Become a blockhead: Columbia block wargames coming to your PC

July 9, 2019 David Neumann 9

PC/Mac While I’ve seen them in action at gaming events, I’ve never had the pleasure of sitting down and actually playing one of the ‘Block Games’ from Columbia. First of all, they look complicated. Secondly, tabletop war games tend to not be my go-to game type, and, most importantly, no one’s asked me to sit in and play. This will all change soon, as there’s a Kickstarter currently running to bring these games to PC/Mac. The first game on the list is Richard III and, best of all, it’s already funded.

Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal is trying to become Carrier Battles for PC/Mac and more

November 1, 2018 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • While I used to talk quite a bit about iOS war game gem, Carrier Battles for Guadalcanal, over at another site I used to write for, our coverage here at SP has been shamefully light. I apologize not only to the one-man development team of Cyril Jarnot, but to you as well. CB4G is a pretty great hex-and-counter war game for iOS (the only one I can think of) and we’re the kind of audience that should be eating it up. With a little (or a lot–that’s a big $ number) luck, CB4G will be a little less niche than it currently is. A Kickstarter started today to not only bring CB4G to other platforms–namely, PC/Mac–but also adding a ton of functionality making “the little war game that could” into the sprawling epic war game that Cyril envisioned from the beginning.

Putting the Carthage before the horse; Commands and Colors: Ancients now live on Steam

September 12, 2018 David Neumann 5

iOS & Android (soon), PC/Mac (out now) • It’s been a long while since we’ve heard from the folks at HexWar which may be because their last few releases weren’t given the warmest of receptions in the hallowed halls of Stately Manor. That said, their next project is a digital port of GMT Games‘ seminal card-driven block game, Commands & Colors: Ancients. We love the cardboard version so we’re willing to give them a little leeway and see what they can come up with. As luck would have it, today is the day we see how they did as C&C: Ancients has just been released onto Steam for PC and Mac.

Review: Warhammer 40K: Gladius – Relics of War

July 20, 2018 Alex Connolly 5

Developers have distantly flirted with the idea of a Warhammer 40K grand strategy, but the commitment to rendering a colossal empire management sim in the grimdark future has yet to be fully realised. It would be an interesting undertaking, and while perhaps some conversions and mods have offered glimpses into what might be, we’re yet to see one with the official GW stamp. Along comes Gladius – Relics of War, from Pandora: First Contact devs Proxy Studios and published under the auspices of Slitherine, and while the game has aspirations to the grand strategy genre, it’s best described as a wargame. Or is that Waaaaarrrghgame? Apostates and the pious alike, read on.

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turns 8-13

November 17, 2017 David Neumann 1

Tabletop • In our effort to speed things up with our ongoing Liberty or Death session report, I’ve managed to somehow combine six (6!!!) turns into one post. Unfortunately, this means I’m already broke my promise to report on at least one non-board game per day by not covering anything yesterday, but I did report on two non-board games Wednesday, so I’m calling it even. Without further ado, let’s see what’s happening in the colonies.

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turn 7

November 15, 2017 David Neumann 2

Tabletop • We’re back with our parade through (alternate) history via GMT Games‘ brilliant COIN title, Liberty or Death. I’m getting the sense that you, the Stately Players [I’m really trying to get him to stop. This will be the last time, I swear -ed.], are losing interest in these turn-by-turn walkthroughs, so I’m going to really try and wrap the whole thing up before Thanksgiving so we can move on to a different game. When I started the affair, I had it in my head that I would spend 5-6 hours playing the game and then chop it into a week’s worth of material. When I saw how much information had to be relayed while writing up the first turn, I realized I may have bitten off more than I could chew and moved to the one-two turns per day format. That works well for me, but it needs to work well for you as well. I’m new at this, and still learning. Stick with me. We’ll wrap up LoD as quick as possible and then throw something else on the table.

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turns 5 and 6

November 13, 2017 David Neumann 3

Tabletop • We’re back after a long gaming weekend that consisted of playing a lot of old favorites with not one “new” game hitting the table. We had some new players, so game teaching was still in order, but far less stressful than trying to teach games I barely know how to play. That’s all in the past, however, and from this point on we’re going to focus on wrapping this game of Liberty or Death from GMT Games up. I’m hoping turns become faster and faster as I become more familiar with the flowcharts of the AI, so maybe we’ll finish this game before New Year’s? Let’s take a look at two quick turns, Turns 5 and 6.

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turn 4

November 9, 2017 David Neumann 1

Tabletop • Due to our dining room table being needed for actual dining, I was forced to remove GMT‘s Liberty or Death from its resting place and put it all back into the box after Turn 3. Luckily, I had several badly taken and blurry iPhone pictures taken of the board at this stage, so setting it all back up wasn’t too much of a chore. Anyway, that’s why we had a slight delay in getting to Turn 4. Or, at least, that’s the story I’m sticking with. It had nothing to do with me being lazy, as far as you know. Onwards!

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turn 3

November 7, 2017 David Neumann 2

Tabletop • When last we left our intrepid rebels, they had convinced the French to send a few resources their way and used them to take control of New Hampshire. Unfortunately, the British had troops to spare and loaded up Pennsylvania with both regulars and Tories and even built a fort in the Keystone State. Not to be outdone, the Native Americans added more warbands to the territories west and north of the Proclamation of 1763 line, and even built a village just outside the colonies. Luckily, both the Native Americans and British were unavailable for Turn 3, so lets see if the French and Patriots can make up some ground.

Stately Sessions: Liberty or Death, Turns 1 and 2

November 6, 2017 David Neumann 2

Tabletop • It’s commonly believed that the American Revolutionary War began on a wet Wednesday morning in northeastern Massachusetts in the year 1775. That may be true, but a much more fun version of it erupted on a cold November afternoon in Wisconsin, specifically (and much to my wife’s chagrin) on my dining room table. That’s when my latest foray into GMT Games‘ fifth COIN game, Liberty or Death, began, leading to the following tale of military and political highs and lows. The trip should have something for everyone. Old grognards can tell me where I misinterpreted the rules and how stupid I am for not covering my flank, while LoD newbs can read an alternate tale of the ARW and see if Liberty or Death seems like something they’d like to throw down on their own dining room table.

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