In Magnificent Style is live (Charge chitless)
The deluxe and streamlined edition for In Magnificent Style: Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg is live on Kickstarter and the campaign will run for two weeks. Pledge levels that add one or two other solitaire games from Worthington Publishing are available as well.
Our preview below was posted on 16 July.
Hermann Luttmann's push-your-luck solitaire wargame In Magnificent Style: Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg is getting a deluxe treatment from Worthington Publishing. It will launch on Kickstarter on July 18. (Update: Postponed to July 25).
The game picturing the doomed and desperate Confederate attack on July 3, 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg (American Civil War) was published in 2012 by Victory Point Games. It is out of print and hard to find nowadays. The new edition will have a larger mounted board, with player aids printed on it, special dice (for movement), large counters and a counter tray. Gameplay has been streamlined a bit as well. Instead of chits for events, there are now cards - so there's room to describe the effects, which speeds up gameplay. You can choose the level of randomness you want by picking a way to shuffle in the "reshuffle all events" card. The math of close (bayonet) combat has been simplified and will get easier to memorise.
You've got three generals each commanding three brigades, that will all try to move up a column of the map towards the Union soldiers. Every turn (there are five) you roll the movement dice for each brigade, and see if they succeed and at what cost. Random fire markers are used for the amount of damage your attacks have (if any) and the event cards bring even more chaos to the field - some of it good, some of it bad. They also bring some historical flavour, as do the features and obstacles on the map.
The preview page for the campaign is up on Kickstarter and shows an early bird pricing. Be aware that if you live outside the USA, you'll be responsible for paying any customs and VAT charges and waiting for retail may the smart thing to do.
A great interview with the designer on The Players Aid reveals that now that Luttmann is retired, we will be seeing even more games by him real soon. Like the new edition for Miracle at Dunkerque (previously A Spoiled Victory), a co-op horror game, and a fourth game in the Invaders SF series by Tiny Battle Publishing. But first, this deluxe new edition of In Magnifcent Style.