American Presidential election politics are a game unto themselves, and designers Wes Erni and Ben Madison present a fascinating solitaire game that takes you from the balloons dropping at the national party conventions to election night results in about 30 minutes.

Filled with headline-making events, debates, fundraising, campaigning, advertising, “opposition research” (i.e., dirty tricks) and more, in Swing States you can run operations as either political party, Democratic or Republican, selecting your candidates (either the actual nominees, or your “fantasy” political ticket candidates if you wish to see how they would fare during the elections) and leading them on to victory (or obscurity).

There are many roads that lead the required electoral votes that must be garnered among America’s “swing states” (i.e., those states that are closely contested and can be won by either side). The contest can be brutal, but it is very engaging to fight as the ebb and flow of politics is negotiated. With plenty of risk/reward strategies for you to explore and mix-and-match as news unfurls and political polling shows your rise or drop in standing among the five regions of America, your test is to see how well you can make decision during the heat of electoral battle from your party’s political “war room.”

When the game ends, the election results are shown on an Electoral Map of the United States, familiar from watching every news channel on election night. You will watch nervously as “toss up” states turn either Democrat blue or Republican red, and then count the final electoral vote tally to see if your side has reached the magic number of 270 Electoral Votes to claim the White House. Will this election night send you to bed early with a landslide decision, or are you facing and nail-biting all-night precinct-by-precinct count of the closest contests? In Swing States 2012 you will know in mere minutes as the results of your hard-fought election campaigning are soon revealed.

We are looking for playtesters not only to put the gameplay, system and rules through their paces, of course, but also to run elections with their “fantasy” candidate tickets to make sure they give the right “feel” and to help ensure a balanced presentation in the always-delicate political subject matter presented (not so much to make sure that it is completely unbiased, but at least roughly equal in bias is what we’re going for).

If you are interested in becoming a Victory Point Games playtester for this game, you need to read this article and follow its directions about contacting us. Thanks for your consideration!

The first in the Death or Glory! series designed by Hermann Luttmann, In Magnificent Style is a solitaire game depicting the final desperate Confederate attack on 3 July 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, popularly known as Pickett’s Charge.
As General Longstreet, you must decide how quickly to press your troops across this deadly open ground before allowing the men to regroup for another bound. But time is not on your side, and the longer your stalwart soldiers remain in this maelstrom of enemy fire.. the more dangerous it becomes, and the less likely they will arrive with the verve and numbers required to carry the day.

With only five turns in which to reach your objective and attack, how far can you push your luck? Your options are simple: Death or Glory!

Click here for all the details and to order In Magnificent Style.

That Was the Fortnight That Was

Levee en Masse for The Masses

We begin this update with the news from our digital development department, where the app game version of John Welch’s hit boardgame, the States of Siege^TM title, Levee en Masse, is rapidly moving along the production track. Here you see the game promotional mini-poster. We gave away copies of this poster (click to enlarge the pictures) at the recent GMT West gathering that we attended, and we will be handing out more at GAMEX (in Los Angeles on the last weekend of May) and ConsimWorld Expo (in Tempe, Arizona, on the last weekend of June, which will be very close to this game’s release date). At GMT West, we were very happy to show our alpha build of digital Levee en Masse to the growing graying gathering of grognards assembled, and we are happy to report that it was very well-received there.

Currently, our alpha version of digital Levee en Masse is playable from start-to-finish, with the user interface and combat screens all functioning properly. While the game runs through continuing in-house testing (and if you visit Victory Point Games these days, you can expect to have an iPad placed in your hands to help test it), there are still some important peripheral features being worked on. These include the tutorial (where a French revolutionary solder explains the game to you), various “cheese” screens illustrating the many different endings that players might achieve in the game, and the incorporation of the game’s audio.

Straight From the Horse

If you want to find out about our latest news and product releases, click on the link below:

Yes, it has been two weeks, but our staff has been extremely busy raising our production standards to Gold Banner edition games and getting them shipped out the door. The wonderful comments that we’re receiving about our new component quality from the Leuthen games arriving in people’s mail boxes (and from those who saw the game at GMT West this weekend) have been very encouraging. Stick with us, everyone, The Little Game Company is going places!

Until our next update, we wanted to share this with you. At GMT West, the veteran wargamers assembled discussed our new, thick/dense counters and wondered how they compared with other notably thick-countered games, such as those from Yaquinto or Academy Games. Well, see for yourself.

Below, on the left is a stack of three counters from Yaquinto’s Battle: The Game of Generals, in the center is Academy Games’ Conflict of Heroes: Awakening the Bear!, and on the right are three playtest counters from Nathan Hansen’s upcoming pirates game (the playtest kit drew a lot of attention at GMT West, by the way).

So far, our counters are stacking up as the thickest ever…

We will be back next Sunday with a complete report, including news about our works-in-progress and our next release (which should be Hermann Luttmann’s In Magnificent Style) – and remember, all of our new product releases going forward will be Gold Banner editions. That and more on Sunday, 6 April.

