Behind the Curtain So, you’ve read the description of the game or looked at the pictures of some playtest graphics, and you want to know more. Well, come on over here, mind your step around the 4-sided dice on the floor there and please ignore the man behind that curtain. That’s just Chad – hard […]
Welcome to Centerville Read Post »
Designer BlogsClick this link to read Part 1 of this article. Chit 6: Axis Half Move/Combat-1 Next Chit is an Axis HalfMove/Combat. The Axis takes it as a move and attempts to cover major crossroads. The Italians in Sidi Baranni attempt to move out of their predicament. At this point they will survive the attrition phase
Dark Sands – Compass Scenario AAR, Part 2 Read Post »
After Action Report, Series ReplayHey Solitaire Gamers! Now for Something Completely Different. Solitaire Design for a Block War Game! Solitaire play for Fields of Despair was first brought up by developer Mike Bertucelli who my family affectionately refers to as, “your other wife.” Every so often Mike would say, “You know what would be awesome?” (pause – I know
Solitaire System for Fields of Despair, Part I Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Solitaire SystemsI had the pleasure of spending a few days with Mark this week at John Kranz’s excellent Consimworld Expo in Tempe, AZ. I got to play the final version of Churchill and had a blast and also got some detailed updates on Mark’s upcoming games. Mark has a bevy of terrific titles lined up to grace
Design Update from Mark Herman Read Post »
Designer BlogsThe following is the beginning of a multi-part After Action Review (AAR) by Tim Wilcox of the Compass Scenario from Ted Raicer’s Dark Sands. Enjoy! Turn 1 It is December 1940 and O’Conner is leading the British attack to push the Italians out of Egypt. The Axis have two VPs, one for holding Benghazi, one
Dark Sands – Compass Scenario AAR, Part 1 Read Post »
After Action Report, Series Replay“It is difficult to think of a great passage of arms in which one critical day of battle was so strangely – and so soon – underscored by another” – David Ascoli, author of A Day of Battle On the evening of Tuesday, August 16th 1870, the battlefield of Mars-la-Tour looked much like countless other
BLOODY THURSDAY: The Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat 1870 Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Inside the Game as HistoryTriumph and Tragedy was designed from the bottom up as a three-sided game, taking the viewpoint that the democratic/capitalist West, the fascist Axis and the communist Soviet Union were at bottom irreconcilable rivals for European (and possibly world) hegemony. A corollary is that the historical West-Soviet alliance was not inevitable, but arose from necessity (Axis
Addition by Subtraction: Creating the 2-Player Bonus Variant for Triumph and Tragedy Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Scenarios/VariantsThis article started as an attempt at some design notes for Next War: Taiwan (NWT), but it quickly also became somewhat of an essay on my general take on game design with the bits of how it affected the Next War games woven in. It’s long and a little rambling at times. Hopefully, you get
Next War Series Design Notes Read Post »
Designer BlogsOne of the challenges of designing a game that depicts the vast sweep of Comanche history was how to model the phases of their history without a host of special rules and exceptions. In short: how do you put the player into a position from which he or she can get a reasonably realistic perspective
Comanchería: Designing For Feel Read Post »
Designer BlogsThe GMT Weekend at the Warehouse offers gamers an opportunity to play their favorite games amongst the shelves of thousands of GMT games. For me, the best part is the opportunity to meet designers and other notables that created and love the games. Now that I am designing Liberty or Death it gives me the
A GMT Weekend at the Warehouse with Örjan Ariander (April 2015) Read Post »
Designer Blogs, The Inside View