This month’s P500 announcement of a new Fire in the Lake bot system has prompted much excitement from Fire in the Lake fans, and several questions which I will answer in this article. This article is a Q&A format, but keep reading to the bottom to get a sneak peek at the new Trưng Solitaire system (the u is pronounced like the ‘oo’ in ‘food’).
The article below is a written version of a YouTube video I made talking about the design of Red Flag Over Paris: https://youtu.be/SkdiyuPefAg
In this article, I won’t go into too many details about the historical background. Still, if you are interested to know more about it, I published two articles on InsideGMT about this topic. First, I wrote about the Franco-Prussian War, and then I wrote about the Paris Commune and its implications:
Introduction (By CoV Editor Fred Schachter): Welcome back! The first part of this article series provided an overview of the 1805-1812 Napoleonic Wars period. This episode sets the historical stage for commencement of GMT’s P-500 offered Congress of Vienna Game.
This article Part 2 of 4 resumes the exciting narrative with Napoleon’s remarkable comeback after his disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia. Will he triumph or is the emperor’s journey to Elba assured?
Here’s a map depicting, in highly stylized form, the historical military situation for a game of Congress of Vienna’s commencement.
Note: If you would like to view any of the above or below images in a larger size, you can click on the image and it will point you to the full image file.
Below is the tenth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the 16 civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first nine articles in the series here.
Scenario 2 is by far the hardest and most difficult challenge for the Allied player among all of the scenarios presented in the game. Simply put, sacrifices will be made, ships will be lost, and backs will be stabbed. If you are playing a full game through either the campaign game or linked scenarios, you will suffer in this one. The Axis will take the lead and at this point and you will begin the long climb back to parity. However, what if you are just playing scenario 2 and have no intention of linking it with other campaigns? Can you do well? Can you win the game? The answers are probably not and maybe, in that order. No, the odds are stacked against you and having a good showing is almost out of the question. If you are doing well, the Axis player has seriously erred or else the dice have melted due to your luck. However, winning is another matter but it will require some sacrifice and determination and some help from luck.
I am writing this article with the assumption that you, as the Allied player, want to win this scenario, not just survive it as part of a longer game. Survival is an entirely different matter and I will discuss that perhaps in a different article. Suffice to say that the advice I am giving here is definitely not the same as I would give for the campaign game. So let’s look at what you want to happen, what the Axis want to happen, and what you can do about it.
The method used in the Close Encounters scenario book for adding amoebas gives you a predetermined placement for the amoebas, which is great for balance and planning. The method mentioned in the rulebook where you mix the three “No Mines” counters in with the deep space ones and use them to trigger the appearance of an amoeba is random and therefore exciting—but there are only three such markers, and depending on your print runs, observant players may be able to see the slight difference in the color/finish of these markers and know them for what they are.
Below is the ninth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the 16 civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first eight articles in the series here.
This article continues the account of how the German Communist Party (KPD) attempts to launch a revolution during the early years of the Weimar Republic. If you are interested in the background to the events described here, Part 1 can be found here.
Disclaimer: all game art, components, and descriptions of rules appearing in this article are taken from test sessions and are not necessarily representative of the final version of The Weimar Republic.
As it is not so easy to get the players for Great Battles of History (GBoH), sometimes the best option is to play solitaire, trying to win against yourself! One of the greatest installments in this series is SPQR. It allows you to replay a variety of engagements, and the latest Deluxe Edition covers all the expansions. As I acquired SPQR some time ago, it was already high time to get into this. As for the scenario, I picked the one suggested by the designer – Bagradas Plains.
