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 […]
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
Below is the eighteenth in a series of articles from Mark McLaughlin showcasing the civilizations in Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East. You can find the first seventeen articles in the series here.
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East: Meet the Urartians Read Post »
Designer BlogsIn previous installments, I have described the “main characters” in Banish the Snakes: the historic people that players represent in their attempts to convert Ireland. But now I’m moving on to the “supporting cast” of historic characters, people who were notable in the history of the time and show up in the game on Event cards. The previous articles
Historic Characters in Banish the Snakes: Arthur, King of the Britons Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Inside the Game as HistoryIntroduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: December 2020 marks the one year anniversary of Congress of Vienna becoming a GMT P-500 listed game and we once again thank all who’ve placed much appreciated orders for CoV. What a year it has been; not only for us all due to the
Congress of Vienna: Update and Look Back at an Exciting Year Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Development Updates