Monthly Archives: February 2021

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In The Shadows: Playing the Occupation

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I. Within the occupied territories, the adequate punishment for offences committed against the German State or the occupying power which endanger their security or a state of readiness is on principle the death penalty.”

the first directive of Hitler’s Nacht und Nebel decree
(Courtesy of Bundesarchiv/Wikimedia, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Germany)

While 100,000 German troops were garrisoning Occupied France during World War Two, most were dealing with the Atlantic Wall, resting combat units, and general occupation duties. So special German units were used for policing actions against the resistance forces while they relied on the French milice irregular units to uncover resistance for Maquis forces.

While designing the actions for the Occupation player, we wanted to show the difference between the two factions. The Germans could use overwhelming force when needed, but they couldn’t be everywhere at once. The French collaborator milice forces were only supplied with light weapons. But as Frenchmen, they had a much easier time mixing with civilians and uncovering resistance forces.

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Congress of Vienna Feb. 2021 Gameboard Update

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The changes made to the Feb. 2021 Congress of Vienna (CoV) Production Gameboard, which replaces the Nov. 2020 edition previously posted on GMT’s site for the game, are based on Vassal play tests conducted by gamers (both veteran grognards and Eurogamers) located in both Europe and the United States. Their diligent contributions while enjoying play of fun and exciting CoV games are most appreciated!

For images of the CoV Vassal gameboard, as well as a wide range of game-related material, including how to play videos and After Action Reports by one of our play test teams (what a game that was!), see GMT’s site: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna .

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Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: Church of the Reclaimer

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We look to Earth and see the climate catastrophe unfolding. The droughts and storms, fires and floods that plague that world are the result of one thing and one thing only.

The base human drive to take more than we need. 

We could have solved this problem centuries ago, but it was too hard. Too hard not to eat our fill and ask for more. Too hard not to burn oil for easy power. Too hard not to package every single confection in its own brightly colored wrapping paper. Too hard not to be self-indulgent, lazy, and weak.

And now the gaze of avarice turns to Mars. A new world to exploit. A new opportunity for more misery, and suffering. A new world to be consumed.

We must fundamentally change our ways as a species. We can no longer afford to live in an adversarial relationship with the world that gave birth to us. We must find a new balance, an equilibrium where we are part of a planet’s ecosystem, not the ravagers of it.

If we are to reclaim our future as a species, we must adapt to the worlds we live on. Not bend them to our will. They are planets, not products. And we are people, not consumers.

If Mars is to become a new home for humanity, then humanity must adapt to Mars. Or we are doomed as a species to repeat the same mistakes, over and over again, until both worlds finally destroy us.

The Ma’Adim, Reclaimer prophet
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Learning A Time for Trumpets One Korps at a Time!

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Written by Kevin Shewfelt

Edited by Bruno Sinigaglio

A Time for Trumpets is a very big game.  It’s a tour de force from the designer and certainly wins the award for diligence of research and accuracy.  You get a lot of bang for your buck when you see how much is packed into this 3” thick box.  The Order of Battle is state of the art; taking what we knew before to new levels of detail on what the Germans had when, and what the US Army could counter with.  The game is rightly considered a MONSTER (at over 2000 counters and 5 full size maps) and as such runs the risk of all other monster games of presenting so much to you, the gamer, all at once that it can get overwhelming if you’re not careful.  The following pages are meant to take some of the sting out of the sheer size of this game (and will go so far to call it a simulation) by focusing on the first few turns in one sector to demonstrate the basic flow of play.  This is done mainly for the benefit of those wanting to see what the game is all about and how the basics work.  Many of the rule sections will not be applicable for this situation, so it is a chance to get to terms with the core mechanics which will be used on every turn, in nearly every Corps.  And once you understand the basics of running a Corps, you can see that running an Army is just a series of Corps operations one after the other.  I hope the following pages are useful if you’ve considered the game and wanted to know a bit more.  I am indebted to John Rainey and Steve Bradford who made the Vassal Module for the game which I used for all the screenshots of this article.  I am also indebted greatly to the designer himself, Bruno Sinigaglio, for taking the time to check my execution of the game was correct per the rules. 

