November 2021 Monthly Update From GMT Games

It’s good to see the Players’ Aid back to doing some posts!

They’re still just interviews right now (or they were, until they posted something non-interviewish this morning after I had written all of this last night!) so I’m going to continue doing a GMT Games update based on their monthly email.

I’ll be doing that until I’m assured that Grant and Alexander are back to posting to the blog regularly.

October’s went over really well. I was very pleased to see that! Thank you for stopping by.

November’s email just came in yesterday, so let’s see what this update brings.

Click on the link to the update as there is tons more stuff in it than I could ever talk about here.

First, a couple of housekeeping items.

Sadly, I had to cancel my P500 orders for the latest standalone expansion for The Last Hundred Yards, The Last Hundred Yards: The Solomon Islands.

There was one main reason for this, though it branches into two reasons (kind of).

The main reason was that three of my games are charging on Monday, November 29 (including the Solomon Islands expansion) and I realized after thinking about it that I will not get this played for a very long time, if ever. As much as the system seems very intriguing, I just can’t really justify spending the money on it.

Especially because I already have two games that I really want also charging on November 29. I couldn’t justify spending $130 US (after shipping) on three games where one of the games I won’t be playing for a number of years, if at all.

Maybe I’ll get it on the next reprint?

So I cancelled that order.

Secondly, I don’t have the energy to go through my entire P500 list and talk about them this month.

So I’m only going to mention those whose statuses have changed (which appears to be only one, sadly).

That being said, let’s get to November’s update!

There are two new P500 additions and one reprint this month.

One of the fun things about the monthly updates are the teases that Gene gives about upcoming P500 games.

There was one last month that said “A Napoleonic-themed game from Ted Raicer” and I guessed something involving Napoleon’s invasion of Russia.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I, Napoleon is a solitaire game that lets you take the role of Napoleon from the beginning of his meteoric rise in 1793 to the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

This game looks simply amazing! The only reason I wouldn’t P500 this right now is because it can take a long time to play and my solitaire gaming time is in hour-long chunks.

However, individual scenarios could take only an hour, so maybe I will?

I have a lot of time to think about it.

This is essentially a historical role-playing game where you play as Napoleon, trying to perhaps better what actually happened to him (should we be encouraging that?)

A blurb from the GMT page (hey, I get to use “blurb” again!):

“I, Napoleon is a solitaire historical role-playing card game in which you step into the boots of Captain Buonoparte (as he still was) in the year 1793. Louis XVI has just gone to the guillotine, the brothers Robespierre control the destiny of France, and all Europe has joined French Royalists to take down France, end the Revolution, and restore peace and safety for the hereditary principles that have underlain society for 1,000 years.

As an ambitious but unknown young artillery officer, who speaks French with a Corsican accent, you would seem to be an unlikely agent of destiny. Can you harness a brilliant mind, titanic energies, and a sometimes terrifying charisma to leave your mark on history? Or will you die a minor footnote in the story of France?”

Cards are divided into three decks that represent different time periods in Napoleon’s life.

Each game will let you lead Napoleon down a different path. Maybe you’ll actually win it all?

This game looks amazing. The game will take 1-4 hours to play depending on your scenario.

That, unfortunately, may keep me from backing it.

But it looks so cool that maybe I will.

We’ll see!

The second P500 game shows that once again I guessed wrong last month.

However, you know what this means?

I was so certain of my Levy & Campaign series guess and it turned out to be wrong.

That means one of my “way out there” guesses was actually right (since it was confirmed that I guessed right on one of them)!

Plantagenet: Cousins’ War for England 1459-1485 also sounds seriously cool, though again I doubt I would get it to the table anytime soon so I might not buy it.

This is another entry in the Levy & Campaign series originally designed by Volko Ruhnke (though Plantagenet itself is designed by Francisco Gradaille) and it does look really good.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Wars of the Roses games and history books, so this one seriously appeals to me.

I have some time, obviously, before I really have to commit. I know this is going to get past the 500 order mark easily.

Let’s blurb this again!

“Designer Francisco Gradaille adds overall and local political influence to Volko’s medieval operation system to reflect the ever-changing loyalties of the time while keeping play familiar to fans of the Series. Players will create and maintain a network of allied lords and nobles in order to obtain the provender and coin needed to supply and pay their armies. As ravaging and looting will damage each side’s reputation, each faction will strive to convince cites to join its side. Great battles will seek to kill or capture enemy lords—perhaps even a king. Two kinds of operational moves will be in play: the military and the political.

