Podcast appearances and mentions of volko ruhnke

In this episode of the Homo Ludens podcast, we bring you a collective review of Plantagenet, the latest game in Volko Ruhnke's Levy & Campaign Series, designed by Francisco Gradaille and published by GMT Games. Our Discord server members—supporters of the show—learned and played this intricate medieval wargame and now share their thoughts on the strategies, historical depth, and gameplay experience. Set during the Wars of the Roses, Plantagenet adds layers of political intrigue and shifting loyalties to the familiar Levy & Campaign system. To join future game reviews and support the show, head over to our Ko-Fi page: https://ko-fi.com/homoludens1871. A special thanks to GMT Games for providing a review copy of the game!

On Episode 7 of GMT Talk, Rachel and Luke chat with Volko Ruhnke, the father of the COIN series, about Labyrinth, COIN, Levy & Campaign, and his new design, Coast Watchers. We hope you enjoy! This episode was recorded on May 14, 2024.  Intro and outro music was composed and performed by Dan Pancaldi. Thanks Dan! ---------------------------------------- If you would like to watch the video version of the podcast, you can find it here. ---------------------------------------- Labyrinth series page: https://www.gmtgames.com/xsearch?searchterm=labyrinth COIN series page: https://www.gmtgames.com/c-36-coin-series.aspx#[PageNumber(0)|PageSize(50)|PageSort(Name)|DisplayType(Grid)] Levy & Campaign series page: https://www.gmtgames.com/c-92-levy-campaign-series.aspx#[PageNumber(0)|PageSize(50)|PageSort(Name)|DisplayType(Grid)] Coast Watchers P500 page: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-1102-coast-watchers.aspx Also, check out Volko's Hunt for Blackbeard Kickstarter page with Fort Circle: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fortcircle/hunt-for-blackbeard

This is a special episode consisting solely of my recent interview with designer Volko Ruhnke about designing series games. This interview took place live at the SD HistCon online convention in June 2024.There is also a video versionNoble Knight GamesThe best place to find out of print games without paying Ebay prices!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the Show.

In this news flash Ben talks to war game designer Volko Ruhnke about his new game, The Hunt for Blackbeard from Fort Circle Games. Support the kickstarter hereSupport 5G4D hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/five-games-for-doomsday--5631121/support.

The centerpiece of this episode was my interview with John Butterfield, but a few other things popped up.My trip to GMT West in April. Lots of pics!Another update and update kit for Hannibal and Hamilcar from PhalanxFranklin 1864 Kickstarter from Worthington New game company, Neva WargamesI will be interviewing Volko Ruhnke again, this time about another new game and how he designs game series, not just games. At SD Histcon's online conventionThe episode can also be viewed on YoutubeNoble Knight GamesThe best place to find out of print games without paying Ebay prices!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the Show.

In this classic episode Ben speaks to the inventor of the COIN system, Volko Ruhnke.Support the show hereBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/five-games-for-doomsday--5631121/support.

 Pushing Cardboard #29  The two big features this episode were my interview with Vez Arponen, designer of All Bridges Burning and the upcoming Order and Oportunity, and a look at the latest game in the Panzer series, North Africa. I'm happy to say this episode of Pushing Cardboard is sponsored by Noble Knight Games. Click here to go to their storefront. This link will let them know I sent you!  Some of the things we talked about this episode: Compass Kickstarter for a new game in WWI AfricaShiloh: The First Day is the next game in the Blind Sword series from Revolution Games.GMT February 2024 Newsletter GMT March 2024 Newsletter  P500 for Volko Ruhnke's new game Coast WatchersA Most Fearful Sacrifice KS for a third printingBeware the Ides of March announced from HollandspieleVuca now shipping locally in North America?Don't miss our live Teach and Play of Point Blank: V is for Victory with designer Sean Druelinger! Click on the image below to go to the youtube page. Sponsorship I'm happy to announce Pushing Cardboard is now sponsored by Noble Knight Games! I went from being a happy customer to a sponsored outlet very easily. I encourage you to use my links when purchasing from Noble Knight so they know who you're listening to. As you can't click on anything while listening to the podcast, here's a link for you. I'll find a place for it on the website as well, and have it in all future newsletters. SURVEY Don't forget to fill out the post episode survey! Support the show

This episode features an interview with designer Sam London, who's new game Firefight Tactical is burning up the P500 list.As well, I'll compare two games on the battle of Gazala in WWII. The Cauldron from Roger Miller and Revolution Games, and Operation Theseus from Vuca Simulations.As well, there will be the usual news, tips for newbies, and general wargaming chatter.Some links to things discussed this episode:Form Square Games, the new publisher from England and their gamefound campaign for their first gameYoutube interview and demo with Volko Ruhnke about his new game, CoastwatchersYoutube interview with Mike Rinellaabout all his area impulse designs and his new push into solitaire games Worthington Games kickstarter campaing for their new game Louisbourg 1758Compass Gams has Atlantic Sentinels on  KickstarterAce of Aces new kickstarer Here's the link to the GMT page for Sam London's Firefight Tactical Note that my interview with Sam was recorded outside, and we got a bit of noise from the breeze. I cleaned it up as much as possible, but you'll still here a few flutters and pops. 

