Commands and Decrees of the Deccan Empires: Aims, Means, and Victory Conditions
by
“It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Five – Great Person “Negate” Cards
by
Introduction by ACME Game Developer Fred Schachter: The previous parts of this Chapter One introduced readers to the game’s Great Person Investment, Competition, Spy, and “Power, Money (Mina) & VP” cards. This exposition, which concludes Chapter One, proceeds to the game’s Great Person Negate cards.
Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East play testers attest that Negate cards add a fun, dramatic, and exciting dynamic to the game since they can be used with an immediacy that other cards cannot duplicate. They can save your civilization’s day and frustrate your enemy’s evil intent!
But first, to set the mood, a Mark McLaughlin Design Note aside regarding each ACME game card’s biblical quote…
Inside GMT One: Solo Play in Red Flag Over Paris
by
Fred Serval’s Red Flag Over Paris was definitely the surprise highlight of 2020 for me. As I sat in quarantine, much like all of you, I was buoyed by the simplicity and elegance of the game. Fortunately we live in a connected age, and I was able to enjoy many sessions of Red Flag with other players on Tabletop Simulator. With each play I kept wondering what it would take to add solitaire play to the game.
Laban! Chapter 3: Violence and Nonviolence in People Power
by
The first COIN project I worked on was Bruce Mansfield’s Gandhi. Even as a relative newcomer to the COIN Series, I knew that Gandhi was a very different game. The model of nonviolent resistance presented in Gandhi sparked my imagination; where else could conflicts be modeled using these principles? As I continued to read I was surprised to find that one of the most common examples of how nonviolent resistance works was the People Power Revolution of 1986. I was even more surprised to find that Ken was already very far along in his design of People Power.
Congress of Vienna: Designing Its Solitaire Game
by
Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: This article is a description of efforts made by one of the CoV Teams making fine and appreciated contributions to the game… “Gutt’s Guysâ€â€¦ who’ve come up with a set of rules converting CoV’s 4-player game into 3 and 2-player versions. Furthermore, they’ve created a fun, exciting, and engaging solitaire game for it!
In this first article, designer Frank Esparrago describes, the efforts made to make Congress of Vienna into a completely competitive solitaire game with all the intensity and competitiveness of its Standard multi-player versions. The focus is on the game’s cards and how their ratings influence solitaire play. Later articles will describe CoV’s Two Player version and how CoV’s Bots were created for solo play enjoyment. These articles shall provide descriptions, with examples, of how they work.
Understanding Congress of Vienna’s basic game system(s) should enhance readers’ appreciation of this article and its ensuing follow-ups. To that end, GMT’s site for the game contains a wealth of material: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna
Enjoy and take it away Frank!
This is the Vietnam Game You’re Looking For, Part 1
by
This game is often referred to as “brilliant”, “seminal”, “ingenious” and any other number of superlatives in terms of its breathtaking ability to capture the essence of the Vietnam War. To many, shall we say experienced, grognards, this is because they have direct experience with the game and have spent many long hours immersed in its grip as the gameplay drives a narrative that easily places you in the mindset of a Westmoreland or Giáp.
However, for new players, statements like that alone don’t tell them why they should be interested in the game, too. So, we will, herein, describe the way the game works so you can decide if, perhaps, this is the game you’re looking for.
We’ll start by looking at the components which will come with the game and noting the differences from the original.
“It’s All in the Cards”: A Compendium of Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East’s Cards: Chapter One, Part Four – Great Person “Power, Money (Mina) & VP” Cards
by
Introduction by ACME Game Developer Fred Schachter: The previous parts of this Chapter One introduced readers to the game’s Great Person Investment, Competition, and Spy cards. This exposition now proceeds to cards with much varied, but never-the-less valuable attributes. Having additional background regarding this forthcoming GMT P-500 listed game should assist a reader’s appreciation of this article series. This can be obtained from material resident in GMT’s site for the game: GMT Games – Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East
But first a word from Designer Mark McLaughlin…
Laban! Chapter 2: Support, Opposition, and Resistance in People Power
by
Unlike other COIN games, People Power does not simply measure the Support for, or Opposition to, the Government. In most COIN games, Support and Opposition measure the willingness of a population to actively enable or hinder the operations of a faction through supplying guerillas, providing intelligence, and supporting Government operations.
It’s Not Easy to Be the Sultan: Modeling the Collapse of the Delhi Sultanate in Vijayanagara
by
Introduction
With Vijayanagara we are seeking to present a detailed look at an epic period of medieval history, and in a region and time which has seen scant attention in the historical gaming community, or in entertainment media, or even in educational domains. We have yet to meet a single person not of Indian descent who has heard of any of the important figures of this era, or even the names of the once-great kingdoms and dynasties that appeared in the time covered by this game. And yet centuries later a nation of over 1.3 billion people has emerged from this turbulent past, with modern perspectives still influenced by an ancient history.
Factions in Red Dust Rebellion: Earth Government and the Space Battlefield Domain
by
The future of our species depends on us becoming a multi-planetary society. And it is to this end that the United Nations of Earth have poured our collective efforts into the Martian project.
And what a project it is, the great of human endeavors, reaching out into the stars to bring life, love, and society to a barren world.
It is an enterprise bigger than any national concern, or bigger than any corporate concern. It is an enterprise founded in the long-term future of us all. For humanity, we must put aside partisan concerns and focus on the real goal.
Our future as a species hangs in the balance. Which is why I ask my fellow council members for more resources to suppress this rebellion. The childish wants of the rebels on Mars must be denied. They seek to pervert this most noble of goals to their own ends. And they seek to deny us the home we have built for humanity.
We must not let this adolescent temper tantrum ruin what is our best hope for survival.
Ekon Imbrahim, UN Secretary for the Council of Martian affairs
We must bring Mars back into the fold, at all costs.