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What Does it Take to Have Your Game Accepted by GMT? (Part II)

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As I noted last time, I asked Andy Lewis for his input after he got home from WBC, and he sent me enough good information that I wanted to just devote a whole section to Andy’s view and process. Part I of this series can be found here. – Gene

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Andy Lewis, VP of Acquisitions & Development

Andy Lewis, VP of Acquisitions & Development

Sorry for being away during the first part. I do want to give you guys some information about how I look at design submissions, because. as Gene noted in Part I,  my process is a little different than his.

Regarding where I can best evaluate your submissions: Yes, I would like to see your game at a convention, but my useful time at them is limited. You see, WBC is my main vacation for the year – yes it is a working vacation – so you need to arrange something for Monday or Tuesday otherwise I’ll look if I have free time. Just please be aware the zombie stare doesn’t mean I’m uninterested; I’m just exhausted from gaming all week. Prezcon in February is another option, but I run the booth there 10-6 so again zombie stares will come with the review. The best opportunity is at GMT East in March in White Plains. I am the host and run the “store” there, but have more free time and less zombie stares.

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Next War Series: Reality Show

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NWKorea(2)Cover(RBM)Those of you who have taken Next War: Korea (NWK) for a spin have probably noticed by now that the Korean People’s Army (KPA) and Air Force (KPAF) are fairly formidable in the game (the latter for only a little while, of course). One of the underlying assumptions of the game is that somehow, either through relaxation or negligence on the part of the international community and its enforcement of sanctions combined with the willingness of the PRC to surreptitiously defy those sanctions, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has managed to overcome several of its economic and military challenges in terms of food, spare parts, new equipment, etc. It’s not a completely unreasonable assumption if you consider that a tip regarding possible drug shipments was the only reason a recent load of weapons and spare parts bound for North Korea was found and seized by the Panamanians1. That indicates that there are active elements of a strategy to circumvent the sanctions. Stopping one shipment should make one wonder how many others got through.

The fact is, though, while the KPA and KPAF are dangerous looking forces on paper, the reality lies somewhere below the capability as depicted in Next War: Korea. Although there is no denying that the KPA is a large, relatively well-armed force composed for the most part of troops who have been brought up within the philosophy of Juche (basically, extreme self-reliance), that force is also largely underfed and under-trained. However, as Stalin is reputed to have stated, “quantity has a quality all its own.”

That sentiment can also be applied to the KPAF, which maintains a large inventory of aircraft ranging from relatively capable aircraft such as the MiG-29 to Korean War vintage MiG-15s. Although numbers can matter in terms of controlling a particular patch of sky, as is represented in the Air Superiority calculation within the game, it only applies if you can actually get the planes in the air. Within the game, the KPAF is generously assumed to have parts, pilots, and fuel for the vast majority of its airframes to fly. The Pilot Skill modifiers portray fairly well the fact that KPAF pilots only fly around 25 training hours per year (more for the MiG-29 pilots)2, but the reality is that it is highly unlikely the North could sortie many of their older airframes at all in a combat situation. In 2014 alone, they’ve had three MiG-19s crash after take-off or during training3.

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My first trip to WBC with Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection

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    Designer - Liberty or Death

    I think you guys are going to really like Harold Buchanan. I’ve only met him that one time in Tempe (see below), but I came away very impressed. Harold is clearly a very smart, very accomplished guy. But I think what’s going serve him best in this industry is that he is a humble, eager learner. In my experience, smart, accomplished people who are also humble committed learners quickly assimilate the information and tools that any new task or trade requires, then rapidly become a dominant force in their space. Time, of course, will tell, but my sense is that Harold has all the tools needed to do amazing things in this business. We’re going to do our best to give him plenty of help as he learns his craft.  With Volko and Mike and all the COIN series development team to assist him, I know that Liberty or Death is going to be a gem. But my sense is you’re probably going to be seeing more than one game from Harold over time, and that this won’t be the only time you see his name and “gem” together in print. 

