This month, due to GMT attending the Consimworld Expo in July, the update was pushed back from its usual release during the 3rd week of the month to the 4th week. This was fine but I was attending the World Boardgaming Championships in Seven Springs, Pennsylvania from July 24th though July 28th and was otherwise occupied when the emailed dropped on Thursday, July 25th and didn’t really get a chance to dive into it. But once I arrived home on Sunday afternoon, I did get a chance and really enjoyed what I found.
This month there were some classics that have been revealed on P500, including a popular American Civil War game from Frank Chadwick and a “new classic” from the mind of Mark Simonitch. I am very much interested in these new titles and also really enjoyed the rest of the update as there was plenty of information shared.
There were 4 new P500 additions offered including Frank Chadwick’s A House Divided: The American Civil War Deluxe Edition, Italy ’43, the 2024 Replacement Countersheet and A World at War Supplemental Counters. There also were 2 reprints offered in A Gest of Robin Hood 2nd Printing (such a great little game!) and Next War: India-Pakistan 2nd Printing.
But that wasn’t all as there was plenty of other information shared including updates on GMT One products, development updates, upcoming future P500 additions and the usual gorgeous art samples and some final direction on the date of the annual sale!
In case you missed the Monthly Update email, here is a link: https://mailchi.mp/b87e77674e11/july-25-update-from-gmt-new-p500s-updated-production-art-samples-and-more
First off, the big news. The 2024 Yearly GMT Sale has finally been set. The sale will occur in September, not in July as originally reported. I know that this is not what anyone wanted to hear but that gives us all some time to peruse their catalog and also to gather some funds. I don’t recommend anything illegal mind you to garner those funds but get out there and hustle! The Annual Sale is always full of really great prices and value games so get your list together soon and get ready to act once the start date is announced.
Aside from that news, Gene congratulated the various designers and their development teams for their Charles S. Roberts Award winners. These games included Downfall, Plantagenet, The Battle of White Plains, Mr. President, and individually Mark Simonitch. I also want to offer my congratulatory statement to these designers including John Butterfield (Downfall), Chad and Kai Jensen (Downfall), Gene Billingsley (Mr. President), Francisco Gradaille (Plantagenet), Mark Miklos (The Battle of White Plains), Mark Simonitch and the rest of the development, art, and production teams for these four games and the prestigious individual award!
The exact awards won by each game are below:
Downfall: Conquest of the Third Reich
The Charles S. Roberts Game of the Year, Designed by Chad Jensen and John Butterfield
Best World War II Game, Designed by Chad Jensen and John Butterfield
Best Strategic Game, Designed by Chad Jensen and John Butterfield
Plantagenet: Cousin’s War for England
Best Medieval Game, Designed by Francisco Gradaille
The Battle of White Plains
Best Gunpowder or Industrial Game, Designed by Mark Miklos
Mr. President
Best Political, Social, or Economic Game, Designed by Gene Billingsley
Mark Simonitch
The James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability and Design
To see all the CSR Award categories and winners of the other award, you can go to the 2023 winners page located at the following link: https://charlessrobertsawards.com/2023-charles-s-roberts-awards-winners-announced/
Another very interesting piece of information shared was that GMT Games will now be carrying a few select titles from Shakos who is a French publisher of high quality games. These games include Napoleon 1806, Napoleon 1807, Napoleon 1815, Border States and Saladin. We have played 3 of these 5 games and vouch for them being good (Border States, Saladin and Napoleon 1807). All 5 of these games have English rules and they have about 100 of each in stock. If you want copies, they have suggested that you should order soon as they will probably sell out quickly.
Gene also shared with us a few of the newer offered P500 games that have not garnered enough orders as of yet to Make the Cut! Those games are listed below. Most of them are closing in on the target number of orders but need a few more. I have interviews on the blog for The Battle of Green Spring, Hannibal’s Revenge and Napoleon in Egypt. We also are working on several other interviews on these games including Solitaire TacOps: Ortona, Hammer and Sickle and Spearhead.
