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 […]
Why Cards? Resolving Outcomes for In the Shadows Read Post »
Designer BlogsDisclaimer: 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.
A Hop, Skip, and an Amphibious Assault — Playing Next War: Taiwan (Part 4) Read Post »
After Action Report, Designer BlogsWhen 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
Solitaire Play in Prime Minister: The “Clockwork” System Read Post »
Designer BlogsIntroduction 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
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
Designing a Narrative Solitaire Experience for In the Shadows Read Post »
Designer BlogsToday marks the 20th anniversary of the human presence on Mars. 200 years ago, a small group of intrepid explorers from multiple of Earth’s nations set foot on our world. And starting from that first brave step, we have built all that you see around us today. A living, breathing, vibrant community, a rich diverse
Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: Martian Provisional Government Read Post »
Designer BlogsThe first InsideGMT article for Prime Minister discussed the game’s use of numbers to simulate Britain’s political system. Now we’ll go beyond the numbers and look at how player roles and relationships evoke the struggle for political power.
Roles and Relationships in Prime Minister Read Post »
Designer BlogsIn the Shadows was born in a whirlwind. We (Chris, Dan, and Joe) created the game for the inaugural Consim Game Jam in October 2020. We were tasked with designing an original game using the existing components from one of the COIN series games. And, if that wasn’t challenging enough, we only had 72 hours
A Desperate Struggle: Event Cards and Suits in In the Shadows Read Post »
Designer BlogsGlance at Prime Minister’s game board and player mats, and the first thing you’ll notice are all the numbers. The most important one is 330: the number of seats you need for a majority in the House of Commons. In this article, we’ll take a look at Prime Minister’s numerical side, with a focus on
The Analog Computer Inside Prime Minister Read Post »
Designer BlogsIntroduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)s Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: 2020 marked one year of Congress of Vienna being a GMT P-500 listed game and we once again thank all who’ve placed much appreciated orders for it. What a year 2020 was; not only for us all due to the Pandemic, but for
