Wargame News

Email

2012-01-13T18:00:00.001-08:00

From: brodemir
----------------------------------------------
hahhaahahaha i only hope for them to reprint every module at some point. The more I read about it, the more I want to play. It seems to be so detailed and so realistic somehow... I think I'm gonna end up spending a fortune on this game. Thanks for the fast responses Joe.

Cheers!

2012-01-12T16:53:00.001-08:00

Email

2012-01-12T14:59:00.001-08:00

Hey,

My ASL came today. I've opened it. In process of reading the rules so I can play it. Thanks again for the wonderful idea.

Kay

Email

2012-01-12T14:41:00.001-08:00

Hello Mr.Steadman:

I've always been interested in WW2 and so I started to play Memoir'44 last year. It turns out that as much as I like it, I was starting to find it too dry for my taste. Therefore I bought Combat Commander by the end of last year, and although I find it interesting, I feel like I would like to be able to have more control and more choices. I know you are an ASL hardcore and you will probably recommend me to try it, but I feel like I would like to play other less challenging games before I go for SK's or full ASL.

So I started to watch your video reviews and checked for the Dice Tower ratings and it seems to be that you favorite WW2 tactical games are:

1.Full ASL 10
2.Conflict of Heroes 9.0
3.Lock n' Load 8.5
4.Combat Commander 8.0

I wonder if it will be ok to have all of those in my collection in the near future or maybe it will be redundant. I've only mentioned those because I'm only interested in series with a wide scope. Maybe I'm overlooking some other great series, please enlighten me.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you!

2012-01-05T07:44:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank you for helping me learn ASL. For so long I wanted to play ASL with my dad (he is a big old board game fan) but i really didn't understand how to play and the big rule book he game me didn't make it any better it just made me more confused but with your ASL primer videos i can now understand the basics of playing and now play such an awesome game i plan on watching the rest of your ASL videos to truly understand ASL so that i can play with the best of my ability and me and my dad can play at a tournament like he always wanted to. and i could also be there with him helping win or beating him lol :) but whatever it may be that i would do i could not have learned it at such a great level if it was not for your videos and i know i could just read the handbook or online reading but i don't want to fall asleep here :) so anyway thanks Joe for helping me out you just don't know what it means to me thank you and keep up the good work!

Walter13200

2011-12-27T11:08:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas Joe, Monica, and the kids! I am a friend of hms_indefatigable, he and I have watched almost all of your reviews.
Thanks to Monica I am a big fan of Twilight Struggle, thanks Monica! I got Russ it for xmas so I look forward to whooping his butt! Anyways just wanted to say Merry Christmas (again)

Kayla

Email

2011-12-27T09:33:00.001-08:00

Hi,Thanks for the kind words...

I would recommend the following games:

Diplomacy (top ten games of all time. Only play this with 6 or 7 and only if you guys don't take things personal)
History of the World (I prefer the older AH version)
The combined new version of Axis and Allies (this is the one with the new Europe and Pacific versions pushed together)
Twilight Struggle
Cosmic Encounter w/ expansion

How deep/complicated do you want to get? Those are all pretty light. I can recommend some great more complex games:

Here I Stand
Sword of Rome

and there are dozens of ww2 games that can be divided into teams with each player taking X amount units.

Joe

On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 9:35 PM, Chris Rufener wrote:

Hi Joe! My name is Chris Rufener and I live in State College, Pennsylvania. I really enjoy watching your videos on the Dice Tower and have come to respect your opinions when it comes to wargaming. I have a gaming group that meets twice a month and we play a lot of euro games. I want to get into wargaming with the group, but need something that 4 to 6 players can play in 3 hours or less. The only game I have that fits these criteria is Memoir 44, which the guys like, but we would like something a little bit deeper. I was wondering if you could recommend a couple games for us, especially (but not limited to) WWII games?

Also, could you recommend a couple hybrids - that way we can continue to appeal to the strict euro gamers in the group?

And thanks again for your work with the Dice Tower!

Blessings,
Chris

2011-11-30T14:12:00.001-08:00

2011-11-22T14:06:00.000-08:00

Email

2011-11-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

ASL Primer series

I hadn't found a player (or the time) to try this out and instead played Conflict of Heroes with a buddy. That's a great wargame -- much more streamlined but has some of the same feel. That buddy agreed to try ASL and we played the first scenario out of the starter kit. He's hooked (and he has more time -- damn single guys) on wargames now and he's played it a couple more times. We are scheduling our next session so he can walk me through stuff a bit more.

The dice mechanics are a bit wonky for me -- sometimes you roll over, sometimes you roll under, sometime you divide by two and round, sometimes you round down... I was feeling pretty awkward with all of that. BUT, having said that, I enjoyed it, and I look forward to trying it again.

Adan

Email

2011-11-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

Hello

First off, I'd like to thank you for your great tutorials on ASLSK. I've known about ASL for quite some time, but never really took the time to look into the whole thing. Until I saw your videos. Great stuff man.
So I just got hold of the ASL rulebook and the "Beyond Valor" module. And after watching your series a couple of times, I feel confident enough to get on with it. Now, I'm planning on buying the ASLSK#3 to go along with the full game. I haven't really fully grasped the rules about ordnance and vehicles yet.

Take care.

Riktiga Fimpen

2011-10-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

2011-10-13T12:33:00.001-07:00

Email

2011-10-09T18:15:00.001-07:00

THANKS for the primers on ASL. I've been eye-balling this game for some time. I play miniatures games mostly, some card games, some board games, some RPGs. I have a couple of gaming friends who have talked about hex & counter war games, but I've always been scared off by the complexity. After seeing your Primer I went in search of starter box 1 and found it locally.

I've also recently started listening to The Dice Tower and just realized that you are the Joe they are talking about. Secret Santa in a Memoir box?

Finally your youtube handle. Cop? Where? I'm a cop in California (SF Bay Area) for the last 25 years.

Sorry for the ramble. Thanks again.
Adan Tejada

2011-09-14T08:31:00.001-07:00

2011-08-11T11:39:00.001-07:00

Email

2011-08-11T11:16:00.001-07:00

Joe:

I just wanted to drop you a line to say "tanks" (pun intended) for the ASL Primer series in general and the armor videos in particular. I never got to the armor rules years ago when I played, so they were a HUGE help.

The ASL Primer series has help both my son (13 yo) to learn how to play.

BTW, the baby is adorable, comes from the wife's side right?

Again, thanks for the efforts.

Mark Sockwell
St. Cloud, MN

2011-08-02T11:09:00.001-07:00

2011-07-27T10:47:00.001-07:00

2011-07-26T11:17:00.001-07:00

Another won over to the Dak SIde

2011-07-26T08:06:00.001-07:00

Hi Joe, just to say thanks for the videos, I am fairly new to ASL and working through the starter kits. After seeing your BV opening I am now getting it and the rules for christmas. Have also got Doomed Battalions and Pegasus Bridge on the way. The opening vids are very good as it gives a great idea of what you are going to get.
Thanks again keep up the good work.
Kevin

2011-07-23T08:36:00.001-07:00

2011-07-11T06:53:00.000-07:00

I WISH!!!!

2011-07-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Join us at the World Boardgaming Championships for the best gaming week of the year! You must have heard by now that WBC offers the best tournament boardgaming experience to be had on the planet. But it's also so much more.

Last year's hit venue has been improved as the 13,000 sq ft tiered dinner theatre of the Lancaster Showroom is reserved exclusively for Open Gaming from Monday through Sunday - with an expanded BPA Game Library as the focal point of the convention.

You’ll only pay one, inclusive admission. There are no separate event tickets to buy, depending on whether or not you attend the auction or seminars or how many tournaments or other games you play, demos you attend, or Vendors you patronize. Want to stop in just long enough to visit the vendor’s area or get a quick peak at the events? Be our guest. There is no charge for such visits and your non-playing spouse or children are welcome spectators as well. But if competition floats your boat, the best still congregate annually at WBC where tournament play is our raison d'être. Nine Pre-Cons start the preceding weekend to make the trip worthwhile for our many far flung visitors ... nine continuous days of gaming. Valhalla for gamers ... and only in Lancaster, PA. WBC remains a unique experience which can only be had once a year ... don't miss the best one yet! Make your reservation today.

Even if you're only stopping by for a day, be sure to pre-register to save $10 on the walk-in rate at the door. Paypal payments should be sent to paypal@boardgamers.org, listing complete name, address, and items purchased in the message section. Hurry! Pre-registration ends July 23rd.

Need a last minute roommate or ride? Check out the pre-reg list at http://www.boardgamers.org/wbc/prereg.htm.
See our website for more details on these upcoming events:

WBC 2011 - August 1st - 7th, 2011 with Pre-cons starting July 30th, 2011 ... Lancaster, PA
WAM X - January 26th - 29th, 2012 - Holiday Inn, Timonium, MD
Euro Quest IX - November 3rd-6th, 2011 ... Pikesville Hilton ... Pikesville, MD

Origins and wargaming

2011-07-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Okay,

Hats off to CABS.... I think they are doing and excellent job and I support them 100%.

