Current (Feb 2023) Highlights from GMT’s P500 games, part 2: Reprints

I’ve written before about liking GMT Games’ P500 preorder system. Well, I’ve been taking another look and have done a little skim of GMT’s current P500 offerings. I’ve prepared a pair of posts; one about some really interesting new games on offer, and another (this one!) on some really great reprints that are coming.

Remember, not only does the P500 system let you preorder games, but it also gives a pretty significant discount. Each of the two posts features 10 games, which are presented in no discernable order. This isn’t a ranked list. With that said, let’s jump into the reprints!

Here I Stand

I was quite excited a few years ago when GMT released the 500th-anniversary edition of Here I Stand. This is an expansive game covering the 40ish-year period of 1517 to 1555. That period was a pretty incredible time, covering the activities of such important historical figures as Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Ignatius Loyola, Henry VIII, Charles V, Francis I, Suleiman the Magnificent, Ferdinand Magellan, Hernando Cortes, and Nicolaus Copernicus. That these figures all lived within that same period gives some indication of the import of the events that happened therein. Hey, let’s play them!

The game itself is big and complex. With a player count of 3 to 6 and a 3 to 4 hour play time, this is going to be a hard sell to my gaming groups. The grandeur appeals, though.

It’s also worth noting that this is a reprint of the anniversary edition, meaning it contains cards and rules that were not in the original game. I particularly like that it took ideas from the sequel, Virgin Queen, and incorporated them into this game. That’s a cool idea, using the new to refresh the old.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Virgin Queen

Well, having just mentioned Virgin Queen in the context of the preceding game, Here I Stand, here’s a reprint of that one, too! Covering another 40-year period, and set directly after Here I Stand, this is definitely a sequel. It also saw a number of rules refinements, updates and changes.

This seems to be better presented than Here I Stand, and although the presentation is not everything, it does matter. It’s a big part of selling a game to a new group. It helps to set a tone. It predisposes you to give the game a benefit of the doubt.

From a historical perspective, I also prefer the Elizabethan period to that of the Reformation. This, along with the fact that Virgin Queen can be played at 2 to 6 players, as opposed to Here I Stand’s 3 to 6, makes me think that this is the game I’d choose out of the two.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Red Flag Over Paris

From two large games, we now turn to a smaller one. Red Flag Over Paris is a nice, wee card driven game in the same vein as Fort Sumter. It’s prettier than Fort Sumter, which was not bad looking in itself. This just feels like a more polished production.

This is probably the most tempting reprint for me in this list. A bite-sized CDG that takes about half an hour to play is appealing. The historical setting of 1871’s Paris Commune, with a revolutionary government having seized power in the aftermath for the Franco-Prussian war is not one with which I have a lot of familiarity. French history is actually pretty interesting and rather bloody. I need to get up to speed.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Fields of Despair

This was another game that caught my attention when it came out, with a review from The Players’ Aid really giving it a good sell. Being a 2 player hex-based strategic level block war game, Fields of Despair is not necessarily the sort of game I’d usually go for.

One of the things I like about this game is the fog of war aspect, ensuring that although a player can see an army approach, as represented by blocks, the content of those armies is not known. The strength of those armies, and therefore the resources required to overcome them is not known. It also makes air recon really important.

The mix of chits and blocks on the beautifully-illustrated map makes for an attractive game experience, which is something that isn’t always true of this sort of wargame.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Combat Commander Europe

The Combat Commander series seems to be really popular, but being a proper, full wargame it’s not one that I’ve tried. I’ve just never really gotten into these games. Would Combat Commander be a good place to start?

There are good reviews from places like Shut Up and Sit Down, and a ton of writeups on Dude, Take Your Turn. These do present the game in a really positive light and I understand that a lot of wargamers think highly of the Combat Commander series. I’ve also seen it fetch pretty high prices second-hand when the game is out of print. It’s great, therefore, that it’s getting another reprint. I’m just not sure that this is the game for me. Not yet, at least.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Falling Sky

The COIN series of counter-insurgency-themed games seems to go from strength to strength. They’ve managed to put out COIN games for a huge range of conflicts. This one, Falling Sky, looks at a period of interest for me, ocvering Ambiorix’s revolt against Caesar in 54 and 53 BC. This is a period I chose to learn about based on my love of a certain village of indomitable Gauls.

My interest in this time period does make this an attractive prospect. Or it would, were it not for the several COIN games I already have that I can struggle to get to the table. If manage to get some play out of the COIN games I have, or those that I am considering picking up from my previous post, this is one that might be of interest.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Commands & Colors Napoleonics

Since posting about it before, I’ve managed to get one game of Commands & Colors Ancients. I enjoyed it. I’ve not done much with block-based wargames, but I did like this a lot. That said, new buyers beware; there are a lot of blocks needing stickered before you can play. Schedule some prep time before your first game!

This is another series that has a number of really cool titles. This one often comes out top of people’s rankings, or at least near the top. The range of expansions available also creates some quite different experiences, offering significant differentiation of tactics. The fact that factions can feel quite different, the effect of how casualties are handled, and the advantages in forming squares creates a pretty deep play experience.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Labyrinth: The War on Terror

So, I bought this game under false pretenses. Like many people, my first real exposure to GMT Games was via Twilight Struggle. With the similar box art and visually similar board, I thought this was a sequel of sorts or a spiritual successor. It’s not. Well, there are definitely, elements, but I feel it’s pretty distinct from Twilight Struggle, and that’s okay. I’m just not sure it would have been my next GMT game had I known that going in.

This game covers the defining conflict of most of our lives. Unless, you know, you live in Ukraine. The War on Terror, whatever your view on it, changed the world. It changed politics, international relations, security, civil liberties, culture, and more. It certainly changed a lot of people’s view of the United States of America. I can therefore understand if some people cannot get past the theming and consider it to be ‘too soon’. I don’t see it that way, but I can appreciate the sentiment.

I need to get this back to the table, but it does get consistently good reviews and a reprint will no doubt be very welcomed.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

Washington’s War

A gift from my brother-in-law several years ago, I really enjoyed Washington’s War. It’s a good game. I like card-driven games, and I like my games to look pretty. This ticks both boxes. It’s not as smooth and satisfying an experience as 1960 or Twilight Struggle, but it’s still very strong.

This is a redesign of an older game, We The People. As should be pretty obvious from the title, this is a game about the US War of Independence. The two sides are inherently asymmetrical, which is as it should be, and a huge positive for me.

I feel that this is a great CDG to move on to after Twilight Struggle. I found it not as easy to pick up, but very rewarding once I did.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.

1960: The Making of the President

My second-favourite GMT title after Twilight Struggle! I adore 1960: The Making of the President. It’s reasonably close in gameplay to Twilight Struggle, but it still has a very different feel to it.

I love it. I love the different things you have to juggle, like influence in different states, master of the different issues on the way into the debates, media buys, events, tokens to cancel inconvenient events, etc. There’s a lot, but it’s not overwhelming and it just comes together really well.

I’d heartily recommend this reprint to anyone.

Click here to visit the GMT P500 page for this game.