We also got an update on several ongoing project from Jason Carr with GMT One. Here is his update:
My summer tour continued unabated in July, as I got to attend Consimworld Expo in Tempe, AZ! It was great to meet so many of our designers and talk about what they were working on. Of course, you are all probably too busy playing I, Napoleon to read this, but just in case:
- I got my advanced copy of Red Dust Rebellion and played it at Consimworld Expo with GMT’s Head of Production Kai Jensen, GMT Court Jester Cory Graham, and the inimitable Meeple Lady. It was a blast! Thanks to everyone who stopped by and watched Cory grind us into (red) dust. The production on this game is really excellent and so is the Solitaire Bot (using the Jacquard card bots from other games in the series).
- Fields of Fire Deluxe Edition and the Update Kit are finished with proofreading and are being wrapped up for the printer – check out the box back above in the newsletter to see the great work that Ben, Andrew, and Colin have done. And stay tuned as the team is turning their attention to Fields of Fire III: The Parachute Regiment.
- Testing continues on China’s War and The Bell of Treason – see Joe’s game updates below for far more info. It was great to talk to Brian Train in Tempe and make some tweaks to China’s War in real time. There’s no substitute for meeting people in person, even though I am grateful for the blessings of remote work tools that let me work with exceptional folks all over the globe.
- Finally, I got to sit with Mark Simonitch at Consimworld Expo and look at the second edition of Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul. It’s a super fun game, and Mark and I traded a few suggestions back and forth. Of course, it’s mentioned here because it works with the CDG Solo System – and so will the second edition. If you haven’t given it a shot, the first edition is a blast too and you shouldn’t wait to put it on the table.
Now onto the main event with the new P500’s.
New P500’s
As mentioned above, there were 4 new P500 additions offered including Frank Chadwick’s A House Divided: The American Civil War Deluxe Edition, Italy ’43, the 2024 Replacement Countersheet and A World at War Supplemental Counters. There also were 2 reprints offered in A Gest of Robin Hood 2nd Printing (such a great little game!) and Next War: India-Pakistan 2nd Printing.
Frank Chadwick’s A House Divided: The American Civil War Deluxe Edition
I love this effort by GMT to resurrect and revive classic games. For example, the venerable Vietnam: 1965-1975 was brought back. Also, Pacific War by Mark Herman was given the deluxe treatment. And now, one of the universally heralded American Civil War game A House Divided.
From the game page, we read the following:
A House Divided Designer Edition is an enhanced and expanded version of Frank Chadwick’s classic American Civil War strategy game. This expanded and refined edition of the game includes all-new beautiful artwork by Wouter Schoutteten and Frank’s definitive ruleset incorporating over 40 years of input from thousands of players. Experienced players will find an expanded map, new militia recruitment rules, streamlined leader rules, and the addition of an Event Deck bringing new flavor and detail to Frank’s classic game.
A House Divided lets gamers play the entire American Civil War in a single session. Players take on the leadership of Union and Confederate forces as they recruit troops, promote Generals, and fight the key battles of the Civil War. A House Divided Designer Edition returns to the spirit of the original game by simplifying and refining a simple set of rules which create complex strategies; successful players will need to plan ahead from the start of the game, rewarding repeated play.
As a Deluxe Edition, there are some improvements and streamlining of the base game. In the words of the designer himself, we have the following:
My intent from the start was to make a game which was mechanically simple, so players could concentrate on strategy, not get bogged down in fiddly mechanical detail, and I think that was the basis of the finished game’s popularity. I later authorized a second edition, although I was busy with other projects and didn’t contribute to the Second Edition design. The Second Edition was published by Game Designers Workshop and then versions of it were later published by Phalanx Games (third edition) and Mayfair Games (fourth edition). So why revisit the game now?
Without taking anything away from the excellent work done on the second and subsequent editions by many people, let me just say this: it’s not the way I would have done it. That does not mean they are wrong, and I’m sure many people will continue to play and enjoy those editions. But it does mean they are not as in keeping with my original aim for a mechanically streamlined game as they might have been.
