By Fred Manzo
It’s hard to believe but the usual suspects are about to release 7 games in the next 3 months. That’s more games than many companies publish. (Although most of these games have been in development for years.) So here goes:
1. “At Any Cost: Metz 1870″ from GMT. It should be released to the public sometime this month or in January 2018. Hermann Luttmann designed it, I developed it and Rodger B. MacGowan did the map. This is a variant of the “Blind Swords” system using brigades as the maneuver element. It’s been in development for about 3 years. It’s an outgrowth of White Dog’s “Duel of Eagles II.” (Read More Here.)
2. “Longstreet Attacks: The Second Day at Gettysburg” from Revolution Games. It’s the same game known as “Hammerin’ Sickles” when it was on the GMT P500 list. It’s the third game in the “Blind Sword” system published by Revolution Games. The first was “Stonewall’s Sword: The Battle of Cedar Mountain,” the second was “Thunder in the Ozarks: the Battle of Pea Ridge” and this is the third (counting only those games that used regiments as their maneuver elements). It’s been in development for 1 or 2 years. Hermann designed it, I developed it and Rick Barber did the map. (Read More Here.)
3. Steamroller: Tannenberg 1914 will be in Yaah! #10 from Flying Pig Publishing. It is similar to “Race to the Sea – 1914” in Yaah! #8 and “Dead Reckoning,” both from Flying Pig. The usual suspects worked on this game: Hermann designed it, I developed it and Tim Allen did the map. (Read More Here.)
4. “Attack of the 50-foot Colossi” from Tiny Battle Publishing. It is the third in the “Invaders” series. The first being “Invaders from Dimension X!“, the second being my “Space Vermin from Beyond!” and this is the third. Herman designed “Invaders” and I developed it, I designed “Space Vermin” and Hermann developed it and Hermann is the co-designer of this one. Tim Allen did all the artwork. It’s been in development for almost a year. (Read More Here Shortly.)
(Proposed Crowbar map. Click to enlarge)
(Proposed counter for Crowbar – by Tim Allen. Click to enlarge.)
5. Crowbar: the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc” from Flying Pig Games. I hope it appears in 1Q18. It’s similar to Hermann’s “In Magnificent Style.” Hermann is the designer, I’m the developer and Tim is doing the map. It’s just about ready for publication. (Read More Here Shortly.)
6. “Like Hailstones Upon Rooftops: Culp’s Hill” from Hollandspiele, using a system similar to “Crowbar” and “In Magnificent Style.” I believe this will be the only stand-alone game on Culp’s Hill ever published. I could be wrong, but that’s my story. Hermann designed it, I’m developing it and Tim is doing the artwork. (Read More Here Shortly.)
7. An old-fashioned Space Opera game that is in final playtesting as we speak. It should be published in 1Q18. But as it hasn’t as yet been officially accepted for publication, its title and publisher is something of a secret. This time I’m the designer, Hermann is the developer and Tim is the artist. It’s been in development for well over a year. Maybe one and a half years.
And those are just the games we hope to publish in the next three months. Over the following 3 months or so, we are working on:
8. “Miracle at Dunkerque” from Legion Games. This is an expansion and update of Hermann’s “A Spoiled Victory: Dunkirk 1940.” The usual gang is involved.
9, 10, 11 and 12+. Various other historical (including one or two on the Civil War and maybe another one on the Franco-Prussian war), plus SF and Zombie games, which all are more or less in the “hoped-for” realm as of today. Though the zombie game is 80 to 90 percent done. (Read More Here.)
And those are just the games we are either the designer or developer. There are also a couple or three games where various of us are playtesters. So this should be a very busy year.