I got in a good number of wargames (Fighting Formations, ASL, Combat Commander, and started a game of K44'). I also played a lot of designer games and a few coop games. Overall I had a blast.

I only have 1 suggestion and I am sure it has been brought up before. Lets put a call out for a couple hundred feet of rope and some old surplus cammo nets (as decor) and rope off the back 20% or so of the massive boardroom for wargames. You would still only need a boardroom badge (the book Origins book listed war-room badges but there were not made) to get in and it would simply be a place to help wargames find some solidarity and maybe a little quite. It would attract possible newbies to come check us out and give a place for Keven or whoever to put up a giant whiteboard with game matching etc... Mark can have an ASL corner, the monsters can be in another, you get the point.

I think our hobby needs some fresh blood and a sense of identity. This may help. I'd love to be part of helping with this but I am not a CABBIE and don't want to step on toes.

Email

2011-07-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Hello
we've watched several of your web-casts on war games until recently we've mainly focused on non war games, but we recently decided to give it a try. we have three children my son is 15 my oldest is 22 and a daughter 10. I've gathered a list of potential games and myself,my wife, and daughter each have a different opinion on which to purchase. I hold your opinion in high regard and we all agree that your web-casts are the best. I hope this isn't too much trouble but with the cost of some of these games I didn't want to purchase two or three games only to find that they don't play as good as the rules read, I listed the titles of the games if you wouldn't mind could you rate them in you opinion from highest to lowest please? We're new to the war game material and really have an interest. thank you for your time
Russ

Here's the list
advanced tobruk system not sure with one yet any advice
Fighting formations Grossdeutschland Motorized Infantry Division
Lock 'n Load band heroes and bold action
Sergeants! On the Eastern Front the new edition
Tide of Iron: and the bear expansion
Tank on Tank
Panzer grenadier eastern front

Hi,

Well, thanks for the words. From your list, to be honest, I'd not go with any of these but if you are set on one of these I'd only consider Fighting formations and Sergeants!. If you want a good tactical game I'd recommend three. These three are the three most played in my circles and at every convention I have been to in recent times.

1. ASL or ASLSK (the most advanced of the three but the best game)
2. Combat Commander (easy to play and really recreates the chaos of tactical war)
3. Conflict of Heroes. (best production quality and plays very wall with good depth)

GMT update

2011-06-26T19:16:00.001-07:00

Three New P500 Additions!

Here are the three newest additions to our P500 list. We're giving you a bit of variety again this time. We have a World War II East Front strategic/operational scale hex game, a Thirty Years War tactical hex game, and an operational/strategic card-driven point-to-point game on the War of 1812. Just click the banners below to go to the P500 pages with descriptions and pricing for these games. Oh, and please order "early and often!" :-) We hope you like these new P500 offerings; we sure do!

Mr Madison Banner #1

Saints in Armor Banner #1

The Dark Valley Banner #1

Origins Awards 2011

2011-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

Best Roleplaying Game – The Dresden Files RPG: Your Story by Evil Hat Productions

Best Roleplaying Supplement – Our World (The Dresden Files RPG) by Evil Hat Productions

Best Board Game – Castle Ravenloft by Wizards of the Coast

Best Traditional Card Game – Back to the Future: The Card Game by Looney Labs, Inc.

Best Family, Party or Children’s Game – Zombie Dice by Steve Jackson Games

Best Gaming Accessory – Cthulhu Dice Bag by Steve Jackson Games

Best Miniatures Rules – DC HeroClix Blackest Knight Starter Game by WizKids/NECA

Best Historical Board Game – Catan Histories – Settlers of America: Trails to Rails by Mayfair Games

LOL!!!!!! Historical?

Best Game-Related Publication – Shadowrun: Spells and Chrome by Catalyst Game Labs

Best Play-By-Mail – Legends – The One Ring by Game Systems International Limited

Email

2011-05-16T19:31:00.001-07:00

Hi Joe,

I've recently started out on ASL SK and have been using your your excellent videos as a tutorial.

I thought I'd thank you for the time and effort you put into these as they have really helped me grasp some pretty tricky concepts.

I'm playing through SK 1 scenario 1 at the moment and have also worked out how to use VASL. The next job is to find face to face opponents.

Once again thanks for passing on your knowledge and experience it really made a difference in introducing me to the hobby.

Regards

Adam

Email

2011-05-07T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hey Joe,

I have watched many of your videos on thedicetower's youtube channel. I am fairly new to war gaming (of the board game form). I love playing war games on my PC, such as Company of Heroes and Empire Total War. I am fascinated with WWII and love anything that has to do with it and that is what got me into Axis and Allies. I own A&A Revised (2004) and A&A Anniversary Edition. I grasped these games fairly easily and love to play them whenever my friends will play with me. I even find myself setting up the board and playing myself sometimes (it is set up on my table now).

My friends don't want to commit hours on end playing A&A so that is why I play by myself sometime. That being said I am going to pick up a copy of D-Day at Omaha Beach very soon. As I said I love WWII and the game appeals to me in many ways. In the past I have played the more global scale games like A&A but I want to get myself into some operational level gaming as well. (Possibly tactical, but operational seems to appeal to me the most).

I guess I am writing you this e-mail to ask a few questions... First off what other games would you recommend for someone fairly new to war gaming? Second, what games would you recommend I get that I could maybe draw in some of my friends with? In this case probably a game that is a little more on the simple side and maybe takes less than 3 hours to play. As well my fiancée says that the theme of war games does not excite her, but I would love to play a war game with her. What game could I get to convince her to play? I was thinking maybe Memoir '44, or maybe even a game that is not exactly a war game, but something we could both enjoy that i would not find too boring.

Thanks for your help, and for your videos. I look forward to hearing back from you

Hi,

OK, for your fiancee pick up a copy of Twilight Struggle deluxe version. If she will enjoy it half as much as my wife your in for a treat.

For you, pick up ASLSK to see if ASL might interest you, it is cheap and worth the investment. For getting you buddies into war-board-gaming I'd recommend Conflict of Heroes or Washington's War (not WW2 but a fun two player card driven game). I really don't like M44, I did when it first came out but it has since lost its luster.

Good luck,

Joe

2011-04-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

DVG News

2011-04-06T07:37:00.001-07:00

FIELD COMMANDER NAPOLEON
We’ve posted an updated set of the rules!
http://images.dvg.com/www.dvg.com/naprules.pdf

We’re going through a final playtest of all the campaigns now. As soon as we’re finished, we’ll send the files to the printer!

We just finished playtesting an exciting 1805 Campaign. Here’s a brief summary. I don’t normally post these, but the campaign played out so perfectly, I need to share… Napoleon had led his forces successfully eastward against the armies of the 3rd Coalition until he was at the gates of Vienna. Throughout the campaign, the enemy had built-up the city’s garrisons and fortifications, so instead of an easy envelopment, it turned into an actual battle, and reduced several of our brave French formations. This prevented us from force marching our troops into Austerlitz and a chance for a Superior Victory. Instead of force marching, we instead used some of our supplies to heal our troops before the final push. The following turn, we moved everyone in reach into Austerlitz for a huge battle. As one of our battle plans, we bought a Sweep which allows some of our cavalry units to deliver a massive attack to the enemy rear. We came into the battle with fewer troops than we would have li!
ked, and staring at us across the Battlefield sheet was a massive hoard of seasoned Russian formations. We started the first turn, and the Russians advanced. With each turn of battle, our formations maneuvered and smashed together, and in each turn, while we inflicted some damage, we were taking the worst of it. Our only hope was the arrival of our sweeping cavalry forces, but with every roll, they failed to appear. It came down to the last turn. It was easy to see that the Russians would inflict enough damage to our formations to cause a French rout unless the cavalry not only showed-up, but also inflicted massive damage with their charge. If our forces routed, the entire campaign would end in failure. On the final turn, the final turn I tell you, with the last of our formations crumbling, our cavalry finally arrived and smashed into the rearmost Russian divisions! Attack after attack drove deep into their troops, shattering their formations, and in no time, it was the Rus!
sians who routed and turned fleeing from the battlefield! Austerlitz w
as ours, and our Historical Victory was secured!

Please look through the rules and let us know about anything that is hard to understand. There is still time to make adjustments to wording and examples.

We are also into the final pre-order push time. If you would like to pre-order, please do so now. This is the last chance to receive the limited edition mounted Battlefield Map boards. These are only available to people who pre-order. We will include this special edition board in addition to the Battlefield Map that comes in the game.

We almost have all the preorders we need for the printer. Please pre-order now!

MODERN NAVAL BATTLES
We’re sending MNB to the printer with Napoleon. Please pre-order now!

MODERN NAVAL BATTLES - SHIP EXPANSION #1
We’re sending the MNB Expansion to the printer with Napoleon. Please pre-order now!

PREVIEWS

Once these three games are at the printer, we’ll be working all out on U-Boat Leader and Frontline Guadalcanal.

EMAIL

2011-03-31T07:43:00.001-07:00

Joe- thanks for these-
I'm making the leap from SK to full ASL, so these are just what I need. Its hard to make the jump without a friendly ASL'er to teach me live. Your videos help bridge the gap.

