Monthly Archives: September 2023

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The British Way: Advanced Cyprus Variant

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Testing and balancing four separate games for The British Way was no easy feat, and while for the most part I think we were successful, some players have reported issues with Cyprus after multiple games. While we do not think that the original game, as published, is strictly broken or unplayable, we would like to take this opportunity to offer an advanced variant for players who might have experienced these issues. Cyprus was originally designed as the simplest introduction to the basic mechanical systems found in the multipack, so there is plenty of scope for slightly increasing the complexity while still offering a fast and smooth experience.

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 4 — U.S. Turn 2

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The Germans kick things off this Turn with a draw of 5 cards, as the US get nothing!

The US then play a Reinforcements card to build up the 1st Infantry which are coming in as reinforcements from Zone A. Another step will see them become a powerful Elite 3-strength unit, so it’s worth investing this in them rather than holding back to repair a different unit later.

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What’s Coming Next in the Battles of the American Revolution Series?

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Update from Dave Stiffler:

Dave Stiffler and Mark Miklos

Small Battles of the American Revolution: There are many interesting American Revolution battles that are simply too small for the Battles of the American Revolution series scale (200 yards/hex, 100 men/strength point and 1 hour/turn). That’s why I’m pleased to report that Bruno Sinigaglio is designing the first “Small Battles of the American Revolution” game!

In the Small BoAR series, the base scale will be 25 yards/hex, 12 men/strength point and roughly 7.5 minutes/turn. At this scale individual units are identified as carrying predominately muskets or rifles, and all infantry units will be able to fire (something that is abstracted at the current BoAR scale).  Fire results are also more granular with results such as “reform”, “recoil” and “shattered” now possible.  At this scale, cavalry will have the ability to charge, and players will be able to put cavalry in reserve during movement and then to charge!  

The first game in the series will be Cowpens, which lends itself perfectly to this smaller scale. This game introduces a new unit type (Skirmishers) and terrain features (cane brake and “gentle slope”).  Research on this battle has been extensive, including a day-long visit to the battlefield by Bruno, developer Dave Stiffler, and BoAR series designer Mark Miklos.  The result is what might be the most historically accurate Cowpens battle map ever produced. 

Other Small BoAR designs in progress are the Battles of Hubbardton and Bennington by Curtiss Fyock and Cooch’s Bridge by Rob “Cappy” McCracken.

Update from Mark Miklos:

Battles of the American Revolution: Volume 11

The Battle of Green Spring Plantation

I am hard at work designing volume 11 in the Battles of the American Revolution series, The Battle of Green Spring Plantation.  Fought in Tidewater Virginia in July 1781, this battle was the immediate prelude to Yorktown and represents Cornwallis’ last victory during the American Revolution. 

British forces had been rampaging virtually unchecked in Virginia until General Clinton, expecting a Franco-American attack against New York City, requested Cornwallis send him reinforcements.  As ordered, Cornwallis moved his army from Williamsburg, VA to Jamestown Ferry on the James River, intent upon crossing over to Portsmouth.

Shadowing the British in Virginia were the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, and “Mad” Anthony Wayne.  Their combined forces of crack light infantry, Pennsylvania Line, and Virginia militia remained just out of reach.  Deceived by British “deserters” and run-away slaves into thinking the British had already crossed the bulk of their forces over the river and that only a rear guard remained holding the ferry, the impetuous Lafayette, and the equally impetuous Wayne, rushed ahead to defeat this exposed element of the British force in detail.  Little did they know that Cornwallis had laid a trap into which the Americans obligingly fell.  Only the heroics of Wayne and his Pennsylvanians prevented disaster.

The Battle of Green Spring Plantation will feature a historical scenario and a campaign game.  Very little new chrome will be added to the core series rules in this volume although rules for skirmishers, who played a key role in springing the British trap, are being developed.  Counter density will approximate that of Saratoga. 

The sketch map, reflecting on-site and archival research, is complete as is the British Order of Battle.  American Order of Battle and Exclusive Rules are being written as this goes to press.  We anticipate Green Spring Plantation to be ready for P-500 in 2024.

