Category Archives: Development Updates

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The Struggle is Real: Reworked Mechanics and a New Solo System for The Weimar Republic

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Much like the historical Weimar Republic, The Weimar Republic has seen its share of setbacks and crises. But unlike Germany’s first democracy, which was toppled both by the zeal of those sworn to destroy it and the incompetence of those sworn to defend it, the multiplayer political boardgame simulating that very collapse is moving forward with renewed hope.

Development of The Weimar Republic was struck hard by the Covid19 situation, mainly because live, face-to-face playtesting suffered so much. I had all sorts of live sessions planned for 2020, all of which had to be canceled of course, and as the pandemic dragged on the whole infrastructure for face-to-face gaming seemed to be in danger. At that point the game had seen its share of digtial testing already and I was not overly keen on moving focus back into the digital realm – even though the tools available these days make playing board games online both enjoyable and easy, it is hard to simulate the flow of an actual face-to-face session, especially for testing purposes. That flow is of course crucial to an asymmetric multiplayer game, which is perhaps why it took so long for the development team to discover certain tempo-related issues that had to be adressed before proceeding.

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ETO Series: August 2021 Update

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Frank Chadwick’s ETO: Gestating an Elephant

For this update series, we must preface with:

Our focus remains vigilantly on “the larger picture” of combined ETO volume games. One of our Prime Directives for this project’s development is that, when you play multiple volume games together, they integrate as seamlessly as possible.

You will see screenshots of our playtest components and from the Vassal playtest kits throughout this article.

Briefly, About Frank Chadwick’s ETO

Frank Chadwick’s ETO is:

  • A multi-volume series of mini-monster size games
  • Which combine into a grand scope wargame of WWII in Europe
  • The scale is
    • 30 miles per hex (with Iceland in the top-left and the Persian Gulf in the lower-right corner of the combined map’s area)
    • 7.5 – 15 days per turn
    • Most ground units are Corps (with a few Division breakdowns and Army buildup units)
  • The game features a simple play sequence (evolved from the classic introductory wargame, Battle for Moscow)
    • Housekeeping
    • Special Movement
    • Combat
    • Regular Movement
  • The core game is very much a clever, modern hex-and-counter Panzer Pusher
  • It includes an intuitive economic model featuring Seasonal income and per-turn expenditures (primarily used for on-map replacements and building/rebuilding from the force pool)
  • There are discreet Air and Naval units and systems optimized to support the “Panzer Pusher” nature of the game’s primary focus
  • It is card assisted in that each Month you select a card or two from your deck to add to your hand and decide when to unleash their narrative events. It is not card-driven in that you do not shuffle your deck and receive random cards that “make the game go;” Instead, you build a hand/strategy to create an important on-map operation, shore up your economy, or military base, conduct political endeavors, etc.
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May 2021 ETO Project Update and TITE’s Interesting Turn, Part I

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Frank Chadwick’s ETO Project Update

May 2021

From the project development team

Work continues on the Extended Examples of Play for the complete series of game volumes. We have found this an excellent way to “playtest” the down-in-the-weeds level of the game and rules and make small adjustments to ensure that the historical storyboard emerges with verisimilitude to a wargamer’s fond reading and research into the European Theater of Operation (ETO) at this series’ scope and scale. With the four-part Operation Weserübung example complete (here is part one), the team is now working on the D-Day invasion/response example. Getting the narrative right on the straight-up battle-odds & dice roll is easy; the trick has been getting all of the stuff in the French Interior department ringing true. The Partisan Detachments and Air Missions happening in conjunction with the invasion are a bit trickier to research.

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Crusader: FAB #4 Development Update

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First an update on where we are with the game at this moment. The final playtesting is underway and I’m very pleased by the excellent work the playtest team have done so far. The difficulties have been all the new concepts in this volume and to transfer the FAB system to the wide open desert and desert warfare, where there are no strict frontlines and swirling battles are fought all across the map. 

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Congress of Vienna Feb. 2021 Gameboard Update

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The changes made to the Feb. 2021 Congress of Vienna (CoV) Production Gameboard, which replaces the Nov. 2020 edition previously posted on GMT’s site for the game, are based on Vassal play tests conducted by gamers (both veteran grognards and Eurogamers) located in both Europe and the United States. Their diligent contributions while enjoying play of fun and exciting CoV games are most appreciated!

For images of the CoV Vassal gameboard, as well as a wide range of game-related material, including how to play videos and After Action Reports by one of our play test teams (what a game that was!), see GMT’s site: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna .

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Congress of Vienna: Update and Look Back at an Exciting Year

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Introduction 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 Pandemic, but for our beloved gaming hobby and the development of CoV.

This monthly update is a retrospective by designer Frank Esparrago, a reminiscence going back to the game’s earliest features. Its particular focus is on the developmental progress of Congress of Vienna since it made its debut as a prospective GMT game during July 2019’s CSW Expo in Tempe, AZ… ah for those wonderful seemingly halcyon days when we could physically gather for a good old traditional gaming convention! Hopefully, those days shall soon return.

In conjunction with this article’s InsideGMT publication, the latest files of sample cards and counters are shared. These replace those posted with CoV’s P-500 listing.  For those, and a host of related Congress of Vienna material, which should provide useful and hopefully entertaining background for this article, kindly reference: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna

With that, take it away Frank!

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GMT November Update: Congress of Vienna in Final Development

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Introduction by Fred Schachter, CoV Editor: This article is meant to inform readers of designer Frank Esparrago and team’s efforts to date regarding Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s development. To learn more and obtain background useful to best appreciating this article, see:  GMT Games – Congress of Vienna. There’s a host of CoV-related content available there which could be consulted since this article presumes some familiarity with prior published CoV material. Here’s Frank’s report which you’ll hopefully find of interest. Now to Frank’s latest!

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Norway 1940 Development Update: Final Counters

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Charlie Kibler has just completed the counters for the game, and they are superb! His silhouettes for the ships are particularly noteworthy, and it’s a shame that players won’t be able to see them at 4x magnification like I can with the digital versions. Once the expansion is published, however, we (okay, probably some noble volunteer who is much more tech savvy than I) will update the VASSAL module and you’ll be able to see this beautiful work in all its glory.

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People Power Development Update

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The People Power Development Team has been working on a revamp of People Power after testing revealed some gaps in the narrative that we wanted the game to tell. People Power is focused on the period between the end of Martial Law in the Philippines and the flight of the Marcos family in February 1986. This roughly 5 year period was marked with both violence and protest, and ended in the dramatic events of the People Power/EDSA Revolution in February 1986. Here’s a summary of the changes we’ve made:

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Congress of Vienna July 2020 Development Update

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The Congress of Vienna (CoV) Design and Development Team is ever so appreciative of the fine support and enthusiasm being shown this upcoming P500 “Great Statesmen” GMT game. To those who placed orders for CoV and helped it “make the cut” to an ever-increasing extent; thanks so much!