Please keep them coming.

Joe Wagle

2011-03-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

From: atsgamer ---------------------------------------------- Thanks for your videos. You have really encouraged my deepening love of wargaming. Is there a place where there is a definitive list of all your videos? Also, I am a former preacher too! finally, two questions 1. Do you still like Frontline Dday and will you buy the next in the series? 2. I play CC:e, tell me why I should play ASL? How much of a jump is it? Does it solo well? I solo Cc. Does it have more narrative feel? Convince me! Thanks again for all you do!

All my videos are on YOUTUBE.... just do a search for my last name....

1. I do enjoy Frontline Dday but it needs a little tweaking, the vehicles are silly and the sniper is way to powerful... I hope they fix those things for the next game, I will be getting the next game.

2. ASL is deeper... and not "as" luck dependent. EX: if you run through the open in front of a few squads of Germans in ASL then odds are your gonna die... in CC you may just walk on by, if the other guy is lacking a fire card. I just enjoy having all my options open as in ASL, I get way to frustrated in CC...

Then again, CC is a simpler game, my wife will play CC but not ASL.

2011-03-27T18:16:00.001-07:00

2011-03-26T10:21:00.001-07:00

2011-03-22T10:08:00.001-07:00

Circle of Doom J143 Steadman Vs. DeVries

Saturday Mark (AKA big-loud-goof-ball-jarhead) and I decided to take on Shelling's new Journal 9 mini-campaign game and set up played through Circle of Doom (great ASL title).

Mark loves to attack and even though I offered him the Germans he wanted the US. Mark drools almost as much for late war Germans as he does for marines but he likes to attack more. With our sides set I started setting up my heroic German defense and he went to take a shower and make pancakes for his kids. (I showed up an hour early). Mark first thing in morning is pretty interesting. I am on a winning streak against Mark, and so offered him the Germans after my first glace thinking the US would be harder to play. Don't want him to start making excuses not to play me.

In this mini-campaign Pete allows you to pick one of three groups from a force pool that is used for all three battles. Once you pick a group the column the group came from is off limits for the next battles to where in the end each column will have been used once. So, I picked the Panther, thought I would hit him hard in the first battle and coast for the other two. I placed my AA guns and limited infantry almost all on my right and bore-sighted where I thought he might come from. My over all plan was to try to hold one of the two bonus VP buildings and inflict more then 40 CVP and thus take the battle 4-1. With this plan I could afford to play risky with my AA guns, knowing that if I lost them it didn't really matter as long as I took enough US junk with them to trigger the auto-loss for Mark.

I went upstairs to let Mark setup after breakfast and watching his odd little dog eat the poop of his other little dog before his wife had a chance to clean it up. Self cleaning dog partners? That was pretty gross.

Mark also took the tank option and off we went.

Around turn 3 I was a bit nervous, uncharacteristically Mark was attacking slowly and methodically and things were looking bad for valiant defenders of Nuremberg. SO... I got aggressive and try to flank him with my Panther... that turned out bad as Mark snaked a side shot on him (through some alleys, buildings, orchards, only one hex in his sight) with his 76L and armor leader and so POOF no more Panther.... while this was really bad it turned out to be a blessing. The Americans seeing this Panther blow up got over confident and launched a massive all out attack (perhaps a turn to soon). It seems Mark forgot how deadly two 88 AA guns can be as they starting eating his tanks and the magic 40 CVP came and went. Hit, rate, kill, hit, rate, kill, lovely words... or "Hit-Rate, zu töten" even better...

Mark played well, and he was able to salvage 2 points from the battle even though he actually did lose the battle.

Final score 3-2!

We will be playing Three for the Third in a few weeks.

EMAIL

2011-03-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

Hi Joe,

First I would like to thank you for your primer videos for the Starter Kits and ASL. I am an old Squad Leader Series vet but it has been 20 years since I last played. A year ago I picked up Memoir 44 after listening to Tom Vasel rave about it. I found it fun but I wanted more meat to the game, it just seemed too dependent on the cards. However, it was a great first wargame for my 9 year old daughter to cut her teeth on. We are about to start on the Tide of Iron Series as a next step.

My question is, what is your opinion of this game? I know it is not ASL. I was just curious of what you thought of the game.

By the way, I was going back and listening to the dice tower's first 50 shows and you and Tom have made me laugh out loud many times as I do prep work for my classroom. thanks for the laughs.

It's great to see you still have the wargame fever, thanks for helping me revive mine. Take care,

Ray Gaer

Hi,

Thanks for the email. I liked ToI "OK" but just found the bits to be clunky and tedious. Not a bad design but I like other tactical level games better, if you are looking for an ASL primer try Conflict of Heroes, ASLSK or Combat Commander.

Joe

EMAIL

2011-03-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Joe
Been watching your videos for some time and have enjoyed them immensely. I have increased my collection because you give great explanations and reviews. Just got a quick question. I am a middle school teacher that is trying to teach students board game design. I brought in some of my collection to help them decide on a theme, mechanics etc. The only thing I don't have in my collection is a simple hex and counter game to show the kids the elements of this mechanic/rules in war games. I watched your review of the Tide at Sunrise but several online game companies are out of this particular game. It seemed rather easy to learn and used the basic hex and counter system.

So, my question is there another simple war game out there like Tide at Sunrise that I could purchase to help my students learn. Nothing too complex though. I own Combat Commander, Conflict of Heroes but looking for something with limited counters, simple mechanics/rules...something that is easily taught to very bright middle school students.

Again, thanks for the great reviews and hope to hear from you soon.Looking forward to the "Here I Stand" review and explanation.....still trying to wrap my head around that 40 page rule book.

Warmest Regards
Bob Long

Hi,

I can think of a lot of simple hex type games.... Try Sergeants in the Sand (cheap and simple), Richthofen's War (old WW1 airplane game), Battle for Germany (one of my favorites), or The Russian Front (another classic).

Hope that helps,

Joe

2011-02-23T08:50:00.001-08:00

2011-02-22T10:57:00.001-08:00

EMAIL

Joe,

I read your review of Silent War, which I also own but have not played much. You stated that you play many [i]solitary war games[/i], so I thought perhaps you could help me. About a year ago I heard of a solitary WWII game, I believe it was card based, very detailed, and had a steep learning curve, but very good once learned. Are you familiar with this game, if so, what its name, and is it worth buying.

Thank you Dennis

Hmmmm, perhaps Frontline D-Day? Do you have any other info?

Joe

GAMA Announces 2011 Power Retailing Award Nominees

2011-02-22T08:09:00.001-08:00

COLUMBUS, OH (February 18, 2011) The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is pleased to announce the 2011 Power Retailing Awards Nominees.

This is the second year for the Power Retailing Awards, an opportunity for GAMA to recognize and honor the industry’s most innovative and professional retailers. Currently, the Awards have four categories, recognizing both overall excellence and outstanding achievement in specific areas of hobby game retail: Outstanding Store Award, Outstanding Store Design, Outstanding Marketing, Outstanding Organized Play.

The winner of each category will be decided on by a volunteer judging committee. The winners will be announced and presented at the GAMA Dinner on Tuesday March 15th of the GAMA Trade Show.

Additional information concerning the Power Retailing Awards can be found at www.gamatradeshow.com under the Power Retailing Awards link.

Please congratulate all these stores.

Outstanding Store Award

All Things Fun!, West Berlin, NJ

Lone Star Comics-Games-Gifts, Arlington, TX

Gnome Games Tournament Center, Green Bay, WI

Titan’s Entertainment Café, Battle Creek, MI

Dragon’s Den, Poughkeepsie, NY

Outstanding Store Design

Saltire Games, Indianapolis, IN

Lone Star Comics-Games-Gifts, Arlington, TX

Gnome Games Tournament Center, Green Bay, WI

Titan’s Entertainment Café, Battle Creek, MI

Dragon’s Den, Poughkeepsie, NY

Outstanding Marketing

All Things Fun!, West Berlin, NJ

Gnome Games Tournament Center, Green Bay, WI

Titan’s Entertainment Café, Battle Creek, MI

Dragon’s Den, Poughkeepsie, NY

CartMagica, Montreal, Canada

Outstanding Organized Play

All Things Fun!, West Berlin, NJ

RIW Hobbies, Livonia, MI

Gnome Games Tournament Center, Green Bay, WI

Titan’s Entertainment Café, Battle Creek, MI

Dragon’s Den, Poughkeepsie, NY

Kings Games, Brooklyn, NY

Carta Magica, Montreal, Canada

EMAIL

2011-02-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

EMAIL

2011-02-19T06:42:00.001-08:00

Hi,
Just a quick line to let you know how much your ASL lessons are being helpful. I got almost everything that is in print from MMP and I'm learning the game. Hope to see more lessons soon.
Cheers!
Daniele, Rome - IT

Email

2011-02-15T20:18:00.000-08:00

aslwanabie has posted a comment on your profile:

Im on My own struggleing trying to learn the rules, loved the idea of recreating real battles in such detail(no other game does this so well). Your videos give some real help on how the print in the book translates onto the Map. I do hope you will continue to help all of us play ASL, I realy belive I would of failed to ever understand without your Help, I may one day teach others because of you :)

EMAIL

2011-02-10T08:21:00.001-08:00

blaidencortel has made a comment on frontlinedday.avi:

Thanks for the review! I think I'll have to pick this up. I've long wanted something to succeed Up Front (the very first war-game I beat my older bro at, and he was my grognard mentor). CSB

No problem!

