ATTACK WING CAMPAIGN IS NOW AVAILABLE!

ATTACK WING CAMPAIGN is now available via Power Play Games website! Go to the Attack Wing Campaign page and download the Standard Rules, and either (or both) of the campaigns. The links will take to to the FileFactory site where you can download the campaign files either separately or in a complete folder.

http://www.gallionsreach.com/

ATTACK WING CAMPAIGNS AVAILABLE IN 1 WEEK!

Attack Wing Campaigns Soon Available! 

 We are finally ready to release the first two campaigns and the Standard Rules in a week! You can access the files through Power Play Games website. There will be a link for each: the Standard Rules, Campaign #1: The Sol Campaign and Campaign #2 The Romulan Klingon Border War. each Campaign will come with a ready-to-print full color 10" x 10" game board, game counters and the Campaign booklet with set-up, play requirements, game synopses, special campaign rules, historical notes and the Orders of Battle.

The day they are released we will post it here and on our Facebook page.

 COALITION-ROMULAN WAR - The Sol Campaign

ROMULAN-KLINGON WAR - The Border Campaign

GAME UPDATES

ATTACK WING CAMPAIGN

We are finally getting close to the release of the first two campaigns as promised! The first campaign will involve the First Romulan-Earth War (Sol Campaign) and the second will involve the short but fierce First Romulan-Klingon Border War.  The Standard Rules are ready as well as both campaign map boards, counters and the Sol Campaign game rules. The Romulan-Klingon game rules are being finalized and proofed.
We are still on target for an end-of-June release date!


IMPERATOR MAGNUS

The Roman period ancients tactical battle game is in playtesting. We hope to have it available by early August.

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS

This game is in early playtesting and wlil probebly be released in late 3Q or early 4Q if all goes well.

Imperator Magnus

More Imperator Magnus Play Example

IMPERATOR MAGNUS - Battle Example

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The game we initially called Roman Commander has been changed to Imperator Magnus

Players can select a historical scenario and there army commanders. The required terrain tiles are placed on the table and each player selects the appropriate army units and places them upside down on the tiles where the scenario rules direct. Both players have an army commander and two or more lower ranking commanders. The game "board" is actually a series of tiles placed adjacent to one another based upon the scenario requirements. Hills are two to three tiled stacked on each other to simulate elevation.

Once both players have placed their units on the tiles each player selects from 1 to 5 tactics cards in the order the player chooses to play during the game. These are considered each army commanders battle plan. various commanders can play different numbers of tactics cards during a battle. This simulated the ability of each army general.

Each turn both players flip over the first Tactic card on  their turn to act.

Below is an example of play.

TURN 1:Tactic Card Played & Action

ROMAN TURN

In this example general Sertorius legions face Vercingetorix, a Celtic general. The terrain is mixed with two forested areas on the Roman side while the Celts sit atop an open ridge that runs parallel to a stream below. The Roman units in the forest may remain upside down and unknown until attacked or they leave the woods.

Sertorius's exact location on the battlefield kept secret from the opposing player and vice versa with Vercingetorix. Sertorius can play 4 tactics Cards during the game while Vercingetorix can play no more than 3 cards.

Each Commander has an Initiative Rating decided by the scenario. In this scenario, Sertorius always acts first.

Sertorius plays his first card which is a SKIRMISH tactic. So Sertorius moves his three Archers forward in the center and attack any three Celtic units on the ridge in the center with a arrow barrage.

Combat Phase

The Roman Archers make their attack against the from Celtic Warbands on the ridge.

The result is that two of the Celtic Warbands have been hit and each lose one step. When a unit is on it's last step it rolls for a Rout. If it Routs the unit must retreat on it's turn to a rear tile and is unable to attack or defend.

TURN 1 : Tactic Card Played & Action

CELTIC TURN

Vercingetorix plays his first Tactic Card which is s "Hold Fast" tactic. This means that no Celtic unit may attack or move this turn.

TURN 2: Tactic Card Played & Action

ROMAN TURN

Sertorius plays his "Centre Attack" card and moves three of his Legions to the stream tile.

TURN 2: Tactic card Played & Action

CELTIC TURN

Vercingetorix next card is a "Centre Attack" card. So he moves three of his Warbands into the same tile as the Romans and battle now commences with the Celts as the attacker. The stream will affect combat by reducing the die roll result of the Celtic attacks.

