A Big Thank You! To Rebel Raiders Fans!

A big thank you to Rebel Raiders fans!  Most of the initial print run has been sold - and GMT is already talking making this a "reprinter."   The game went on sale in April, and as of the end of June over 60 percent of the print run was sold...and GMT says third quarter figures look great!

For all of you who have bought, played, commented on, reviewed or otherwise expressed interest and support in my strategic naval game of the Civil War, a big THANK YOU....if I wasn't such a Yankee at heart (an ancestor in the Irish Brigade, 69th NY), I'd give a big rebel yell!  

So instead, here's a hearty HUZZAH!  HUZZAH! HUZZAH!

....and by the way, I started this blog at Easter (when my son built it for me) and it just topped 10,000 views!

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Rebel Raiders Replay Part III: 1864 Loose the Fateful Lightning

Rebel Raiders Replay:  1862 Jump Start Part III:  1864 Loose the Fateful Lightning

The Developer & A Naval Historian Team Up Against the Designer in the 1862 Scenario

Parts I and II of the replay describe the initially successful Confederate defense, followed by the sweeping of the seas of all things Gray and “The Nightmare Year” of 1863 in which the South was gutted.  Undaunted, the Rebels counterattacked, thus making Union victory far from certain…

With more ships than it had jobs for them to do, throughout 1864 the Union spent most of its builds on buying extra attacks, thus enabling it to make four assaults a turn. Play of Loose the Fateful Lightning (USN Card 34) added yet an additional attack for EACH remaining turn.  The Union used these well, driving still deeper into the South, and then responding to desperate if successful Rebel counterattacks by regaining for the Union what the South had but briefly taken back.

The game was still hanging in the balance in December 1864, normally the final turn of the game.  With five attacks the Union had to conquer three key cities.  Mark played the General Pierre Toussaint Beauregard (CSN Card 88) card to build a battery in newly recaptured Richmond and also deployed the cream of Confederate leadership: Lee, Jackson and even Longstreet! (CSN Card 79), giving the South a total of six dice to defend the ruins of the capital.   He also got Memphis back.  Now, to win, the Union would have to once again take Richmond and the diminished Memphis as well as the very heavily fortified city of New Orleans.  

Fred and Brandon had drawn If It Takes All Summer (USN Card 36), which gives the Union a chance for a possible 13^th Turn.  That led a debate as to whether to go for the game-winning hat trick or attempt to storm Savannah and Charleston from newly captured Augusta.  They were held by three and two Batteries each, respectively, but possession of those ports would greatly improve the Union’s chances to add an extra game turn through play of that card.

Wary of pinning everything on a single die roll to get that extra turn, however, Fred and Brandon decided to go all-out for the three key Confederate cities in a final offensive surge.  One of those attacks was stymied by the Rebel play of Mud-Bound (CSN Card 59).  Undaunted, with Sherman, Grant and other cards in hand, on to Richmond, Memphis and New Orleans they came….

 Damn Yankees – they won all three fights, winning the game with but one attack still left in hand…

Rebel Raiders Replay: 1862 Jump Start Part II: 1863 The Nightmare Year

The Developer & A Naval Historian Team Up Against the Designer in the 1862 Scenario

As noted in Part I, the South built up a strong crust defense and repulsed almost all of the Union’s attacks in 1862, yet despite an initial “happy time” was all but swept from the seas.  On to 1863:  The Nightmare Year

1863 was a nightmare for the South on land.  The Union broke through the crust defense, playing Three Cigars (USN Card 45) which stopped Stonewall Jackson and any Confederate cards from being played and enabled the Northern capture of Richmond. On the following turn the Union cracked the line at Chattanooga – despite a stout defense of three Batteries and J.E. Johnston – and used Grant and Sherman  (USN Cards 8 and 50) and other cards to dash down to Atlanta.  Suddenly there were no arsenals to build Batteries and very few Blockade Runners to bring in cargo. There were also fewer Raiders to destroy Union commerce for Victory Points – and even if more had survived, each turn’s Supply Roll penalties for losing Atlanta and Richmond, as well as the regular one die roll (three dice in all each turn!) would have rendered their point contributions moot.