Drums & Muskets is a game system designed by Frank Chadwick that recreates battles of the 18th Century, from roughly the adoption of the socket bayonet through the French Revolution. Leuthen is the first game in the series.

The very existence of the Hohenzollern monarchy is in question. Prussia hovers on the brink of collapse after a string of defeats as the winter of 1757/58 approaches. Frederick throws his small army against an Austrian force nearly twice its size with time only for one desperate battle to redeem his fortune before the snows fall.

Designer Frank Chadwick has created an elegant set of simple game mechanics that seemlessly integrate command control, maneuver and morale with the uncertainties of a combat. The battles of The Age of Reason are yours to refight with the Drums & Muskets series!

Click here for all the details and to order Leuthen: Frederick's Greatest Victory.

That Was the Fortnight That Was

Under Construction: VPG's New Look

Readers of this column know that, in our last update, we have moved into a new office building at the same street address as our old location (it's just a larger unit in the same complex). As we settle into our new digs, the pictures are hung, the coffee mugs are arranged in the kitchen, and Lego figures adorn the desk tops throughout, we thought this would also be a good time mark the various changes being made by tweaking our business logo (shown here). This is the new Crimson Banner of VPG 2.0, so read this column carefully to learn all about the big changes and great new games in development. But first...

If you would like to take a little virtual walk-through of our new office, this short You Tube video will take you there:

If It Has Been Two Weeks, There Must Be a New Game

If you want to find out about our latest news and product releases, click on the link below:

Join us where the gaming elite meet to tweet @VPGame on Twitter.

The latest product and company news is told regularly about The Little Game Company That Could.

Victory Point Games

Disaster on Kangchenjunga (or "K13" for short) is the third game in Tom Decker's 'Disaster on' series. As an internationally renowned expedition leader, you are anxious to gain prestige by leading a group of high profile climbers from your country to the top of Kangchenjunga, one of the tallest peaks in the world.

But that’s all disinformation.

You have orders to recover secret plans from a wrecked intelligence gathering plane, located on the side of Kangchenjunga. However, one of your team members is a spy in the employ of your rival nation. Reveal the spy, recover the plans, and save your nation.

Your decisions will not only determine the lives of your climbers, but may also stop the Cold War from heating up. Think you have what it takes? Play Disaster on Kangchenjunga to find out!

Click here for all the details and to order Disaster on Kangchenjunga.

HUGS

HUGS, by designer John Poniske, is a 2-4 player game in which you are a member of a big family and you love everyone... so you give lots of hugs and earn points by doing so. Of course, some people need more hugs than others, and then there are some people and some things you want to avoid hugging.. but can you tell the difference? See how many points you can earn

This quick 15-minute game for both parents and kids is enjoyable and in need of playtesters! Grab your friends and family and sign up today!

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If you are interested in becoming a Victory Point Games playtester for any of these games, you need to read this article and follow its directions about contacting us. Thanks for your consideration!

For many moons, the representatives of the Great Races in Queen Elyra's Council laid forth their claims to the crown in her absence. Many have fought with brute strength, strategy, and cunning in order to claim and restore the Crown of Chip.

Only now, a new army approaches from the sky. The Falcon Army covers the ground in shadow with their expansive wings, seeking to dive down and stake their claim.

From the quick paced, deep decision rich, abstract strategy Battlesson^TM game, Battle of 4 Armies, its expansion kit has finally been brought to the fantastical battlefield. In the Battle of 4 Armies expansion kit: The Battle is Joined, a new Falcon Army joins the throes of battle and adds another winning element to the game. Each Hero (including the new army of flying units) now has a set of abilities that are both bold and cunning, giving you that extra chance to be victorious.

With a new victory condition and great abilities at hand, how will you seek to claim what you believe to be rightfully yours? Find out with the Battle of 4 Armies expansion kit: The Battle is Joined!

Note: This Expansion Kit is not a ‘stand alone’ game. You must own a copy of Battle of 4 Armies to use it.

Click here for all the details and to order Battle of 4 Armies expansion kit: The Battle is Joined.

Out of the VPG bunkers comes the Victory in the West pack, just for you! From introductory-level to standard wargame mechanics, designers James F. Dunnigan (The Drive on Metz), Paul Koenig (Market-Garden series: Arnhem and Eindhoven), and Paul Rohrbaugh (Operation: Veritable) have brought you this great bundle of wargames that has a little of everything for everyone. Come out victorious with 4 games at 1 low price!

Click here for all the details and to order the Victory in the West Pack.

G*M*S Magazine has featured a podcast interview with Alan Emrich, talking all about himself and Victory Point Games!

Listen here now!

If you’re interested in trying your hand at designing a game, then this Making a Victory Point Game series of articles is written for you. It provides more information on specific subjects about designing games for VPG. By reading them, you should be well on your way to reaching your goal of becoming a published VPG game designer!