Highlights From the October GMT Games Update

What’s this, on the horizon?

Is that a GMT Update post by Dave?

Does Dave really like a bunch of GMT games but just has had nothing really to say about the updates since June?

Does Dave really talk about himself in the third person?

Is Dave really full of himself that much?

Ahem…

Anyway, yes, it’s time for another GMT Update post regarding the monthly GMT newsletter, since I actually have some stuff to say!

It might not be interesting, but who knows?

There are a few really cool things in this one that I wanted to talk about.

And I’m posting this tonight because I want to beat Grant to the punch.

So let’s get started!

The newsletter of course starts off with talk about this month’s Weekend at the Warehouse, where a bunch of gamers go down to the GMT warehouse for the weekend and play a bunch of games.

As well, they get an update on upcoming games, and maybe even get to play some prototypes of games that are on the P500!

Personally, I think they put it in the newsletter to make me jealous, but could just be me.

(Editor: “Ya think?”)

It looks like it was a fun time, though!

Next they give an update on what’s charging and shipping next, and it looks like I’m going to be getting two new games in November!

Prime Minister looks really cool. I was a late backer on this one, but for some reason the last newsletter made me really excited about it.

This is a game where you and the other players are vying for power in Victorian England.

Let’s blurb!

“In Prime Minister, 1 to 4 players vie for political power and prestige by campaigning for public support, selecting and debating bills, pursuing official appointments, recruiting influential Victorians as supporters, garnering favor with the Queen, and, when the time is right, challenging other players for their leadership roles. Gameplay is partly cooperative with shifting alliances, but only one player can win by holding the Prime Minister’s seat at the game’s end.”

The second one is the 4th The Last Hundred Yards installment, The Russian Front.

I’m finally going to be playing this game on the table at Bottoscon in November!

So maybe I’ll be able to play all of these soon.

All of this coming after two months where my credit card wasn’t crying.

I’m sorry, poor credit card. Your suffering will begin again.

Since November’s charge appears to be about the same! (I’ll talk about that later).

Following the charging update, exciting news that GMT will be doing their Fall sale again!

It’s always based on how many P500 games you’ve paid for in the last year, and that’s been a lot for me.

The sale is typically 50% off, so I will be taking a hard look at it when it comes up.

This newsletter also had last month’s new P500 game, Firefight Tactical featured, and I had already been kind of considering it.

So I bit and put in my P500 order.

This is a dice-driven tactical game of squad-level combat in World War II.

It looks really cool, apparently can play fast, and I’m interested in knowing more!

Blurb!

“The Firefight Tactical system was designed to be quick to play and easy to learn, whilst being packed with tactical decision-making. Its compact size also enables play on relatively small playing surfaces, making it an ideal game to travel with. The core infantry rules are straightforward and can be learned from ~10 pages, including many examples and a glossary of actions.”

This would work great at work, then. Or even at home in my small space!

Finally it was time for the new P500 announcements.

There is the reprint of Panzer expansion #4, and they have brought The Battle of Sicily back (they apparently took it off the P500 previously to rework it or something).

The one that excited me, though, was Solitaire TacOps: Ortona.

This is a solitaire (duh!) game where you can either play a 12-scenario campaign or individual scenarios.

Let’s blurb this too!

“Solitaire TacOps is a campaign system that simulates the battlefield space where operational decisions meet tactical realities. For Ortona, you start with a brigade of four infantry battalions, one armored regiment, an artillery battery, and an engineer company. These are represented on counters ranging from platoons to squads, with tank groups and artillery guns. Players will make operational decisions such as when and where to engage the enemy, which forces to use, and the type of support to provide them with. The scenarios are then played on hex maps that use a megahex activation system to manage the opposition.”

Designed by Non-Breaking Space (a pseudonym, of course), this appears to be very interesting.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

I’m not even going to try to identify the upcoming P500 hints that Gene provides.

I have no idea.

Though “A WWI economic competition game” and “A new Men of Iron series game” are very attractive (I have the latest Men of Iron game (or was it a reprint? I don’t remember) coming in December, so that will be cool.

They then talk about upcoming conventions, including SDHist Con, which looks very nice if I could travel to California.

But then they mention Bottoscon!

I will be going to that one, though they mention that Thursday is also an option, and it isn’t anymore. The Thursday tickets are sold out.

If you happen to go to Bottoscon, though, look me up. I’d love to chat!

The newsletter also highlights the many GMT Games that are on Rally the Troops, which I haven’t really talked about too much.

It’s a great site where you can play these games, with rules enforcement, and asynchronously! I’ve been playing a ton of Time of Crisis on it, and even winning a few (though not recently, since I’ve been playing the experts, Grant & Alexander from The Players’ Aid and my good friend Michal from The Boardgames Chronicle).

We may even be playing Andean Abyss soon, a COIN game that I’ve never played.

I should probably read the rules!

Finally, there is an update on many of the P500 orders and their status.

This is where I discovered that in November, I will be charged for Commands & Colors: Medieval (can’t wait for that one!) and Norman Conquests: Men of Iron V (see? I told you I had a Men of Iron game coming).

There’s also a few cover and artwork reveals at the end of the newsletter.

My favourite has to be for the Ted Raicer solo game about Napoleon called, aptly, I, Napoleon.

What an awesome cover for this game where you are basically playing the rising career of Napoleon, from the French Revolution to Empire.

The shadows on it really emphasize it.

Here’s a card for it!

The newsletter also has a great cover for A Gest of Robin Hood, but I’ll let you go to the newsletter for that (I don’t want to steal their thunder).

There’s a bunch more in the newsletter, so you probably should just check it out.

Are you excited about any of these games? Or any that I didn’t mention?

Let me know in the comments.