Thus, the rest of 1863 and into 1864 were very difficult for the Confederacy but Mark did not despair; he mounted inspired counterattacks to keep the South viable. The Union had built a cordon around Richmond by seizing Fredericksburg, Norfolk and Goldsboro but Lee and Jackson nonetheless staged a whirlwind campaign, first recapturing Goldsboro with a regular counter-attack and then Richmond itself with The South Shall Rise (CSN Card 107) to regain the capital of the Confederacy. After Island No. 10’s capture, successive waves of Yankee Ironclads and gunboats conquered Memphis, which the South successfully retook with a Counterattack.

The Union responded to this last Rebel Western Theatre offensive success by marching west out of Union-held Atlanta to seize Montgomery and Vicksburg via its land approach and then on to capture the Fort of Baton Rouge.   This was complemented, after several failures, by Farragut at long last capturing the fort guarding New Orleans from the Gulf. As the nightmare of 1863 came to an end, the South pinned its hopes on a pair of Virginia gentlemen hunkering down in a smoldering Richmond, and on New Orleans, which with its defense of three Batteries, a Gunboat, and an Ironclad though isolated remained defiant and unbowed. 

Tomorrow: 1864 the year the Union players Loose the Fateful Lightning....

Rebel Raiders Updated on VASSAL

Rebel Raiders Updated on VASSAL

A big Rebel Raiders' thanks to Joel Toppen, for making Rebel Raiders available on VASSAL and for once again updating it!

This is his announcement today of the update:

Version 1.3 of the Rebel Raiders VASSAL module is available:http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Rebel_Raiders_on_the_High_Seas

Modifications include:
1. Made cargo counters smaller so they don't obscure MPs when stacked on ships.
2. Added Load/Unload functionality to Blockade Runners. Load will dispatch a cargo piece.
3. Added individual "Draw Cards" buttons to each hand window.
4. Added mouse-over zoom to hand windows.

Module:Rebel Raiders on the High Seas - VASSAL

www.vassalengine.org

2. Some Confederate cards say to reshuffle into deck at the end of the next turn. I've created two "deck" spaces to aid in staging these cards back into the deck.

The Healing and Teaching Power of Board Games

My "Napoleonic Wars" Cited as Useful in "Dealing With Stress" and for "Leadership Lessons"

Award-winning fellow wargamer  and noted business consultant Scott Pfeiffer featured my Napoleonic Wars boardgame in an article on his company's blog.  Entitled "Dealing With Stress: Lessons from a Boardgame,"  Scott not only said many complimentary things about it ("Trust me, this is a great game,") but also demonstrated how games, and my game in particular, can help teach people and the companies they run or work for some good lessons in how to deal with stress, especially in hard times.

For the full article, please go to http://marshallfredrickco.com/On_Business/stress-boardgame/

On a related note, consultant Richard Bliss mentioned my Napoleonic Wars in his piece in Forbes entitled "Juicy Leadership Lessons...From Boardgames?"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/netapp/2013/07/31/leadership-lessons-boardgames/

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Hudson's Hideout Interviews Mark McLaughlin

10 Questions with game designer Mark McLaughlin

Posted by Jason F

Want to know what goes into the game design process?  Jason F of the wargaming blog site Hudson's Hideout posted an interview with me  (see link).  I just got back from the WBC game convention in Lancaster, and tomorrow will resume regular/historical postings etc.


http://hudsonshideout.blogspot.com/2013/08/10-questions-with-game-designer-mark.html

What Gamers Are Saying about Rebel Raiders:

“Fun and pretty darn grounded historically;”  “what an ingenious game!” 

“Simple to play, very good for solitaire…thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

 Gamers continue to say good things about Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Here are just a few comments we have received this week:

Panzer Digest magazine: “Fun and pretty darn grounded historically;” 

-“Katie and I welcome Mark McLaughlin – designer of that truly awesome game at GMT: Rebel Raiders.  It’s both fun and pretty darn grounded historically considering the scale – and keeping it playable!”