Joe

EMAIL

2011-01-27T08:03:00.001-08:00

Hi, I wanted to ask you for some advice. I have memoir 44 and I play it with friends but mostly my wife. we enjoy it but I want something a little more challenging . I was looking at combat commander europe or Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel! which one do you think it the best game and which one is harder to learn. I'm not to sure about the card driven game of CC. Also how about the time it takes to play the game. Well any advice will be greatly apriciated. Thank you Marco

Hi, Wow, tough question.... CC is more luck based and a lot of fun to play, like playing an episode of Combat! CoH is more detailed and more like playing a table top miniatures game. What appeals to you? Either are TONS better then M44. I like them both, also you should consider ASKSK (if you dare)

2011-01-23T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hi Joe
Is there any chance you could do a video review of ambush? Thanks in advance

James

Maybe one day in an effort to get someone to republish them.... thanks for the support,

Joe

EMAIL

2011-01-18T09:50:00.001-08:00

Hi Joe,
hows it goin? Here's a link I found where you can download free and legal ASL mags that also have scenarios. View from the trenches (ASL UK). Some US sites are selling these for 20 bucks!

http://www.vftt.co.uk/vfttpdfs.htm

Paul

Thanks!!!

Joe

EMAIL

2011-01-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

Joe,

I'm watching the Wargaming School videos you've placed online and just wnted to say thanks. They are very informative!!!!

I once had Advanced Squad Leader, but that was long ago. Is it still available??

Keith
- former USMC

Hi,

Thanks! ASL is still very much alive and available. MMP is printing it now. Go to: http://www.multimanpublishing.com/

Joe

EMAIL

2011-01-05T07:42:00.000-08:00

Joe,

I am 13 and just getting interested in war-ames. The first one I stumbled upon was Axis and Allies and I loved it. Then about 2 months later I discovered ASL. I got the starter kits and the rules were a bit hard to understand, so I found your videos on YouTube they were a great help. This Christmas I finally got the huge rule book and I noticed you had videos for understanding this as well. I just wanted to thank you for helping me better understand ASL. Now it is my favorite game (the starter kits). Now I'm saving up for Beyond Valor.

Thanks,
Jake E. Stief

P.S I like the picture on the wall in your first gaming journal

Thanks! That is what it is all about!

Joe

EMAIL

2010-12-29T11:28:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for a copy of this so I check back occasionally here and I keep getting tricked by your post. I see "$33.00/very good" and I think I finally found a copy. Stop teasing me, dude!

On another note, I wanted to give you thanks. I put a lot of stock into your opinions regarding war games and being a newbie, they're extremely helpful. I picked up Washington's War and Wilderness War based on your videos. I'm glad to see GMT is putting mounted maps in their boxes. I remember being rather put off with the paper maps a few years ago. I guess that comes from finding the hobby through euro games.

Off the top of your head, could you recommend some good war games for a noob like me that play in 3 hours or less?

Happy New Year!
Chris Bailey

Chris,

Some of my favorites for that time are Twilight Struggle, D-Day at Omaha Beach, and Conflict of Heroes.

Thanks,

Joe

From GMT

2010-12-16T08:21:00.001-08:00

Hi guys!

This update includes information about new games we're adding to the P500 list, a new game from Hexasim, near-term shipping and charging details, as well as an update to our planned production schedule through August of 2011.

New Games Added to the P500 List

Please use the links provided below to get to the P500 page for these games, where you will find much more detailed information.

Roads to Moscow
This is Vance von Borries' second game in the East Front "Roads" series. It involves two operational games in one box utilizing the popular system he pioneered in Roads to Leningrad. For you guys who have been asking us for more operational level WWII games, here you go!

C & C Ancients Expansion #6: The Spartan Army
Richard Borg strikes again with another addition to the Commands & Colors Ancients line of games. This one gives you the Spartans, as well as twenty-six (!) new scenarios. Enjoy!

Dominant Species - 2nd Printing
This game, which sold out WAY sooner than we expected this fall, will NOT require a certain # of orders to be reprinted. We are reprinting it in any event. But we are adding it to our P500 list to a) help us generate some extra cash to pay for the print run, and b) give you guys who missed out on the first edition a chance to pick up the game at a nice P500 discount.

We anticipate that we will have the game in our warehouse in March, but will keep you guys updated on progress as production unfolds.

Hexasim's Marne 1918 Available for Sale Shortly

We have a shipment of Hexasim's reprint of their acclaimed Marne 1918 game expected to hit our docks this Friday or so. We'll have roughly 150 copies of the game available for sale as soon the shipment arrives, first come, first served. We're waiting until we have them in hand to add them to the website (to save the office ladies some paperwork), but look for this item to be added to our site by the weekend.

Interview with Tony Curtis by The Gaming Gang

One of the newest and most impressive online game review sites is The Gaming Gang. Their reviews are comprehensive, well thought out, and brought to you by a bunch of guys with a broad background and long history in the gaming world. Check them out; we think you'll enjoy them.

Recently, the guys at The Gaming Gang did an interview with our Tony Curtis. We thought it was really well done. Here's the link to it, in two parts. We hope you enjoy it!

Tony Curtis TGG Interview Part 1
Tony Curtis TGG Interview Part 2

That's all for this time, guys. From all of us here at GMT Games, please accept our best wishes to you and yours for a happy and healthy holiday season!

Enjoy the games!

Gene

2010-12-15T14:07:00.001-08:00

Secret Santa!

2010-12-15T12:23:00.000-08:00

2010-12-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

EMAIL

2010-12-06T07:13:00.001-08:00

Hi Joe, just to say thanks for the videos, I am fairly new to ASL and working through the starter kits. After seeing your BV opening I am now getting it and the rules for christmas. Have also got Doomed Battalions and Pegasus Bridge on the way. The opening vids are very good as it gives a great idea of what you are going to get.
Thanks again keep up the good work.

Kevin

EMAIL

2010-11-27T12:28:00.001-08:00

Hi Joe,

I just finished listening to the most recent episode of the dice tower. It was a remix of episode 25 from five years ago when you and Tom debated whether or not Memoir'44 should be considered a war game simulation. I feel compelled to belatedly support your position and couldn't help but shake my head for poor misguided Mr. Vasel's extremely weak argument.

I know this is five years late and the ambiguity of defining simulation games is a tricky subject in many groups, but how on earth or anywhere else can this game be considered a war game simulation by anyone? Now, I like Memoir, but c'mon, really Tom...

1. You don't even have control over where you issue orders, the cards dictate this for you.
2. Often you don't get to determine which units receive the orders, the cards do this also.
3. There are 'magic hexes' that border the sections and the ability of a general to increase his odds of actually issuing orders to whom and where he wishes are in part determined by who occupies and controls these magical locations.

Final simple yet indisputable verdict: Without even considering anything else, if you don't even have control of making basic command decisions, then you are most definitely NOT playing a simulation. Also, any map with magic hexes necessary to increase a units ability to even potentially move is laughable in the context of war simulation gaming. Who would disagree with this? Finally, one of the member comments that Tom used, albeit humorously, in defense of his argument made some kind of weird comparison related to simulated bacon. Well, there is no such thing as simulated bacon, only imitation bacon, therefore using that logic at best Memoir'44 is an imitation simulation that goes well with eggs and a side of hash browns.

By the by, I can not seriously express how much I miss the way the show was with you on it. The lack of a decent war game contributor has caused the dice tower to really lose its luster. Also, I regret that I never made it up to Evart last July to game with you like we once talked about because I still want to meet you in person. Some day I'd still like to do this. I saw one of your own wargaming podcasts and there was a chess clock on the shelf behind you. Maybe I'll get a chance to play some five minute speed chess with you as a warm up to a longer game session. I like to game face to face and not online so I'll probably have to drive up your way to make it happen. I probably play chess better than any other game so consider the gauntlet thrown down.

Happy holidays to you and the whole in house game group Steadman clan you've got growing up there. Stay safe on the job this season and thanks for your previous service for God and country and your current service for Michigan community. Know that you guys are appreciated and thought about often.

