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Hi everyone!
I hope that you are all well and that you are finding some time to relax and play some games.
We have a BUNCH of new P500 additions this time, as well as several P500 reprints, and lots of other news, so I'm going to keep my intro section brief today and move right to the news.
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First off, I get a lot of questions along the lines of "Are we going to see any more releases for Chad Jensen's games?"
Chad's Games and Where We're Heading. As many of you know, Chad was my good friend as well as a tremendous designer for GMT, so thinking about Chad's games isn't easy for me. The loss still lingers. I talk with Kai often, and even now, 15 months after Chad's passing, when our conversations turn to Chad, it's not unusual for both of us to shed tears.
But the future of Chad's games is a fair question to ask, and we have been doing some work and planning in the background, so I'll share a bit of that here.
Most of you probably know that our most recent release, Dominant Species: Marine, was the last game that Chad had in pre-production status with us when he got sick. I can still see his face and hear his voice at that last Weekend at the Warehouse he and Kai attended in April of 2019, as he told me how he had made the system in our #3 all-time best-selling game (Dominant Species) "even better" by listening to and interacting with customers online to identify the three areas of the game that most frustrated players. In DS: Marine, he addressed all three areas, and he was very proud of the result. So am I, and I hope, as more and more of you play the game over the coming months, that you'll appreciate Chad's design genius in making the DS system even more fun and playable in DS: Marine—and that it will bring you many, many hours of enjoyment around your game tables. For Chad, that was the ultimate goal.
What you may not know is that, circa 2019, Chad also had several other games in various stages of design completion. With Kai's help and approval, we have slowly begun to work on developing and finishing those games, in concert with other members of our design team who have volunteered to help, so that you all can enjoy a few more of Chad's creations. For example, one of our accomplished designers—and a friend of Chad's—is well along in finishing a game that Chad thought was "really close, but there's one sub-system that doesn't work." In Chad's world, that "doesn't work" usually meant that 98% of people would like it, but he wasn't yet satisfied (and likely Kai wasn't either). So the current designer is working on that sub-system, in conjunction with Kai, while also building out the entire project to get it ready for art and production. I can't give you dates just yet (the creative process being what it is), but I think it's likely you'll see this game on our P500 list by the end of 2021.
After Chad passed, during one of our phone conversations when Kai and I were discussing Chad's games, she told me: "The one game that Chad really wanted to see published was Golden Gate Park." As many of you know, that game was on our P500 list for a while, and it had trouble hitting 500 (Euro-type games often do). One day, Chad called me and said he'd like to take the game off of P500 for a while so he could work on it and think about how better to present it. I agreed, so the game went back to his game table. Kai says that Chad finished it but was still leery about its prospects on P500. In one of our conversations, she told me something along the lines of "If there's anything you could do to honor Chad and make him happy, it would be to get Golden Gate Park published." I talked with Tony, and he agreed with me that it's something we could and should do, so when Kai is ready and we feel like the timing is right, Golden Gate Park will go back to the P500 list and into our Production Queue. I hope that many of you will support the game on P500 when it comes back.
There are a few other projects that aren't far enough along yet to talk about. But there are other published series, like Combat Commander and Fighting Formations, that we absolutely intend to continue to publish and support, including adding new Battle Packs and expansions to each series as they become available.
Kai has a CC Battle Pack in the works, and we also want to do a "Tribute to Chad" CC Battle Pack that will include new scenarios from many of our current designers and developers. You've seen Volko Ruhnke and John Butterfield, among others, create scenarios in the past, and we're looking to bring other accomplished designers and "friends of Chad" together to create a very special Tribute Battle Pack. If you have an interest in creating a scenario or helping Kai with CC Battle Packs, please contact her, or if you don't have her email, send me a note, and I'll put you in touch.
For Fighting Formations, we have people who helped with previous series products now at work on new content for the series. I'll get you more details on that as we have them, but that work is ongoing.
