To the table came six players from three generations, including a father, his millenial-age son, a lad of 12, and three guys from the late 30s to late 50s. None had ever played Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea before.
When I was first introduced to Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea by its Designers (Chris Vorderbruegge and Mark McLaughlin) one of its facets which held immediate appeal was that conflict/battles in this game, called “Competitions”, DID NOT INVOLVE ANY DICE ROLLNG!!
I’ve been a gamer for decades, since playing my first wargame, Avalon Hill’s D-Day 1961, and for all that time have been plagued by strange dice-rolling. One of my Rockland Guys gaming buddies, Stephen, had a great tee shirt for when we attended conventions: it had in big letters the saying “I win on anything but a one… ARGHHH!” Yup, that’s a gaming garment I’m in great sympathy with.
When Mark and I were play-testing Kutuzov; one of the games in The Napoleonic Wars series, there was a memorable game when my French invaders took eighty-five (85!) dice rolls to take out a two value Russian border fortress. Those of you familiar with the Nappy game series should appreciate what a game-losing feat that was!
So, although there’s still “luck with cards” in Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea… at least there’s no dice rolling to contend with!
There is a wealth of information concerning this game within InsideGMT. There are After-Action-Reports with explanations of the game’s cards and Civilizations (each with its special attributes) as well as a rendition of its “near final” map. But until this article, discussion of the actual mechanics of resolving a Competition was lacking.
This is hopefully now remedied and those gamers, like me, who dread taking dice in hand, can take heart instead.
As we have a little extra time before going into production (due to delays caused by the current China trade situation, as GMT explained); we have been toying around with some minor tweaks to the game. Two of those are slight changes to the Gaul and Rome Civilization Displays, both of which now boast an extra bit of welcome chrome.
In this article we continue to explore the event cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS). To read the previous four articles in this series, follow the links here, here, here, and here. We hope you’ve enjoyed this InsideGMT series thus far.
In this article we continue to explore the event cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS). To read the previous three articles in this series, follow the links here, here, and here.
In this article we continue to explore the event cards of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS). To read the previous two articles in this series, follow the links here and here.
In this second article of the series, we examine the 103 event cards that provide the random and color factors which can add so much excitement (and a bit of player stress) into a game of Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea (ACIS). In the first article we covered natural events. Here, we move on to mostly man-made events and calamities.
Introduction by Fred Schachter, Game Developer – It’s been a fun ride thus far with my erstwhile Game Designer partners: Chris Vorder Brugge and Mark McLaughlin. My career relocations allowed play-testing Ancient Civilization of the Inner Sea (ACIS) with gamers across the country, and through our pal Vez Arponin’s game club in Germany; who’ve quickly learned how to play and then had fun & exciting gaming experiences with this clever design.
Mark and I even enjoyed the game’s solitaire system thrashing us (a Non-Player Civilization, NPC, can be a tough opponent – but it is possible to defeat this determined foe). See various InsideGMT articles for more about the game and its solitaire system.
The ACIS Team is gratified for all the support being given this game. Thanks so much!!!
The purpose of this first of several InsideGMT posts is to introduce readers to more than what’s been shared to date about ACIS’ cards. Chris here provides an overview of the game’s cards and introduces the graphic talents of Blackwell Hird, who is now in process of illustrating them.
So, here’s the first episode of your tour into the cards of GMT’s upcoming Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea.