This episode features an interview with David Thompson, co-designer or designer of many series including Undaunted, Pavlov's House, War Chest, and General Orders: WWII.As well, we take a look back at 2023 with a few best of lists and polls, and check in on what's up for 2024.And of course, there's all the news, newbie tips, kudos and rants you'vew come to expect.There's been lots happening in the hobby and at our website. Here's a roundup of many of the things mentioned in episode 27:GMT Talks is a new video podcast from the industry giantA text and photo version of my review of Task Force from VUCANew game from Operational Studies Group: Napoleon's EndVotes for Women won a ton of awards and now is getting a reprint as the first run sold out. Maybe not your definition of a wargame, but a great game all the same.Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga (one of my all-time favourite games) is getting a reprint in ATO magazine.I interviewed Volko Ruhnke for the ACDC event. Volko showed off his new game, Coastwatchers, about the intelligence units of the same name in the Pacific in WWII. Watch the video on youtube. I converted my review of Vuca's Task Force podcast piece into a web review, so check it out if you'd like to see some photos.Revolution has two new Blind Swords games up for pre-order, as well as a new solitaire game from Mike Rinella and a second printing of Stalingrad: Verdun on the Volga.Here's a free scenario for Men of Iron from Petr Mojžiš.Join us via this inviteto our discord server. Newbies more than welcome! There's a new pollup. Stop by and let us know all about your feelings on counter clipping! Or any of the previous polls. Log in to the website to see them all. 

Volko Ruhnke, designer of the Coin Series and other games talks historical board game design with students at Clarkson University.

Volko Ruhnke talks with students at Clarkson University about historical game design. This version includes the video of the slides Volko used to accompany the talk.

Es un santo y uno de los grandes héroes de Rusia. Se forjó en el yunque de la guerra, logrando vencer a la implacable cruzada de los caballeros Teutónicos en 1242. Una película de Eisenstein lo inmortalizó. El gran Pako Gradaille, diseñador de juegos de mesa, vuelve a este programa para contarnos la historia de este hombre: Alexander Nevski. Imagen: Alexander Nevsky (1935) Sergei Eisenstein. Fuentes 1) Life of Alexander Nevsky, manuscrito de alrededor de 1280 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Alexander_Nevsky 2) Life of Alexander Nevsky, manuscrito iluminado de entre 1560 y 1570 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_of_Alexander_Nevsky_(illuminated_manuscript) 3) The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016-1471, traducción de Michell, Robert; Shakhmaton, A.A; Forbes, Nevill, 1883-1929; Beazley, C. Raymond (Charles Raymond), 1868-1955 https://archive.org/details/chronicleofnovgo00michrich 4) The Crisis of Medieval Russia 1200-1304, de John Fennell https://www.amazon.es/Crisis-Medieval-1200-1304-Longman-History/dp/0582481503 5) Wikipedia 6) Background Book del juego Nevsky, Teutons and Rus in Collission 1240-1242 de Volko Ruhnke publicado por GMT Games https://gmtwebsiteassets.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Nevsky/Nevsky_PLAYBOOK-FINAL.pdf Fuentes / Sitios web - Wikipedia Música: La música es de Oleg Zobachev, versionando a Duke Ellington, del Gran Quelonio y de Dunne. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

Summary Michael Vickers (Website) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his remarkable career and memoir. He was formerly the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence.  What You'll Learn Intelligence His specialized training to wear a “Nuclear Backpack” (yes, literally!) Overseeing a multibillion-dollar CIA covert action program against the Soviets Planning the Osama Bin Laden raid Retooling defense intelligence for the 21st century Reflections Finding a narrative that unites the various chapters of your life  Serving a country vs. serving a political party  And much, much more … Episode Notes Michael Vickers has been on a heck of a ride. He started out as a U.S. Army private with no degree and went on to oversee hundreds of thousands of people as the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence while holding a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. Michael is the author of By All Means Available: Memoirs of a Life in Intelligence, Special Operation & Strategy.  Quotes of the Week "That weapon was called the Special Atomic Demolition Munition [i.e., “Nuclear Backpack] ...it was a sporty, uh, you know, it seemed like a good idea when I was 23 years old. So, there you have it." – Michael Vickers. Resources  SURFACE SKIM *SpyCasts* “The Nuclear Doomsday Machine” – with Sean Maloney (2022_ “The Spies Who Came in From the Cold” - Chris Costa and John Quattrocki (2022) “The Spymaster's Prism” – CIA Legend Jack Devine (2021) “Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service” – Hank Crumpton (2012) “The CIA and the End of the Cold War” – Milt Bearden (2011) *Beginner Resources* Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Homeschool History (2022) [2:25 min video] Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Encyclopedia Britannica (2023) [3-minute read] The Operation That Took Out Osama Bin Laden, Military.com (2023) [3-minute read] The Plan to Get Osama, ABC News (2012) [6:44 min video] DEEPER DIVE Video The End of a Superpower - The Collapse of the Soviet Union, DW Documentaries (2022) Manhunt: The Search for Osma bin Laden, HBO (2013) Afghanistan 1979, the War that Changed the World, Gulya Mirzoeva, Icarus Films (2015) Red Star Over Khyber, PBS Frontline (1984) Primary Sources  Commander, 500th MI Group, Subj: Guerilla Use of Stinger Missiles and Their Effect on Soviet Tactics in AF, circa 1987. Memorandum of Conversation between Vice President Bush and Pakistani President Zia, December 8, 1982 Conversation between M.S. Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan on Afghanistan (Excerpt), December 8, 1982 Message to Soviet Ambassadors on the Invasion of Afghanistan, Attachment to CPSU Politburo Decree #177, December 27, 1979 *Wildcard Resource* A Distant Plain: Counter-insurgency Afghanistan: Government, Coalition, Taliban and Warlords compete (2013) Play this board game developed by former guest and former World Board Game Champion, Volko Ruhnke, 