Cheers and God bless,

Brian W Sinke

Email

2010-11-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hi Joe
My name is John David Folkard, I am retired and living way up north in Ontario Canada.I am ex military, having searved with the PPCLI.
Anyway I have been enjoying your video spots on games, I fell upon them by accident while looking into reviews on the Lock N load series and Conflict of heroes. To show my age I was a fan of Squad leader and still have all the origional games for that series. I have purchased a copy of asl rules but as of yet have not dove into the games.
When the squad leader series first came out ,it was the rage at College and in the army.However the constant rule changes throughout the series was a deterant for many. I intend to get back into the games with asl in the future ,having watched your videos on the starter packs. However that will be after I resolve the issue that I now face.
My playing partner is my Wife Bernice (Berni) for short. I want her to start playing wargames with me ,because I have no-one up here to play with at all.I watched your videoes as well as others on both the lock N load series and Conflict of heroes.My main question is , wich series of games would be the best to start with, and wich offers the most future as in regards to expansions.As well of the two , wich game has solo playing possabilities.
As a side question , I thought that ASAL had a solo game at one point.
Anyway I truly enjoy your reviews, I wish you and your Wife well and hope to watch more of your work.
Your Friend
John David Folkard

Hello,

Thanks for the email...

Each of those are great games... I am partial to ASL (and yes ASL has a solo module that you can pick up pretty cheap SASL) but I will admit I can't get my wife to play ASL. She will play CoH. She likes it and the quality of the bits are equal to the euro-style games she enjoys.

ASL has a huge devoted following and is putting out new stuff all the time. CoH is the new kid on the block but has out 3 things already. I don't really play to much LnL to be honest.

I'd say ASL for you and CoH for the both of you... have you watched out Twilight Struggle review? We (she) really enjoy that as well.

Hope that helps.

Joe

2010-11-11T18:27:00.001-08:00

2010-11-08T21:43:00.001-08:00

2010-11-02T10:35:00.001-07:00

2010-11-02T10:05:00.002-07:00

2010-11-02T10:05:00.001-07:00

EMAIL

2010-10-31T06:44:00.000-07:00

Hi man!

Just a short message to THANK YOU for starting the "FULL ASL LESSON" videos.
I bought ASL full rules and Beyond Valor about a month ago...

At the moment I am still learning the ASLSK rules... right now vehicles rules... and after that i am looking foreward for more!

Well, your video lessons and Jay Richardsons ASLSK Tutorial helped me to get into the rules. and now I AM POSSESSED! There is no exorcist which could shake of the ASL DEMON from me.. hahahaha

Ok, thats all- just want to let you know that your ASL support earned fruits. Now I am a little asl cherry. hahaha
Thank you!

Cheers
Oscar

Sweet!

Joe

2010-10-30T16:07:00.001-07:00

EMAIL

2010-10-24T16:54:00.000-07:00

I purchased the Lock n Load system (now I have four of these boxes around) based on your youtube channel. Now about to go for Conflict of Heroes! You make the best wargame reviews around and hopefully some companies have taken note and dropped you review copies.

Thanks for your work,
-Nick

THANKS! Me too!!!

Joe

EMAIL

2010-10-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

I've been following your blog/videos reviews and find them really helpful in my return to board-wargaming (as opposed to the computer variety). I was wondering if you were ever considering a comparison/review of the different tactical level games/systems. I know you're a ASL fan (I'm looking into the starter kits), and got Decisions solitaire D-Day Omaha Beach game on your reccomendation, but I am curiopus about the Tobruk system, & simlar tactical system/games by other publishers.
Thx Keep up the good work.

cavan

Well,

I have talked about different tactical games in the past but ASL is the clear winner for me. Combat Commander is good and so is Conflict of Heroes. Don't mess with Trobruk, if you want to play a game that copied ASL? Just play ASL.

Joe

2010-10-24T16:46:00.001-07:00

2010-10-14T21:16:00.001-07:00

Perry in the rules!!!!

2010-10-12T14:18:00.000-07:00

ASLOK Minis....

2010-09-30T16:56:00.000-07:00

Here are my round one battles... any advice? I can eliminate one from each.

Wednesday

AP41 The Meat Grinder (German balance)
J22 Oh Joy!
AP13 Shielding Moscow (German balance)

Thursday

SP173 Der Letzte Geburtstag (Russian balance)
FrF44 Anhalt Pandemonium
OA32 The RIley Shuffle

Friday

ESG58 The Vindicators
J122 Bloody Boy Jacques
J118 Elephants Unleashed (Russian balance)

Saturday

DB082 Roadside Assistance
FrF40 Sporck's Eleven
AP4 L'Abbaye Blanche

GMT Update

2010-09-30T16:47:00.001-07:00

Hi guys!

We have quite a lot of new information to share this time, but let me start out with the 'bad news." We're going to have about a two week delay until we can begin shipping the five "September" reprints and their mounted boards. The shipments are late (we were told they would arrive the 23rd), and we don't expect them until Monday/Tuesday next week, which (of course!) happens to be just as we are prepping for our fall GMT Weekend here with 70 guys playing games at our offices. So that's going to be a fun dance getting 15K games off two 40 foot semis as we simultaneously try to keep the warehouse clear for gaming space! Anyway, the upshot is we won't actually be able to ship until the week following the GMT Weekend - looks like realistically Wednesday October 13th for a starting date at this point. We're sorry for the delay and any inconvenience. We just got stuck this time by a shipment delay and bad timing with warehouse availability.

OK, on to some better news. We're adding some new items to the P500 page today. These fall into the categories of New Games, Additional Mounted Mapboards, and a couple of P500 Reprint additions. Here are a few details:

New Games:

Operation Dauntless
This is the second game in designer Mark Mokszycki's WWII battle series (we don't have a series name yet, but are working on it). I've always liked "hex-and-counter" classic games that showed company or battalion level battles in WWII and have been of the opinion that we do not have enough of those type of games in our line. This series features a cool game system at a moderate complexity with more scenarios than I am used to seeing in operational games. As a player, I like all those scenarios, because a) I have something short to play if I only have an hour or two, and b) it lets me look at a variety of time slices of the history and helps me better understand each battle.

Mark has a bunch of battles planned for this series and I'm really looking forward to getting these games (Red Winter is Mark's other series game currently on the P500 list) through the P500 process and onto our game tables. Internally, Mark has been just terrific to work with and we are all "rooting for" these games, as we'd like to work with Mark for a long time. From the customer perspective, I hope you guys appreciate that Mark really loves his topics and provides just a ton of online information (see the "Sneak Peeks" section on Red Winter page for a sample) in support of his games.

Space Empires: OK, I can already hear you guys chorusing: "That's NOT a Wargame!" And I know I'm bound to get at least a few "Have you lost your MIND?" e-mails over the coming days. So first, take a deep breath and remind yourself that we LOVE wargames, and 90%+ of the games we produce are wargames and we don't intend for that to change. But Andy Lewis is pretty darned good at knowing a good game when he sees one, and he accepts submissions for all types of games. When he got this one, he thought it was a keeper, and wanted me to play it, as I was just a TAD gun-shy on space games. (OK, NOBODY say "Flagship", please!).

So Andy brought Space Empires out to one of our GMT Weekends where I got to play it along with several of the veteran wargamers who attend that convention. The bottom line was, we all liked it. I thought at the time, "Hey, this is a space game for wargamers!" One of the players then, Martin Scott (a longtime friend of ours and contributor to our success in many ways over the years), liked it so much he volunteered to help develop it. In short, we think this is another one of those "not exactly what we're used to from GMT" type of games that many of you are really going to like.

How does it feel to play Space Empires? Well, I've played it twice, and I like that it lets you do all the kinds of things that the best computer space games do, without being too complex or fiddly. I should mention here, that the guys at Strategy First, producers of the award-winning Space Empires IV Deluxe , have been really nice to us by letting us use some of their art for our game. In the computer genre, they call this type of game "4X" for eXploration, eXpansion, eXploitation, and eXtermination. And that's pretty much what you get with our Space Empires boardgame, with some economics thrown in.

Actually, even though the game world is immersive and changes from game to game, the game sequence is really easy to pick up. The way a game unfolds actually lets you have some "programmed learning" because you have several turns of moving your scouts around and building up your economic infrastructure before you ever come in contact with the enemy (aliens or other players). So you get a real good feel for the mechanics of building and planning and exploration in just a few turns of play.

THEN, when you meet an armed enemy, you quickly figure out why skimping on technology and ship expenditures so you could stoke your economy was a REALLY bad plan! :-) Once you are engaged, there are both tactical and strategic considerations galore, but again, without a heavy overhead of rules and fiddly procedures. It plays fast and clean, with enough galactic bloodshed to satisfy the guys who like to fight and plenty of economics and diplomacy/backstabbing to make it a complete package. At least that's my view. I think you guys are really going to like this one.

The Battle for Normandy Expansion:

We received several e-mails when we originally produced Dan Holte's The Battle for Normandy that said basically that those guys could not believe, in this day and age of shorter, faster-playing games, that we could be so unenlightened as to publish another monster game. And, although I always read every e-mail I get asking "what can I learn from this mail that will make us better at responding to what our customers want?", in this case, I just made note of them and filed them away, thinking "I appreciate the feedback, but I don't know if they understand our approach." What I thought they maybe didn't understand is that we don't plan our production based on hoping that every game will be the end-all, be-all for every one of our customers, but rather that through a combination of rather broad product offerings (within the wargame genre), that we'll create over time a situation where almost all of our customers can find at least a few games that they REALLY like.