-Mark Miklos

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Fields of Fire Volume 3: The Parachute Regiment, Episode 3 – Afghanistan

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Note: All images are of playtest art and not final. All image credits: Craig Allen, 4 PARA.

Volume 3 of Fields of Fire brings three campaigns featuring The British Army – the Battle of Arnhem in 1944, the Falklands War in 1982, and Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.

[links to previous InsideGMT articles: Episode 1 – Arnhem and Episode 2 – Falklands]

Episode 3 – Afghanistan

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 3 — German Turn 2

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German Turn 2 – Schwerpunkt.

The turn begins with cards being drawn. The Germans maintain a strong advantage here through much of the game, starting with a draw of 9 cards. The US draws 7 to begin with, but the hap will be larger during their own Admin phase.

Neither side knows what the other has drawn. The Germans have a decent mix of combat cards and echelons (colors corresponding to the different Armies), but few Engineers. However, they do have the Engineer that really matters – 6th Panzer (yellow), which will allow them to repair the bridge into Marnach, and thus can strike over the river into Lullange this turn if they want to.

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Resisting Revolution: The Government

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In the early hours of January 1st, 1959, Cuban president Fulgencio Batista fled into exile, ending nearly a decade of dictatorial rule in Cuba. The 26th of July Movement immediately began to seize control, and a week later Fidel Castro arrived triumphantly in Havana, having completed a victorious march along the whole length of the island. In Resisting Revolution, the new Government faction begins in a strong but fragile position, seeking to consolidate their popular support and rebuild the war-ravaged Cuban economy. In this article I will outline some key features of the Government faction and their new menu of Operations and Special Activities. 

Camilo Cienfuegos and Fidel Castro arrive in Havana
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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 2 — U.S. Turn 1

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U.S. Turn 1 — Hold the line!

The northern flank at the end of German Turn 1.
The southern flank at the end of German Turn 1.

The US player has very little to do on the first turn, but there is one big decision they need to make. Will they continue to stand and fight in Marnach, or pull back? The advantage of staying is that it means the Germans will be unable to supply combat operations to the south. If the Elite 26th Infantry were to cross the Clerf River to attack Wiltz, they would automatically go Out of Supply (OOS) and lose a “step” (strength point) at the end of the turn, because there’s no way for the Germans to trace supply past Holzthurm. Supply in this game is traced simply through a chain of friendly-controlled spaces (and note controlled – they can be contested). Without a bridge, though, you can only trace supply over a river border into the single space adjacent to that river.

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What GMT Fans Can Expect at SDHistCon Summit 2023

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Since its beginnings in 2015, the San Diego Historical Games Convention has had a strong presence from GMT Games. SDHistCon Summit 2023, set to be held from Nov. 3-5 at the S.E.S. Portuguese Hall of San Diego, will be no exception. GMT designers and contributors confirmed to attend so far include Gene and Rachel Billingsley, Mark Herman, Jason Matthews, Ananda Gupta, Kai Jensen, Joe Schmidt, Justin Fassino,Terry Leeds, and convention organizer Harold Buchanan. But beyond that, the event will feature plenty of opportunities to learn and play GMT titles. Here’s more on the event and what to expect from it.

The venue: The United Portuguese S.E.S. Hall features a grand ballroom that will be a great gaming space. It’s also in a tremendous location: two blocks from the San Diego harbor, a few miles from the San Diego airport, and surrounded by delicious restaurants and affordable hotels. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 

The organization: The mission of San Diego HistCon (SDHist) is to create a diverse and supportive gaming community dedicated to playing, discussing, designing, and promoting historically-based board games. Through this commitment, SDHist seeks to serve both the existing historical board gaming community as well as grow it through the addition of new voices and perspectives. Recent events run by SDHist include this convention last year, the 2022 Summit Award (given to Red Flag Over Paris), an online convention this March, and SDHistCon East at the U.S. Naval War College this August. 

The events: Each SDHist convention comes with a wide selection of teach and play events, many by the designers themselves. The Wargame Bootcamp team will also be on hand with their famed teaching approach, and SDHist staff and volunteers will run several teaching events as well.