Gaming might seem far removed from national security, but Volko Ruhnke's experience proves otherwise. During his career as an intelligence analyst and manager, he designed and published many commercially successful historical board games that, in turn, informed his work. Additionally, he applied his skills in gaming to training intelligence officers.David Priess hosted Volko for a deep dive about board games that included discussion of various game types, the value of in-person vs. virtual gaming, Volko's intelligence career, his many published games, the use of cards in gameplay, the importance of honoring historicity while avoiding forced recreation of exact historical timelines, similarities between game design and intelligence questions, the collaborative nature of historical boardgaming, why military wargaming matters, complexity in intelligence analysis, games ranging from political coalition management to Polynesian exploration and from the suffrage movement in the early 1900s to the manipulation of public perceptions about the functionality of Machu Picchu, and much more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:Volko Ruhnke's page at GMT GamesThe Kevin McPartland-designed game Conquest of ParadiseThe Alison Collins-designed game Wiñay KawsayChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gaming might seem far removed from national security, but Volko Ruhnke's experience proves otherwise. During his career as an intelligence analyst and manager, he designed and published many commercially successful historical board games that, in turn, informed his work. Additionally, he applied his skills in gaming to training intelligence officers.David Priess hosted Volko for a deep dive about board games that included discussion of various game types, the value of in-person vs. virtual gaming, Volko's intelligence career, his many published games, the use of cards in gameplay, the importance of honoring historicity while avoiding forced recreation of exact historical timelines, similarities between game design and intelligence questions, the collaborative nature of historical boardgaming, why military wargaming matters, complexity in intelligence analysis, games ranging from political coalition management to Polynesian exploration and from the suffrage movement in the early 1900s to the manipulation of public perceptions about the functionality of Machu Picchu, and much more.Among the works mentioned in this episode:Volko Ruhnke's page at GMT GamesThe Kevin McPartland-designed game Conquest of ParadiseThe Alison Collins-designed game Wiñay KawsayChatter is a production of Lawfare and Goat Rodeo. This episode was produced and edited by Noam Osband and Cara Shillenn of Goat Rodeo. Podcast theme by David Priess, featuring music created using Groovepad. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 49 is an abbreviated episode where we really just talk about Wilderness War from Volko Ruhnke and GMT Games.  Accordingly, the show notes are abbreviated this episode as well.  HistoriKC Fest Black Lodge Trivia Night Discord: https://discord.gg/2wz8sdsbwN https://tabletop.events/conventions/historikc-fest-2023 https://historyonthetable.com/ https://history-on-the-table.creator-spring.com/ https://www.patreon.com/HistoryTable

En este programa vamos a adentrarnos en la ultima serie del diseñador Volko Ruhnke afamado diseñador de la serie COIN, la serie Levy and Campaign y además nos traemos a 2 invitados de lujo, a nuestro compañero de da2 Alberto Ludonavegante y al diseñador Paco Gradaille. Si os gusta la edad media , nos os lo podéis perder!!!!

Summary Mike Susong joins Andrew to discuss the impact and potential of AI on the intelligence field. Mike is a former CIA case officer who now oversees global intelligence for a risk management company. ***FULL SHOW NOTES AVAILABLE HERE!*** What You'll Learn Intelligence What AI is and why it matters How the Intelligence Community is using AI  The pros and cons of AI for case officers in the field Ukraine - intersections between AI and OSINT AI in Alan Turing's Imitation Game Reflections Replicants, machines and robots Will humans become obsolete? Notes Mike Susong (Website, LinkedIn) is an expert in the growing field of artificial intelligence. He joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss. ***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE!*** *SpyCasts* From the CIA to Strategic Cyber -- with Hans Holmer (2022) So, I Design Board Games for the CIA... - with Volko Ruhnke (2022) CIA Case Officer, Cyber Entrepreneur, Burning Man Volunteer – with Mike Susong (Part 1 of 2, 2022) CIA Case Officer, Cyber Entrepreneur, Burning Man Volunteer – with Mike Susong (Part 2 of 2, 2002) The Cyber Zeitgeist – with Cyberwire Host Dave Bittner (2021) ***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE!*** *Beginner Resources* Machine Leaning: Explain it to me Like I'm 5 Years Old, Bob Deprizio, Medium (2020) What is AI (Artificial Intelligence)?, Youtube (2019) [2 min. video] Singularity: Explain it to me Like I'm 5 Years Old, Roey Tzezana, Futurism (2017) [Article] Alan Turing: The experiment that shaped artificial intelligence, N. Sharkey, BBC (2012) [Article]  Glossary:  AGI: Artificial General Intelligence. The unrestricted ability of software to learn, understand, & respond to any intellectual task that a human being is capable of.  ANI: Artificial Narrow Intelligence. The restricted ability of software to perform a limited subset of intellectual tasks.  Deep Learning: a machine learning technique that teaches computers to learn by example, something that comes naturally for human beings. Machine Learning: The field of study interested in building computational systems that can improve their own performance of some task. Natural Language Processing: A field of study that aims to analyze and understand human language communications both spoken and textual.  Uncanny Divide: Where people feel a sense of unease or revulsion in response to humanoid robots that are highly realistic. ***FULL RESOURCES AVAILABLE HERE!***

