Category: GARPA

04/11/14

GARPA 42 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory


This week, GARPA dips into the pre-order troves of some wargame companies, as well as tiptoeing through Kickstarter, to find you some great upcoming games.

 

Huzzah! Four Battles of the American Civil War Vol. 1 (One Small Step)
$39.95 pre-order

Company-level actions in the ACW comes to your tabletop in a quad-game package with 4 small, but important, battles from the 1860s.  You get Grant’s first real battle, out in Missouri.  You’ll also get Burnside in North Carolina, and two other fights.  The colorful counters give you a solid period feel, and the maps a compact and get you into the fight in a hurry.  Check out the preorder page and load your muskets!

 

G42-huzzah

 

G42-KwaKawaguchi’s Gamble: Edson’s Ridge (MMP)
$33.00 pre-order

A gorgeous area-movement game of the Japanese attacks to over-run the USMC airfield on Guadalcanal, Kawaguchi’s Gamble is up on pre-order right now with MMP.  Outnumbered over 3-to-1, the Marines are holding Edson’s Ridge from Japanese attacks that include banzai charges and gas attacks.  Drop in on the pre-order page for the game and check out some playtest images and place your order.

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03/28/14

GARPA 41 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Today it’s all about GARPA GARPA GARPA

 

Next War: Taiwan, GMT Games
p500 made the cut – shipping date not set yet

With a $30 discount for preordering, GMT’s latest entry in the Next War line of games aims for the near-future Chinese invasion of Taiwan.  It includes rules for some basic naval conflict, given the amphibious nature of the likely assault.  The standard game is the ground war shootout, and the advanced rules layer on some robust tracking of airpower.  It’s battalion- and brigade-level wargaming that’s not for newbies to the tabletop, but is a well-tested system for modern conflicts that has many fans in the grognard community.  Go give it a look and get your order in.

NWTaiwan-1(RBM)

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03/14/14

GARPA 40 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week, GARPA has some nifty little strategy games for you to check out.

 

The Ancient World  (Red Raven Games)
$21,000 or $15,000, ends 3 April 2014

From the creator of Eight Minute Empire comes a new civ-builder set in the ancient Mediterranean with a box full o’ cards that cover trade routes, combat, knowledge, and building.  Red Raven’s artwork is some of the best thematic art on the market, and although it’s a light worker-placement game, it feels like your civilization is rising from nothing to dominate the neighborhood.  At $50 for a copy, this is a good deal for a game that’s likely to become a staple of any game group that’s not exclusively grogs.  Go see the Kickstarter page and get a load of the game, and some gameplay videos.

g40-ancient

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02/28/14

GARPA 39 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

Our running late on a busy Friday brings you this week’s GARPA!

Board Games

SUPREMACY 2020 – Superpower Game of Nuclear Brinksmanship (Command Post Games)
$17,700 of $15000, ends 15 March 2014

An old classic reimagined for a new superpower age, Supremacy returns as the 2020 version with its ever-tense mixture of resources, nukes, conventional armies, technology, and back-stabbing fun.  Make no mistake, this is a high-strategic-level game that won’t have you pushing battalions and brigades around.  You track your missiles, and missile interceptors, along with navies and resources and nary a grunt in sight.  Stretch goals have already added international terrorists to the mix, and bring you a set of pieces to add Brazil as one of your superpowers.  Check it out and get your pledges in.

G39-Sup

 

G39-carcThe Adults of Carcassonne (Carcassonne Shop)
$7200 of $7000 goal, ends 9 March 2014

Ever been in the middle of a board game and thought “Man, I could use a drink!” ?  How about a game that answers “Sure!”  Tje Adults of Carcassonne is an unofficial expansion (though they are official “accessories”) that swaps meeples for shot glasses, and game tiles for mug coasters.  Yep, this is the pub-friendly Carcassonne for the drinking gamer.  Go ogle the fun at their Kickstater page, and get your gamedrink on.

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02/14/14

GARPA 38 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week’s GARPA? A truckload of new games on Kickstarter, and some wargaming, too!

Board Games

GBACW: Twin Peaks (GMT Games)
p500 – not there yet!  Pre-order price $41

Building off of one of wargaming’s most enduing game systems (TSS first rolled out in 1976), Twin Peaks govers the battles of Cedar Mountain and South Mountain, in the fall of 1862.  It’s two games in one, and both part of the series that all ACW gamers already know and love.  There’s a high level of complexity in the system, but that’s the tradeoff you make for the high degrees of realism and fidelity you get.  It’s the seventh GMT game in this series, so you know what you’re getting into for art and design.  Jump into the GBACW series with this while it’s on pre-order; hit GMT’s site to make your pledge.G38-twin

 

Storm over Dien Bien Phu (MMP)G38-storm
p500 – 156 of 520 needed, preorder price $33

The last gasp of the French in Southeast Asia, the decisive 1954 battle set set the stage for dramatic shifts in warfighting for the next half-century.  MMP’s game gives players the familiar “Storm Over ____” system to jump into their game quickly, and augments gameplay with a deck of cards.  The world was shifting from a WWII warfighting mindset ot something much more recognizably “modern” and you can game it out on your table if you pop over to MMP and place a pre-order for the game.

 

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