Michael Syrett  (from Scotland):   “Simple to play, very good for solitaire…thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

  

“As a veteran board gamer and purchaser of GMT products (I have 30 of your games), I’d like to congratulate Mark McLaughlin and Fred Schachter on their excellent new offering Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  The naval war between the States has been the one aspect of ACW gaming that has been sadly neglected.  This game, along with Iron & Oak, more than fills the gap.  It is simple to play, very good for solitaire – yet covers most of the key events.  It is right up there among my top five favourite games.  Many thanks for taking the risk and breaking new ground.”

  

Paul Pressler (on Consimworld):  “what an ingenious game!”  “We have had a really great time!”

 My brother and I just finished playing four straight games of Rebel Raiders starting in 1861 each time.  We have had a really great time!  What an ingenious game! It’s easy to play but really brings out a flavor for the war and covers aspects of the war never covered by other games on the war.  Covering the Blockade Running, Confederate Raiders aspects of the war lets the war be seen in its full international scope, which helps one to fully understand the conflict.  Good job on that!  The assortment of Confederate and Union cards was well thought out and guaranteed that each game was different from the other.”

Boardgamegeek Praises, Recommends Rebel Raiders in After Action Report

In an after action report posted on June 3, on Boardgamegeek,  J.R. Tracy calls Rebel Raiders on the High Seas:  "a surprisingly light and breezy (in a good way) treatment of a sprawling topic. The vast scope of the naval war was captured in a way that still left room for a little tactical nuance in terms of deployment and combat resolution. The cards add a lot of flavor...."

To read the after action report (which begins with a brief AAR of a short Advanced Squad Leader game) go to:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/20077/aar-3-june-2013-advanced-squad-leader-rebel-raid

More Praise for Rebel Raiders:

"A very entertaining game," says John Bolash in a posting last week on ConSimWorld.  "Oodles of choices to make and opportunities for variation."

...and this from Steve Duke, commenting on the postings on my blog of the  Replay of the game between Naval Historian Brandon Musler and myself (which will resume tomorrow with Turn 6)....

"I think it says a lot (in a good way) that the designer wants to play his game after all the toil to produce it. I hear sometimes/often that is not the case."

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 4)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left our happy warriors,, the Union had taken Louisville only to suffer a horrifying defeat at Nashville – costing them 10 Victory Points and a key Card.  The South, however, is not smiling too broadly, as the Blockade is tightening and the Union is capturing Blockade Runners almost as fast as the Confederacy can build them…

Turn 4 – April 1862   The Battle of Island No. 10

The South’s joy over holding Nashville is tempered by the loss of FOUR Blockade Runners, all fully loaded with 2 VP each!  Still, despite those losses 10 VP of cargo make it through the blockade, and the Raiders manage to squeeze 3 more VP.     The South places the Ironclad built last turn in Memphis, and spends 20 VP to start building another Ironclad.  Once again, a Raider and four Blockade Runners are built. (As it is now 1862, two of those Blockade Runners may be and are built in foreign ports).

Beauregard  (Card 88) shows up, allowing placement of a third battery instead of the usual two a turn, and these go in Nashville, Chattanooga and Memphis, as Brandon has been steadily building up Ironclads and gunboats in the West.

Brandon, repulsed by land, is now eager to push on the river, as he has accumulated a strong fleet.

The Battle for Island No. 10 --

Brandon takes his Cairo fleet of 1 Ironclad and 5 Gunboats to fight the two Rebel Gunboats and Battery at Island No. 10.

On the first round, two Union and one Confederate Gunboat are sunk.

On the second round, another Union Gunboat goes down – but the Yankees destroy the Battery and sink the other Rebel Gunboat.

This paves the way for the attack on the fort space itself.  As it is now 1862 the North is no longer at a disadvantage and is rolling two dice a turn in combat, the same number of basic dice as the South. To make sure the Confederacy can’t change the odds Brandon plays “Three Cigars” (Card 45) (as that Union card prevents the South from playing cards in the fight.    Island No. 10 falls; it is the first piece of Southern territory to be reintegrated into the Union.   (See photo of game map below).

…but not without company; St. Augustine falls to the Union Navy in an amphibious assault.   It is the first Southern city to fall.