    I hope you enjoy Harold’s first article for InsideGMT! And be sure to keep an eye out  for Liberty or Death, coming soon to the P500 list. – Gene

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    Busy with family and work, I left the hobby for 25 years.  As my kids moved out to college, I jumped back in and felt like a kid in a candy store.  The number and variety of games had exploded!  I worked my way into a gaming group here in San Diego and Andean Abyss became a fast favorite.  Coincidently, over the last three years, I had been feeding my voracious reading habit with everything I could find on the American Revolution.  In the middle of a game of Andean Abyss I looked up at my buddy Richard McKenzie and said “This COIN system would be perfect for the American Revolution!  The American Revolution is an Insurgency!” The term “Insurgency” wasn’t used in the eighteenth century, but it was still the same – “The American Insurrection” if you will.  I put together a set of cards and a simple map (and I do mean simple) for Richard and I to play.  Patriots, British, Indians, and French were the factions and fit together nicely.  Indians got war parties.  The Patriots got Continentals.  The British got Tories.  The French got the ability to mess with the British, either by funding the Patriots through a shell Spanish trading company or facilitating Patriot Letters of Marque.  It was a lot of fun and intellectually stimulating as well.

    Richard MacKenzie with an early prototype of Liberty or Death.

    Richard McKenzie with an early prototype of Liberty or Death.

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    Mass Shipping Day at GMT HQ

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    Deb and Letitia

    Deb and Letitia

    At last, today is the day we ship 2,100+ copies of Fire in the Lake and 1,200+ copies of Won by the Sword to our P500 customers. Oh, and mounted maps for four different games, as well! So I thought I’d give you guys a brief glimpse at the mix of organization and chaos that is our warehouse on “mass ship day.”

    Elizabeth and Savannah

    Elizabeth and Savannah

    Everything starts with the office ladies, who have prepared and organized orders and shipping labels in advance of the big day. Without the hard work of these ladies, ship day would be a disaster.

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    The Other Forgotten War

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    Aac pic 1

    August 16th marks the anniversary of the Battle of Mars-la-Tour and August 18th the anniversary of the Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat, both fought in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. These two battles were titanic struggles, yielding approximately 60,000 casualties in total. Both battles were tremendously important military events when placed into proper historical perspective. In fact, Bismarck himself stated that the Battle of Mars-la-Tour – “beyond argument” – decided not only the Franco-Prussian War, but the future of Europe as well. The subsequent Battle of Gravelotte-St. Privat, two days later, sealed that fate by locking the French Army of the Rhine into its tomb at the Metz fortress. These battles simultaneously killed an aging French Empire and gave birth to a new German Reich.

    Two such important battles fought in a war that, despite its undeniable influence on European and world history, seems to garner little attention or enthusiasm in the wargaming community. Aside from the obvious historical importance of the conflict, most of the battles were hard-fought, brutal affairs with the Prussians suffering the majority of the losses. Yet most gamers hold to the prevalent misconception that all Franco-Prussian War games are “slam dunks” for the Prussians. At the grand-strategic level, this may be true. The Prussian Army at this time was an efficient war machine that was well-prepped, well-led and confident after mauling the Austrians in 1866. Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the Prussian General Staff, was a master strategist and well-served by the talented General Staff. Moltke grabbed the initiative and outmaneuvered a lethargic and ill-prepared French Emperor Napoleon III and his “laissez-faire” generals. The French army in 1870 lived in the shadow of its former glory and its elite reputation was still alive around the world (particularly in the U.S.). Realistically, however, the French aura of military power and superior generalship was a mere facade. So indeed, on the grand-strategic tier alone, the Franco-Prussian War was probably a mismatch. Yet, most wargames that have been published about this war have covered it exactly at that level – a scale at which the game is unavoidably unbalanced in favor of the Prussians and their German allies.

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    Next War Series: Behind the Curtains of the International Posture Matrix

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    imageIt’s no secret that the Next War Series incorporates variations of mechanics from other distinguished games. One of those games is Mark Herman’s Flashpoint: Golan (FpG). I contacted Mark during the design and development of Next War: Korea regarding using a version of  FpG’s International Posture Matrix, and he graciously agreed. There are differences, naturally, in the execution, and the Matrix is evolving even further in Next War: Taiwan. The intent, however, remains the same: it provides a method for players to randomly determine the effects of international influence in the primary operational area. Of course, players are always free to experiment with simply assigning Intervention Levels to explore various “what if” scenarios of their own devising.

