OmniBlog 26-1 ~ New Year Gaming

From the Past…

By the numbers, in 2025 I took in 102 wargames or boardgames (core games and expansions) and 118 tabletop roleplaying game products. I did not keep a good count of books taken in but, as seen below, I have 16 awaiting “in the stack” which is maybe 40% of the total intake this year (counting only books and not the innumerable journal articles and news articles also consumed).

…in the Present…

Games in hand that I need to work on (in order of placement on Shelf of Shame).

1. Command at Sea 5th Edition with Birth of the PLA Navy supplement both from Admiralty Trilogy Group in 2025.
2. ASAT (Paper Forge, 2014) (PnP)
3. Chernobyl: Avoid the Nuclear Disaster (PrintandGame, 2025) (PnP)
4. 1814 Empires End (Against the Odds, 2025)
5. Five Parsecs From Home: Tactics – Expansion 1: Field Commander’s Guide
6. The Defense: The Siege of Cadiz 1625 in C3i Magazine Nr. 38 (2025)
7. There Must be Victory (ATO, 2009) (for The Armchair Dragoons (ACD); picked up at Fall Assembly swap table)
8. #Maneuver Warfare (The Dietz Foundation, 2025) – for ACD?
9. Naval SITREP #69 (October 2025) from Admiralty Trilogy Group
10. Next War: Taiwan 2nd Edition from GMT Games (2025) – forthcoming in a “Wargame SITREP” posting in January
11. Modern Armored Warfare: Desert Storm 1991 and Croatia 1995 (Bonsai Games, 2025 – need to translate rulebook)
12. Hardwar Quickplay (Digital, Modiphius, 2025)
13. IADS: The Game IOC 2025 (LoRokka Games, 2019/2025) – ACD candidate?
14. Fortress Europa (Avalon Hill, 1978)
15. Italy ’43 (GMT Games, 2025)
16. Plague of Dracula (Relative Range, 2025) – forthcoming in January for ACD
17. Iron Debris System – Space Battles in the 22nd-23rd Century – aka “Doujin Yamato” (Bonsai Games, 2025 – Link to 2019 version) – translation needed
18. Star Wars Villainous: Cold Tactics (Ravensburger, 2025) – any game with Grand Admiral Thrawn is technically a wargame, eh?
19. Undaunted 2200: Callisto (Osprey Games, 2024)

My reading bookshelf is also sagging under a heavy load:

• NONFICTION
  • At Sea Against the Soviet Fleet: The Evolution of U.S. Navy Operational Intelligence in the Cold War by Brian H. Leese (Naval Institute Press, 2025)
    • I am considering this for another extensive “History to Wargame” post where I compare how different wargames portray the various epochs the operational intelligence art.
  • Battle for Bellorussia: The Red Army’s Forgotten Campaign of October 1943-April 1944 by David M. Glantz with Mary Elizabeth Glantz (University of Kansas Press, 2016)
    • Thinking about pulling out Ted Raicer’s The Dark Valley: The East Front Campaign 1941-1945 (GMT Games, 2013) to see if it can assist in reading the book.
  • God and Seapower: The Influence of Religion on Alfred Thayer Mahan (Suzanne Geissler, Naval Institute Press, 2015)
  • How the United States Would Fight China: The Risks of Pursuing a Rapid Victory by Franz-Stefan Gady of CNAS (Oxford, 2025)
    • Teaming with Next War: Taiwan 2nd Edition from GMT Games (2025) for a an extended “Wargame SITREP” post.
  • “Korean War Collection”
    • Ebb and Flow: November 1950 – July 1951 by Billy C. Mossman (Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1990)
    • South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu by Roy E. Appleman (Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1992)
    • Which Korean War wargame to choose?
  • “Mercenary Collection”
    • Congo Mercenary by Mike Hoare (Greenhill Books, 2022)
    • Gunship Ace: The Wars of Neal Ellis, Helicopter Pilot and Mercenary by Al J. Venter (Casemate Publishers, 2011)
  • Naval Power in Action: Seizing the Initiative in the New Cold War with China by Brent Sadler (Naval Institute Press, 2025)
    • While a part of me wants to use Next War: Taiwan 2nd Edition for yet another “Wargame SITREP” or “History to Wargame” segment I think going back to Red Dragon / Green Crescent Deluxe (Decision Games, 2024) likely offers equally interesting perspectives.
  • Spy Planes, Intruders, and Wild Weasels: Electronic Warfare in the Skies Over Vietnam by Thomas Wildenberg (Naval Institute Press, 2025)
    • Already planning a “History to Wargame” using Downtown: Air War Over Hanoi, 1965-1972 (GMT Games, 2004) and Dec 1972 – Linebacker II (Cadet Games, 2024).
  • The U.S. Army GHQ Maneuvers of 1941 by Christopher R. Gabel (U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1991)
    • This one will almost certainly “force” me to buy MANEUVERING TO WAR: The US 1941 Louisiana and Carolina Maneuvers (High Flying Dice Games, 2024).
  • War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and Crisis at Our Fingertips (Oxford University Press, 2025)
• FICTION
  • American Apocalypse: The Second American Civil War by Kurt Schlichter (2025)
    • Dare I use An American Insurgency (Compass Games, 2023)?
  • The Complete ALIEN Collection – The Shadow Archive (Titan Books, 2022)
  • Dancing With Destruction: When Worlds Collide edited by Jason Cordova (Baen Books, 2025)
  • Red Tide: A Novel of the Next Pacific War by M.P. Woodward (Naval Institute Press, 2025)

