In the Shadows – GMT Games

I’ve posted a few times about games on the P500 list from GMT Games, the system where once pre-orders reach 500 they will be put into the production queue.

It’s almost like Kickstarter, except you’re not obligated to pay until the game actually ships, which could be a year or two.

In the Shadows is a game that recently appeared on the P500 list and needs a little bit of help. It’s currently (as of this writing, on Saturday evening) at 339 orders and needs to reach 500.

The game is designed by Dan Bullock, Chris Bennett, and Joe Schmidt.

The game sounds really intriguing, so I want to trumpet it and see if my one or two readers may help push it over the top.

What do we know about the game?

Let’s take a look.

Into the Shadows is a game about the French Resistance during World War II.

The game is a 2-player card-driven game (one of my favourite mechanisms) where one player plays the French Resistance the other player is the German occupation forces.

The rather interesting mechanism for this game is that all cards are one of three suits: Resistance Cross, Victory Cross, and the Iron Cross.

Let’s do a little blurb from the GMT site for the game to give you a bit more information:

“The goal of the game for the Resistance is to reduce the Occupation’s authority and recruit others to the movement. For the Occupation, players will be trying to uncover Resistance cells and make arrests. The game will end immediately if either the Resistance has no presence on the map or the Occupation authority reaches the point of collapse.”

Unlike many card-driven games where “dice rolls” are needed, In the Shadows has a deck of cards that represent the dice rolls.

There will be a Resolution deck of cards that will resolve actions instead of needing the dice (like Twilight Struggle, to name just one game).

I really like the idea of this game.

There are many World War II games out there, but only one or two that I can think of that really deal with the behind-the-lines resistance that existed in German-occupied countries.

This looks like a fascinating game that can really give players a sense of what was happening in these countries.

No game can really show the horror that the civilian population had to go through during the war, but games like this can give players an idea of what the active resistance did.

Card-driven games are my bread and butter anyway, and this one looks extremely interesting.

It also has a solo option where a player can take the role of the Resistance with an Occupation automata.

It has a 30-45 minute play time, which makes it perfect for a lunch at work (when we go back to the office, anyway).

I backed it as soon as it was announced and I hope you do too.

We need to get it to 500 orders!

You can order it here and add your name to the list.

You’re not paying for it until next year (at the earliest) so what are you waiting for?