We know that there is good-sized portion of our customer base that belong to an ardent group of gamers who love to play monster games. So when we see a good one, and they don't seem to come along very often, we want it. Dan's game is a good one, in our view. It has sold very well for us and gamer feedback has been excellent. To top it off, Dan's game support through Consimworld, Boardgame Geek, and his own DDH Website has been tremendous.

So when Dan told us he had an expansion for The Battle for Normandy, and that it included more maps and more counters to extend the battle through August, '44, we knew that BfN players were going to want it. So here you go, guys. Order away! More monster gaming goodness in on the way!

Additional Mounted Mapboards:

The feedback from players on the mounted mapboards that we have included in this past year's CDGs and reprints (Twilight Struggle, Washington's War, Wilderness War, etc) has been terrific. So we are adding P500 options for four more of our most popular CDGs. We hope you will use your P500 vote to get all of these that interest you, as we are hoping to gang-print all four of the boards once order numbers are high enough to cover our costs. The four mounted board options we are adding are for the following games:

Empire of the Sun
For the People
Stalin's War
WW2: Barbarossa to Berlin

P500 Reprint Additions:

We're adding two sold out games to our P500 Reprint list this time. Ben Hull's Fields of Fire is one of the series of games that I am most enthused about for the future. Fields of Fire had some "learning curve" issues that made what is a gem of a game difficult to get into for too many of our customers. So, in addition to making a 2nd edition rulebook and a new campaign available as free downloadable pdfs later this year, we are making this reprint a full 2nd edition of the game. The new edition will include a complete rules reorganization (we can do better!), an additional book with detailed examples of play, at least one new campaign, and of course all errata corrected and updated. Ben is already working on game #2 in the series (Marines!) and we look forward to making this immersive, tense, fun game series available to our customers for many years to come. So if you missed it the first time, or just want a completely new edition of your game, here you go.

Ted Raicer's Reds! has been out of print for a long time. This game was one of the best feedbacked games we have ever printed. It is wild fun inside a very easy-to-learn system, but we never really thought of it as a reprint because the topic is a bit more obscure than most of our other games. But we've had numerous requests over time to reprint it, so we're adding it back to the list to let you guys tell us whether and how soon you want a reprint edition. Order away!

That's all for this time, guys. We've cut out a few of our normal sections, as this P500 update section is really long. Sorry about that. We'll probably do another update mid-October to catch up on the rest of the news.

Thanks again for all your support! Until next time....

Enjoy the games!

Gene
Shipping and Charging Updates

Here are the most recent (September 30, 2010) GMT Games production, shipping, and distribution updates.

Shipping/Charging Update

Shipping: We have now completed all of our P500 order shipping and all of the distributor shipping for both Dominant Species and Germantown. Look for these soon in a store near you. Our next shipments will be:

* October 13th: A batch of FIVE reprints and three mounted mapboards for some of our most popular Card-driven games (see Production Outlook below for details)
* Late October: Labyrinth: The War on Terror

Charging: We have completed the charging for the big batch of September (now October 13th) releases. If you ordered any of these but you haven't seen a charge for these yet, please make sure your credit cards are current online and feel free to chat with the office ladies if you have any questions about your order.

We will begin charging for our late-October release, Labyrinth: The War on Terror , around the 15th of October.
Tentative Production Outlook

As noted above, our September shipments have been delayed until October 13th. Of the two previously scheduled October release games, Labyrinth: The War on Terror will release as scheduled, in late October, but Barbarossa: Crimea is moving back to a November release.

You'll note that we have also extended this production outlook into March, 2010, and that one of those scheduled for March is Combat Commander Battle Pack #4: New Guinea, which you guys have rocketed up the list to nearly 700 orders in less than a month!

Note, as always, that this schedule is subject to change, and that those games that are listed furthest in the future are the most subject to production timeline changes. Enjoy the games!

So here's what the current game release schedule looks like:

October 13: 5 x Reprints and 3 x Mounted Maps. Specifically:

Flying Colors: Thicker Counters, Thicker box, no price change

Here I Stand: Larger 3" spine box, Mounted map, Thicker counters, Two player variant and cards

Manoeuvre: Thicker counters

Paths of Glory: Mounted map, Thicker counters, Thicker box

Sword of Rome: Mounted map, Thicker counters, 5th player expansion included
Here I Stand Mounted Mapboard

Paths of Glory Mounted Mapboard

Sword of Rome Mounted Mapboard

Late October:
Labyrinth: The War on Terror

November:
Barbarossa: Crimea
Commands & Colors: Napoleonics
Spanish Civil War

January, 2011:
Sekigahara
Fighting Formations

February, 2011:
Case Yellow
Crown of Roses

March, 2011:
Combat Commander BP: New Guinea
No Retreat: The Russian Front
Online Customer Support

If you have any questions regarding any orders or upcoming charges (or any customer service inquiry), the quickest way to get an answer is to use our Online Chat on the GMT website - which connects your directly to our office ladies. Certainly they'll help you by phone or e-mail as well if you wish, but the online chat is a very fast and easy way to get your questions answered. Note that if you click the "Send a transcript" box when you initiate the chat, you'll get an e-mail transcript of the entire chat for your records. We like this feature, as you get verification of everything that was said just like e-mail, but the response is MUCH quicker. We invite you to try it out the next time you need an answer from the office folks.

That's all for this time.

Enjoy the games!

Sincerely,

Your Friends at GMT Games

www.gmtgames.com
Toll Free Order and Support Line: 800-523-6111
E-mail: gmtoffice@gmtgames.com

2010-09-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

Traveling on the same ship, Mark Twain and Chauncey Depew were asked to address the dinner crowd. Twain went first and spoke for 20 minutes to great applause. Then Depew rose.

“Mr. Toastmaster and ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “before this dinner, Mark Twain and I made an agreement to trade speeches. He has just delivered my speech, and I thank you for the pleasant manner in which you received it. I regret to say that I have lost the notes of his speech and cannot remember anything he has to say.” And he sat down, to much laughter.

The next day, an Englishman found Twain in the smoking room. “Mr. Clemens,” he said, “I consider you were much imposed on last night. I have always heard that Mr. Depew is a clever man — but really, that speech of his you made last night struck me as being most infernal rot.”

EMAIL

2010-09-12T10:16:00.001-07:00

Joe

Just wanted to drop you a note and say THANK YOU ! I've used your videos to have some visual reference for learning ASLSK #1. I'm in rural West Tennessee and don't have a hobbyshop close, plus my only human opponent is an hour away, VASL is good, but human opponents are more fun! I have also now bought SK #2 and #3 and have started bouncing around the GameSquad forums and AlanP has graciously sent me his 1st Ed. RB. I have met many great people and your videos got my hooked. Thanks for starting my new addiction ! And if you ever had an inkling to do a Primer for Guns and AFVs I'd probably be compelled to monetarily support you ! Thats not a bribe, i'd never try to bribe a police officer, but.... well.... you name it. haha

Again, Thanks for your help supporting ASL and introducing new players.

Thank you, and if the wife agrees I may get to go to ASLOK, so that bribe again....haha

Lee Thornton

Thanks!!!

Joe

2010-08-22T19:04:00.001-07:00

2010-08-14T18:43:00.001-07:00

2010-08-09T20:33:00.001-07:00

EMAIL

2010-07-31T08:16:00.000-07:00

I've been finding myself sending potential wargamers to your YouTube vids "for instruction" alot:whistle: Never hurts to have new converts.

They generally ask me if I know you personally, to which I say no, [i]but[/i] that "wargamers know other wargamers like dogs know other dogs-not a whole lot of formality involved-we speak the same lingo-just one big pack"

Do you mind if I stick you on my GeekBuddy list?

I was raised around Late Bronze Age where we were taught to [i]ask permission first[/i] before we did something. If you're a Cop I suspect it was the same way at your house.

And yes, I live in a rural area- and yes, my family really does talk like they did in the movie Fargo. I just thought I'd get that out of the way, too.

Rob

Howdy,

Sure by all means. Thanks,

Joe

2010-07-30T11:44:00.001-07:00

2010-07-30T11:08:00.001-07:00

GMT Press

2010-07-19T20:48:00.001-07:00

Dear GMT Customer,

Things have been somewhat hectic of late here at the GMT offices, as summer vacations have disrupted our work schedules a bit. Then again, we kinda LIKE those vacations and crave a little time away from computers and offices. We hope you guys, too, are getting some time away to enjoy a vacation with family and friends. And we hope, like us, you get to take a boardgame or two along!

As you'll note from our production update section below, our summer production continues unabated, with plenty of new products to (we hope) keep you guys entertained. We have made a key adjustment to our fall release schedule at the request of a game's designer. We hate to wait a little longer for the game, but we'd always rather have a game be done right than done early.

We hope you guys are getting plenty of opportunities to play your favorite games this summer. We want to remind you, too, that with our free Vassal and Cyberboard modules (for virtually all of our games), you'll rarely if ever be without an opponent. If you don't currently play our games online but would like to, check out the sections of our website for Cyberboard Gameboxes and Vassal Modules. If you have any questions about how to play online, feel free to contact me (Gene) at gmtgames@aol.com and I'll get you with one of our online helpers who will be happy to help you get started.