Tabletop roleplaying game (RPG) products I acquired that I need to dig into—both review and play (in order of acquisition):

1. HOSTILE Situation Report #019 Arachnoid [Digital -D] – Cepheus Engine (CE)
2. Invasion: En Garde [D] – Classic Traveller (CT)
3. Zaibatsu – for HOSTILE! [D] (CE)
4. Ghost in the Shell Roleplaying Quickstart [D]
5. ALIEN Evolved Kickstarter
   • ALIEN Hopes Last Day Starter Set
   • ALIEN Core Rules Evolved Edition (with solo-play “Last Survivor” rules)
   • ALIEN Rapture Protocol Cinematic Adventure
6. Ports of Entry: Starports in Clement Sector – for The Clement Sector [D] (CE)
7. T2000 Fanzine- You’re On Your Own No. 8 – [D] for Twilight: 2000 (T2K)
8. T2000 Fanzine- You’re On Your Own No. 9 [D] (T2K)
9. Bridge Building – [D] T2K
10. Orbital 2100
    • Orbital 2100 Third Edition Core Rulebook [D] (CE)
    • Orbital Adventure [D] (CE)
11. Scoundrels of Brixton: Savage Frontier (CE)

…for the Future

Translations

This past year I gained proficiency in using Large Language Models to translate wargame rules. The use of LLM provides me a quick translation; the real time sink is the effort needed to format the rules and add graphics. I am so much better at translating wargame rules now that I am going to go back and retranslate the Chinese rules for Joint All Domain Operation (War Drum Games, 2024).

On—or over—the horizon

Games on preorder of support pledged but not yet delivered (ordered by campaign/preorder date oldest to newest).

1. Eastern Front Operational Battles – Compass Games pre-paid preorder
2. Next War: Series Supplement #4 – GMT Games P500
3. Bladerunner RPG: Replicant Rebellion – Free League Publishing Kickstarter
4. Defiance: 2nd Russo-Ukrainian War 2022-? – GMT Games P500
5. Root: The Homeland Expansion – Leder Games Kickstarter
6. Model’s Counterattack – Sergio Schiavi Kickstarter
7. Arracourt -MMP Preorder
8. Red Storm: The Air War Over Central Germany, 1987 – GMT Games P500
9. Sweeping Satellites -The Dietz Foundation preorder
10. Littoral Commander: Australia – The Dietz Foundation preorder
11. Song for War: Mediterranean Theater – Invicta Rex Games Kickstarter
12. Battlegroup Clash: Baltics – direct preorder
13. Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific – 2nd Edition Upgrade Pack – The Dietz Foundation preorder (apparently all Upgrade Packs will be replaced with a COMPLETE second edition game!)
14. Next War: Flashpoints – GMT Games P500
15. 2025 Replacement Countersheet – GMT Games
16. Sinking Yamato – Compass Games Kickstarter
17. Rising Dragon: Platoon Level Combat in the Invasion of Taiwan – Flying Pig Games Kickstarter
18. Tiger Wings – Against the Odds Kickstarter

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Feature image courtesy RMN

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