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Why Cards? Resolving Outcomes for In the Shadows

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Early in the design process for In the Shadows, we (Chris, Joe and I) had used dice to determine success or failure for most of the player actions. This allowed us to tailor probability and test quickly within the time constraints of the Consim Game Jam. Our contest entry offered tight play, albeit with a lot of die rolling. Rolling dice can be satisfying, but if done too much during a player turn it can also become tedious and add to the overall length of a game. However, the fewer rolls a design incorporates in a game, the more weight individual outcomes will carry.

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A Hop, Skip, and an Amphibious Assault — Playing Next War: Taiwan (Part 4)

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Disclaimer: All views expressed in this post are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, or Army Training and Doctrine Command

Ian M. Sullivan is the Special Advisor for Analysis and ISR at the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, US Army Training and Doctrine Command.

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Solitaire Play in Prime Minister: The “Clockwork” System

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When Gene Billingsley first accepted my Prime Minister prototype as a GMT project, he wanted a solitaire system in our development goals. I was intrigued, but wary. For me, player interaction is a key part of Prime Minister. I also knew the game involved some complex decision-making, especially on the Government side. But I thought the idea was worth a try, and I could see some possibilities. As I explained in the first InsideGMT article for Prime Minister, the game already involves lots of numbers used to track political factors, and bots love numbers. After thinking it over, I told Gene that I thought an automated Opposition was achievable, but I wasn’t sure about automating the Government.

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Congress of Vienna (with Wargame Flavor Rules) After Action Report Turns 6-8: “Austria at War”

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Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: The below is an After-Action-Report (AAR) of a CoV Campaign VASSAL game whose core players were located in the USA and Europe. It is a compilation of emails I provided the team between gaming sessions. I served as the game’s chronicler as well as an observer and kind of “living rulebook” should a question arise. A CoV Campaign Game comprises ten turns and a one turn session was conducted each Saturday.

The first five turn’s of this AAR, encompassing the period of Austria’s neutrality, before it joined the fray against that “Corsican Ogre”, Napoleon I, emperor of the French, are covered by this piece’s initial segment: Congress of Vienna (with Wargame Flavor Rules) After Action Reports Turns 1-5 “Austria’s Neutrality”. Inside GMT blog readers are encouraged to reference this for background as to how our AAR’s players came to the juncture this article encompasses.

During each one turn session the players were not rushed and could take as much time as desired to negotiate with one another and deliberate a play. No one minded each turn taking 1-2 hours to complete for everyone was having a joyously fun time (which, of course, is why we game)! It should be noted that experienced Congress of Vienna players, who agree to limit “table talk” or simply progress at a brisk pace, can get through a Campaign Game in 5-6 hours with the shorter scenarios being much quicker to complete.

To best appreciate this AAR, a general background regarding CoV will assuredly help. This can be gained by referencing GMT’s site for the game which is replete with a variety of material. See: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna

With that, enjoy this Congress of Vienna Campaign Game After-Action-Report for its turns 6-8, the period before Austria abandons neutrality and enters the war! At the conclusion of this history the four players share their musings about this particular contest and the Congress of Vienna game overall. The CoV VASSAL map saw a few improvements during this game’s conduct as Frank, myself, and the players noticed need for a clarifying “tweak” here and there as well as for a few rule improvements…

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A Hop, Skip, and an Amphibious Assault — Playing Next War: Taiwan (Part 3)

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Disclaimer: All views expressed in this post are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, or Army Training and Doctrine Command

Ian M. Sullivan is the Special Advisor for Analysis and ISR at the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, US Army Training and Doctrine Command.

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Designing a Narrative Solitaire Experience for In the Shadows

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From the very start of the Consim Game Jam we (Chris, Dan, and I) wanted to make sure that our design offered both an excellent two player and solo gaming experience. In the Shadows is a card-driven game about the desperate struggle of the French Resistance against the occupying Nazi and collaborating French forces between January 1943 and June 1944. The game offers both an intense two player game and a story driven solo experience. In this article I want to talk a bit about how In the Shadows embraces the narrative nature of solo play to create two distinct gaming experiences in the same box.