In dieser Folge spricht Solo Manolo mit seinen Gästen Matthias Nagy und Hesy fast vier Stunden lang über die legendäre COIN Series von GMT Games. Wen das jetzt schockiert, der sollte dankbar sein, dass wenigstens der Einleitungstext angenehm kurz ist. Viel Spaß beim Hören! Ablauf der Folge: [00:00:00] Intro und Vorstellung [00:08:40] Erste COIN-Begegnung [00:19:15] Was ist ein COIN-Spiel? [00:24:50] Grundlagen von Gandhi [00:40:45] GMT Games und der Ursprung der COIN-Spiele [01:09:00] Kurzvorstellung aller COIN-Spiele [01:50:50] COIN-inspirierte GMT-Serien [01:59:15] Playtesting und VASSAL [02:07:20] Weitere Gandhi-Regeln [02:31:00] Wie lernt man ein COIN-Spiel? [03:04:10] Solo-Spielbarkeit [03:38:10] Lokalisierungsversuche [03:41:00] Schlussgedanken Hesy: Twitter Matthias: Twitter Frosted Games Deep Print Games Weiterführende Links: Gandhi auf BGG COIN Series von GMT Games GMT P500 Vorbestellung Mr. President: The American Presidency, 2001-2020 Irregular Conflict Series Levy & Campaign Series Vassal Engine Interview mit Volko Ruhnke zu seiner Karriere Videos: Bruce Mansfield über die Entstehung und Entwicklung der Gandhi Solo Bots Scott Mansfield demonstriert die Non-Player Raj "Sweep" Operation Interview mit Volko Ruhnke über das erste COIN Game Andean Abyss Rodney Smith (Watch It Played) über COIN Games Vortrag von Volko Ruhnke: How To Design a Wargame Feedback zur Folge bzw. zum Podcast allgemein könnt Ihr mir auf Twitter, im Beeple Discord oder gern auch per Mail an info@solomanolo.de geben. Über ein Abo und/oder eine Bewertung meines Podcasts auf iTunes, Spotify & Co. würde ich mich natürlich auch sehr freuen. Vielen Dank fürs Zuhören und bis zum nächsten Mal! Folge direkt herunterladen

In the final episode of Season 1, I chat with Volko Ruhnke. His designs have covered everything from insurgencies in Andean Abyss & Labyrinth to medieval warfare in his Levy & Campaign Series, so his insights draw on a broad design palette. We chat about the impact of assumptions held by historical participants when designing historical games. 

Volko Ruhnke is our guest, and boy, do we have a lot to talk about. From Wilderness War to Labyrinth, from Andean Abyss to the next games in the counterinsurgency series, we’ve got it all. How do you portray guerrilla warfare and terrorism in wargames? Why haven’t there been more games about the most frequent […]

Second part of the discussion about Card Driven Games, one of the most popular modern families of wargames, with legendary designers: - Mark Herman: CDG pioneer, designer of Empire of The Sun, Churchill, and so many more - Jason Matthews: making CDGs go beyond traditional wargames with games such as Twilight Struggle or 1960 Making of a President - Volko Ruhnke: known for his COIN series but also for some of the most interesting Card Driven Wargames like Wilderness War or Labyrinth

Summary Volko Ruhnke (Website; Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss his life and career in the CIA as an analyst and designer of board games. He is a former World Board Game Champion. What You'll Learn Intelligence Designing board games to teach CIA analysts Moonlighting as an award-winning board game designer while working at CIA Similarities and differences between intelligence analysis and board-games  The difference between role-play games and board-games in training national security professionals Reflections Humans are good models of humans  Volko's journey from Virginia to the CIA via William & Mary and the U.S. Army And more… Episode Notes  Volko Ruhnke is a helluva interesting guy. He grew up as an avid board gamer raised on stories of the French and Indian War, which led him to design the 2001 winner of the best pre-WWII boardgame Wilderness War. His time at the CIA after 9/11 then led him to design the 2010 winner of the best post-WWII boardgame Labyrinth, where players were immersed in the operational and ideological aspects of the Global War on Terror. It doesn't stop there, though, he has also designed a series of counter-insurgency games such as Andean Abyss, which focused on 1990's Columbia, and Fire in the Lake, a multi-faction treatment of the Vietnam War. While teaching a new generation of intelligence analysts, Volko combined both of his passions to help them understand the complexity and open-endedness of the real-world via board games. As an analyst himself, Volko looked at the Soviet & Russian military and counter-proliferation, before going on to be Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology at the National Intelligence Council, and then on the Presidents Daily Brief (PDB) staff to brief cabinet level officials.  And… Volko is now a commercial board game designer, and you can get quite a few of his games here – but not all of them. One day historians, one day… Quote of the Week "Games allow you to get inside and operate the machine yourself and do experiments and pull a lever or push a button and see what happens. And because it's happening on the tabletop, rather than say, in a computer program, you, you can understand it very well. You can see exactly why what just happened. So, I became among others, a promulgator of, of that particular medium for teaching as well as for analysis." - Volko Ruhnke Resources SpyCasts Intelligence Analysis in the 21st Century - Mark Lowenthal Modern Intelligence Analysis: From Art to Science? Books Storytelling in the Modern Boardgame, A. Arnaudo (McFarland, 2018) White King & Red Queen: Cold War on the Chessboard, D. Johnson (Mariner, 2008) Best Books on Play (Five Books) Articles All the World's a Game, C. Hadavas, Foreign Policy (2021) Digital Version of Counter-Terror Game Labyrinth, J. Bolding, PCGamer (2020)  Winning Edge: Board Game Used by the U.S. Army, P. Suciu, National Interest (2020) Why the CIA Uses Board Games to Train Officers, S. Larson, CNN (2017) The CIA Uses Board Games to Train Officers, S. Machkovech, ArsTechnica (2017) Making Board Games for the CIA, C. Hall, Polygon (2017) Political Board Games Change View of World, M. Thrower, Guardian (2015) Volko Ruhnke Has Become a Hero, J. Albert, WaPo (2014) Video We Review CIA's Classified Board Game, Two Bats Gaming, (YouTube, 2018) Primary Sources Kingpin: The Hunt for El Chapo (CIA, 2018) Collection Deck (CIA, 2017) Whodunnit? (Wapo, 1985) Wildcard Resource Lego ® Serious Play ® Game Used by Fortune 500 companies, unleasher of talent, and serious fun!

