Highlights From the June GMT Update

It’s June and I just realized today that I haven’t done a GMT highlights post in a while.

I’m always a bit torn because I’m not truly a wargamer (at least not much of one), so a lot of the “oh, that looks neat!” aspects of the newsletter are kind of lost on me.

Yes, it looks neat, but I can’t really say anything about it that’s beyond “oh, that looks neat!”

I do use “neat” a lot, so sue me…

Anyway, yesterday I received the June update and there’s some pretty cool stuff in there, and since I haven’t done a post yet this week, I figured “why the hell not?”

There are not only neat things in this newsletter (Editor: “Stop using that word!”), but the two new P500 games are really attractive to me and even the reprint almost had me going (and may eventually still get me there).

So let’s just cut all of this crap (and my word count…no, my precious word count!) and get started!

(and I have to beat Grant to this…not doing so is kind of what kept me from doing it last month…and it seems like I missed that goal by a few hours)

First, as mentioned in the newsletter but also just noticed by me (and probably many more of you who buy a lot more than I do!), the GMT staff has been doing amazing work.

This month they had five P500 games arrive and they had to ship them all out.

Over 7500 games!

For me, I only had bought The Barracks Emperors (which has arrived at our US post box and I can’t wait to dig into it) but some people bought all five!

I’m kind of sad I didn’t buy Mr. President, because it looks like a fantastic solo game.

But looking at pictures of the game in the wild, there is no freakin’ way that I have the table space for it.

And I already buy too many games that I may never play.

But it looks neat! (Editor: “Sigh”)

I can’t even imagine trying to ship out that many games in a timely manner.

The newsletter also reminds us that a number of GMT games are on this cool web site called Rally the Troops. The games are implemented there for synchronous or asynchronous play and the rules are all enforced!

Unlike VASSAL.

I really should get a game of Andean Abyss going on there.

Michael?

Anyway, there’s a bunch of other stuff in the newsletter, but let’s jump to the new P500 games, because there are a couple of doozies!

First, there is a new deck-building game with a bunch of other interesting elements called Imperial Fever.

Let’s blurb it:

“Imperial Fever is a deckbuilding game for three to four players that recreates the period between 1881 and 1915. Players will vie for world dominance as they take on the roles of the United Kingdom, France, the Central Empires (Germany and Austria-Hungary), and the Emergent Powers (the USA and Japan).“

No details on how the deckbuilding works (this was teased as a historical deckbuilder for fans of Time of Crisis), but it also has elements of worker placement, area majority, tug of war, push your luck.

It’s a veritable kitchen sink!

It’s playable in under 4 hours (does that mean 3 hours and 59 minutes?) so I’m not sure how I’ll get it to the table.

But I will.

The second game is a new Fields of Fire solo game, Fields of Fire Volume 3: The Parachute Regiment.

I have Fields of Fire 2, and I have the new version of the first edition on P500 with updated rules and components (because I couldn’t make heads nor tails of the rules for the second one), so this one really excited me.

It brings the British into the whole thing!

The three battles it covers are the siege at Arnhem, the Falklands War, and the Afghanistan campaign in 2008.

It also has new rules for those uniquely British things…like bugles!

The price makes me pause a bit ($87 US on the P500 with a retail of $125) but that’s mainly because the Canadian/US dollar exchange rate is really shit right now.

Who knows what it will be by the time this one is ready?

The P500 reprint is The American Revolution Tri-Pack (2nd Printing), repackaging three older American Revolution games from designer Mike Miklos: Saratoga, Guildford and Brandywine.

For me, this is one of those “neat, but nope” ones. I will never get this played.

But if I discover I might, then I can order it before it ships out.

Even the new P500 teases for the future are interesting to me this time around, or at least a couple of them are.

• A new and expanded edition of one of our most popular pre-20th century titles
  
  wow, no idea but sounds intriguing!
  
• New content for The Last Hundred Yards
  
  I have yet to get the first two to the table, and the Russian Front one is coming soon, but I’m still on top of this one as soon as it is posted. I don’t know what it could be, though. Maybe North Africa?
  
• An Ancients-themed game in a popular series
  
  Another intriguing one that I have no clue about.
  
• A fun, challenging, and fast-playing game of WWII tactical combat
  
  Hey, this one sounds neat!
  
  (Editor: “I give up.”)

Finally, a shipping and charging update which also affects me (but when hasn’t it this year?)

After not having anything in May (first time this year), The Barracks Emperors charged and shipped in June.

For July?

Only the CDG Solo System Pack #2 and Plantagenet.

Look at that cover!

There’s also news about my games going to the printer, though there is no ship date for them yet.

The Last Hundred Yards: Russian Front has gone to the printer.

Prime Minister (I’m still on the fence about this one) has also.

The new printing of Commands & Colors: Medieval is heading to the printer in July, so that should maybe come out in the Fall.

Lots of GMT goodness!

What intrigues you the most?

What do you find neat?

Let me know in the comments.