For the first time in my 40+ years of game design I was invited to a convention as an Industry Guest – all expenses paid (they even gave me food and beer). I had never been to TotalCon, even though I live in New England and it is 90 minutes from home. Thanks to podcaster Jonathan Reinhart, who interviewed me last year, however, the invite came and I accepted – and I am so glad I did!
Turns 8, 9, and 10 of the campaign game make up Scenario 3 of Seas of Thunder. The scenario’s name is Drumbeat and the rhythm of the game does seem to be reaching a steady and predictable pace. The German U-Boats are overtaking the Atlantic. Italy and Great Britain are engaged in a death spiral for control of the Med. The USA and Japan continue to eye each other warily across the Pacific. But the big news is Operation Barbarossa, Germany’s invitation to the Soviet Union to enter the war on the high seas.
Below is the fourteenth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the 16 civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first thirteen articles in the series here.
As some aficionadoes already know, Conquest and Consequence (CnC), the Asia/Pacific follow-up game to Triumph and Tragedy, preserves the 3-sided nature of the system by adding the Soviet Faction to the more typical US/Japan confrontation.
The Extended Example of Play for Imperial Struggle is up! You can read it here. The example consists of the first Peace Turn and the War of the Spanish Succession; when it ends, the players would move on to the final turn of the Succession Era.
Below is the thirteenth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the 16 civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first twelve articles in the series here.
In Seas of Thunder, the Auxiliary Cruisers and Armed Merchantmen serve as long range commerce disruptors. They were designed to be invisible through disguise or hidden armament and to be ignored by enemy warships. Auxiliary Cruisers and Armed Merchantmen can be incredibly effective in any sea zone on the map in Seas of Thunder. They can be placed to either take the points for the zone if you feel brave or the opponent has bigger fish to fry and does not patrol it, or to harass and sink enemy shipping in the area and slip away without being scratched.
To mirror the last COS post regarding the French sub-game of The ’45, let’s look at a larger scale, and arguably much more important sub-game for the Austrians, pitting them against the French to Regain the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire (See the Track below). The French gain the Crown by taking cities in the Empire and Danube valley, and playing a dependent Diplomacy event. The Austrians can get it back by progress in the war (for starters, taking large chunks of Bavaria), waiting for Charles VII to die (trust me, he will 🙂 ) and playing generic Regaining the Crown event cards as successive track conditions (progress) are met.
This article is a written version of a YouTube video about the design of Red Flag Over Paris. In Part 1 I wrote about Political and Military Spaces, Victory Conditions, and Strategy Cards.