An interview with Volko Ruhnke (@Volko26) Comments, questions or concerns can be sent to: historytablepodcast@gmail.com   Twitter: @HistoryTablePod Music by Scott Holmes

In this episode, award-winning game designer Brian Train joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Brief Border Wars and using a card-driven system to model the chaotic, stop-and-start nature of impromptu wars.

This week on the pod, Volko Ruhnke and Brian Train talk about A Distant Plain, which focuses on the conflict in Afghanistan as it was in 2013, and reflect on what it means given more recent events there.  Volko can be found on Twitter as @Volko26, and Brian likes to blog at https://brtrain.wordpress.com/All episodes of my podcast are available here: https://beyondsolitaire.buzzsprout.com/Enjoy my work? Consider getting me a "coffee" on Ko-fi! https://ko-fi.com/beyondsolitaireTo see all of my solo reviews and videos, click here: http://www.beyondsolitaire.net/solo-reviews.htmlContact Me: Email: beyondsolitaire at gmail.comTwitter: @beyondsolitaireInstagram: @beyondsolitaireFacebook: www.facebook.com/beyondsolitaireWebsite: www.beyondsolitaire.net

Card Driven Games is one of the most popular modern families of wargames. From We The People to Twilight Struggle, those games cover a wide range of scales and historical situations. I invited 3 of the most influential designer of CDGs to discuss the history of CDG, its current state and the future that they see for those games. - Mark Herman: CDG pioneer, designer of Empire of The Sun, Churchill, and so many more - Jason Matthews: making CDGs go beyond traditional wargames with games such as Twilight Struggle or 1960 Making of a President - Volko Ruhnke: known for his COIN series but also for some of the most interesting Card Driven Wargames like Wilderness War or Labyrinth

In this episode, award-winning game designer Volko Ruhnke joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Labyrinth - The War on Terror and how it presents guerrilla warfare and counterinsurgency.

We recorded the SD Hist Con COINFEST KICKOFF meeting with GMT President Gene Billingsley, The COIN father Volko Ruhnke and other COIN designers. We discuss COIN history and why the universe of COIN has grown so fast and continues to explode! We check out toward the end to go to our various gaming assignments. Recorded August 7, 2021. The boardgame convention was Virtual on Discord.

In this episode, game creator Tomislav Čipčić joins host Eduard Gafton to talk about his game Brotherhood & Unity and how it portrays the Bosnian War.

Emma and Gil sit down with Carla Kopp of Weird Giraffe Games and Galactic Raptor Games to discuss designing solo modes for games, the merits of "bots" in solo games, and how these bots tend to be named "Steve." SHOW NOTES 2m00s: Carla's first published game Super Hack Override. 4m53s: We spoke with Morten Monrad Pedersen on Ludology 154 - Leave Me Alone! about using Automa to make solo versions of games. 7m02s: Sarah Reed is a game designer, disability advocate, and all-around excellent person.  11m00s: The Cat Lady implementation for iOS and Android. 18m20s: Just a quick reminder that we’re talking about the digital implementation of the game Cat Lady, as opposed to Carla’s tabletop AIs. AI difficulty levels are more common in apps than they are in tabletop games.  19m45s: The Splendor digital implementation is sadly no longer available. 20m34s: Gil mentions the solo mode that comes in the tabletop version of It’s a Wonderful World. Emma mentions the solo mode from the Galaxy Trucker app. 21m13s: Calico 21m47s: Gil forgets to mention that Friedemann Friese included an “achievement sheet” in Copycat. 23m49s: Race for the Galaxy. We chatted with Theresa Duringer, CEO of Temple Gates, who developed the app, in Ludology 177 - AI AI, Captain!  24m26s: We're talking about the COIN (Counterinsurgencies) series of games, which have asymmetry built into them. Usually, each faction has a bot that allows many or all factions to be present in the game, even at a low player count. We talked to Volko Ruhnke, who began the series, in Ludology 178 - COIN Operated. 24m56s: The virtual gaming platform Tabletop Simulator. 26m54s: The three-body problem. 27m19s: Power Grid: The Robots 28m33s: Dune: Imperium, Smartphone Inc. 29m21s: Gil's second published game Battle Merchants. 31m24s: The Networks 33m10s: The underrated but absolutely amazing Fantasy Realms.  34m49s: Seven Wonders and Alhambra. We discussed desicion scales in games with Matt Wolfe in Ludology 157 - Come Scale Away. 35m36s: Abandon All Artichokes 36m51s: Skull, Space Dealer 37m33s: Weird Giraffe's upcoming games: Sara Perry's Gift of Tulips, and Fertessa Alysse's Wicked & Wise. 40m12s: Tokaido 48m02s: Carla's company with Dan Letzring, Galactic Raptor. Dan also runs Letiman Games. 51m45s: Bunny Kingdom, Root. We interviewed Root's designer, Cole Wehrle, most recently on Ludology 222 - Johnny Fairplay. 53m07s: Charterstone, Feudum 55m48s: The free cardmaking program nanDECK. 56m59s: The often-linked conditions of Narcolepsy and Cataplexy. 1h05m58s: "Tony" here is designer, podcast host, and excellent person Tony Miller. 1h09m09s: Carla’s website, Discord, and Twitter.  

