Tag: Brant

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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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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01/31/14

GARPA 37 – GrogHeads Advanced Research on Projects Advisory

This week’s GARPA?  A few nifty KickStarter projects, and the pre-order of a reprint that’s kicking butt.

G37-AresMagazines

Ares Magazine (One Small Step)
$18,200 of $25,000, Ends 3 February 2014

Remember Ares Magazine?  The guys over at One Small Step sure do, and they’re bringing it back.  They’ve got a KickStarter project to, well, kickstart the printing and distributing of the new magazine.  They promise to include a game in each issue, and the first issue is a War of the Worlds-inspired alien invasion of London.  You can also pick up the fiction-only version of the magazine, if you’re interested in saving a few bucks and skipping the game.  But hurry – time’s running out on the campaign, and they need some help to get over the final hump!  Head over to KickStarter and get your pledge in now >>

 

Board Games

G37-HunterThe Hunters – 2d Printing (Consim Press and GMT)
278 Orders on p500 – Not there yet

This well-honored game from Consim Press – it ran away with two categories in our Readers Choice Awards – sold out the first printing rather quickly, and demand for a second printing has been building.  Take command of a U-boat and patrol your way to glory through the dangerous waters of WWII.  It’s a solitaire game, so you always have an opponent, and take its inspiration from the venerable B17 Queen of the Skies game for the feel of the game the designers were after.  It’s on p500, and with a successful print run already under its belt, it’s unlikely to need 500 orders to make the cut, but it cold still use some nudging from y’all to move it along, so hit the p500 page and make your pledge today >>

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