TURN 2: Combat

ROMAN MISSILE ATTACK

The Roman have a special ability to throw Pila spears at the advancing Celts before they can attack the Romans. This missile volley results in reducing the steps of two Warband units.

STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF THE BATTLE...

GAMES UPDATE - May 1, 2014

ATTACK WING CAMPAIGN

Work on the Attack Wing Campaign is moving ahead feverishly. We have the first campaign about the Romulan Invasion of Sol Sector ready to go. We are in development of the second campaign. both will be available for download by June. They will be free print-&-play games.

Here is the game board for the SOL CAMPAIGN add-on. The board shows the initial placement of counters which represent squadrons of ships and star bases.

ROMAN COMMANDER 

Roman Commander is also in development and aiming for a 3Q 2015 release. here are some of the components.

ROMAN COMMANDER is designed to be a small fast playing game of Roman period battles suitable of 30 minutes to an hour of play. The game comes with a variety of photo-realistic terrain tiles on heavy cardboard. The army and commander units are placed on the tiles which can be stacked to simulate hilly terrain. Commander such as Julius Caesar, Pompey, Vercingetorix, Arminius and Spartacus and others lead a variety of army types into battle. The game comes with a variety of scenarios that cover the late republic/ early Imperial period such as the civil wars and early barbarian conflicts.

Combat uses a simple die-roll based upon the unit strength and units are rotated according to the amount of damage inflicted on them. Combat is designed to be simple and fun!

If the game does well we will be releasing expansion sets for other periods such as the Huns, Parthians, late Imperial armies, Goths, etc.

For more on both, see the website www.gallionsreach.com for more information!

GAMES UPDATE - April 2015

BATTLE FOR  GALLION'S REACH; FLEETS FINALLY RELEASED!

After suffering through some nasty computer issues, we finally got back up and running again. And to celebrate the return of sanity we have finally released BATTLE FOR GALLION'S REACH: FLEETS! yesterday!

Visit the website: www.gallionsreach.com

or visit the shop site where you can get more info and buy the game:
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/battle-for-gallion-s-reach:-fleets-pdf-rule-book-

BATTLE FOR GALLION'S REACH is a moderately complex strategy game of galactic conquest involving simple economics, technological research, and star ship combat. 2 to 4 players scramble to acquire resources and territory all the while plotting their ultimate rise to galactic power by either taking the Imperial throne, destroying all opponents or opening the gateway to Gallion's Reach - which leads to supreme power.

The expansion set will be released soon which adds 37 additional planets, nebula, and other unique space objects and challenges.

STARFLEET ADMIRALS

Star Fleet Admirals, a strategy wargame of interstellar conflict in the far future is about to undergo the initial playtesting development. The final counter pieces are being printed as I write this and we hope to start testing withing a couple of weeks.

FALL OF THE EAGLE

FALL OF THE EAGLE is a game I've had in the concept pipeline for years, but we've decided to bring it out and market it. It's a strategy game of a hypothetical invasion by the Axis Powers of World War 2 invading the United States and Canada in the late 1940's. the game postulates that the Germans defeated Britain and Japan destroyed the US Pacific Fleet at Midway. 

It is abstracted much like the Axis & Allies games but maintains the strong flavor of a wargame. The game is strongly card-driven and players win by capturing and holding VP cities.

We will be discussing this project in the near future in greater depth.

PUBLISHERS

During the following weeks we will be preparing materials to send to game publishers to see if any are interested in publishing both BATTLEFORCE SATURN and BATTLE FOR GALLION'S REACH games.

GAMES I WANT TO PLAY!

 Here are a few games I'd love to spend time with someday soon:

CAESAR'S WAR - by Decision Games

The first game I'd like to play and one that I own but have never yet played is Caesar's War by Decision Games. The history and time period appeal to me since I consider myself an expert on Classical History - especially the military history of that period. The game is very easy to learn and play. It works as solitaire or against another player. The Roman player has a decided advantage but the card-driven event mechanism keeps the game relatively well balanced. It's a short game that can be played in a hour or less and it less than $20 and the size of a small magazine.

I think Power Play Games will have to develop some small, short, easy to play games along these lines in the near future!