I hope those of you who have wondered about the future of Chad's games find this information helpful. As always, we'll share more details as each project gets closer to readiness for P500 and production.
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GMT One Update - from Jason Carr. GMT One has been very busy since the beginning of the year. We have built a team of over two dozen designers, developers, and playtesters busily working on many projects. Here's a peek at what we've been working on!
First up, Ken Kuhn has finished development work on the CDG Solo System, and that is already being laid out. The response to Stuka Joe's system was amazing—like many of you, we have had to lean on solo gaming this past year—and we are very excited to get it into your hands. As new games are released which could benefit from this system, we plan to include playsheets in the box or as free downloads on the GMT website. Additionally, Ken will be working to create playsheets for some of GMT's rich backlog, so make sure to let us know which games you would like to see supported.
Two bot systems have been finished in the last month: bots for Harold's Flashpoint: South China Sea and Fred's Red Flag Over Paris. The response from testers has been very positive, commenting on the clarity, simplicity, and fun to be had with these games and bots. If you're in the market for a strategic and engaging solitaire game that can be played in an hour or less, check these two games out!
Finally, I have been working with Mike to add full support for the Robata system to every one of the scenarios in Tank Duel: North Africa and the first Tank Duel Tank Pack. This has only succeeded because of the tireless efforts of our testers (thank you!) and Mike's desire to see first-rate solitaire play for Tank Duel.
If you or someone you love would like to help design, develop, or test these solo systems, please let us know! We are always looking for bright and kind people to join our development and testing teams. - Jason
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Fields of Fire Series Development. We're excited to announce that Jason Carr and our GMT One Team are now working with Designer Ben Hull as Developers for this series. I personally love the immersive narrative that this series creates and am in awe of Ben's historical knowledge and the genius of his solitaire engine for Fields of Fire. I am very excited to see how Jason and his team augment Ben's creativity with their skills to enhance these games and expansions over time.
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Playtesters Wanted. If you would like to help playtest some of our games (and get a free game out of it), here are some specific games that could use extra testers now. Please email the Designer/Developer listed below if you are interested. Thanks in advance for your help!
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Hitler's Reich 2nd Edition Rules. I guess I didn't do a good enough job getting this info out there, as I've had several "When will the new Hitler's Reich rules be ready?" queries lately. The answer is they have been finished now for several months (thank you to Kai Jensen and everyone else who helped with the revised version) and are available for free download from our website. As you'll see, Kai did a tremendous job on these new rules, which are now the template for all further games in the Card Conquest Series, including today's new P500 offering, Hannibal's Revenge. Here's the link to download the rules pdf: Hitler's Reich Revised 2nd Edition Rules
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The Players' Aid Interview with SpaceCorp Designer John Butterfield. Our friends at The Players' Aid recently published an in-depth interview with the legendary John Butterfield, focused on some details of his SpaceCorp: Ventures expansion. For those of you who would like an illustrated peek inside that expansion and an interesting read (because you always learn something talking with John), check it out here: The Players' Aid Interview with John Butterfield
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Keep up with GMT Online
Virtually every day, we announce new information, show off upcoming products, or give you a peek under the hood of our new designs in our various online sites and forums. For those of you looking to keep up with us online, here is where you can find us. Drop in and start a conversation!
GMT Games Website
InsideGMT blog
Official GMT Games Facebook Group
GMT Facebook Page
GMT Twitter Feed
GMT on Instagram
GMT on BoardGameGeek
GMT YouTube Channel
GMT on ConsimWorld
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We are doing our best to segment this update so it's easier for you all to read. Here is what you'll find in the rest of today's update:
- P500 Additions
- How to Play Videos
- Digital Games
- News You Can Use
- InsideGMT
- Charging and Shipping Update
- Production Outlook
- Project Updates and Sample Art
- P500 Reprint Tracking
Thanks, as always, for your support of GMT Games! Enjoy the games! - Gene
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