Monthly Archives: May 2022

Posted on

The First Stirrings of Rebellion: Britannia

by

In October 2020 Fred Serval (designer of GMT’s Red Flag Over Paris, and A Gest of Robin Hood) organized a ConSim Game Jam sponsored by GMT.  Participants had 3 days to make a game. As participants, we had to use a pre-existing GMT COIN game at its core and make something new from it. We weren’t able to use any more wood pieces than were boxed with the original game. We  were, however, permitted to apply stickers to the board, or to any of those wood pieces, and were able to add any amount of cardboard tokens and decks of cards  we might want. Initial discussions focussed on geographical milieu, and narrowed our choices down to India (Gandhi), France (Falling Sky), and Great Britain (Pendragon), and the latter won out. So from  Morgane Gouyon-Rety’s Pendragon: The Fall of Roman Britain (2017) we  derived a game called Boudica’s Revolt.

The logo of the Boudica’s Revolt ConSIM submission
Posted on

The Battle of Piedmont: A Narrative AAR for the “1300 Start” Scenario from Battles for the Shenandoah — Part 1

by

Part 1 – through the end of the 1400 turn

Introduction. I compiled this after action report using designer Greg Laubach’s Cyberboard gamebox, as the gamebox features images of the final components rather than the playtest components.

The “1300 Start” scenario begins with the two forces fully deployed, just before the Union launched its attack.  It therefore omits the morning cavalry battle and the long march forward for both sides’ infantry.  In an attempt to render the at-start situation more transparent, however, the section following this introduction provides some background.

As is true of my previous AARs, I avoid GBACW terminology unless needed to clarify a given game event.  However, I’ve inserted “Game Interludes” where explanations of game mechanics might shed some light on the course of play.  Hoping to bring to life at least some of the men who fought at Piedmont, I’ve also embellished the narrative with anecdotes, conversations, and interior monologues, most of which are invented (but plausible).

Posted on

Arquebus Replay: The Battle of Ceresole — Part 1

by

All is lost, save Honor.

Francis I

Situation

The Battle of Ceresole was an encounter between a French army and the combined forces of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire during the Italian War of 1542–46. The lengthy engagement took place on 11 April 1544, outside the village of Ceresole d’Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy; the French, under François de Bourbon, Count of Enghien, defeated the Spanish-Imperial army of Alfonso d’Avalos d’Aquino, Mar-quis del Vasto. Despite having inflicted substantial casualties on the Imperial troops, the French subsequently failed to exploit their victory by taking Milan.

Enghien and d’Avalos had arranged their armies along two parallel ridges; because of the topography of the battlefield, many of the individual actions of the battle were uncoordinated with one another. The battle opened with several hours of skirmishing between opposing bands of arquebusiers and an ineffectual artillery exchange, after which d’Avalos ordered a general advance. In the center, Imperial Landsknechts clashed with French and Swiss infantry, with both sides suffering terrific casualties. In the southern part of the battlefield, Italian infantry in Imperial service were harried by French cavalry attacks and withdrew after learning that the troops of the Imperial center had been defeated. In the north, meanwhile, the French infantry line crumbled, and Enghien led a series of ineffectual and costly cavalry charges against Spanish and German infantry before the latter were forced to surrender by the arrival of the victorious Swiss and French infantry from the center.

Ceresole was one of the few pitched battles during the latter half of the Italian Wars. Known among military historians chiefly for the “great slaughter” that occurred when columns of intermingled arquebusiers and Pikemen met in the center, it also demonstrates the continuing role of traditional heavy cavalry on a battlefield.

Posted on

Cross Bronx Expressway: Losing and Seeing The Bronx

by

Shortly after finishing the third installment of this series about the tactility of the pieces, I took some time to capture a multihand playthrough of my physical prototype. Let me tell you a secret. I lost. In fact I lost in the first decade, three times in a row. Granted, this was the “Bronx is Burning” scenario which is hands down the hardest one in the game, but the fact of the matter is it took me four tries to get out of the first Decade, which is what you’ll see in this playthrough.

Posted on

Breaking The Line and Holding The Line in Commands & Colors: Ancients by BrentS — Part 1

by

There are many important elements that contribute to the outcome of an Ancients battle. Skirmishing, cavalry manoeuvres, feint and ruse, move and countermove, all play their part in the integrated coordination of arms that leads to success on the battlefield and a good commander must be skilled in all of them. But as in real ancient warfare, the decisive moment on which the battle hinges is invariably the bloody clash of the main infantry lines. Marathon, Plataea, Cannae, Leuctra, Chaeronea and many more, battles that were turning points in history, all decided at the sticky end of the conflict, close and personal, spear and sword against armour and shield.

Posted on

“Rocks & Shoals”: Navigating Infernal Machine’s New Orleans Action Board — Part 1

by

The New Orleans Action Board is the setting for the “brown water” naval battles, fought for control of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War.

Part One: South from the Crescent City

Though it is not shown on the Action Board, the key to this conflict is New Orleans, Louisiana. Known as the “Crescent City” for the shape of its “Vieux Carre,” New Orleans grew from the French colonial settlement that today still clings to the north bank of the Mississippi River.

By 1861, New Orleans had grown into one of the largest port cities on the North American continent.

In the 1860’s the River’s main channel at New Orleans reached down over 50 feet (9 fathoms), deep enough that overseas shipping and other commercial traffic could sail up from the Gulf of Mexico to dock almost at the local merchants’ front door.

For the Confederacy, possession of New Orleans and its control of the Mississippi River was essential to the South’s survival as a nation.

Posted on

Panzer Expansion #4 Scenario #37 Replay Part 5 — Turn 5 & Final Thoughts

by

Below you will find the fifth and final part in a series of articles from Brett Dedrick featuring a playthrough of Panzer Expansion #4 Scenario #37: Delaying Action at Ernage. The first four parts can be found here. Enjoy!

Posted on

The Eight Games of Vijayanagara: The Bots Have Risen

by

The base game of Vijayanagara is a raucous three-player event set in medieval India. But we all know the feeling of not having the right player count in a given moment to pull a particular game off the shelf. Or maybe a player has to leave the game early, or you prefer to do your interactive history exploration alone over a cup of tea, savoring the decisions at precisely the right pace.

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may be pleased to hear that we have been very hard at work on cutting, sanding, and polishing three Non-Player Factions (bots), capable of running each of the player Factions in the game when you need them to step in. The bots are card-driven, similar to the Arjuna system for Gandhi, the Tru’ng system for Fire in the Lake, and the upcoming Calixto system for Cuba Libre, but streamlined and tailored for Vijayanagara.

Chief among the design goals for the bots was to retain the overarching narrative of the game in any configuration, while also seeking to create a streamlined interaction. After a lot of great playtesting efforts from the community and continual improvements, we are feeling pretty excited about where things stand.

Posted on

Book & Game Pairings from Clio’s Board Games: Four Princes and Here I Stand

by

Back to the book & game pairings to educate and entertain about a certain historical topic! After our kickoff with the Eastern Front of World War II, we’ll go a little bit further back in time, landing in the early 16th century: The Reformation is shaking up Europe, and powerful rulers try to make the most of these turbulent times… both in Four Princes (John Julius Norwich) and Here I Stand (Ed Beach, GMT Games).

Posted on

Panzer Expansion #4 Scenario #37 Replay Part 4 — Turn 4

by

Below you will find the fourth in a series of articles from Brett Dedrick featuring a playthrough of Panzer Expansion #4 Scenario #37: Delaying Action at Ernage. The first three parts can be found here. Enjoy!