A reunion of COIN game designers including Volko Ruhnke, Mark Herman, Brian Train, Morgane Gouyon-Rety, Bruce Mansfield Mike Bertucelli and me discuss the series and a few great stories about the history and development. Recorded live at the San Diego Historical Games Convention in November of 2020.

This week on Little Wars FM, Tom and Greg sit down with legendary game designer Volko Ruhnke. Published by GMT Games, his innovative COIN series includes popular titles Fire in the Lake, Andean Abyss, and many more. We talk about inspiration for new project, his rule design process, and what he's working on next. Then we ask Volko to look into his crystal ball and forecast future trends in board gaming. Finally, we brainstorm ways to promote more crossover between the miniature gaming and board gaming wings of the tabletop hobby. It's a fascinating, in-depth discussion and we want to thank Volko Ruhnke for joining us on the show! To learn more about his games, you can visit GMT Games at http://www.gmtgames.com and you can follow Volko on Twitter @Volko26!   

In our tradition in the BellotaCon this is the third time we talk with Volko Ruhnke and in this opportunity we review his work during 2020 and with the help of @JuliusLFairfax we talk about a game that we really enjoy a lot: Verdun 1916 Steel Inferno. A view over the game, some house rules and historical comments. And more info about what we talk in our blog http://jugandoconlosabuelos.blogspot.com/2021/02/verdun-1916-steel-inferno.html

We have three very special guests today. All come from different backgrounds but share a common interest in gaming - the kind that can be used to teach you things, like how to become better at handling security incidents or winning a historical insurrection. This podcast is sponsored by the We Hack Purple Academy.Volko Ruhnke is a renowned wargame designer and educator. He retired as a career analyst with the CIA and as an instructor for the Sherman Kent School for Intelligence Analysis which is responsible for training people in the intelligence community. While working there he became an acclaimed designer of commercial board games - best known for the COIN Series published by GMT Games. Adam Shostack is a leading expert on threat modeling, and a consultant, entrepreneur, technologist, author and game designer. He's a member of the BlackHat Review Board, and helped create the CVE and many other things. He currently helps many organizations improve their security via Shostack & Associates, and helps startups become great businesses as an advisor and mentor. While at Microsoft, he drove the Autorun fix into Windows Update, was the lead designer of the SDL Threat Modeling Tool v3 and created the "Elevation of Privilege" game. Adam is the author of Threat Modeling: Designing for Security, and the co-author of The New School of Information Security. Hadas Cassorla is a security leader in the Portland area. She is the manager of security engineering and platform engineering at Simple Finance in Portland. She also does work with Hackback Gaming as an Incident Master (IM) running teams through dynamic role playing in tabletop incident response scenarios. Hadas is a recovering attorney too who took up improv after finishing law school. Volko Ruhnke, Adam Shostack and Hadas Cassorla are interviewed by David Quisenberry and John L. WhitemanLinks from the Show:Zenobia Award (Board Game Design Contest for Underrepresented Groups)HackBack GamingAdam Shostack's Home PageElevation of PrivilegePhilip Sabin - Simulating War: Studying Conflict through Simulation GamesJeremy Holcomb - The White BoxFollow us:HomepageTwitterMeetupLinkedInYouTube- Become an OWASP member- Donate to our Support the show (https://owasp.org/supporters/)

PART 2 of 2 Harold and Volko Ruhnke have been playing The Burning Blue designed by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood and published by GMT Games. They interview Lee on his history in Wargaming, what he thinks about The Burning Blue and the other designs. This was also captured on Video and you can see that on Harold's channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8k3d4emMK0&t=17s

PART 1 of 2 Harold and Volko Ruhnke have been playing The Burning Blue designed by Lee Brimmicombe-Wood and published by GMT Games. They interview Lee on his history in Wargaming, what he thinks about The Burning Blue and the other designs. This was also captured on Video and you can see that on Harold's channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4D4xZ0jsQM

This week's guest is ex-CIA analyst and inventor of the COIN series of games Volko Ruhnke. We talk about how the COIN series has crossed over, designing games for the CIA and the gaps in our knowledge of history...but which games did he choose?   Combat Commander Pacific: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28181/combat-commander-pacific War of the Ring: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/115746/war-ring-second-edition Steel Inferno: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/289247/verdun-1916-steel-inferno Inferno Hunt for Blackbeard: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/263479/hunt-blackbeard

