Category Archives: Scenarios/Variants

Posted on

Congress of Vienna Scenario Set-Up Maps with Associated Historical Backgrounds

by

Introduction by Fred Schachter, Assistant Designer & Editor: As lamented within previous InsideGMT articles, the amount of Congress of Vienna material the Team generated for the game is too copious for inclusion within the to-be-published Playbook.  Hence, that content is being provided through InsideGMT pieces.

The Congress of Vienna Playbook contains all needed direction, in a list narrative form, for setting up each of the game’s five scenarios.  There are no concerns there! However, some gamers prefer a graphic approach in the form of Scenario Set Up Maps.  This article provides those Set-Up Maps.

For those interested in learning the historical background regarding each map, please access the link to their associated InsideGMT “Game as History” articles.  The following link provides a background, in terms of the Congress of Vienna game, for Turns 1 (March-April 1813) through 3 (June 1813):  A Historical Introduction to the Congress of Vienna Period Part 2 of 4: Napoleon Resurgent (Spring 1813) | Inside GMT blog. Once you’ve accessed this article, others of the series will become available through this GMT Game Site’s table of contents.

Hopefully, this material is informative to all readers interested in this fascinating historical period, the 1813-1814 resurgence and downfall of Napoleon and his French Empire and will complement the Congress of Vienna list narrative Scenario Set Ups provided with the published game.  Playbook Section cross-references are provided for each Scenario.

Posted on

Two-Handing Robin Hood; or, How to Rob Your Own Carriage

by

A Gest of Robin Hood has been out for nearly two months now, and both Fred and I are very pleased with how it has been received so far. It has been especially gratifying to see people enjoying the game with a wide range of friends and family, including young children and non-wargamers. One of our aims with the game was to make a relatively accessible entry point with a family-friendly theme, and it seems like it has been a resounding success in this regard. However, we know that not everybody is able to find a gaming partner all the time, and so I wanted to put together this short guide to playing the game “two-handed solo” (playing both sides to the best of your ability).

Like other COIN and Irregular Conflict Series games, A Gest of Robin Hood is already fairly well-suited to multi-handed play, as the cards are all open information (when drawn) and it is relatively easy to formulate a strategy for each side based just on the current board state. However, unlike most of these other games, A Gest of Robin Hood does feature a small amount of hidden information, and I’ve come up with a few tricks for handling these when playing by yourself. In collaboration with British Way designer Stephen Rangazas, Fred and I have also designed a set of “heroic and villainous personas”, which you can use to add some additional variation for either solo or two-player games.  

Posted on

Faction Personas for The British Way

by

Playing COIN series games multi-handed solo

By Joe Dewhurst

All four games in The British Way COIN multipack are only two-player and relatively short, so we hope that finding a partner to play with won’t be too difficult. However, we understand that many COIN players enjoy playing solo, and indeed this is probably how Stephen and I have spent the most time playing the other games in the series (both during testing and purely for personal enjoyment). Furthermore, and unlike previous COIN series games, The British Way does not come with a dedicated solitaire system, and so we have decided to provide some additional guidance for multi-handed solo play.

Playing a game ‘multi-handed solo’ simply means controlling all sides to the best of your ability, which can be somewhat tricky for a CDG with hidden hands (although even here the CDG Solo System provides a solution), but is very easy in COIN series games with no hidden information. The COIN series sequence of play also provides you with a limited set of options each turn, especially in The British Way where you have only two Factions and one Event card to consider, which makes these games especially well-suited to multi-handed solo play. You can just flip over the new Event each turn, check which Faction is first eligible, and then evaluate the current board state to determine what move they should take.

Posted on

The British Way: Advanced Cyprus Variant

by

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.

Posted on

Mr. President Sandbox Scenario #2: A Clear and Present Danger

by

This is the first in a series of alternate Sandbox Scenarios that offers you different possible world situations and settings that alter the focus and play experience for your Sandbox Scenario games of Mr. President.

In this scenario, we postulate the following: A situation in the mid 2010s that might have happened but, thankfully, didn’t.

Posted on

We Built This City: 3-Player Variant for Urban Sprawl

by

Urban Sprawl is a master stroke of game design. It’s at the top of my underrated gems list, and one I’ve been singing the praises of to whoever would listen for years now (making new fans in the process). The challenge has always been the play time, particularly for a first play. Because if you are just learning a game with the level of interaction in Urban Sprawl, 3-4 hours can be a lot to ask. So I made a variant called “We Built this City” that can be played in under 3 hours (the one catch being that it is three player only). 

Posted on

Bear Trap Gets Two Short Scenarios, and More!

by

As highlighted in a previous InsideGMT article, Bear Trap is primarily a two-player game—but one which will come with a rich solo mode developed by the GMT One team.

In this InsideGMT article, I want to quickly mention a few other things that make Bear Trap a complete package: two additional short scenarios, and tournament rules.

Posted on

Making “Next War” More Multi-Domain: Some Alternative Rules for the “Next War” Series

by

I have been an avid player of the “Next War” series of games since I discovered them by accident a few years ago at a local war game convention.  I’ve played them all, and wrote a series of AARs which have been run on this blog.  As I played the games, I realized one of the things that I most enjoy about the system is that it is one of the only games I know of that makes the player fully integrate capabilities across the various war-fighting domains.  To win, a player must effectively integrate air, sea, and land capabilities, and the game has some excellent rules for strike warfare, integrating cruise and ballistic missiles, and even for the use of chemical and tactical nuclear weapons. 

My “eureka” moment came when I realized this game really makes one think about modern, multi-domain operations.  It became crystal clear when I acquired the Supplemental Rules, and first added cyber warfare to my game experience.  Supplement 1’s cyber rules are genius.  They mix simplicity and playability with game impact, and I saw that the game became something different.  It became multi-domain.

Posted on

Combat Commander: Europe Random Scenario Setup Example

by

The random scenario generator in Combat Commander: Europe is perhaps one of the most underrated features of the game. It vastly expands replayability, offering new situations for seasoned players and newcomers alike. The rules are tucked into the back of the scenario book and you may have missed them or forgotten they are there—or maybe you simply haven’t had a chance to try them yet, perhaps because the prospect seems daunting. In the following paragraphs I’ll walk through an example to show you how easy and fun random scenario generation is. I will not re-explain all of the rules, but I have included the references so that you can follow along in your book.

Posted on

All Bridges Burning: A 2-Player Variant

by

At the time of writing this, All Bridges Burning, COIN Series Volume X, is the latest released COIN Series game.The game tells the story of the Finnish Civil War of 1918 including the lead up to the war during the previous year.

In this article, we will introduce you to a new variant to All Bridges Burning for two players. The 2-player variant is released as free download with this article. All the rules and procedures needed to play are contained in this PDF file.

I want to thank Adrian Rubiero for testing and preparing the variant with me.