JULIUS CAESAR - by Columbia Games

Next on my list of  "games I own but have never actually played" is Julius Caesar, by Columbia Games. This is a classic block wargame (like all Columbia Games) which introduces a real fog-of-war situation and is also card-driven. I have always liked the block design and find it intuitive and fun.  This one is a great game to use to introduce a beginner into the hobby.  But as I mentioned above, I love this period and from what I understand by the reviews it's a blast to play. It plays clean and easy and fast but gives the players loads of strategic options and choices. This is one I mean to take off the shelf very soon!

TIDE OF IRON  3rd Edition - by 1A Games

Moving into the 20th Century is another game that I am really hoping to be able to sink my teeth into. It's Tide of Iron by 1A Games. Unlike most of my games which lean heavily strategic, this one is a tactical simulation of World War 2 combat. I have Memoir 44  which is a more abstract game which can simulate a wide variety of scales and battles and is easy to play and teach others, but Tide of Iron is a bit more complex and far less abstract in it's handling of combat in the Second World War. I have no tactical combat games and this would be a great addition to my collection. Like Memoir 44 there are a significant number of expansions covering the Russian Front, Mediterranean Front, etc. The rules seem fairly straightforward and logical and of course, what boy - old or young - doesn't like playing with toy soldiers and tanks! ;-)

BOBBY LEE 3rd Edition - by Columbia Games

See, I told you I like block wargames!
This one is another from Columbia that I'd love to get my hands on. the American Civil War has always been appealing to me and to be able to command the forces of the South as General Lee is an opportunity I can't turn down. Columbia has a few other titles that I would also like to play as well but this one is next on my list!

STAR WARS ARMADA - by Fantasy Flight Games

I've been hooked on the Wizkids miniatures game covering the Star Trek universe, "Star Trek Attack Wing" lately and love it so much, how can I turn down this one?  Naturally, as a total sci-fi junkie since being a kid, commanding a squadron of Star Destroyers in battle against the weak and pathetic rebel Alliance is a dream come true! Looks like it's packed full of fun Star Wars goodness!!!

WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN THE ATTACK WING CAMPAIGN!

We have also been working on the Attack Wing Campaign! Here is a small glimpse of the order of battle for first campaign in early testing called: The Earth Romulan War 2156-2160: The Sol Campaign

Here is a selection of the campaign book listing the miniatures and commanders and the task forces or squadrons participating in the campaign.

THE SOL CAMPAIGN
The Romulans launch a major offensive to attack Earth by destroying two space stations, attacking Denobula to use as a staging area for an assault against Earth itself. The Romulans drew away some of the Earth fleet to an adjacent sector in an attempt to eliminate any significant opposition.

Remember, the Attack Wing Campaign set is a print & play free product and will be downloadable inPDF format when it becomes available.

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS - The Entire Game Playing Area

Here is the entire game playing area. It is made up of eight 10"x16" heavy cardstock mats that fold up to fit in a 10" square box. The entire playing area is 3'-4" x 2'-3". Each hex is about 1.25".

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS - The Battle Board Game Play Example

In this tutorial, players learn how ship to ship combat is accomplished using the Battle Board. 
In this example the Imperium and their Sulomari allies attack a Federation task force.

There are no troops or stations involved and it is not a planetary system. There are no admirals in the battle because these ships are not assigned to a Fleet. In Fleet combat an admiral is always in command of the forces and lends his organizational and command abilities to the combat.
Each ship type has a letter identifier that tells players in what order it can attack and be attacked. Fighters are all class "A" meaning they can attack first. Following class "A" ships, class "A" and "B" ships can attack and be attacked. Once their combat is concluded, class "A", "B", and "C" ships and stations can attack and be attacked.

Finally once all ship-to -ship combat is completed and the defender has either retreated or been destroyed, invading troops may begin landing on the planet.

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS - Early Game Play Examples

More shots of some of the game play. The below shot is of an introductory scenario so new players can learn the ship movement, supply and combat rules. The scenario is about the surprise Imperium invasion of the Federated Worlds.

The next  scenario shown below is of the Sulomari Star Empire invasion of the Federation in coordination with the Imperium. This scenario is also a learning scenario and helps new players learn the mechanics of troop movement and planetary surface combat.

COMPUTERS: You love them and hate them!

