I’m a bit behind the times here as the Mentioned in Dispatches “Annual Compass Games Holiday Catalog” episode from the Armchair Dragoons has already released. I was name-dropped at a few points in the episode and since I was not on that august panel for the discussion I want to take this opportunity to make a few comments of my own.
I warn you up front that I have a Love/Hate relationship with the Compass Games 2022 Holiday catalog. I LOVE that I get to see all the new (and old) games in one place. I LOVE the pricing on some of the items. However, I HATE to see the various dates. I strongly agree with some of the comments on the podcast; talking about delivery dates is very difficult and some of these games have been in the catalog FOREVER.
Preorders
- 2040: An American Insurgency (Early 2023) – Why? Because I loved Fortress America…
- Air and Armor: Operational Armored Warfare in Europe, Designer Signature Edition (Mid 2023) – Because I’m catching up on ‘Cold War Gone Hot’ titles I missed in the 80’s…
- Blue Water Navy: The Pacific (Late 2023) – I was name-dropped on this one and I wouldn’t be RockyMountainNAVY if I didn’t want another Cold War naval game…
- Breaking the Chains 2.0 (Mid 2023) – I own the original BtC and always have enjoyed this hypothetical future naval conflict…
- Brief Border Wars 2 (Late 2023) – I love Brian Train’s Brief Border Wars 1 and look forward to the next installment in this very exciting game system…
- Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea (Early 2023) – Jonathan Southard and navy; need I say more? **UPDATE- The game has gone to Kickstarter which means it’s likely 60 days or so from delivery.
- Eastern Front Operational Battles (Late 2023) – A throwback to the old SPI quad games; four games for the price of one!
- Seapower and the State (Late 2023) – The folks on the podcast didn’t seem to realize that this is a do-over from the earlier (1982) game that, as I understand it, started out as a “professional” wargame for the military that went commercial.
- Series 120 – WWII Campaigns: 1940, 1941, and 1942 (Late 2023) – The GDW version of a (almost) SPI quad game; the ‘120’ means it is meant to be playable in 120 minutes…
- War in the South Atlantic (Early 2024) – A Falklands War game? SIGN ME UP! (I will order once it shows up on the website).
Not shown in the catalog but also apparently forthcoming sometime in the future from Compass Games is Divine Wind: Pacific Naval Operations in World War II by designers Frank Davis and Ron Toelke. A Twitter post that includes a mock-up of the game box was posted in late October.
While the many wargame titles are exciting, I’m a bit disappointed by these timelines. The fact most are loaded into late 2023 is more a reflection of what titles interest me than production planning by Compass but still:
- Early 2023 – 2 (See Carrier Battle above)
- Mid 2023 – 2
- Late 2023 – 5
- 2024 – 1
While I fully acknowledge the dates are a SWAG* at least it’s a bit better than the nebulous popularity contest that the GMT Games P500 has seemingly devolved into.
Second Looks – Games on Sale that I Might Acquire
- Paper Wars 83 – Rising Sun Over China (Blowout Priced) – ???
- Paper Wars 85 – RUSSIA FALLING (Blowout Priced) – Timely?
- Command and Colors Jacobite Rising (Holiday Price) – Bargain?
- Brotherhood and Unity (Holiday Price) – Heard some good things about this one…
- Korea Fire and Ice (Blowout Price) – Korean War games are a thing of mine…
Thinking…
Would be interested in hearing your comments on the 2022 Compass Games Holiday Catalog. Jump on over to the forums at Armchair Dragoons and leave a comment or here is you like!
* Scientific Wild A$$ Guess
Feature image courtesy
RockyMountainNavy.com © 2007-2022 by Ian B is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Rocky Mountain Navy Gamer 
You mentioned you own and have played Breaking the Chains (v1). Can you give me perspective to me as a South China Sea owner why they’re making a BTC v2? A few years ago when I ordered SCS, I distinctly remember reading that SCS was supposed to improve on the shortcomings of BTC gameplay? I’m sure I read comments along those lines in an interview somewhere online with the game’s designer. What gives?
It’s a matter of SCALE. SCS is 45nm/hex and 3-7hours/turn. BtC is 70nm/hex and 1-day turns. I think of SCS as closer to a tactical game whereas BtC is more operational.
Gee, everyone’s talking about this great catalogue, where’s my copy?
Maybe they don’t bother sending it to anyone outside the USA.
I was a bit surprised to hear “late 2023” for Brief Border Wars 2: the games were done and turned in long ago, the art and components all got signed off in the spring (done by Knut Grunitz, I think you will like the look of them), we were just waiting for John to finish laying out the rulebooks and player aids.
Oh well, production pipeline problems for everything I guess…
Ugh 😣. As bad as the long timelines are for us consumers they are obviously much worse for you designers.
Well, if I want to avoid the wait for publication, then I put the game files up right away on my website for free print and play, or on WargameVault for a modest price ($8)… but then nobody downloads or buys!