Combat Commander: Adversary, Part 3 — More About Horizon Charts!

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This is part 3 of a series of articles about my upcoming Combat Commander: Adversary game module—a solitaire system that lets one player duke it out with an automated opponent on the storied battlefields of GMT’s classic wargame. In my first article about Horizon values, I explored the surprising realization that we human wargamers instantly

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Designer Blogs

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love VEKTYR

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My friend Kevin Bertram and I get asked fairly regularly to look at new games – either for honest feedback or as submissions for Fort Circle Games to consider for publication. In the DC area, we are blessed to have a lot of smart people and a lot of aspiring historical game designers. Obviously, for

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Designer Blogs

Punicus: Inside the Cards — Part 1

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INTRODUCTION One of the things I enjoy most about wargames—both playing them and trying to design them—is that I inevitably end up reading books, watching films, and searching the Internet for things related to the subject of the game. Perhaps it takes me back to childhood, when almost everything was a source of discovery and

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Designer Blogs

Sieges and Assaults in Foxes and Lions

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As veterans of the series know, a field battle is one matter and can be a near thing if forces are relatively comparable, although we saw in the first part of this article how unit types, captains, and sentiment truly affect the situation in Foxes and Lions. Assaulting a space you have put under siege

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Designer Blogs

ARC: The Underworld P500 Spotlight: “Into the Abyss — The Sewers and the Alien Lair”

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The surface battle is over; the true nightmare lies beneath. GMT Games presents the third installment of our playthrough series with designer James M. Day (Panzer, MBT), dragging you down into the subterranean horrors of ARC: The Underworld. If Part 1 taught you how to gear up and Part 2 showed you how to survive

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Designer Blogs, Examples of Play

Empire of the Sun Midway Gambit Session Report

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Preamble This article was originally meant to just be a session report, no more. However, recently there have been a few threads on Boardgamegeek (hereafter BGG) from new owners who are looking for a playbook or equivalent support material for this game. Empire of the Sun (2005) is now in its 5th printing (thank you

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After Action Report, Examples of Play, Solitaire Systems, Strategy Articles

Regarding the Art of Diplomacy: A Congress of Vienna Player’s Guide- Issues (Part 1 of 2)

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Introduction by Fred Schachter, CoV Assistant Designer & Editor: Frank and I were pleased to meet Justin during a game convention a few years ago, where we were running Congress of Vienna “Learn the Rules / Play the Game” sessions. He enthusiastically jumped in and became enthralled with Frank’s wonderful design to the point he’s

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Designer Blogs

ARC: The Underworld P500 Spotlight: “Breach, Clear, Extract — The Siege of Crawford Police Station”

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The invasion is no longer a shadow on the outskirts; it has reached the interior. GMT Games presents the second part of our deep-dive playthrough series with legendary designer James M. Day (Panzer, MBT), taking you straight into the violent heart of ARC: The Underworld. If Part 1 taught you how to gear up and

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Designer Blogs, Examples of Play

Fire in the Lake Variant: A Better “Better War” A 1969 to 1972

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Westmoreland’s War Ends Until the last day of January 1968, William Westmoreland commanded the US war in Vietnam. He’d run it since 1964, built it from advisors to half a million men, and told the National Press Club in November 1967 that the end was in sight. Then Tet happened. Eighty thousand communist troops hit

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Designer Blogs, Playtest Reports

Rowing to Hades: Sample Turn

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This short article illustrates a single player’s turn of Rowing to Hades (P500). Future articles will dive more in depth into other topics. The game is simple, but not simplistic, and the basic mechanics work together to effectively model the subject matter more than first meets the eye. A quick note about victory conditions: generally

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Designer Blogs
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