    Use of the Matrix requires a player, usually the attacked side, to roll a die to determine the sentiment of three “factions” of a particular nation: the Administration (i.e., executive and/or legislative branches), the Military, and the Popular Vote (i.e., the willingness of the people). Each faction can end up in one of the three Postures: Passive, Moderate, or Aggressive. Each Posture has an assigned value (-1, 0, +1 respectively), and the player simply adds each faction’s Posture value to generate a Posture Sum. This Posture Sum is then compared to a table to determine the overall National Posture: Passive, Moderate, or Aggressive. This National Posture is, finally, cross-referenced against the particular scenario and generates an Intervention Level. While it sounds complicated, it probably took more time for you to read how to do it then it takes to do it.

    ipmThe secret sauce, if you will, is in determining which nations would or can intervene and at what levels would they intervene given enough provocation as represented by the various scenarios. The general underlying assumption is that the longer a particular nation has had to consider the issue at hand, the more likely they are to intervene at higher levels.

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    What Does it Take to Have Your Game Accepted by GMT? (Part I)

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    Hi everyone!

    We got a bunch of feedback and questions in response to the “Anatomy of a Game Design: The Gallic Wars” article that encouraged us to give you guys more insight into how we accept new game designs. Some of the questions came from existing or  aspiring designers or friends of guys with a pet design project, some from customers  just looking for a deeper understanding of our processes. I hope this article will be beneficial to all of you.

    More than an Idea:

    Before I get into the details, I should say clearly that “We do not accept game IDEAS.” There are many creative people in the gaming world, and frankly, ideas are a-dime-a-dozen. So we generally won’t even look at a “design proposal” that doesn’t include a functioning prototype, at least not from a new designer. If you want us to accept your game, take the time to build a prototype, then test and refine it. It doesn’t have to be perfect when you bring it to us, but it does have to be an actual functioning game, with rules and pieces.

    The Gatekeepers:

    So, once you have a prototype, to whom do you submit a game if you want GMT to evaluate it?

    Andy Lewis, VP of Acquisitions & Development

    Andy Lewis, VP of Acquisitions & Development

    Andy Lewis and I do virtually all of the new game evaluation and approval here at GMT. Andy lives in Delaware and gives up most of his vacation time to attend several large East Coast Conventions each year, including WBC, where he is on the board. I live in California, and run a couple of GMT Weekends at the Warehouse here at our HQ each year (April and October). I also attend the Consimworld Expo in Tempe, AZ, and occasionally conventions in LA or SF. So between us, we have at least half a dozen  opportunities per year to talk to designers and evaluate new games at a multi-day convention. For new designers, it usually takes one of us playing a physical copy of the game – often at one of those conventions – before we are willing to accept a game to add to our P500 list. There are rare cases when this isn’t true, and that’s usually because either Tony or Mark (who play a LOT of games and whose opinions Andy and I totally trust) have seen the game and know the designer and recommend we accept the game (This happened recently, actually, when Mark saw the Gallipoli 1915 game at a convention, was impressed, and came back and made the case to us to accept the game. Hey, if Mark likes it, I’m in!)

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    Fields of Despair and the 100th Anniversary of the German Attack on Liege

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      Designer, Fields of Despair

      When I met Kurt Keckley at a GMT Weekend at the Warehouse in 2013, he wanted to show me a WWI block game. Now the success of games from Ted Raicer and Mike Resch has shown me that I should never say “no” out of hand to a WWI title, but I have to admit, I had my doubts. That is, until Kurt drove 90 miles to my house one night and walked me through how to play. I was blown away (although he would tell you that I hid it well! 🙂 ) Here was a strategic West Front WWI game with really fun fog of war, production choices, cool mechanics for air and artillery development, and an elegant and well-thought out flow of play. I was “in,” so Fields of Despair came to the P500 list earlier this year.

      Kurt is a teacher by profession, and his instructional and organizational skills shine through in his game design. I think you’ll see from his article, below, that Kurt really pays attention to detail, and that’s great news for all of us who love games, because Fields of Despair is a gem! I hope you guys enjoy Kurt’s first InsideGMT article, and look forward to future installments. – Gene

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      Today, August 5th, marks the 100th anniversary of the German attack into Belgium.  What better day to give you a little peak at where we are with development as it relates to the opening moves of the war?

      When playing the 1914 Mobile War or Grand Campaign of Fields of Despair, your first order of business is to plan the attack into Belgium.  In your way is the fortress city of Liege just as it was 100 years ago.  Below is a photo of the scenario set-up and my awesome hand-drawn arrows to illustrate the German war plans.

