Board Games | Wargames

On November 9th of 2009, the world marked the 20th Anniversary of the conclusion of the Cold War. That was the day that the Cold War's most tangible symbol -- the Berlin Wall -- was relegated to the ash heap of history. Unlike the 20th Century's other great conflict, the Cold War did not end in an explosion of neutrons, but rather, an explosion of human freedom and optimism. We had avoided what many thought inevitable -- the destruction of mankind through armed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States. Overnight, the face of Europe had changed. Suddenly, all things were possible. That was 20 years ago. Sadly, we all learned that the end of the Cold War was not "the end of history." Mankind would find new ways to divide itself.While the threat of nuclear holocaust disappeared, newer and more sinister forms of conflict would take its place. Where once superpowers bestrode the globe, decentralized networks and even individuals now command the world's attention.This Deluxe Edition of Twilight Struggle seeks to capture the feeling of that earlier era.Twilight Struggle is a two-player game simulating the forty-five year dance of intrigue, prestige, and occasional flares of warfare between the Soviet Union and the United States. Using the card-driven game mechanics pioneered in such award winning games as We the People and Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, Twilight Struggle recreates the conflict between the most powerful nation states the world has ever known. The scope of the game covers the entire world as it was found in 1945. Players move units and exert influence in attempts to gain allies and control for their superpower.As with GMT's other card-driven games, decision-making is a challenge; how to best use one's cards and units given consistently limited resources? Event cards add cover a vast array of historical happenings, from the Berlin Airlift, to the Vietnam War and the U.S. peace movement, to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This Deluxe Edition of Twilight Struggle marries world-class components, with the sort of world-class game play for which GMT is already known. We cannot think of a better way to commemorate this vital piece of world history. We invite you to relieve an era with the words uttered by one of its most iconic statesmen: "Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are - but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle" - John F. KennedyComponents:• Heavy duty 9 x 12 x 2 inch box Mounted map with revised graphics• Two double-thick counter sheets with 228 counters• Deck of 110 event cards (increased from 104)• Revised rules and player aid cards• Two six-sided diceGame FeaturesTIME SCALE approx. 3-5 years per turnMAP SCALE Point-to-point systemUNIT SCALE Influence markersNUMBER OF PLAYERS 1 - 2

Read more less

December 1740: Young King Frederick II leads the army of upstart Prussia in a surprise invasion of Austrian Silesia. He hopes for an easy conquest of the rich province at a time when the Austrian Empire appears vulnerable following the death of Charles VI, King of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor. But despite internal opposition to the ‘Pragmatic Sanction’ that allowed a woman to inherit the throne, Austria’s new Queen, Maria Theresa, is cowed neither by Frederick, nor by France’s scheme to place a Bavarian puppet candidate on the throne of the Holy Roman Empire, nor by Spanish designs on Austria’s holdings in Italy. Amid these conflicting dynastic ambitions, Frederick’s local territorial coup proves to be only the opening act in a major European war that none of the great powers had anticipated - but all wished to profit from. It would ultimately span eight years and half the globe. Clash of Sovereigns (COS), GMT’s 2-4 player card-driven game of the War of the Austrian Succession, has been 9 years in the making. It is a free-wheeling, faster-playing, stream-lined “nephew” of the widely-regarded Clash of Monarchs (COM). A 12-hour campaign game and three shorter scenarios covering 2-3 years apiece that can be played to completion in as little as three hours! 2-4 players. The French, Prussians/Spanish (“Pr/Span”), Austrians, and British/ Piedmontese (“Br/Pied”) each have their own separate card decks divided into Early, Middle, and Late war periods Half a dozen minor powers add their own blood and diplomatic wrinkles to the tableau – and can sometimes reshape it utterly by switching sides. Leaders are rated for Initiative, Offense and Defense modifiers, and Action Points. Distinctive national tactics and troop quality factors are ‘captured’ by Army Battle Ratings (which evolve over time) and event and Battle Tactics cards. A simple, but significant, naval sub-game simulates naval operations in the Mediterranean and Atlantic, including the annual Bourbon Treasure Fleet’s risky voyage home. Colonial conflicts in Canada and India are simulated by event cards Design-for-Effect economic factors are “baked into” the event and reinforcement cards and can therefore be resolved in only a small fraction of the time required by COM’s more complex economic model.

