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An Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East Discourse of Game Questions, Historical Background, and Items of Overall Interest

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By Francesco Guerrieri (with Responses by Chris Vorderbrugge, Mark McLaughlin, & Fred Schachter: ACME’s Design/Development Team)

Introduction by Fred Schachter (ACME Game Developer): Deb of the GMT Office forwarded a letter to Chris, Mark, and myself from Francesco Guerrieri of Rome, Italy, whom, as you’ll read, is a fan of the Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East game GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East.

That initial exchange of correspondence grew to the point where we realized it could make for an interesting InsideGMT article, particularly for those who play, or will play, ACME. So here it is commencing with Francesco’s letter which started it all.  I edited the ensuing correspondence to provide readers a sense of the fun back and forth Chris, Mark, and I enjoyed with Francesco.

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Video: Initial US Special Activations in Mr. President

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Hi everyone! I made this second video to take a look at the initial U.S. special activations phase in Mr. President. It should be helpful to you as you get your games over the coming weeks. Here’s a link to my first video discussing start of game strategy for anyone interested. I hope you all have a great time with Mr. President! – Gene

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Video: Start of Game Strategy in Mr. President

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Napoleon in Egypt: Dramatis Personae, Part 2

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Article written by Pascal Toupy and Tom Toupy-Durant

In our previous article, we took our first look at the great men who accompanied Bonaparte on his campaign in Egypt and Syria. Let’s continue today with two formidable cavalry commanders who would become Marshals of the Empire: Davout and Murat.

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Video: Start of Game Strategy in Mr. President

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Hi everyone! I made this video to take a look at initial strategies in Mr. President. It should be helpful to you as you get your games over the coming weeks. I hope you all have a great time with Mr. President! – Gene

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Borikén Game Three: Post-1529

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Borikén: The Taíno Resistance includes three separate games, each covering a distinct period of the history of the Taíno people of Borikén (modern day Puerto Rico). Each game uses the same map and the same basic system, but with different additional rules and objectives to model the particularities of its era. In my previous articles I played through the first game, covering the fifteen centuries prior to 1492, and the second game, covering the initial arrival of the conquistadors from 1493-1528. I was able to complete my objectives and resist the conquistadors for a time, but unfortunately their numbers and technology are too great, and now in the third game I am tasked with ensuring the survival of the Taíno people by escaping from Borikén. Like the second game, the third game can be played cooperatively, but I will again be playing solitaire as I explain some of the rules and history.

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The Camden Burials: A Travelogue

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Mark Miklos, designer of GMT’s 10-volume Battles of the American Revolution series, recently attended the Camden Burials honoring fallen soldiers from the 1780 Battle of Camden, South Carolina and shares his experience in the following article. Enjoy! -Rachel

It has been suggested by author David Smith in his book, Camden, 1780 (Osprey Campaign Series, #292) that fully one third of all the battlefield casualties suffered by American arms during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution occurred at the Battle of Camden.  It is no surprise, therefore, that relic hunters in the 1990s stumbled upon the shallow grave of a soldier while digging for musket balls, buttons and other artifacts of war.

That chance encounter was later verified by Mr. James Legg, Archeologist with the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archeology & Anthropology in 2001.  Tasked with surveying the battlefield, which then as now is primarily undeveloped long-leaf pine forest, Legg thought to interview relic hunters who had been scouring the area for decades.  As a consequence of those interviews and his own exhaustive, 20-year effort to find artifacts, another thirteen bodies were discovered and the Camden Burials project was eventually born.  Forensic anthropologists working for the Kershaw County, South Carolina Coroner’s Office were enlisted in 2020 and tasked with the exhumations and the study of the remains. 

More recently the American Battlefield Trust, working in cooperation with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the Historic Camden Foundation, has been granted an easement by the timber company that currently owns the land, to interpret the site.  In addition, the battlefield has been added to the Liberty Trail, a comprehensive network of historic sites and parks spread across the state to highlight the pivotal role South Carolina played during the struggle for American Independence.  

When it was announced that a reburial with full military honors would be held for these soldiers, and given that Camden is only a three and a half hour drive from my home in the Atlanta area, I made it a priority to attend.  The ceremonies were held April 20-22, 2023.  The impact they made on me will last a lifetime.        

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Congress of Vienna Detailed Example of Play– Part 2 of 2: The Government Phase, War Phase through End of Turn

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Introduction by Fred Schachter, Assistant Designer & Editor: As this article’s preceding Part 1 of 2 explained, what you have here is an excerpt from Congress of Vienna’s Playbook, it’s Section 16, which provides a detailed example of a turn’s play from the “Clash of Armies” scenario. It features Terry Leeds’ beautiful graphics for this upcoming P-500 game’s components.

For more, much more, regarding Congress of Vienna, see GMT’s site for the game at: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna. This includes a four turn After-Action Report of a full “Clash of Armies” scenario (albeit using an early CoV Vassal Module lacking Terry’s eye-catching game board graphics).

Now, without further ado, let’s resume the action with this Detailed Example of Play’s CoV Government Phase…

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Fields of Fire Deluxe – Progress Report

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So what’s going on with Fields of Fire Deluxe?

In October 2022, a draft of the new rulebook went online. This is due for another update once all the components are done to add new images along with a handful of new clarifications. The rulebook now contains all the base rules, with full explanations and examples, and should answer any question that comes up during play. However, that’s just the first step towards the new presentation of Fields of Fire.

The second step is the Starter Guide & Field Manual. Fields of Fire can be a tricky game to grasp, especially for players of other tactical wargames. The training course in this guide takes you through the basics of the game one step at a time and teaches you how to follow the sequence of play. The book also provides a series of examples and guidance for the various situations that the campaigns present; how to plan for an air assault, what to think about when setting up a defensive mission, a demonstration of between-mission reconstitution and replacements and so on. The main text is complete and it’s currently going through a series of checks, edits and design discussions to make sure it’s as user-friendly as possible.

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GMT Gaming: Spring 2023 Convention Reports

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Hi everyone! It’s always exciting for us to see our games played in so many different places, so for those interested we’d like to share some photos (and one video) from some of the conventions we’ve seen GMT titles played at recently. Enjoy!

Buckeye Game Fest, April 2023

(Convention Report by The Players’ Aid. If you’d like to read the full convention debrief, you can find that on their blog here.)

Just wanted to report back on our adventures at Buckeye Game Fest this past week. We displayed the advance copy of The British Way provided by GMT and ended up engaging with about 10 people about the game, how it compares to the rest of the COIN Series, and its accessibility. 

We also ran 4 total COIN Series Teach & Play events, 2 on Friday and 2 on Saturday with a total of 14 players. Grant ran Cuba Libre, and Alexander ran Andean Abyss. Everyone had a great time, and we gave away the games you provided as prizes. 

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An Interesting Thing Happened on the Way to Jask

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Many strange situations crop up when playtesting even when that game is the sixth (or seventh? – TBD) game in the series. In this case, the playtesters ended up in a situation that required some working through the nuances of the rules. It didn’t break anything or require adding new rules, but it presented an interesting Air Strike Interception situation that I thought would be enlightening to share.