If you are interested in Frank Chadwick’s A House Divided: The American Civil War Deluxe Edition, you can pre-order a copy for $52.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1124-a-house-divided-designer-edition.aspx
Italy ’43
As you know, we have really enjoyed our plays of games designed by Mark Simonitch, including Holland ’44, Stalingrad ’42, Caesar: Rome vs. Gaul and most recently North Africa ’41. He has an amazing ability to boil down all the elements involved and come out with a very playable simulation of the historical event. A few years ago, his focus on the Italian campaigns of WWII started with his game called Salerno ’43, which covers the Allied invasion of mainland Italy in September 1943. Since that time, we had heard rumors of his plans with the game to include a few additional volumes as the Allies moved north up the peninsula towards Rome. With the update, we got the next volume in the series called Italy ’43.
From the game page, we read the following:
Italy ’43 is a two-player game depicting the U.S. Fifth Army’s advance from Naples to the Gustav Line in 1943. The game (picking up where Salerno ’43 left off) covers the time period from October 2nd to December 31, 1943. Initially, the Allied advance moved quickly with the Fifth Army crossing the Volturno River on October 13th. But from then on, the Germans began to fight a stubborn delay action as they slowly withdrew to their prepared defense lines — The Barbara Line and then The Gustav Line. For the next two and a half months, the Allies advanced slowly north, fighting for practically every village and mountain top to even reach the Gustav Line. It was a grueling campaign known for the battles of San Pietro Infine, Monte Lungo, and Monte Camino.
Italy ’43 uses the exact same map and unit scale as Salerno ’43 and Normandy ’44. Italy ’43 uses the same game system used in Salerno ’43 with some modifications and rule improvements.
Italy ’43 includes four scenarios: Across the Volturno, The Barabara Line, The Mignano Gap, and the full Campaign Game.
As in other 19xx games, the rules include ZOC Bonds, Determined Defense, Extended Movement, and a straightforward CRT. New rules include: Construction of Defense Lines, Mountain units, and two new attack options: Prepared Offensives and Sustained Attacks.
Players will find the game and order of battle extremely useful in understanding what happened in this campaign. It allows players to experience and understand how a depleted German army was able to slow and then stop the Fifth Army at the Gustav Line.
Salerno ’43 was a well designed game that has a short scenario of 8 turns and a full campaign game of 22 turns. I think that this game is very good and will be one that you can play over and over again until you get the strategies down and can really stretch its legs at that point. But the game plays fast and furiously and was frankly a very good way to spend a Friday evening for 4 hours. If you are a fan of the ZOC Bond System, then this is a no brainer for you as it carries out that system well. If you are wanting to get into that system, this is probably the very best place to start. And as stated above, Italy ’43 is going to use the same system with some new rules.
If you are interested in Italy ’43, you can pre-order a copy for $38.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1123-italy-43.aspx
2024 Replacement Countersheet
Errata is a fact of life with all publishers and all games! No matter what, a mistake will always slip through and cause us gamers a bit of angst. This is where GMT Games stands head and shoulders above the competition though as they admit to their mistakes and more importantly try to make them right. We have seen this time and time again. So they have a solution for errata found on counters in their new games this year that makes a lot of sense and makes it economically very easy to acquire: a replacement countersheet.
From the P500 page, we read the following:
We are happy to announce today that we have created a “2024 Replacement Countersheet” that includes all of the counter updates that we and the designers know of as errata for games from 2023 and several from 2024. We’re setting this up as a P500 item like we did last year – except that it’s already approved to print. We just need to know how many of you want the item. Please get your order in over the coming few weeks so we can get these in your hands by year-end.
The price for this item will be $3 for US customers and $8 for non-US customers. Note that the cost INCLUDES shipping. Clearly, we’re supplementing most of the cost on these, which we think is only fair, in that these counters represent mostly errata that we missed when we produced the games the counters belong to.
