We continue our sojourn through the cards of GMT’s upcoming, now P-500 listed, second game of the “Ancient Civilizations” series: Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East (ACME) GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East [the first game of the series is Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS)].
ACME’s selection of “Regular” cards provides instruments which inflict benefits, sometimes at the expense of another Civilization; and then there are cards which singularly direct pain. These represent the Ancient World’s ways of damaging a Civilization, sometimes fatally when multiply applied, in the form of disk loss and/or the erosion of its wealth (mina).
15th century Japan was a largely agricultural society, with urban population centres like Kyoto being the exception rather than the norm. The previous capital Kamakura in northern Honshu was another exception, but cities like Sakai, Osaka, and Edo (modern-day Tokyo) did not fully emerge until the end of this period. Although the feudal class system was not made explicit or strictly enforced until the Edo Bakufu took power at the end of the next century, under the Muromachi Bakufu there was still a clear distinction between the kuge (aristocratic nobles who served the Imperial family), the buke (warrior clans who increasingly controlled the affairs of state), and the large mass of commoners including peasant farmers, artisans and craftsmen, and merchants and traders.
The Samurai Battles hit the table third weekend in a row – of course, alongside with other titles. That should tell you enough how much I appreciate that newest installment to C&C series. Today I will focus on another multi-scenario, mini-campaign session reports (after Arita Castle 1517 AD & Okehazama 1560 AD) – Koriyama Castle 1540 AD. But pretty soon you can count on my First Impression article. I am pondering also an essay comparing this game to its closest C&C titles: Ancients and Medieval. A lot of plans which I hope to realize soon!
Below you will find the second article in a three part after action report from Francisco Ronco covering a playtest session of Dubno 41. Enjoy!
Blow you will find the eleventh in a series of designer’s notes articles from The Last Hundred Yards series designer Mike Denson. In this segment he will discuss other tactics principles in LHY. You can also find this article on his ConsimWorld Community page. Enjoy! -Rachel
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.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, or Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).
Below you will find the tenth in a series of designer’s notes articles from The Last Hundred Yards series designer Mike Denson. In this segment he will discuss defensive tactics in LHY. You can also find this article on his ConsimWorld Community page. Enjoy! -Rachel
It did not take me long to bring Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles to the table for another face-to-face session. The recently unboxed game makes really great impression – both from aesthetic but also game-play point of view. The initial AAR of Arita Castle 1517 AD was very well received among Dear Readers, so today I would like to continue with picture-rich session reports, sharing here and there my observations about that position.