Computer issues have slowed down development during the last couple of weeks. Hoping to get it all resolved by next week! then we can get Battle for Gallion's Reach: Fleets out the door, Finish creating the 1st Attack Wing Campaign set and begin some preliminary testing of the newest layout for Star Fleet Admirals.

Also we should have our first video blog out by the end of the month!

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS: The Game Board

Some new shots of the Star Fleet Admirals game board. we are testing out three different boards. This one is hex-based map of a region of the galaxy being fought over.

This version introduces three minor empires who may or may not join in the fight. There will be a series of scenarios covering smaller areas of the war and one large war scenario using all eight 10" x 16" mat boards.

ABOUT STAR FLEET ADMIRALS

In case you've been wondering, the game Star Fleet Admirals is an interstellar wargame simulating the 2nd Rimward Frontier War between the Federation and the Imperium as well as minor allies of both in the region.

The game map represents about 10,000 light years of space from side to side and 15,000 light years from top to bottom with all the major star systems, planets, nebula and other assorted stellar terrain and objects such as the Dyson Sphere, the Crab nebula and two connected wormholes, etc.

The region is the frontier where the Imperium and Federation meet and have fought a couple of smaller wars in the past. alongside these two huge empires lie smaller realms belonging to minor races who also participate in the war. The region is known for massive gaseous nebula, spacial rifts and an enormous white hole as well as other difficult "terrain", making any combat operations more difficult.

The war has a basic back-story fully written and the complete war game scenario will usually follow the path of the "historical" war, however, players will draw cards that will initiate events such as bringing in allies, political instability affecting supply, troop recruitment, insurgents and uprisings, other fronts opening up and drawing away men, ships and equipment, technological developments, etc.

This is not intended to be a light abstract strategy game but a true wargame. However, in an effort to open the game up to non-wargamers who might be interested in playing,while the game is "deep" and rich in detail the general rules will be easily accessible and relatively non-complex. The mechanics and concepts will be streamlined so a s not to add much clutter. Players can even trim down the rules by eliminating all troops and planetary invasions and stick to a ship-only game if they so choose. So consider it a huge low-to-medium complexity game.

Both players will have to make difficult choices involving attack and defense while maintaining supply lines to colonies, troops and fleets. Admirals are to be assigned to create fleets, assault bases coordinate large multi-turn planetary invasions, new technologies will aid in gaining an edge and the Imperium (the attacker) has a limited time to exploit the federation's weakness and unpreparedness before the Federation can bring on more resources to drive the Imperium back to their own space. At some point the Federation player will have the option of invading the Imperium and taking the entire region for itself. Such a political decision, and the potential harmful ramifications with allies and domestic support for the war are also represented in the game.

While many wargames are not necessarily "balanced", we are trying to balance this game while giving either player a unique experience when playing an opposing side. The ebb and flow of a major campaign should give both players a feeling of a being in a dynamic and unpredictable situation that only some luck and good strategy can lead to victory.

The game can last from a single hour (for a tutorial scenario) to a multi-session war (for the full game). with a series of scenarios depicting segments of time of the war, players have a wide variety of experiences to select from.

STAR FLEET ADMIRALS PROGRESS REPORT

Below are some shots of a few of the playing mats used in the game. We are testing two distinct versions and scales: 1) each mat represents a sector of space many light years across with numerous star systems and one planet each and 2) each mat represents a single solar system or nebula or sector of space. each system will have a few planets and other objects. So players would battle over solar systems and not single star systems.

Here are the samples of the second version.

You'll notice that the planets have three distinct types and are identified by the colored ring around them: Red = Hostile, Lt Grey = Vacuum, Lt Blue = Terran..

Also, all systems have at least one Highspace Gate which is the portal through which starships enter and exit the system. each gate has at least one white arrow that denotes from which adjacent sector ships can enter and exit from. there can be as many as four gates in a system and as few as one. High space Gates were left over by an ancient powerful race and cannot be destroyed.

Finally, each planet has a number on it. This number denotes how many troops (other than planetary defenses) can be placed on a planet by one faction. So on a planet with a "2", either side can place at maximum, 2 troops for a total of 4 at any one time. Militia and Colonials count against this limitation.

We have the first generation of counters from the printer and they are beautiful. we hope to print out the system maps and Operations cards and begin actual early playtest development very soon.

There will be between 12 and 16  10" double-sided mats in the game.