One last thing. Personally, I always look forward to the next Mark Simonitch-designed game. I think I own every game Mark has ever designed, and they never fail to provide me with many hours of gaming enjoyment. Well, Mark's Normandy '44 is shipping late next week, and I can't wait to play it! With over 1,000 P500 orders, I guess many of you guys feel the same way. So, to whet your appetites a bit, here's a small version of Rodger's cover for the game. We hope you like it!

Enjoy the games!

Gene
Shipping and Charging Updates

Here are the most recent (July 19, 2010) GMT Games production, shipping, and distribution updates.

Shipping/Charging Update

Shipping: We have now completed all of our P500 order shipping and most of the distributor shipping for both Pensacola, 1781 and the new Wilderness War Reprint (as well as the Wilderness War Mounted Map Upgrade) . The next items shipping will be as follows:

* Early August: We will ship, beginning Monday, August 2, the following:
* Mark Simonitch's Normandy '44
* Mark Miklos' American Revolution Series games, Germantown.
* C3i Issue #24

Charging: We will begin charging for Normandy '44, Germantown, 1777 and C3i Issue #24 this Thursday and Friday, July 22nd and 23rd, and Monday, July 26th (one item charged per day). If you have one of these games on order and have chosen the "Pay by Check" option on your order, please send your check in right away to ensure that your game shipment is not delayed. For everyone else, please make sure your credit cards are current online and feel free to chat with the office ladies if you have any questions about your order.
Tentative Production Outlook

We have just a couple changes in the Fall lineup this time. Chad wanted a bit more time for Fighting Formations in final production and we're happy to oblige, as this game looks REALLY cool and we want to make sure we get it right.

We happened to have Spanish Civil War a bit ahead of schedule on the final component front, so we have slotted it for the November slot vacated by Fighting Formations.

Note, as always, that this schedule is subject to change, and that those games that are listed furthest in the future are the most subject to production timeline changes. Enjoy the games!

So here's what the current production schedule looks like:

Early August:
Normandy '44
Germantown, 1777
C3i Issue #24

Late August:
Dominant Species

September: 5 x Reprints. Specifically:

Flying Colors: Thicker Counters, Thicker box, no price change

Here I Stand: Larger 3" spine box, Mounted map, Thicker counters, Two player variant and cards

Manoeuvre: Thicker counters

Paths of Glory: Mounted map, Thicker counters, Thicker box

Sword of Rome: Mounted map, Thicker counters, 5th player expansion included
October:
Barbarossa: Crimea
Labyrinth: The War on Terror

November:
Commands & Colors: Napoleonics
Spanish Civil War

January, 2011:
Sekigahara
Fighting Formations

February, 2011 (partial):
Case Yellow
Online Interactive Demos of Our Games!

Just a reminder that we do weekly only demonstrations of our games via Vassal and our Ventrilo webserver. Joel Toppen does a terrific job of organizing and implementing these events for us. We invite you to pick one that's interesting to you and join us online soon! Here's what Joel has cooking for the next couple of weeks:

On Tuesday, July 20 at 8:30 pm Eastern Time: We will be hosting a LIVE demo of Mark Miklos' new Battles of the American Revolution series title, Pensacola! You can download the VASSAL module from this link.

On Thursday, July 22, at 8:30pm Eastern Time: We will be hosting a LIVE demo of Stephen Welch's GBOH title, "Chandragupta!" You can download the VASSAL module from this link.

On Thursday, August 5 (time to be determined): We will be hosting a LIVE demo of Chad Jensen's new game, "Fighting Formations!" Stay tuned for more details.

In The Pipeline: We're also working on demos of Chariots of Fire, Simple GBOH, Red Winter, 1809, Pax Baltica, and more!
Don't Forget to Check our website Specials Page for Great Deals on Summer Sales Items!

This is the spot on our website where you will find what are generally overstock items at GREAT prices! Currently, this page details 25+ games that you can get at DEEP discount prices this summer, while supplies last. The most recent additions to the list are:

Asia Engulfed Retail $69 Sale Price $40
Blackbeard Retail $60 Sale Price $35
Halls of Montezuma Retail $55 Sale Price $35
History of the Roman Empire (UGG) Retail $23.50 Sale Price $10
Kutuzov Retail $65 Sale Price $35
Pacific Typhoon Retail $40 Sale Price $20
Samurai Retail $65 Sale Price $35
Only a Few of Hexasim's Games Left in Stock!

It's been less than a month since we received our restock shipment for 150 each of Hexasim's two terrific games, Liberty Roads and Kawanakajima, 1561, and already Kawanakajima, 1561 is out of stock.

We still have about a dozen copies of Liberty Roads in the warehouse. If you want one, get it soon, as we understand we most likely will not get another restock order on these unless or until Hexasim reprints them.
Counter Trays Back in Stock!

One of our consistently popular accessory items is our set of ten Counter Trays with lids. We recently received a restock shipment of these, so they are again available for order on our website. The price is $18 + shipping for a set of ten counter trays.
New Online Resources Available for Download

New Vassal Modules and Cyberboard Gameboxes
We've recently added the following online play modules to our website:

*

Added an updated VASSAL Module (1.1) for Leaping Lemmings.
# Added a VASSAL Module for Pensacola.
# Added an updated VASSAL Module (1.3) for Washington's War.
# Added updates for the following VASSAL Modules:

* 1805:Sea of Glory - Module (1.6)
* Brandywine - Module (1.4)
* Flying Colors - Module (2.2)
* Guilford - Module (1.2)
* Savannah - Module (1.2)
* Serpents of the Seas - Module (1.2)
* The Halls of Montezuma - Module (1.1.1)

New Game Support Items on our Website

# Added the updated Rulebook and Example of Play for Hellenes.
# Added the Rules and Charts for Blue vs. Gray: Deluxe Edition.
# Added the Rulebook for Formula Motor Racing.

New P500 Sneak Peeks

*
Added an Illustrated AAR of the First Day Scenario and an Updated Playtest Rulebook [3.31 MB pdf] to the Red Winter page.
*
Added Red Winter Diaries, Installment #7 [814 Kb pdf] to the Red Winter page

New Game Reviews

*
Added Terry Coleman's Review in The Armchair General to the Washington's War page
*
Added five new reviews for Leaping Lemmings:
* "Dice Tower Reviews: Leaping Lemmings", by Tom Vasel [VIDEO REVIEW] (DiceTower and Boardgame Geek)
* "Ready, Set, Run", by Roger Leroux (Boardgame Geek)
* "Kevin's Fun-Filled, Five-Point Reviews", by Kevin Garnica (Boardgame Geek)
* "A No Rules Review", by John Bendettini (Boardgame Geek)
* "Game Review: Leaping Lemmings", by Francis "Private K." Lalumiere

Online Customer Support

If you have any questions regarding any orders or upcoming charges (or any customer service inquiry), the quickest way to get an answer is to use our Online Chat on the GMT website - which connects your directly to our office ladies. Certainly they'll help you by phone or e-mail as well if you wish, but the online chat is a very fast and easy way to get your questions answered. Note that if you click the "Send a transcript" box when you initiate the chat, you'll get an e-mail transcript of the entire chat for your records. We like this feature, as you get verification of everything that was said just like e-mail, but the response is MUCH quicker. We invite you to try it out the next time you need an answer from the office folks.

That's all for this time.

Enjoy the games!

Sincerely,

Your Friends at GMT Games

www.gmtgames.com
Toll Free Order and Support Line: 800-523-6111
E-mail: gmtoffice@gmtgames.com

WBC

2010-07-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

1,000 Pre-registrants for the World Boardgaming Championships would like you to join them for the best gaming week of the year! You must have heard by now that WBC offers the best tournament boardgaming experience to be had on the planet. But it's also so much more.

Last year's hit Open Gaming venue has been improved as the 13,000 sq ft tiered dinner theatre of the Lancaster Showroom is reserved exclusively for Open Gaming from Wednesday through Sunday - with an expanded BPA Game Library, food service, new tables, storage, and a photo gallery as the focal point of the convention.

But if competition floats your boat, the best still congregate annually at WBC where tournament play is our raison d'être. Three new Pre-Cons have been added to the fare to make it worth the trip ... nine continuous days of gaming. Valhalla for gamers ... and only in Lancaster, PA a scant 17 days from now. WBC remains a unique experience which can only be had once a year ... don't miss the best one yet! Make your reservation today.

If you wait to register at the door, it will cost you more and take longer. Save both money and time. Pre-register today! But if you would rather pay at the door, bring your checkbook. WBC doesn't take credit cards.

2010-07-05T08:55:00.000-07:00

Hi Joe,
I have seen many of your reviews from thedicetower on YouTube and I have been interested in a new board game now that I have some extra money. I'm 17 and have really only play Risk. I'm looking for something with a little more meat on it. Axis and Allies looks really good and Tom Vasel has me interested in Memoir '44. I would love to have your advice and any other suggestions for a game. I'm on a $50 budget but other than that, I'm open to anything. Thanks.