The games with counters on the sheet are:
- Banish All Their Fears
- Downfall
- Great Battles of Alexander, Deluxe Edition
- Next War: Poland, 2nd Edition
- Norman Conquests
- Panzer North Africa
- Tanto Monta
- Under the Southern Cross
If you are interested in the 2024 Replacement Countersheet, you can pre-order a copy for $3.00 ($8.00 outside of the US) at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1122-2024-replacement-countersheet.aspx
A World at War Supplemental Counters
I am a feckless and gutless wargamer because I have never been brave enough to try to learn to play to A World at War. This one is one of the more eclectic and loved or hated wargames out there. One day I promise that I will get there but this month they announced some “supplemental counters” for the game.
From the game page, we read the following:
This supplemental countersheet is largely based on counter improvements for the fourth printing of A World at War. It contains 130 counters, and includes:
- Partial oil counters (new).
- Western Allied transport and ASW counters, with gradients (new).
- Croatian infantry units (previously only included in Gathering Storm).
- Polish armor counter (previously only included in Storm Over Asia).
- Free French units (previously only included in the third printing of A World at War and Storm Over Asia).
- Ramillies BB3 counter, with corrected spelling.
- Russian BB2 counters, with updated historical names.
- German 4-6 and 2-6 armor counters, to replace possibly worn out counters.
- Additional American, Russian and German flag counters.
- Additional isolation, partial supply and exploitation counters.
If you are interested in A World at War Supplemental Counters, you can pre-order a copy for $4.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1130-a-world-at-war-2024-supplemental-countersheet.aspx
A Gest of Robin Hood 2nd Printing
As you know, I love the COIN Series and anything associated with it. This new Irregular Conflicts Series is considered COIN adjacent and shares some of the same elements. The 2nd volume called A Gest of Robin Hood is a 2-player game that is set in the world of literature but based on actual events of the time as it covers the bandit known as Robin Hood as he patrolled the Sherwood Forest around Nottingham and attempted to relieve the evil Prince John of the money that he stole from the peasants and give it back to them. The game is very much asymmetric as each of the sides has different goals and objectives but also have different actions, called Plots and Deeds, that can be used to great effect to change the landscape of Nottinghamshire and plant the seeds of insurrection or pacify the locals and keep them paying those juicy taxes. We have played the game a few times now and have really enjoyed what is it that we are seeing and experiencing. The game is a great entry point into the world of asymmetric gaming and also teaches some of the basic principles of the COIN Series mainly focusing on the Sequence of Play, card assisted framework and diverging player sides with vastly different focus. The game is very approachable but also has a lot of meat to it and is really an interesting experience.
From the game page, we read the following:
A Gest of Robin Hood is the second game in the Irregular Conflicts Series, further adapting the COIN system to depict peasant revolts, feudal tax collection, and outlaw activities in late 12th century medieval England. Transposing one of GMT’s most popular systems into a simpler format and a more approachable setting makes A Gest of Robin Hood perfect for newcomers to wargaming. At the same time, it also offers a tight challenge for more experienced wargamers who can enjoy a tense asymmetric duel in under an hour.
We have played the game 3 times and I frankly love it! It is fun, fast playing and extremely interesting. I have started writing a series of Action Points posts, and you can read the first one on the Game Board at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2024/07/09/a-gest-of-robin-hood-from-gmt-games-action-point-1/
We also shot a video playthrough and you can watch that at the following link:
We also shared our thoughts in a video review and you can watch that at the following link:
If you are interested in A Gest of Robin Hood 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $50.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1120-a-gest-of-robin-hood-2nd-printing.aspx
Next War: India-Pakistan 2nd Printing
I’m going to be honest here. I have yet to play any of the many Next War Series games. Alexander owns Next War: Taiwan and I have Next War: Vietnam with counters clipped and just sitting on my shelf but we just have had other games to play….and are a bit intimidated if I am being straight with you. This one may be the title that gets me off the bench though and into the game. I love a good modern wargame. Next War: India-Pakistan 2nd Printing is such a compelling and interesting topic and I would love to get this volume.
From the game page, we read the following:
Next War: India-Pakistan, the next volume in GMT’s series of Next War games and a follow-on to Next War: Korea, allows players to fight a near future war between India and Pakistan.
