#gmtgames

[auparadisdujeu]

On a reçu une commande de GMT en anglais! Red Flag over Paris Barbarossa Army Group Center Salerno '43 1848 Australia Pacific War #jeuxdesociete #j2s #boardgame #boardgames #auparadisdujeu #lausanne #gmtgames #wargames (à Au Paradis du Jeu) https://www.instagram.com/p/CbpnA7GKmIO/?utm_medium=tumblr

[illuminatinggames]

Breaking out Stalingrad ‘42. My friends place has a big window in the room where we game, so we get a lot of light during the day which makes some interesting pictures. I took the Soviets this time because I wasn’t quite feeling up to running the big offensives - but wow, playing defense with the Soviets is hard! The German spearheads are just so fast, it’s really hard to avoid getting lots of guys pocketed. You actually have a decent armored reserve of pretty good tank corps, but it’s just hard to compete with the agility of the large number of German mechanized formations. I’ve been playing a fair amount of Holland ‘44 recently; that game is just so constructed, while this is a panzer-pusher’s delight of wide open spaces. Anyway, it’s cool, and like all Simonitch games, it just plus like a dream for a game of this scope and scale. The 8 turn Case Blue scenario is not crazy playing time wise and is action packed. Outside of conventions I usually have to break most of these up into two sessions, but they fit quite comfortably into two afternoon or evening games. Looking forward to getting better at this one 😆 #bgg #boardgamegeek #tabletopgames #gmtgames #marksimonitch #stalingrad42 https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Mu0cKh8D6/?igshid=114zpo99glp8e

[illuminatinggames]

Finally played the full scenario of Cataclysm! Enjoyed; we played 6 hours, it we only got until the ‘39-40 turn but we hit Total War in ‘38 - things escalated very quickly - so we saw a good chunk of the game. I have the following observations/tips: 1) definitely play the short scenarios several times before tackling the whole thing, including Days of Decision, Eagle and the Sun, and The Great Patriotic War; they’re short and you need to understand how the various elements of the game work. 2) We played with 5; the sweet spot is probably 4. With 5 the UK position may be a little thin. With 3 the Fascists have a lot to manage. 3) The Fascists have to be super-careful about provocations early; every flag the Democracies get, especially the US, can be a big deal. 4) The early game (‘33-‘37) can be *very* swingy. If the Democracies are lucky in their effectiveness checks and get the team together and US onboard quickly, Germany is in a world of hurt. See point 3) about flags. 5) the Soviet position is actually the hardest I think, and also the most likely to end up a bit hosed by circumstance to not have a lot to do. Don’t fear Political Purges or Collective Security too much. You can survive a Fascist onslaught in the wrong mode and with a hobbled military for a little bit, and Military Reforms really handicaps you for a lot of things you need to do early on. 6) Like Triumph & Tragedy, it’s going to be difficult for a balanced situation to develop out of the early years until you have some experience with the game; expect blowouts. 7) These counters are not going to survive very long being constantly mixed and fished out of cups. Anyway, bottom line, I gave this a 50-50 chance of being good. I’m not totally sure if it is yet. It’s a very interesting design, but it’s also a little long and maybe a little on the finicky side (both in terms of rules and tactics) given that some of the subsystems are *very* swingy. But given those concerns, I still quite enjoyed it and look forward to giving it another shot. #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #gmtgames #cataclysmasecondworldwar

[illuminatinggames]

Sekigahara; been a while since I played this, but it's such a great game. This game was a bit unusual in that we played on a new copy and I don't think the cards got thoroughly shuffled, so they were super-streaky. This meant combat was extremely bloody and we ended the game with only about 12 blocks each on the map. It ended when Tokugawa took Osaka after devastating the Ishida army in the field. Need to try to get this some more play time. #bgg #boardgamegeek #gmtgames #gmtwest (at G M T Games)

[boardgamerblogs]

GMT Games Downfallのキャンペーンシナリオの東部戦線の初期配置。ソ連軍のウラヌス作戦(スターリングラード包囲戦)の開始から始まる。独第6軍はスターリングラードを占領しているが、ソ連軍は強大な部隊をその周辺のイタリア軍・ルーマニア軍に差し向ける。もしロストフまでソ連軍の手に落ちれば、独A軍集団は袋のネズミ。それを避けつつ戦線を構築できるかがカギだろう。

