Laban! Chapter 4: The Reformers in People Power

In People Power the Reformer faction encompasses all the liberal, nonviolent, political opposition to the Marcos regime, including politicians, Catholic leaders, and regular citizens who were willing to voice their disdain for Marcos and his cronies. However, there is little doubt that the voice of the Reformers was, for many years, one man: Benigno Aquino […]

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Developer Notes

Faster Fire Resolution for Mons 1914 and Gallipoli 1915

Mons, 1914: The Mad Minute will include the 2.0 version of the Rifle and Spade series rules; the 1.0 version shipped with Gallipoli, 1915: Churchill’s Greatest Gamble. The new version is focused on readability and faster play, while retaining the same historical accuracy. Rules that rarely came up in play or that were difficult to

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Designer Blogs

Commands and Decrees of the Deccan Empires: Aims, Means, and Victory Conditions

Introduction In the last article we introduced some of the main modeling choices in Vijayanagara, in particular the concepts of Tributary and Independent Provinces, and Obedient and Rebelling Units. Having identified three major actors in the region during this period of Indian history, we set out to identify the central features representing their distinct goals

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Designer Blogs

“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

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

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Designer Blogs

Inside GMT One: Solo Play in Red Flag Over Paris

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

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Developer Notes

Laban! Chapter 3: Violence and Nonviolence in People Power

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

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Developer Notes

Congress of Vienna: Designing Its Solitaire Game

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 Guys” who’ve come up with a set of rules converting CoV’s 4-player game into 3 and 2-player versions. Furthermore, they’ve

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Designer Blogs

This is the Vietnam Game You’re Looking For, Part 1

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

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Developer Notes

“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

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

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Designer Blogs

Laban! Chapter 2: Support, Opposition, and Resistance in People Power

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.

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Developer Notes
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