March 3, 1999 - Company Update
Paths of Glory Setting High Expectations for GMT Games
Paths of Glory Setting High Expectations for GMT Games
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March 3, 1999 - Company Update
Paths of Glory Setting High Expectations for GMT Games |
Editor's Note: GMT Games has a new lease on life, thanks to a spate of recent releases earning rave reviews, and a major marketing push behind their Web site to drive pre-sales figures. The latest entry to their P500 List has already drawn much anticipation from World War One gaming grognards. This title was originally scheduled to be published by TAHGC, but due to the Hasbro buyout, it was temporarily placed in limbo...until GMT Games stepped in, that is! When you learn more about the title below, and by visiting the GMT Games Web site, you'll quickly learn why this title may rank as their top game release for 1999.
Heads-Up Alert: Those who pre-order before the end of March will save $15 off the suggested retail price (pay only $35).
PATHS OF GLORY: THE FIRST WORLD WAR is a two-player wargame depicting the dramatic events of the 20th Century's first "total war" in both the European and Near East theaters from the summer of 1914 to the winter of 1918-19. One player represents the Central Powers and the other the Allied and Associated Powers.
Designed by 6-time Charles S. Roberts award winner Ted S. Raicer, PoG uses a variation on the card-driven strategic systems pioneered by Mark Herman in TAHGC's WE THE PEOPLE. The 22" by 34" map uses a point to point movement-covering Europe from Normandy in the west to Smolensk in the east, and from Petrograd in the north to Greece in the south. An inset map on the main map covers the Near East theaters of Egypt/Palestine/Iraq and the Caucasus. The full campaign's 20 turns are scaled at four seasonal turns per year, though the summer of 1914 is divided into two monthly turns because of the greater level of activity of the war's opening rounds. The 176 5/8" and 140 1/2" counters include armies and corps representing forces from 19 different nations-even the Arab forces of Lawrence of Arabia!
Both the Allies and the Central Powers players have their own deck of 56 cards, each subdivided into Mobilization, Limited War, and Total War cards. Limited and Total War cards are added to your deck as the play of events escalates the war. Each card is rated for Operations (the ability to activate forces for movement or combat), Strategic Redeployment (which allows easy transfer of corps from one front to another), and Replacements (used to rebuild reduced or eliminated armies and corps). Each card also has a unique Event, which cover such things as the introduction of reinforcements, the entry of neutrals into the war, the development of new weapons and tactics, and political events, including the two Russian Revolutions.
Each turn consists of 6 alternating card plays by each side. Though every card has four potential uses, each card may only be used to do one thing per play. Do you play that card as an Operations card to launch an attack? Or should you use it to bring in replacements to rebuild your battered armies? Or should you play the card as an Event: a decision complicated by the fact that the best Events cards are the most highly rated in other ways, and most Events cause the card to be removed from the game after play.
The combat system cleanly incorporates the effects of forts, flanking attacks, and trenches. But stalemate on one front is merely an opportunity for breakthrough on another, and both players will be hard pressed to juggle their resources. Mandated Offensives-attacks launched for reasons of politics and prestige-add still another element of uncertainty to test any gamer's generalship.
Of course the alternative to War is Peace, and PoG has rules for offering Peace terms. Such offers can nab you an easy victory point-or backfire if your terms were too harsh and give the enemy a propaganda coup. And if you make an offer when you are too far ahead beware-your opponent may just accept and snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Finally, PoG is well suited to solo play. The multiple uses for each card and the linear nature of modern war make PoG suspenseful and unpredictable even without a live opponent.
From the banks of the Marne to the icy plains of Poland to the deserts of Arabia, from the slaughter of Verdun to the blitzkrieg victory over Romania, from the beaches of Gallipoli to the forests of Tannenberg, PoG captures all that made the Great War great in an elegant and easily learned design that will never play the same way twice. Praised by such noted designers as Mark Herman, Ben Knight and Steve Kosakowski (designer of the classic strategic WWII game Krieg) PoG belongs on the shelf of any gamer who wishes to test his skill at Supreme Command!
Related Links 1. The Great War 2. World War I - Trenches on the Web 3. PATHS OF GLORY
PDF flyer (download)4. World War One Era Game Talk 5. GMT Games Talk
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Copyright © 1999-2002. ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com
Headline News | Archives | New Products
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Copyright © 1999-2002. ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com
Headline News | Archives | New Products
Game Ratings | Clubs | Events | Discussion Board
Copyright © 1999, 2000 ConsimWorld.COM. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited. Web Masters are encouraged to link directly to this page, this URL is not subject to change. For general site information: kranz@consimworld.com
