The development process for Fall of Saigon’s bots began way back with the development of the Trưng Bot Update Kit. Much of what Bruce Mansfield designed for Trưng eventually made its way into the Fall of Saigon bots, which we call Tây Sơn. The three Tây Sơn brothers united Vietnam in the 18th Century after […]
Inside GMT One: Evolving Trưng into Tây Sơn Read Post »
Developer Notes, Solitaire SystemsThis month we wrapped up design work on the bots for Fall of Saigon, the upcoming expansion to Fire in the Lake. This seemed like a good moment to reflect on the journey that it took to get to this point and share some of the things we’ve learned along the way. This is definitely
Inside GMT One: Behind the Design of Tru’ng Read Post »
Developer NotesThe single most important goal of the new COIN bot designs is usability. There are many places where small changes have been made to enhance usability, but the primary change (and a large one!) is the division of the operation selection and space selection priorities into different charts. Trưng divides these using the same principles
Fire in the Lake Tru’ng Bot Example of Play: NVA March Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Examples of PlayI remember cracking the seal on my first COIN game – Colonial Twilight – and seeing that bot chart in the box. I was a relatively new wargamer, and Colonial Twilight was not only my first COIN game but also my first P500 (much to my wallet’s chagrin, it was not my last!). After playing
Design Diary: How and Why We Are Evolving the Fire in the Lake Bot System Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Solitaire SystemsThis month’s P500 announcement of a new Fire in the Lake bot system has prompted much excitement from Fire in the Lake fans, and several questions which I will answer in this article. This article is a Q&A format, but keep reading to the bottom to get a sneak peek at the new Trưng Solitaire
A Sneak Peek at Tru’ng: The New Fire in the Lake Bot System Read Post »
Designer Blogs, Solitaire Systems