Emma, Gil, and Scott discuss the idea of complexity in a board game. We explore 6 types of complexity, and discuss their effects on the games we play and design. SHOW NOTES 0m51s: Pete Seeger was an American folk singer, known for songs like "If I Had a Hammer," "Turn, Turn, Turn," and "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" 2m04s: Our list of complexities: Spatial complexity Arithmetical complexity Zone complexity Planning complexity Rules/mechanism complexity Component complexity 2m45s: Barenpark, New York Zoo 3m44s: The SAT is a standardized test in the United States that is a major factor in a college's admission of a prospective student. 4m16s: Number 9 4m32s: Bosk 5m31s: Photosynthesis 6m30s: Treasure Island, Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space, Specter Ops, Tigris & Euphrates 7m14s: Checking the rules, an Internal Conflict in Tigris & Euphrates happens when a Leader is moved to a Kingdom where there is already a Leader of the same color belonging to another player. 8m00s: Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game. Check out Scott's Biography of a Board Game on the Flight Path family of games, including X-Wing and Wings of War. 8m25s: The Warhammer family of games is absolutely massive. The flagship game, Warhammer 40,000, is in its 9th edition.  10m18s: The Funkoverse Strategy Game. We chatted with Chris Rowlands, one of its designers, in Ludology 224: Putting the Fun in Funko. 11m01s: Heroclix, Heroscape 13m23s: Set 15m17s: Power Grid, Russian Railroads, and Gil's own The Networks 16m26s: The term "Goumbaud's Law" was coined by Jesse Schell in his book The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. 21m12s: Sticheln (the pronunciation of which Gil has completely butchered) was recently re-released by Capstone Games as Stick 'Em. Smartphone Inc. 22m46s: Sushi Go, Disney: The Haunted Mansion – Call of the Spirits Game 25m38s: Search for Planet X, Zendo (Kory Heath's design diary for Zendo remains a fantastic look at how hard it is to design a seemingly simple game.) 26m40s: Mastermind 28m12s: Here's a description of the XYZ Wing solve technique for Sudoku. 28m33s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg21M2zwG9Q (explicit language warning) 28m59s: Hey, That's My Fish, graph theory, and the Traveling Salesman problem. 29m33s: Scott first proposed the 6 Zones of Play in Ludology 209 - The 6 Zones of Play. 32m28s: Formula D 33m27s: Seafall, the Betrayal family of games. 41m21s: Ra 43m53s: A Feast for Odin 44m22s: A Few Acres of Snow 46m45s: Nielsen Media Research is best known for its Nielsen TV ratings, that offer the TV industry in the United States metrics into the number of viewers a TV show enjoys. 48m06s: Advanced Squad Leader, The Campaign for North Africa 50m13s: We discussed the futility of 1:1 models with Volko Ruhnke in Ludology 178 - COIN Operated. Gil also brings up the "Map-territory relation" problem. 50m29s: Food Chain Magnate, Feudum, Cloudspire, Kanban 54m48s: Two designers who work in complex games: Vital Lacerda and Dávid Turczi. You can hear our chat with Dávid about complex games in Ludology 234 - Playing with Time. 55m34s: Brass: Lancashire 57m27s: Fresco 1h00m20s: Gil discussed his doomed auction mechanism most recently in Ludology 235 - Rise to the Challenge. 1h01m45s: Samurai, Steel Driver, For Sale. Here's Samurai's scoring system: If one player has the most figures of 2 or 3 of the types of figures, they win. If no one has won in the previous step, only players who have the most of a single type of figure can win. All other players are eliminated. The remaining players set aside the figures they have of which they have the most of a certain type. The player with the most remaining figures wins. In case of a tie, the tied players re-collect all their figures and count their total number of figures. Highest total wins, all remaining ties are shared. 1h02m30s: Nomic, Fluxx 1h09m23s: Descent: Journeys in the Dark 1h10m45s: Geoff and Gil discussed "tight coupling" in Ludology 172 - Odd Coupling. 1h12m04s: Carcassonne (the type Gil was thinking of is Monk) 1h13m25s: The Betrayal family of games (again) 1h14m46s: GameTrayz 1h16m20s: Mike Selinker uttered this now-legendary quote in Ludology 189 - The Missing Selinker. 1h17m47s: Gil's announcements: BGG@Home, Weird Stories pregen settings, High Rise pre-orders opening soon, Rival Networks 1h20m02s: Battling Tops, and the legendary BGG Battling Tops tournament. 1h20m22s: Tabletopia 1h20m44s: Emma, Gil, and Scott recorded Ludology 215 - Table Topics live at BGG.CON 2019. 1h21m06s: Scott's announcements: Treats, Xeno Command, Comic Book Crisis, The Pitch Project. 1h24m06s: Emma's announcements: Game Maker's Guild panel, Dutch and Hungarian versions of Abandon All Artichokes. 1h25m26s: Our contact info: Emma (Twitter, Instagram, Web), Gil (Twitter, Facebook, Web), Scott (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook)

Welcome Guns, Dice, Butter Episode XXX NOV 11, 2020 On this episode, game designer Kim Kanger and a panel (Roberto’s The Good, The Best, The Glorious game club) discussing GCACW (Great Campaigns of the American Civil War) from Avalon Hill and MMP and Ed Beach and I do our final die roll in our final of the GCACW BPA tourney: the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. 0:06 Kim Kanger intro...point of origin 0:17 Becoming a designer; design philosophy 0:35: Why these conflicts; Dien Bien Phu 0:47: What’s next on the design plate? Kyiv, Russia and elsewhere, Heart of Darkness and Barbarossa. 1:14 Ed Beach and I toss the final dice in GCACW BPA Online Tourney 1:44 The dice are tossed! 1:49 Roberto and The Good, The Best, The Glorious game club talk GCACW 2:03 Volko Ruhnke takes good and bad regarding GCACW 2:23 Challenge of the game…commander mindset 2:44 Battle resolution…the call for more multiplayer versions of our beloved 2 player wargames 3:08 Wrap, on my gaming plate, shout outs and god bless the republic.