 All the South can do to take its revenge is to play Royal Navy (Card  62) (as allowed by the previous play of the Trent Card) – forcing the North to build 3 Screw Sloops to put on the Royal Navy card  (to “watch” the British fleet that was assembled at Halifax).

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 3)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left our intrepid gamers, the Union had been rebuffed twice at Louisville, and the Confederacy was enjoying the first “happy time” running the blockade…

Turn 3 – December 1861

The “happy time” is no more.  The Thin Blue Line rounds up THREE Blockade Runners in the Caribbean (one fewer than the South built last turn), and all of those were stacked with cargo, so it is a double loss!  The remainder manage to unload a mere 7 VP – most of which is eaten up by the attrition roll in the Supply Phase – and the two Raiders contribute nothing, finding no targets to sink or ransom.

 (NB: The South wants VP to build extra ships and defenses, buy extra cards and counterattacks – but also needs VP to keep getting three cards a turn).

Fortunately the Tredegar Iron Works  (Card 95) gives the South an extra battery, one of which goes to setting down an Ironclad.  (The others are placed in Savannah and, as seems fitting, Richmond, where those Iron Works were situated).    The South also builds a Raider and 3 Blockade Runners (to replace the 3 it lost), and spends 20 VP to build an Ironclad.

Brandon, despite not liking the odds, decides to go for Louisville again.  The South wins but Brandon plays “Lack of Brains” (Card 7) forcing a re-roll.  This turns the battle around and the Union takes Louisville!

Heady with victory, Brandon decides to rush for Nashville, which has no Battery, so it is two Rebel to one Yankee die.  The Union rolls a “1” and the South a “6”, which instead of a loss of merely 5 VP is doubled to 10 by play of Card 102 - Matthew Brady. To add insult to injury, this card also requires the Union to discard a card at random from its hand as further penance for its battlefield loss.   

At the start of the Union Build Phase the Confederacy plays Corruption (Card 58) – increasing the cost to build Union ships this turn and forcing the discard of Yankee Guns (Card 3) – which gives the Union Screw Sloops and Ironclads some re-rolls.

The North builds 3 Screw Sloops….which cost 2 each not just 1 due to Corruption.

Rebel Raiders Replay  (Turn 2)

Designer Mark McLaughlin as CSA; Naval Historian Brandon Musler as USA

When we last left our plucky warriors, the South had taken Louisville and strengthened Wilmington, and had a fleet of Blockade Runners ready to race in to deliver their cargo…

Turn 2- August 1861

Although one Blockade Runner is caught, the rest scurry through to unload 16 VPs of cargo – truly an auspicious beginning to the Southern “happy time.”  (If the South can’t make the VP in these early turns, they never will). Confederate Batteries are placed in New Berne and Key West, an aptly named “key” port as it allows Blockade Runners from all directions a refuge – and is a short hop for in-and-out runs to the many nearby foreign ports. Four Blockade Runners and a Raider are built.

The North decides that despite the poor odds the Union will try to take Louisville:  even with the South rolling three dice (two for being Southern, one for the battery) vs. his one die, the first attack is a close run thing, but the Union loses by 1 and gives the South a VP.  Second attack, however, is a rout:  a difference of 5 on the dice – and a corresponding gain of 5 VP for the South.

Brandon takes this as corroborative evidence of his being correct in the initial assumption that attacking this early was not a good idea.   He spreads out some gunboats, sliding down the coast to set up the inshore blockade, with Screw Sloops in the outer blockade.  A thin line, but a lengthening lasso nevertheless, as there is now only one port on the entire Atlantic coast that does not have at least one Yankee ship in its Blockade Station.. 

Brandon plays Card 31 – John Dahlgren for free Screw Sloops and Yankee Guns – and builds 2 Ironclads and a gunboat.

To be continued…..

 "Inside the Box" of Rebel Raiders by The Gaming Gang - and some "Wow" Praise

Jeff McAleer of The Gaming Gang has an 11-minute "inside the box" preview of Rebel Raiders.  His preview is very upbeat, and he says especially nice things about the Playbook  - "I love the GMT Playbook!" says Jeff, because it includes "historical info,"  "how to play the game," and "rules for advanced play."   All of that, says Jeff, "really helps turn a light bulb on in my head."

http://thegaminggang.com/2013/05/tgg-inside-the-box-rebel-raiders-on-the-high-seas-from-gmt-games-video/


Two AARs of the game were posted on Consimworld this weekend.