Due to the nature of a potential conflict, only a portion of the Indo-Pakistani border is featured so that the fighting centers around what it always has: the fate of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. Special rules govern such things as the expanded role bridges play in the region play as well as the fact that both sides in the conflict are nuclear-armed nations. The People’s Republic of China and the United States can make an appearance, but they might withdraw in the event of a nuclear exchange. The question is: will this war settle once and for all who will control northwest India?
Note: the Next War series is not an introductory wargame. Rather, we have intended herein to create a system (and a series) that will allow detailed study of modern warfare in various venues as well as engaging gameplay. That said, the Standard Game rules encompass a fairly straightforward rule set that will, we think, be considered “easy to learn” by experienced wargamers. So, players who choose to play Standard Game scenarios can have a relatively quick game when that’s what suits them. The real flavor of a war in the theatre, however, comes through in the Advanced Game, where you get much more control over airpower and can more clearly see each side’s strengths and weaknesses. For players who want a “mini-monster game” experience, playing the Advanced Game Campaign Scenarios with some or all of the optional rules will definitely “deliver.”
If you are interested in Next War: India-Pakistan 2nd Printing, you can pre-order a copy for $59.00 at the following link: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1121-next-war-india-pakistan-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 segment 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 A House Divided Designer Edition was teased back in April as “A new GMT Edition of a popular game from Frank Chadwick” and Italy ’43 was previewed last month as “An operational level WWII game set in Italy.” 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 space-themed game for the Irregular Conflicts Series – I think that this one is Echo from the Dark designed by Adam Blinkinsop.
- A small-footprint American Revolution battle game – I just saw this at WBC. This is the Small BoAR Series initial game called Cowpens that will be designed by Bruno Sinigaglio.
- The fast-playing, manageable, imminently replayable 4X space game you’ve been waiting for (really). – This one is designed by Sam London (the same designer for Firefight Tactical) and is called Microverse.
- A cool new “governing” game from the designer of Prime Minister – Don’t have any guesses on this one.
- Something new for the Men of Iron Series – Don’t have any guesses on this one.
How did I go Gene? I feel like my 3 guesses were all correct so 3 for 5? Keep them coming and we will keep on guessing.
Charging & Shipping
The following information for Charging and Shipping was copied directly from the Update:
The next two shipments should arrive within a week of each other starting in just a few days. We know it’s a lot of items at once, but we will consolidate the two incoming shipments into one larger one and ship them together to allow customers to take advantage of consolidated shipping and better overall shipping rates on higher package weights. This shipment will include:
Charging August 5th. Shipping August 12th.
Labyrinth, The Awakening, 2nd Printing
Here is a link to our video review covering The Awakening Expansion:
Labyrinth: The War on Terror, 5th Printing
Here is a link to our video review covering Labyrinth: The War on Terror:
Here is a link to our recently posted video review covering Normandy ’44:
Normandy ’44, Mounted Map + 3″ Box
Next Charges/Shipments:
We will share detailed info on the next shipments in the August update.
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 piece of art they showed off in the update was the box back for the new Fields of Fire Deluxe Edition. As you may know, this is one of Alexander’s favorite games (I have never played) and he talks a lot about this one as a fairly difficult entry into the system but well worth the effort once you do get it. I think that this Deluxe Edition has made an attempt to improve the rulebook to lessen that steep incline to entry.
Here is a link to Alexander’s written review for the game on the blog: https://theplayersaid.com/2018/04/20/we-few-we-happy-few-a-review-of-fields-of-fire-second-edition-from-gmt-games/
The game appears to be in final art and proofing, which means that it is 1-2 months away from going to print.
We then got a look at the counters for the Deluxe Edition and they look good. I only am showing one of them here but you can see the other one by visiting the game page.
