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A Gaming Life
GMT Games Time of Crisis expansion – Made the Cut!
(2/12/19 edit – it’s charged and it’s shipping at the end of the week. Whooooa Nelly! Can’t wait to get my hands on this. The title is Time of Crisis: the Age of Iron and Rust)
Fans of this blog (Hi, Bob!) are aware that I’m a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge fan of GMT Games Time of Crisis. (Editor: Here, have another “u”. They’re free).
The brilliant game, designed by Wray Ferrell and Brad Johnson, depicts the Roman Empire during the tumultuous 3rd century, a time where if you became Emperor, your days were most likely numbered.
When Wray (or maybe it was Brad, but I think it was Wray) announced that they were working on an expansion, my ears perked up immediately.
When they said that it was now available on the P500 list at GMT, I jumped onto it so fast that there was still an after-image of me standing there gawking at the computer.
The other day, it was announced that they had reached 500 orders and it has officially “made the cut!” Woo!
What is a “P500”, you ask?
Basically, GMT Games model is put there in an effort to make sure that they remain profitable.
They put an upcoming game on the P500 list, and people pre-order it. Once a game has enough orders (i.e. “Makes the cut”), it goes into production, with final design work, art work, etc. It can be many months between making the cut and the game actually shipping, but this is how they ensure they won’t lose tons of money on a game.
Customers don’t pay for the game until it “charges,” which is shortly before it ships. So it’s not like Kickstarter where you pay for the game and then have to wait months to actually get it (if ever).
What will this expansion add to the play?
It’s been one of those weeks (why do you think you haven’t heard from me in a while?), so let’s just blurb from the BGG page:
New Influence Cards —
Deckbuilding is a key aspect of Time of Crisis, and the means by which players grow their influence among the Senate, the Legions, and the People of Rome throughout the game. While the base game provides an array of cards for players to choose from, the Time of Crisis Expansion DOUBLES the number of choices with a full new set of cards that are available for purchase alongside the existing cards. Explore new strategies and card combinations to seek new ways of building your dynasty’s Legacy.New Emperor Rules —
During the Third Century, Emperors didn’t only sit on the throne in Rome – they ruled from the provinces and commanded armies in the field, where they were at risk of being killed in battle or assassinated. These optional rules place Emperors directly on the board in place of a Governor or General token. Bold use of your Emperor will grant you bonuses, but if the Emperor token should be removed from the board, your reign is at an end.AI Players —
New optional rules for non-player factions driven by easy-to-use “artificial intelligence” instructions will allow 2 or 3 players and even solo players to enjoy a full 4-faction game. Three different AI Player profiles can fill your empty seats to provide a mix of challenges working against the human players’ Imperial aspirations.
That sounds…scrumptious.
It’s been creatively named “Time of Crisis – Expansion” (somehow, I think they’ll change that).
It will be a while before we see this expansion, so maybe it’s time to get the base game out to play?
It’s time to conquer Europe again!
If you’re interested in ordering this expansion, here’s the GMT page for it.
It’s only $17 US when ordering for the P500. MSRP will be $25, so order it today!
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