Read more less

Most authors relegate the Battle of White Plains to a short paragraph when recounting the New York Campaign of 1776. As the last field battle of that campaign, however, it deserves closer study. Volume 10 in GMT’s award-winning Battles of the American Revolution series by designer Mark Miklos provides such a much-needed analysis.The GameThe game includes three scenarios: the historical fight for Chatterton Hill, an October 31 scenario that explores what might have occurred if Howe had pressed his grand assault that day as planned, and a full four-day campaign game spanning 42 game turns beginning with the arrival of the British army on the field on the morning of October 28 and culminating at 5:00 pm on October 31.Each player has 26 Opportunity Cards subdivided into three decks to enhance play and add elements of variability and historical flavor. As with previous games in the series, some special rules represent the unique circumstances of this battle. Among these are rules governing American sortie restrictions and tactical doctrine, rain game turns, restoring army morale, scorched earth, and additional handicaps for American militia, American fieldwork construction, and an off-board movement mechanism for Tarrytown on the Hudson River, seven miles away where British ships lay at anchor. Even Washington’s own combat prowess at this early stage of the war is randomized.In Volume 10 of the Battles of the American Revolution series, players command two titanic armies: Washington, desperate to salvage something from the otherwise disastrous defense of New York, and Howe seeking a coup de grâce against the “Old Fox.” You will have to manage your forces over the span of four days with lots of inclement weather to contend with. Can you, as General Howe, break through the American line to deliver a decisive blow and end the rebellion? Can you, as General Washington, hold your own on superior ground, hampered as you will be with some 6,700 militia of dubious quality—fully 46% of the total American force?COMPONENTS• 2 hard-mounted maps featuring 1-inch hexes• 245 Unit counters & game markers (1.5 counter sheets), including 7 replacement counters for previous games in the series• 52 Opportunity Cards: 26 American & 26 British• 16 Tactics Cards: 8 American & 8 British• 2 Full color, four-page player aid cards: 1 American & 1 British• 1 Full-color exclusive rule book• 1 Full-color series rule book• 2 dice (10-sided)HistoryAs it occurred, the Battle of White Plains could properly be called the Battle for Chatterton Hill. This relatively limited affair, fought on the American right flank on October 28, 1776, was the only set piece action between the two protagonists. Here some 4,000 British and Hessian troops attacked fewer than 2,000 Americans with the King’s forces ultimately prevailing.The main armies, however, were enormous for the period with 14,500 Americans confronting 13,000 British and Hessians who were eventually reinforced to 15,400, making this one of the largest concentrations of opposing troops during the war and the largest game in the Battles of the American Revolution series to-date. Yet despite this concentration of forces along a front barely three miles wide, the armies sat primarily idle after the fight for Chatterton Hill while the British probed at the flanks, and the Americans improved their defenses.Washington had chosen a strong position which he fortified with two concentric lines of fieldworks that bristled with forty guns. His flanks were anchored on high hills and further secured by the Bronx River to the west and swampy wilderness to the east. Secure in these positions, Washington welcomed the prospect of a frontal assault against his works.For his part, General Howe’s reluctance to launch a frontal attack was due in part to his having witnessed the Battle of Bunker Hill in June, 1775, the memory of that slaughter still fresh in his mind. The weather at White Plains was also a mitigating factor with cold autumn rains falling for much of the week during which the armies remained in contact. Finally, Howe’s own proclivity to hesitate when decisive victory was within his grasp further exacerbated any plans for a major British assault.Washington reacted to the loss of Chatterton Hill by initially refusing his right. Sensing the growing weight of the British host, he eventually swung on a hinge leaving his left where it began, on Hatfield Hill, while pulling the rest of the line back approximately two miles to even higher ground in the North Castle Heights where he dug new fieldworks. Like two heavyweights maneuvering to shorten the ring, each sought an opening—Howe to press the attack on favorable terms and Washington to receive the attack on fortified ground of his choosing.Ultimately reinforced by Lord Percy with six regiments plus some newly-arrived Hessians and having discovered no viable way around the flanks, General Howe determined to attack Washington frontally on the morning of October 31. He stood his men to arms at 5:00 am but driving morning rains cooled his ardor and the army was again ordered to stand down.There was more probing and some long range artillery fire against the American flanks on November 1 to no great consequence. Howe now believed he was facing only an American rear guard in the North Castle Heights lines and saw no value in attacking it, believing that Washington with his main force had already evaded him by marching further north. The armies, therefore, sat staring at one another until November 5-6 when General Howe elected to turn south to complete the conquest of Manhattan by capturing Fort Washington which he did successfully on November 16. As Howe turned south, Washington turned north. He divided his forces into three groups. Major General Lee was to screen the approaches to New England while Major General Heath was to guard the Hudson Highlands and points north. The commander-in-chief with the balance of the army crossed the Hudson River at Peekskill and marched south through New Jersey to stay between the British in New York and the American capitol at Philadelphia.Throughout the White Plains campaign, the prospect for a decisive victory was ever-present. The fact that it didn’t occur is a fascinating story.

Read more less