Tag: Brant

06/6/14

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #46

A new D-Day game, and (finally!) the digital version of one of boardgaming’s most popular conflict games of all time.  Smells like…. GARPA!

g46-twilightTwilight Struggle, digital edition (GMT Games)
$115k of $50k goal (though that’ll be surpassed by the time you read this), ends 3 July 2014

For several years, it could be wryly joked that the “Struggle” in Twilight Struggle was for the difficulties in getting the digital version deployed.  No more.  It’s not uncommon to see a Kickstarter campaign blow well past the full funding mark, into ridiculous levels of stretch goals.  It’s rare to see a Kickstarter campaign fully funded within hours.  Yes, hours.  Twilight Struggle was at $30000 around 400pm on June 5th, having only launched earlier that day, and within the next 90 minutes they almost doubled that total, to exceed their $50k goal.  They’ve doubled that goal within the first 24 hours.  Why are we not talking about the game itself?  Do we really need to?  It’s to top-ranked “wargame” at BoardGameGeek (though admittedly, discussions of whether or not it’s a “wargame” waste plenty of hours online).  A forum/team game has been running here at GrogHeads for a while now, and countless schoolteachers around the US use it to introduce their students to the Cold War.  Seriously, you don’t need convincing.  You just need to go figure out your pledge level and get it over with already.

 

Day of Days (MMP)
181 of 650 orders needed

It wouldn’t be D-Day without us digging up an Overlord game, right?  MMP has a new SCS game for D-Day that’s designed to cover not just the landings themselves, but the breakouts that followed.  There are even scenarios designed to skip the amphibious assault, and start with Allied forces on the beach.  This game is new enough that there’s no draft cover art, playtest photos, or anything else that’s leaked out.  We were able to scrape up a very rough image of the maps (yes, plural) to show the scope and scale of the game, which will include scenarios that focus just on the British landings, or the US landings.  It’s an MMP game, so it’s going to be a solid and well-tested game on a known platform (SCS) and all those great touches that come with MMP tackling the subject in depth.  Go get a pre-order in!

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05/23/14

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #45

Your semi-weekly wallet-blasting gallon of goodness is back! GARPA checks out some excellent new projects waiting for your pre-order dollars.

 

Kuzaarik Forgers: Freeblades Fantasy Miniatures (DGS Games)
$4100 of $8500, ends 18 June 2014

The boys from DGS are back with another nifty-looking expansion to Freeblades. Ramp up your fantasy games with some excellent new minis of the Kuzaarik, the Dwarves with a bit of a twist. The concept art is fantabulous, and if the minis are even half as good as the advance sketches, the backers of their new Kickstarter campaign will be some happy gamers. Pledge away, dear readers!

 

New York 1776 (Worthington Publishing)
$13k of $2500 – ends 27 May 2014, so hurry up!

A battle of the AWI, New York 1776 was a key campaign for the Brits following the loss of Boston. A hex-and-block game with integrated fog of war, New York 1776 has so ridiculously exceeded its Kickstarter goal that some of the stretch goals – terrain blocks? – almost seem like they were making it up as they went along. A combination of a strategic map and a tactical battle board gives battles some depth while retaining the ‘big picture’ of the strategic situation. Read more at their site, and hurry up with your pledges before the Kickstarter campaign ends.

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05/9/14

GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory #44

It’s time for our semi-weekly preview of awesomeness in gaming

Some images click to enlarge

g44-bagChainmail Dice Bag (AlphaMailleChainmail)

$20 – available now

We’re breaking the rules slightly on GARPA here. Our first item this week isn’t a pre-order, but is actually already available. However, it happens to be on sale right now, so we’re pimping it a bit. After all, what self-respecting grog wouldn’t want a chainmail dice bag. You read that right: Chainmail. Dice. Bag. Let’s those words sink in a bit. Then cruise on over to the maker’s Etsy site and check out the medium sized chainmail dice bag for sale for only $20. Say it with me now: “oooooooh… aaahhhhhh…”

 

Next War: India-Pakistan (GMT Games)

p500 – not there yet

They’ve covered Korea, have Taiwan on their p500, and now GMT Games heads to the subcontinent for oh-God–lets-hope-it-doesn’t-go-nuclear showdown between India and Pakistan that also ropes in the Chinese and Americans.  With the conflict in Kashmir boiling over, shots get fired again, and yet another war breaks out between India and Pakistan.  Varying scenarios let players explore either side in the role of aggressor, and an intervention matrix determines what role other power play in the conflict.  It’s on GMT’s p500 program, but it hasn’t made the cut yet – and won’t if you don’t go pledge!

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04/16/14

The Joy of Discovery, or A Love-Letter to a Bygone Era of Gaming

Brant waxes nostalgic.  For no good reason, we might add.

16 April 2014

One of the great tragedies that the internet has brought about in the gaming world is the loss of a sense of wonder and discovery of a brand new game that no one else has heard of. One of my first tasks whenever I would get to a new town was to find a local game shop. Back then, things were all very different. There were no chain stores, unless you counted the book stores in the mall (though to be fair, there still aren’t any in the gaming world). Every game store in every town was different. They all had their own different unique games in stock that catered to the whims of the staff.

Since there was very little uniformity from store to store , and the gaming marketplace was much more fragmented, you never knew what you would find in those local game stores. Moreover, if you found something off the wall, it was almost guaranteed that no one back in your gaming group had heard of it, because there was no internet for everyone to hop on and find out about the same games all at the same time.

In my own explorations, I ran across all sorts of interesting nuggets and obscure games that would hardly be categorized as obscure today, because someone would’ve already read about them online. It’s not that they have any wider appeal than they did before, but they almost certainly have wider distribution and knowledge of that distribution thanks to the web. Continue reading →

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!

 

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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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