Last day of vacation and first evening trying to be Napoleon. I don’t think I ever played a game so malleable in its victory conditions, yet at the same time making such precise decisions through its actions. The stretch from the historical to the biographical and the anecdotical is stagerring. You play from 250 cards, ordering them, stacking them, enabling or disabling them, activating or dodging them. You try to survive your imposed missions, eventually to be Consul, then Emperor. You marry, you maneuver on the battlefield, you deal with your staff and other nations. I died after 4 turns / 4 years, a mere general captured during a (fictitious) expedition in Irland. This design really has something accessible and beautiful. >>> I, Napoleon by Ted Raicer. #INapoleon #gmtgames
Pacific War - a monumental design by @markherman54 - is a wargame to which I am always coming back with a lot of joy. However, I am aware for many it might seem like insurmountable mountain to climb. Thus I prepare a small help which might ease the learning process - enjoy it!
https://theboardgameschronicle.com/2023/07/24/gmts-pacific-war-training-materials/
COIN-o-thon today against @nimopota! Played Brian Train's Colonial Twilight, followed by the Palestine scenario from Stephen Rangazas' The British Way as the first episode of the whole campaign. It was great being able to compare the two, and I think I'm beginning to get a better handle of this system.
@alexandrefr @grayson Yes! Great idea 🙂
Got The African Campaign back on the table today and played a complete game against @nimopota. By May 1942 it was all over for the Allies... my final unit was surrounded and we called it a day. Love the game's tempo, with its super quick turns and low counter density which help give the game focus.
Another game of Dawn's Early Light against @nimopota. Almost won this time around as the US, through some agressive privateering early on in the first few turns.
I couldn't help but feel I was playing an "inverted Shores of Tripoli" with the US doing the pirating this time around. Most of the time, strategy revolves around annoying your enemy rather than dealing definite blows, and it makes for a very interesting back-and-forth and some very, very tense turns.
Almost made it to Halifax around the end of 1813, which could have won me the game. But Mathieu took Florida and ended up invading Savannah, which put some unexpected pressure on me.
I definitely recommend this one!
Played a full, four-player game of Plains Indian Wars by John Poniske with some friends yesterday. Simple enough, which means everyone basically knew what to do after a very brief rules explanation... and I love the 2 vs. 2 setup, which made for a fun table dynamic all through the evening.
I think the disc-pull mechanic makes every turn unfold in an unpredictable way, and I really enjoyed the overall narrative arc of the game. I think the construction of the railroad is a great way of marking the game's progress... and I'd be happy to play this one again soon, @nimopota!
Castle Itter has fallen 4 turns before the 142nd could arrive. Obviously it was a newbie run where I only used suppressing fire twice, a blatant mistake from my part. Fun fact: the 142nd would’ve been accompanied by a French Canadian war correspondant named René Lévesque. So, à la prochaine fois, Ti-Poil. #castleitter
Shit is beginning to hit the fan on my 8th turn. The worthy Gangl was sniped and poor tank driver Seiner was caught in Besotten Jenny’s last stand. My rolls have been bad for a while, but damn that game is hard. #castleitter
May 5th 1945. Castle Itter, Austria. 0400. Let’s see how that goes. #dvg
Outstanding piece about the nature and relevance of Wargames -- https://sdhist.com/history-is-political-games-are-propaganda/
Bravery means the Ottoman troops take control of enemy positions, after a successful assault! Playing Fire & Stone by @rdeleskie against @nimopota today! Great game, with an insanely tight action economy where no single turn is wasted.
Borikén is one of the games I am most excited about in the current P500 lineup. I really like the fact that it covers three different eras of the same history using one set of base components, making for a sort of "three games in one" narrative experience. It also covers an important topic through a different perspective than what we are used to as gamers, which is something I'm glad to see more and more of.
Hoping this interview with designer Julio Nazario by @theplayersaidgrant helps the game get a little closer to 500 orders! I honestly think this one deserves a little more love than it has been getting so far!
https://theplayersaid.com/2023/04/10/interview-with-julio-nazario-designer-of-boriken-the-taino-resistance-from-gmt-games/
Did we plan our return trip poorly, or did we just give ourselves a little extra time for a short game of House of Normandy by Amabel Holland in an empty airport?
The year of our Lord 1106 (or another 7 hours before our flight to Montréal, trapped inside Ronald Reagan airport in DC).
@gpage @alexandrefr @Bublublock Yes! See you next year and let's try a game together this time.
Final day at Circle DC was a heavy, meaty seven-hour game of Angola! Thanks for organizing this one, @Volko and thanks for answering our rules question! It was a pleasure meeting you!
As for the game itself, it was incredible as well! Immersive, chaotic and very unique, with the core of the system making four-player interactions fascinating all the way through. We didn't exactly get to finish it, but took it far enough to get to some sort of an end result with MPLA and FAPLA making key strategic victories at the last minute and and @nimopota as the MPLA holding on to a brutal FNLA offensive on the border of Zaire.
I will be playing this one again, hopefully sooner rather than later!
That last day at Circle DC was, again, a blast -- like this whole weekend. We got to play Angola (under the guidance of the great teacher that is @Volko) which I think was the first time I had the chance to try a war game with 4 persons around a table (salute to Alex, Tim, Kip and Bob). Especially with a game that rely so much on coordination (and a bit of fog of war through that), it was a memorable experience and a perfect way to end a weekend of discoveries, learning, fun and new friendships... Now @alexandrefr and I are going back to Montréal (we still have 10 hours to wait at our terminal ahah), but in anyway, see you all next year in DC :)
@playersaidalex @alexandrefr @Bublublock Then I never broke character. Mildly efficient and rule abiding until the end 💂🏻♀️