To read Part 1 of this Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea solitaire series, follow this link.
Category Archives: Solitaire Systems
Solitaire Play of The God-King of Egypt (Part 1)
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Introduction by Game Developer Fred Schachter: A previous two-part InsideGMT article pitted one of the Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS) designers, Mark McLaughlin, solitaire against the trials and tribulations of this exciting, quick-to-play, and fun game. Links to Parts 1 and 2 of the article can be found here and here.
To best appreciate this article, the reader may wish to reference InsideGMT’s other content regarding ACIS for better context and reading enjoyment. This is not necessary, but it could help enhance your appreciation of the game action. Furthermore, this article provides more detail than its predecessors regarding ACIS’ game mechanics… and there’s more to come with future pieces as the game’s development continues.
This is a replay of Mark’s co-designer Chris Vorder Brugge’s experience with another of the game’s solitaire contests: The God King of Egypt.
Can Chris fare better than his good friend Mark’s InsideGMT ACIS solitaire game experience (or the historical “Land of the Pharaohs” for that matter)? Read on!!!
Hitler’s Reich: A “Bot” Driving Toward Moscow (Volume II of VPJ Arponen’s Bot series)
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The following article is the 2nd volume of a two volume series (Volume 1 is here), written by VPJ Arponen, originally appearing on The Players’ Aid blog earlier this week. To make sure that all of our GMT customers get to see this excellent article, we’re including it here in InsideGMT as well, with the permission and agreement of our friends at The Player’s Aid. We hope you enjoy the article!
The Science of the COIN Bot: Volume I
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The following article, written by VPJ Arponen, originally appeared on The Players’ Aid blog earlier this week. To make sure that all of our GMT customers get to see this excellent article, we’re including it here in InsideGMT as well, with the permission and agreement of our friends at The Player’s Aid. We hope you enjoy the article!
Solitaire Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 2 of 2)
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Below is Part 2 of 2 in Mark McLaughlin’s article titled, “Solitaire Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea”. To read Part 1 of the article, follow this link.
Solitaire Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (Part 1 of 2)
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Introduction by Game Developer Fred Schachter – Prior InsideGMT articles concerning Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea focused on the multi-player versions of the game… and there’s more to come as the game’s development continues. This particular article by Designer Mark McLaughlin provides the reader insights as to the game’s basic systems and the cards that add so much entertainment, excitement and fun to the game.
With this article, Mark shares one of the nifty solitaire versions he’s designed for the game. We hope you find this article of sufficient interest to incite a P-500 order for Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea if you’ve not yet done so.
It should also be noted that this article provides a “first peek” as to the game’s mechanics. Let Mark and I know if this provokes any question or request for clarification.
Hitler’s Reich: AAR Using a New Solitaire System “Bot”
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Introduction by Fred Schachter- Game Developer for Hitler’s Reich: A Card Conquest System Game (henceforth referred to as simply Hitler’s Reich) – Vesa “Vez†Arponen is one of those gamers who has talents of his of own, particularly when it comes to designing solitaire-playing “Bots†for GMT Games (most recently for A Distant Plain published in Nr30 of the C3i magazine and upcoming for Colonial Twilight).
Imagine Mark McLaughlin’s and my surprise and pleasure when Vez, a Finn residing in Germany as an educator, came to us to share how thrilled he was anticipating GMT’s publication of Hitler’s Reich and wondering if he and his local gaming buddies could help play test it. Not only that, he volunteered to create a “Bot†for the game. Off to Germany went what was needed for Vez to construct a play test version of the Hitler’s Reich game.
How Vez accomplished creating a “Bot†for Mark’s Card Conquest System design seems is akin to magic to Mark and myself, but did it he did, and Hitler’s Reich will uniquely join GMT’s game line-up being graced with two (2) Solitaire Versions for enjoying this quick playing and entertaining game: the original Solitaire Version previously announced within InsideGMT and now this new “Botâ€-driven alternative.Â
The remainder of this article is Vez sharing an After Action Report (AAR) of one of his play test games of Hitler’s Reich using the “Botâ€, which takes on the game’s Axis Side. Hopefully, this will enhance readers’ appreciation of the game and, if you’ve not yet done so, place a P-500 order for it? The exact rules and flowchart image are not here being provided; but what you’ll read is the effect of Vez’s clever work in getting his “Bot†to emulate the play of a live opponent.Â
The Madness Behind a CDG Solo Method
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Hi everyone. In today’s InsideGMT article, we are bringing you something new. I know many of you, like me, enjoy solitaire designs. Most of us who have played wargames for a while can even take a non-solitaire design and play it solo, with no problem. But CDGs are much harder to solo. And that has always frustrated me, because they are incredibly thematic and tell great stories, and I LOVE the “immersed in the story” aspect of gaming. Well, recently long-time gamer and CDG-lover Jose Ruiz has put together a method to help all of us play our CDGs solo, helping us to immerse ourselves into the stories of CDGs without knowing all the cards in the opposing hand – in this case specifically for PATHS OF GLORY. So for those of you who don’t already know him from his presence on BGG or his excellent YouTube channel Stuka Joe, I’d like to introduce you to Jose and to his CDG Solo Method, and publicly thank him for making this contribution to our enjoyment of Card-Driven Games while playing solitaire. Enjoy the article and the CDG Solo Method! – Gene
Solitaire System for Fields of Despair, Part III
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Here are links to the first two articles in this series: Part I Part II
Welcome back to the overview of the solitaire system for Fields of Despair: France 1914-1918. A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has helped us get across the 500 order mark. The development team and I are thrilled and humbled at the same time. Now on to the game…
This article focuses solely on how the game’s AI plays the Central Powers against you. As is custom, I should note that all of the components, art, etc you’ll see are play test and a work in progress. Below is a prime example. The Central Powers side of the Solitaire Play Aid walks you through the Central Powers action phase. I’ll refer back to it as I go.
Central Powers Solitaire Play Aid
Solitaire System for Fields of Despair, Part II
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You can view Part I of this article here.
Movement
With air recon complete it’s time to move any/all of your blocks into position for the attack! Block movement remains the same as in the 2-player game.
Combat
The solitaire combat sequence has a small departure from the 2-player game where artillery is committed and resolved before you send your boys “Over the Top!” Solitaire combat requires you, the player, to commit to all of your attacks and add any artillery to those attacks before checking to see how the AI responds. The combined value of your blocks and artillery equal the strength of your attack. Attacks are resolved in order from your strongest to weakest. This prevents “gaming” of the system with little attacks away from the real objectives. The AI is far more likely to match strength for strength but it is by no means a certainty. Much like a human player might.