my actions or sharing that information gets anyone in trouble (so sorry Kai! but it is just too juicy not to share!) but how did I do Gene?

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.

One of the first new art samples they showed was the final box back for the upcoming The Weimar Republic! I am very much looking forward to this game and really think that the cover that was shared last month was absolutely stunning.

We posted an interview with the designer Gunnar Holmback on the game and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2020/07/20/interview-with-gunnar-holmback-designer-of-the-weimar-republic-from-gmt-games/

The next art sample they shared was a stunning cover for a classic CDG from Mark Herman called For the People 4th Printing. A simple yet striking cover that really conveys the desperation of the conflict that was the American Civil War where brother fought against brother and a nation was at war for its own soul! I love the American flag as the backdrop and that it is faded out and covered up by various images including smoke, what appears to be soldiers, etc. A really nice cover and I cannot wait to get a copy of this 4th Printing!

They also shared the final box back for the game and you can see the absolutely beautiful updated board by the talented Terry Leeds who has done fantastic work for Harold Buchanan with his Campaigns of 1777 and Liberty or Death among others.

Next up was shared the final cover for the upcoming Commands & Colors Napoleonics: The Grand Battles Expansion. This is my favorite entry in the Commands & Colors Series and I am very much looking forward to new content.

The final item shared was a look at some Replicator Crew cards for the upcoming Space Empires Series entry called Space Empires: All Good Things. Space Empires: All Good Things is the third and final expansion in the Space Empires Series. and is designed to complete the game and add even more replayability and options. Note that this expansion contains NO Board. Ownership of the original game, Space Empires: 4X, is required to play. Ownership of Space Empires: Close Encounters and Space Empires: Replicators is recommended as some of the content in included for those expansions. 

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…Asymmetry! featuring several games from GMT including Wilderness War and Labyrinth

History Behind the Cards – A Look at Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398 – Card #7 Musunuri Nayakas

History Behind the Cards – A Look at Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India, 1290-1398 – Card #8 The Turquoise Throne

Interview with Justin Fassino Designer of Seljuk: Byzantium Besieged, 1068-1071

Video Review: Twilight Struggle: Red Sea – Conflict in the Horn of Africa

Unboxing Video: Border Reivers: Anglo-Scottish Border Raids, 1513-1603

Unboxing Video: Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East

COIN Series Ranking Video – 2023 Edition

Faction Function Video: The French in Wilderness War

Faction Function Video: The British in Wilderness War

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