Next up, they showed off the new cover for The Battle for Normandy Deluxe Edition. In 2009, The Battle for Normandy was originally published and while I have never played it the game is very well respected. Since 2009, new research has been made available, and the game has been played many times by many different players and they all have provided various feedback. The game system remains basically the same as the original, but allowing players to focus on planning and strategy and not an overbearing rules system. Based on that new research and feedback, many units have been adjusted, all of the maps have minor changes, and some whole rules sections have been revamped to better represent the historical reality, while minimizing further complexity. The original expansion is included in this Deluxe Edition (while remaining optional), and there are also new scenarios. I am very ready to try this one!
The game is going to the printer at the end of July.
They also shared the game’s box back and I love the look of the board and love that you can really make out those hexes as they appear to have fairly think lines and are a bit darker so as to stand out against the background of the green, tan, cream and olive colored terrain. I am a big fan of good board design and art if you didn’t know and this one is done by Charles Kibler and appears to be a very fine example of his style.
We next got a look at new cover art for the 3rd Printing of Space Empires 4X: Close Encounters Expansion and it looks vastly superior to the previous work. They also showed off the new cover for the Replicators Expansion and Talon, which is not a part of the Space Empires 4X Series but is by the same designer and set in the same universe with a similar look and feel.
Here is a link to our video review for Space Empires 4X: Close Encounters:
Here is also a look at that Replicators Expansion cover and the Talon cover.
I never wrote any blog material on Talon but here is a link to our video review:
We have absolutely loves our several plays of Space Empires 4X and their expansions. I have played the base game solo as well and it was a fantastic experience! You have to fight against the Doomsday Machines and they are really beefy and just keep coming.
Talon is also a fantastic game of capital ship to ship combat and is very well done. Our only problem with the game was the dry erase markers used on the counters just didn’t seem to work very well. It was a very frustrating aspect of the game.
The game is going to the printer at the end of July.
Next up we were shown a look at the near final board for the very interesting looking The Bell of Treason. This looks very functional but not over the top. I think that it will work really well and I really think that this game will be good once it hits our table.
Another game which is the third entry in the Final Crisis Series of games that was started with Mark Herman’s Fort Sumter that deals with a country’s decisions during pre-WWII Europe in the late 1930’s about resisting invasion by a dictator and fighting back or accepting it and becoming less than they could be.
We published an interview on the blog with the designer Petr Mojžíš and you can read that at the following link: https://theplayersaid.com/2022/04/25/interview-with-petr-mojzis-designer-of-the-bell-of-treason-1938-munich-crisis-in-czechoslovakia-from-gmt-games/
The game is currently in the art department and is suppose to be ready for final art/proofing in Q4 ’24 – Q1 ’25.
The final art sample they showed us was one of the countersheets from the Deluxe Edition of Thunderbolt. We have not played a ton of Ancients but what we have played we have really enjoyed including SPQR designed by the dynamic duo of Richard Berg and Mark Herman. Prior to his passing, Richard H. Berg was hard at work completing the third volume in his The Ancient World Series, Thunderbolt, covering the titanic 2nd Punic War between Rome and Carthage. Mark Herman has teamed up with series developer Alan Ray to finish the game. The game is in final art and proofing and is therefore about 3-4 Months away from going to the printer.
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:
Interview with Joe Chacon Designer of Decisive Action
A Gest of Robin Hood from GMT Games – Action Point 1
Best 3 Games with…East Front of WWII! featuring The Russian Campaign Deluxe 5th Edition
Video Review: The Plum Island Horror
Unboxing Video: For the People 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
Unboxing Video: Panzer North Africa
Video Review: A Gest of Robin Hood
Unboxing Video: Rebel Fury: Six Battles from the Campaigns of Chancellorsville and Chickamauga
Video Review: Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Battle for Normandy
Video Playthrough: A Gest of Robin Hood
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
The Players' Aid 
The “cool new ‘governing’ game from the designer of Prime Minister” is likely for Tsar, which Paul Hellyer (designer of Prime Minister) recently called for playtesters for here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3336610/call-for-playtesters
Here’s his summary:
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Thanks for sharing.
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For “A House Divided” by Frank Chadwick, be sure to check out his designer notes posted on the GMT page for his game. The updates he is making sound like the will make great enhancements to the play of the game.
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Will do.
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