In the end, when the dust settles and all arrows have flown, one rose will sit on the throne. White or Red, York or Lancaster, gather your troops and banners and join the fight.”

How can you go wrong with this?

Here’s a sample (playtest) image of how the game looks.

The page doesn’t give a time of play, but I can’t imagine it’s an hour or less. Thus I probably won’t be able to play it.

But it looks so cool!

There’s also a P500 reprint of A Distant Plain, the War on Terror COIN game designed by Volko Ruhnke and Brain Train. Another game that I would love to play but would never find opponents for it right now.

But I’m glad it’s getting reprinted!

This is another fun part of the update. Hints at upcoming P500 games!

I was 1 for 5 last time, though apparently the one I was certain about was wrong. Makes me wonder if we will see a solo bot for Pendragon!

Let’s see what’s on offer for this month:

“A new tactical air game from a favorite designer”

I have no idea, but my guess for the designer would be Jeremy White (Storm Above the Reich, among others). That being said, he’s co-designing Skies above Britain so maybe not?

Without any other kind of knowledge (I miss Grant), I will go ahead and say Jeremy White.

“New COIN content related to Fire in the Lake”

Since the Fall of Saigon expansion just got released, I have no idea what this could be.

“A smaller, faster-playing game in the Levy & Campaign series”

Since my guess last month was wrong about the new Levy & Campaign Series entry, I’ll go ahead and say what I said last month (quoted here because, hell, I’m lazy and don’t want to write anything new)

“I actually know this one! I think.

I saw it on both Twitter and Justin Fassino’s video about GMT’s Weekend at the Warehouse. SELJUQ: Byzantium Besieged is designed by Fassino and he was demoing it and playtesting it there.

Of course, Volko Ruhnke said on Twitter that this is one of several Levy & Campaign games in the works, but this one seems pretty close to being ready for the P500.

I feel so special that I might actually know this!”

Then again, what I saw didn’t seem especially fast-playing, so this could be way off base.

“A big surprise for Combat Commander players”

OH MY GOD!!!!!!

I can’t really be coherent with this guess.

You know what makes me drool even more?

This statement later on in the update:

“We just want you to know—ESPECIALLY for those games that are core games in a series upon which other products depend—that we’re going to do our best to make sure that we get those games back in stock by the time the next games/expansions in their series are available. We may have to print them concurrently with the expansions, but we’ll do everything we can to make sure that those core games like SpaceCorp (which should be back in stock next month), The Last Hundred Yards, Tank Duel, Fire in the Lake, and Combat Commander: Europe are back in stock by the time we print the next expansions or games in the series that would depend on the base game for components or rules.”

Holy shit, Combat Commander: Europe is going to be reprinted soon!!!

That one is definitely going to be bought.

As for what the “big surprise” will be?

I’m hoping for a new battle pack of scenarios, but the person inside of me who wants to shoot for the stars wants to say a brand new expansion.

I’ll say a battle pack, though.

There’s only one Pacific battle pack, so I’ll guess another one of those.

“A new solitaire co-design involving Jerry White”

Ok, the guess up above about the tactical air game is probably wrong now that I see this, but since I don’t know any other “air game” designers, I’ll leave it there.

Maybe this is something that takes place during the “Age of Sail” back in the 1700-1800s? Or maybe a World War I naval simulation?

I’ll go for the latter. He does have one naval game to his name (Atlantic Chase) so that may be it.

Charges

There are an incredible 9 games charging on Monday, November 29.

I would have had three of them without my cancellations, but I’m still going to be getting two of them that I’ve been waiting for.

Commands & Colors: Ancients (the reprint) is coming my way soon as well as Red Flag Over Paris.

What about the status of my other P500 orders?

Let’s see what’s changed.

Flashpoint: China Sea has changed to “In Final Art and Next to get a Print Slot.”

This amazing-sounding lunchtime game may be in my hot little hands sometime soon!

Ok, well, maybe 4-6 months, but still…

Nothing else has moved from where it was last month, which is kind of a shame.

Though my wallet is happy!

There is a lot more in Gene’s monthly update, but one thing I have to share with you is another game that I’ve done the P500 for.

The cover of Charioteer looks so gorgeous!!!

If that doesn’t get people to buy it off the shelf, I don’t know what will.

One of the things I love about the monthly GMT Games update is that they link to blogs and other channels who are talking about their games.

I really appreciate that, as this month they link to my AAR of the 6th mission from Storm Above the Reich.

Thank you so much!

What intrigues you most about this month’s update? Anything that really attracts you?

Let me know in the comments.

(Whew! Under 2000 words this time)