"We'll definitely play again"

Allen Hill in his report called it "A fun game, not least for providing detail to the naval campaign while abstracting the land struggle.  The Union player has to be prepared to watch blockade runners and raiders roll successfully time after time, with nothing to do for it, but then the tide turns as the Union economy and land forces grow in strength and effectiveness. We'll definitely play again!"

"All I can say was....WOW!"...."What a great strategic game!"

Pat Kairns wrote in his comments: "It's rare that a game 'grabs me' as quickly as RR."...and "This IMHO is a MUST play game!"  "What a great strategic game" and "had a blast!"

A Game in New York City --- After Action Report to Follow

Yesterday I went to New York City and played Rebel Raiders with my friend Brandon, who knows more about all things naval than any other person (save one) I know. (That other one is Christopher Vorder Bruegge, another old friend who also served as historical consultant for the game).

It was a lot of fun to finally play with my own game in its published form.   I will be posting turn-by-turn after action reports of the game over the next week, in between "This Day in Rebel Raiders History" and other entries.  I figure it is better to present it in small bites, rather than put it all on the table at once.   Suffice it to say that we start out nice and slow, but the game gathers speed quickly, and Turn 7 (April 1863) was the real thriller -- where we dumped half of our hands in one battle.....

More anon....in the meantime, a good Memorial Day Weekend to all....

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in my game, GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas,  

May 16, 1863

            Historical Event:  Champion’s Hill.  Two Union corps under generals McPherson and McClernand repeatedly attack Confederate forces on Champion’s Hill.  Although the combat is indecisive, Confederate general Pemberton decides to retreat – but instead of marching to link up with J.E. Johnston as ordered, he decides to fall back upon Vicksburg.  It is a fatal decision, as not only with the South lose the city in two months, Pemberton’s 20,000-man army will fall with it.

            Game Connection:  Vicksburg is one of the three key cities, along with New Orleans and Memphis, which the Union needs to take to control the Mississippi.  Taking those cites not only costs the Confederate player much needed supplies (represented in victory points lost through die rolls each turn)  but is also one of the key conditions of victory for the Union.

GMT Sale -- Get Rebel Raiders for Half Price!

GMT is having a big sale - for a limited time order one or two games and get them at half off the list price...This offer applies to Rebel Raiders and Iron & Oak as well as their other games...this means you can game the Civil War on the strategic level with Rebel Raiders, and fight out most of the naval actions tactically with Iron & Oak  (as the rules in Rebel Raiders' playbook describes) -- all for the price of just one game!

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Hi guys! We're having a ONE WEEK sale!!!! Here are the details: GMT Games Twitter Celebration Sale!! For those of you with Twitter accounts, you may have noticed that our account on Twitter (and Instagram) is now live. We invite you to Follow us to keep up with the GMT news on a daily basis. Here's the link: https://twitter.com/gmtgames We're happy to have expanded our social media outreach this week, and a bunch of you guys have helped us with background details and information and also with spreading the word, so we're going to have a "Twitter Celebration Sale" for EVERYONE to mark the occasion and to thank you all for your help with spreading the word and helping out with our social media expansion. Details: Between now and next Wednesday (May 22nd), you can make ONE ORDER with either ONE or TWO IN-STOCK GMT GAMES, and get those games for 50% OFF the retail (or sale - the games on our Specials page DO qualify) price. Note: this only applies to IN-STOCK games, and only games from GMT, not from the third-party companies (Consimpress, UGG, etc) that we rep on our website. Coupon Code: When you place your order on our website (www.gmtgames.com) or with our office ladies (800-523-6111 or 559-583-1236 or via online chat from our website), use the following Coupon Code at Checkout to get your discount: TW1350 Normal Shipping Costs apply. I hope you guys can use this opportunity to pick up a game or two that you've been wanting at a terrific price! Enjoy!