      LiegeSP

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      Mobile Bay – “Damn the Torpedoes!” Rebel Raiders’ Style

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      Mark McLaughlin is as interesting a guy as you’re going to find at a game convention. When I think of Mark, I think “learning and laughter,” as I always learn something when I talk with him, and there’s always a lot of laughter involved! I’ve really enjoyed the few occasions (Mark is East Coast, I’m West Coast, so we don’t see each other very often) we’ve had a chance to sit down and talk about history, games, and even science fiction! Mark is one of those cool guys who takes great care and pride in his work, but doesn’t let his many accomplishments inflate his ego. He’s a down-to-earth great guy who is a terrific fit with our teams here at GMT. He and Fred Schachter, his developer, are a joy to work with, and I look forward to you guys getting to know them both in this blog.  In terms of GMT game credits, Mark is the designer of The Napoleonic Wars, Wellington, Kutozov,  Rebel Raiders on the High Seas, and an as-yet-unannounced series coming to P500 soon. Mark is a professional journalist and author, who publishes his own blog at http://markgmclaughlin.blogspot.com/. Check it out!  – Gene

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      mobilebay

      August 5 is the 150th anniversary of the biggest naval battle of the Civil War:  Admiral David Glasgow Farragut’s massive assault into Mobile Bay.  In GMT’s strategic naval game on the Civil War, players can recreate that epic fight – in which this time, thanks to cards and dice, going “full speed ahead” may not be the best tactic.

      Recreating the Historical Battle….in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas

      -I. The Union Fleet

      On August 5, 1864 Admiral David Glasgow Farragut led 18 warships into one of the most heavily defended ports in the Confederacy:  Mobile Bay.  His four armored monitors and 14 screw sloops and gunboats mounted nearly 180 guns.   Among the larger ships were the “unsinkable” USS Brooklyn and the mighty USS Hartford – from which Farragut flew his flag.

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      Happy 18th Birthday, Luke!

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      Founder, GMT Games

      Those of you who have been to a GMT Weekend at the Warehouse know that the Billingsley kids have been involved with GMT for most of their lives. Samantha, our oldest, was born six months after I created the first version of Silver Bayonet in 1990. Rachel came along two years later, and Luke in 1996. All of them worked at GMT during summers and sometimes on weekends from very early ages, and all have done virtually every job in the warehouse and many of the jobs  in the front office. Many of you have received packing slips signed by one of the Billingsley kids dating back to the late 1990s. They all grew up with GMT as the “family business” and are about as “Inside GMT” as you can get. Even now, they stay plugged into what’s going on with GMT (they watched the TS Kickstarter campaign with great interest this summer) and continue to offer good suggestions and feedback on how we’re running the business.  Most of all, though, they all PLAY our games!

      They’ve played a bunch of our games over the years, starting with a road trip with the girls about 15 years ago to meet Reiner Knizia in a San Francisco hotel and play games all day when Andy and I were first looking at some of his games. And they are fiercely competitive (must be from their mom’s side of the family! 🙂 ) Samantha owns family bragging rights as the only sibling to have, partnered with dad, won Mike Lam’s ACES Down in Flames tournament. The other two have made valiant attempts, but so far 2nd place is the best finish for Rachel and Luke. Besides Down in Flames, the girls mostly like our more Euro titles – we STILL take Ivanhoe with us on every family vacation. Rachel plays a mean game of Labyrinth, though, and reminded me just last week that she beat me the last time we played. Luke, though, likes both Euros and (thank you, Lord!) WARGAMES! He and I have played a lot of games of Combat Commander over the years, and he’s had a friendly grudge match going with John Leggat over various Combat Commander battlefields for years now (John, you have been a tremendous positive influence on Luke over the years. Thank you!). He also likes Labyrinth and the COIN series games, and this year discovered he liked to play Chess, so we’ve had some fun over the chessboard, as well.

      My "little playtester" got big!

      My “little playtester” got big!

      This summer, in between a lot of travelling, Luke has been helping me get Mr. President ready to hand off to the test teams. I always knew he was a good gamer, but this summer he has really impressed me with his attention to detail. He has an editor’s eye and reminds me of Volko in terms of organization and detail skills (that’s about the highest praise I can give), so he has been very valuable to me with his work on Mr President this summer.