[illuminatinggames]

The end of the Afrika Korps in No Retreat: North Africa. I really thought I had pushed far sand hard enough to have a defensible line East of El Alamein, but when things go south for the Axis they go south *fast*. The Commonwealth had a run of good cards and good dice and then after Torch the wheels just came completely off. These defensive positions look strong, but with the grind of attrition and with the Axis replacement rate so low, hanging on is tough at the end. Not quite sure how I’d play this as the Axis next time, but I’d look strongly at a) figuring out how to take Malta, and b) making sure I have as large a supply reserve as possible before entering the death zone of the final two boards and the paltry 4 SP resupply. I would also try to roll better. Man, clicking the Vassal button for a die roll and then instantaneously seeing what’s in the log is so emotionally unsatisfying. I was some doubt and excitement as the die tumbles through the air! Anyway. Having now completed my first campaign game of this is a number of years, I’d say revisiting it exceeded expectations and I quite enjoyed it, but nonetheless it doesn’t quite match the total awesomeness of The Russian Front or France. Still a lot of fun though. We’re going to try Crete next. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #gmtgames #virtualgamenight https://www.instagram.com/p/CBt6XnLB-e_/?igshid=1fay5zf5628hn

[illuminatinggames]

Another day, another Jihadi win in Labyrinth: The War on Terror. Like the digital version of Twilight Struggle really laid bare that game’s crushing balance problems by a) making it easy to play and b) keeping detailed statistics, I’m starting to worry Labyrinth is just as lopsided. I can win as the US by invading Afghanistan on turn 1 and just playing a very close and sharp game, but it’s hard, and there are number of event combos that can cripple you by shifting your posture to Soft and making it extremely difficult or impossible to counteract Jihads (I think if you *don’t invade Afghanistan on turn 1, or can’t due to a really unfortunate Opium card, you basically can’t win against competent opposition). As the US I’m about 50-50 in my recent online plays but I’ve never lost as the Jihadi and it’s rarely even been that close. What do you all think on this? I always play the 3-deck game so one side or the other can get a clean victory and avoid some weird end-of-deck gameyness, but I think the shorter games would probably be even worse for the US. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #labyrinththewaronterror #gmtgames https://www.instagram.com/p/CBrbv8khm3y/?igshid=170mzmimdn726

[illuminatinggames]

Another round of Labyrinth on Steam. Wow, re-exploring Labyrinth has been such a roller coaster. There are times when I think hey, this is pretty cool - especially highly streamlined by PlayDeck - I’m not sure why I gave up on it? But then I remember why it’s frustrating. This time I was reminded of how process-heavy Labyrinth is, like so many Volko games are. Doing the major jihad or regime change or whatever requires this and that precondition so you’ve got to get everything set up and doing 4 turns of War of Ideas blowing a bunch of 1-in-3 die rolls just to flip Germany to Hard or whatever, unlike in say Hannibal where you just *do* stuff. I know some people get annoyed by all the high-stakes 50-50 and 1-in-3 die rolls where if you can ride a single hot streak to victory, but this doesn’t bother me so much; like a lot of risk-taking games it’s crucial to not get tunnel vision and know when a risk you took a moment ago is no longer worth taking. I dunno. I know I say this each time, but I feel like this game would be so much more worth it if it had embraced a wider range of possibilities - if the Hard/Soft posture dynamics had been really developed, if it hadn’t gotten so obsessed with capturing superficial headlines in cards and had instead gone a little deeper. Who knows. I keep being torn between genuine enjoyment and mild irritation. I feel like the much more aggressive play style I’ve recently adopted for both sides does make the game way more fun. But ultimately because it’s just an action point game, like Twilight Struggle it just depends a lot on cars flow for engagement and balance, which isn’t great. #gaminginthetimeofcovid19 #bgg #boardgamegeek #boardgames #gmtgames #virtualgamenight https://www.instagram.com/p/CBXKphQBGBA/?igshid=1otuc5m95ofr8