This year’s convention will feature a mix of historical game designers, publishers, influencers, and gamers. Attendees will have the opportunity to see and play games that no one else has seen with our various protospiel events. Designers will also demo games under development, and publishers will show off their best and brightest new and upcoming historical games. The convention will also feature panels and presentations on a variety of topics, including history, media, publishing, and community development.

The SDHist team is working on selecting the four finalists for the annual Summit Award. All four finalists will be available for play at this convention.

At past SDHist events, some of the GMT games taught have included Atlantic Chase, Twilight Struggle: Red Sea, Liberty or Death, Empire of the Sun, Flashpoint: South China Sea, Conquest and Consequence, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas, and many more. The events schedule for this year’s convention is still being finalized and will be published as we get closer to November, but expect to see a heavy GMT presence there with both new and classic titles. 

Open gaming: There will be significant open gaming space available throughout the convention. Attendees can bring games they like and arrange games in advance via the convention Discord server or other platforms, or simply find people to play with at the event.

Pre-convention events: Registration for the November convention comes with access to the convention Discord server. That server will feature several pre-convention Zoom discussions with notable designers and influences in the historical gaming hobby, with access available both live and afterwards exclusively for convention attendees. One presentation, from designer Geoff Engelstein (Versailles 1919, Zheng-He: Admiral of the Ming Voyages) on the future of historical gaming, is already available on-demand for convention attendees. A full pre-convention event schedule is under development and will be published soon.

Registration: The staff at SDHistCon endeavor to make registration for the convention as painless as possible. And if you plan on playing some of your favorite GMT games, they recommend the following steps:

Register for an SDHistCon 2023 badge. Space is limited, and sales are far ahead of prior years, so those interested should do this as soon as possible.

Event “tickets” will be available to all convention badge holders. These tickets will be used to guarantee your entry to a particular game or event. The tickets are free, of course, and are only used to make certain no specific game session/demo is overbooked. The event schedule will be released in October, and event tickets will be available soon afterwards.

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The Newport Skirmish: Notes and Thoughts from SDHistCon East 2023

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SDHistCon East, 2023

U.S. Naval War College Museum

Newport, Rhode Island

The Newport Skirmish: Notes and Thoughts

First, I want to thank Dave Stiffler for filming and posting these videos:

Miklos Rhode Island Part 1 https://youtu.be/lJFeMXD8N4A

Miklos Rhode Island Part 2 https://youtu.be/7_hE-28q01Y

Miklos Rhode Island Part 3 https://youtu.be/chADvoWGAu8

Miklos Rhode Island Part 4 https://youtu.be/WkoXVLtJuQ0

Miklos Turkey Hill Part 1 https://youtu.be/ez4_81EPR5o

Miklos Turkey Hill Part 2 https://youtu.be/kBCE0b7ToJA

Miklos Turkey Hill Part 3 https://youtu.be/eznRIkCSLfw

I didn’t know he was doing that. I occasionally saw him pointing his phone at me but assumed he was taking some still shots.  I hope you enjoy hearing the story as much as I enjoyed telling it.

We were blessed with good weather.  As late as the night before, we were concerned that we might have to cancel because of the threat of thunderstorms in the middle of the day.  Overcast and damp when we started, and it was sunny when we finished as you can plainly see in the final video installments.

We were so fortunate to have several members of the local battlefield restoration committee at Butts Hill Fort where we began our tour.  They added granular detail to the story and led small groups around the fieldworks.  They were prepping for a Centennial celebration the next day which was just plain good luck for us.  They were very gracious, and I know our folks were grateful for that added experience.

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Battle Command: The Bulge After Action Report Part 1 — German Turn 1

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German Turn 1 – Here Comes the Panzer Attack

Battle Command: The Bulge at set up

The game starts at the beginning of the combat phase of the first German turn. As they are on the strategic offensive, the Germans have access to a re-roll marker for the first half of the game, allowing them to force any one die to be rolled again every turn. They will have this advantage until the marker gets handed over to the Allied player at the half-way point. So they can deploy this ability to their best advantage, the Germans therefore choose to open with their most important combat and work their way down the list of priorities.