Kyle

Hi,

Avoid M44... I'd go for Conflict of Heroes. It is a deeper game but still plenty basic enough for a guy just getting out of Risk. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention ASLSK #1. If you have anyone near you willing to take that leap it is an awesome game.

Joe

EMAIL

2010-07-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Hi Joe,

I just came across your youtube game videos and really enjoyed watching them. It seems like we have a lot in common- I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a cop, a board gamer with a strong preference for wargames, Twilight Struggle is one of my favorites, and my wife wins most of the time! Too bad I live in Pennsylvania and you live in Michigan. Currently I'm looking for a tactical game that I could play with my wife (instead of Memoir 44) or with other gaming friends who are mainly into designer games and don't really want to spend a ton of time learning rules. My too main candidates are Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel (I watched your review) and Tide of Iron. What are your thoughts on Tide of Iron? I saw that you have a copy in one of your wargame school videos but you didn't comment on it other than to say it wasn't your favorite.

Stay safe and have a great night.

Andrew

Hi,

It sounds like we do have a lot in common! As far as tactical games... I'd avoid ToI, I didn't like it, it is huge, expensive, and I doubt your wife will like it. Conflict of Heroes: Storms of Steel is a great game and I know my wife thinks it is "OK". Honestly, have you considered something like Hero Scape as a starter game for you wife? I bet she would like it. I am currently, slowly, teaching my wife ASLSK.

Good Luck!

Joe

Origins 2010..

2010-06-30T22:30:00.000-07:00

can you name the game? or are you in a picture?

EMAIL

2010-06-30T22:29:00.001-07:00

Hi Joe,

I confess I"m usually a eurogamer, but after a friend persuaded me to try a block war game, I gave Quebec 1759 a spin with my son, and just loved it! So I posted a comprehensive pictorial review of the game, to hopefully help promote it! As usual, I tried to include some relevant quotations from other fans, and your comment was particularly articulate and useful, so I included it in my review (with credit) - just letting you know out of courtesy, and I hope that some mutual enthusiasm will be good for the game and help others discover the fun that can be enjoyed with it!

Here's a link to my review:
[b]So you're wondering about your first ever block war game: A comprehensive pictorial overview of a time-tested classic that even eurogamers can enjoy[/b]
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/537244

Best regards and happy gaming,
Ender

2010-06-29T07:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Joe,

I am very appreciative of the work you have done making videos about various war games, and bits for the dice tower. I have been convinced to get into ASL and I have a few starter kit bits already.
As you are currently doing some introductory videos for ASL I have a couple of quick questions. I apologise if it is something you have already covered and I missed it.

What is the best online resource for ASL? I have had a bit of a look at Board game geek, VASL and con sim world. Is there a consolidated home where I can try to find a gaming group for it?

Finally, how would you recommend going about getting into ASL? Are the core modules likely to be more or less always available, or should I just buy buy buy when I can? I am quite keen not to put out a massive amount of cash in one go, but as a Brit living in Japan I don't want to miss out on any of those armies so I will want to avoid dependency problems with the modules.

Thanks,

Dave

Hi,

I personally like ConSim and Mark's Desperation Morale site. As far as modules I'd suggest just picking up Beyond Valor and the rule book. If you like it and catch the bug start picking up the other modules, historical modules, and action packs at your own leisure and taste. Most of the main modules are always available and in print. When they go out of print you can buy them off ebay other places. I'd not worry about it, ASL will be around for years to come.

Joe

Z99.1 ASL Poetry

2010-06-27T16:35:00.001-07:00

Yanks don't always have to be Gung Ho , but when the Rising Sun crests the horizon it's nice to get a Paratrooper or A GI's Dozen across the river.

Meanwhile, in the heat of the desert the Hollow Legions that are West of Alamein will surely face to the blokes chanting For King and Country.

Some survivors from the Doomed Battalions will rightly receive their Croix de Guerre while others will fade away to become Partisans helping to shape the Turning Tide.

However, most of the action that will lead to either Armies of Oblivion or heroics Beyond Valor will begin in Streets of Fire and ultimately end in Hedgerow Hell either in Normandy or the East Front where A Few Will Return from A Decade of War.

Unlocking memories that were lost and gathering dust Out of the Attic by the Squad Leader, the General and others who gained the Cross of Iron or were lost in the Crescendo of Doom or the gathering chaos in the GI Anvil of Victory and Red Army's Valor of the Guards.

Let us Advanced Squad Leader players pay tribute to the fallen and toast the deeds of yester year.

written on this day of 22 June at 3:05 pm by Don Lazov

Cool!

2010-06-27T16:23:00.001-07:00

hipsukun has posted a comment on your Youtube profile:

I got into ASL thanks to you! I've so far played Starter Kits up to SK2 and just ordered the Full ASL Rulebook and Beyond Valor! I'm gonna skip SK3 because it's currently out of print (and I need MORE ASL like, right now.) :)

Q and A

2010-06-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hi Joe,

I've been listening to some of the dice tower podcasts recently and was wondering if you've ever played Fields of Fire. I've been reading through the rule book/scenario book, but am having difficulty translating the rules into actual game play. If you've played it, do you have any tips for learning how to play this game?

Thanks!

Jordan Schulert

The layout is unintuitive, but the play-aids help. It takes patience and tenacity in learning the game. Print out the reorganized rules that someone did on boardgamegeek, and re-play the first few missions a bunch of times. The errata is long but handles clarifications mostly.

Try this: http://www.gmtgames.com/fof/FoFExampleFinal.pdf

Once you break through the barrier though, it's gold. Fantastic, the best squad level solo game out there. Every session tells an exiting story and you really feel like you are commanding a group of men in combat. I love Ambush! But this replaced it for my solo play tactical game.

Fan Mail

2010-06-17T18:34:00.001-07:00

I am currently learning ASL thanks to your primer series.
I want to thank you for that, you are doing a GREAT JOB !

Thierry Desmidt (Brussels)

OotA2 Printing!

2010-06-16T19:35:00.000-07:00

Folks, we approved the second proof we saw today for Out of the Attic 2, so it has been given the green light to print. We expect to see it in-house next week.

Presumably the Blood Reef Tarawa Gamers Guide will ship first (it is due by Monday), but since it's a magazine-format it should go relatively quickly. So if you have been fence-sitting for either product you might want get up offa yer booty and bust out da plastic because they will be pulled from the p-list soon.

From Chas Argent

Star Trek Clix

2010-06-16T19:25:00.000-07:00

WizKids has won the license to produce a line of Star Trek clix miniatures games. Apparently there will be two different games, although both will use some variation of the patented clix system.

One will be a star ship combat game with pre-painted miniatures. The other is billed as a "euro-style character-driven game. The announcement does not indicate whether these will be "collectible" games or simple expandable games, a fact that will play a big role in my interest.

The clix mechanic is not necessarily linked to the collectible marketing scheme, so I hope they avoid going down that road. I won't get involved in another collectible game. It would be nice to ave a good and accessible starship combat game and the clix mechanic has potential.

The character-driven game is a much harder sell for me and I doubt I'll get into it even if it's not a collectible.

From Pawnderings

I personally look forward to it and will buy the ships for Star Fleet Battles.

EMAIL: novice war gamer

2010-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

----------------------------------------------
I been watching your videos and they have made me now very interested in War games , I would like to know what is a good intro to war gameing I want to solo it and play it with another person also , if you could give me a list of 5 games I would love that thanks sebastian

Thanks for the email. My top 5 war games that can be played solo OR two player:

ASL: Can be played as ASL or as Solo ASL.. just buy the solo module.

A Victory Lost: Chit pulling makes this and VD great solo games.

Combat Commander: Europe: the cards make the game so random that you can pull off solo-play, just block out what the hand has and make your best move each turn.

Bitter Woods: This game works well solo, there's a lot to think about to find the best play for each side, so I end up taking advantages of my own mistakes. I also love this as a 2 player game.

I really like Battle For Germany as my last pick. Look it up and you will see that it is an odd game and fun to play.

Joe

2010-06-16T13:40:00.001-07:00

ASL Journal #2 Reprint

2010-06-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

ASL News!

2010-06-13T22:41:00.001-07:00

Click on picture to see.

Better get your order in soon, should be printing REAL soon.

King Oil

2010-06-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Not a bad little game... picked it up at a thrift store for 99 cents. Has an interesting mechanic of moving the guts of the game to reconfigure the well depths. The object is to drill for oil and run the other players our of business... Fun family game.

Twilight Struggle...

2010-06-01T22:59:00.000-07:00

Just played a close game of TS with Monica... I can't believe I won!

She has 18 points going into the 9th turn. It is all but over for the poor USA... My only hope is the Royal Flush in Europe. I draw the card that prevents USSR for playing OPS in Europe, the Europe scoring card, and three 3 OPS cards. All I have to do is move the Def con down a level, keep her from scoring 2 points, and play my cards in the right order!

I did it!

I love this game, I grabbed a victory from the jaws of defeat.