Emma and Gil invite award-winning game designer, teacher, and not-scholar Sharang Biswas to the show to discuss verbs in games. What actions do we actually perform when we play a game, what actions do they represent, and how does that impact the game experience? You can find Sharang on Twitter or on the web. Here is his itch.io store. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains references to sex and sexuality. Show Notes 2h31m: Sharang teaches at The International Center of Photography (Bard College), and at Fordham University. 3m05s: We had Dr. Mary Flanagan on the show for Ludology 226 - Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo 3m26s: Playcrafting is an organization that holds game design events, mainly for digital games, in New York City, San Francisco, and Boston. 5m04s: Anna Anthropy is an influential game designer, and current designer-in-residence at DePaul College in Chicago. 5m15s: Ian Bogost's Persuasive Games. 10m08s: Android: Netrunner 11m33s: We discussed ludonarrative dissonance, especially in board games, in Ludology 190 - Diabolus in Ludica. 12m05s: The uselessness of 1:1 scale maps came up in our conversation with Volko Ruhnke for Ludology 178 - COIN-Operated. 12m29s: If you haven't heard us discuss at length what a "game" is, check out Ludology 151 - High Definition. 12m35s: More information about the word autotelic, which is extremely useful when discussing games and play. 13m35s: Frank Lanz is a game designer and director of the NYU Game Center. 16m35s: Great Western Trail, Food Chain Magnate 17m10s: Ryan and Geoff discussed the magic circle with game designer and professor Eric Zimmerman in Ludology 79 - The Magic Circle. 17m29s: You can find more about Honey & Hot Wax, edited by Sharang and Lucian Kahn, here. 18m25s: The phrase "turtles all the way down" is one of Gil's favorites. 20m54s: Hungry Hungry Hippos, Mouse Trap, Pretty Pretty Princess, Electronic Dream Phone 21m30s: MegaCity Oceania 21m54s: Mountains of Madness 23m10s: Pandemic Legacy: Season One 24m11s: Sharang's game with Max Seidman, Mad Science Foundation 26m35s: The RPG Sign. 28m10s: More information about the larp Sarabande. 29m42s: Geoff and Gil discussed "soft incentives" in Ludology 185 - Soft Boiled. 30m38s: Jiangshi, an RPG about Chinese immigrants juggling running a haunted restaurant, by Banana Chan and Sen-Foong Lim. We had Banana on the show a few weeks ago, for Ludology 228 - The Roles We Play. 31m10s: Some of the discussion about "Press F To Pay Respects" in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. 31m31s: Untitled Goose Game 35m53s: Sharang compares Chaos in the Old World to Assault of the Giants. Chaos was designed by the incomparable Eric Lang, who we had on the show for Ludology 175 - Auld Lang Design. 37m13s: Sagrada 38m19s: DC Comics Deck-Building Game 40m00s: John Cage's 4'33", which instructs the performer to play no notes for the duration of the piece. 40m27s: Positive examples of ludonarrative dissonance: Typing of the Dead, Unspeakable Words 40m58s: Brenda Romero's well-known art game Train. 41m16s: Sharang's game Feast, inspired by Felix Gonzalez-Torres' original art piece Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.). 41m45s: The RPG With Great Power…  42m31s: Team Fun's interview with Sharang, featuring the phrase "Jump, Decapitate, Kill." 43m44s: Journalist, larp designer, and game writer Lizzie Stark. 45m00s: The 2001 video game Black & White. 45m17s: French literary critic Roland Barthes proposed the idea of the Death of the Author in a 1967 essay, suggesting that critics don't need to understand an author to contextualize their work. 45m24s: The Effing Foundation for Sex Positivity. 47m16s: Thumb Wars (or thumb wrestling) 51m45s: The games A Guide to Casting Phantoms In The Revolution, and Can You Hear Me?  52m34s: Sharang's game Several Miles from Heaven. 53m36s: The Jenga-implementing RPGs Dread and Star Crossed, and the apocalyptic RPG Ten Candles. 54m45s: Metatopia is a game designer convention based in the northeastern US that specializes in tests of board games, TTRPG, and larp. 56m41s: Sharang's solo food-based RPG Verdure. 57m52s: We had Jenn Sandercock on in Ludology 210 - The Way to a Gamer's Heart to discuss her edible games.  58m41s: The 200-word RPG Stardust. 1h00m00s: The bizarre Hellcouch (taking the idea of the "couch co-op to the next level), amd Mattie Brice's empathy machine. 1h00m45s: Marina Abramović's seminal performance art piece Rhythm 0, in which she allowed visitors to do whatever they wanted to her body for 6 hours. Visitors were gentle at first, but became more cruel as the piece went on, several times aiming a loaded gun in her head. The most powerful part of the performance emerged at the end; once the 6 hours ended, Abramović stood up and approached the audience, who promptly left, unable to face her as a person who had regained her bodily autonomy. 1h06m08s: Alex Roberts' Pop! is part of Sharang's project Honey and Hot Wax, co-edited by Lucian Kahn. 1h06m37s: Emma's degree is in Product Design. 1h08m45s: Sharang has written a couple of articles for Killscreen. 1h10m38s: Wingspan. We had the pleasure of chatting with designer Elizabeth Hargrave for Ludology 203 - Winging It. 1h12m15s: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire was a horrifying tragedy in which 146 sweatshop workers in New York City were killed by a fire. The workers were locked into their working space, so they could not exit on foot; many leapt to their deaths. The fire resulted in legislation that improved factory safety standards and strengthened union powers.  1h14m42s: Clio Yun-Su Davis' RPG Pass the Sugar Please was run by theater company Intramersive. 1h16m44s: Sharang is referencing Kat Jones' game Glitzy Nails. 1h17m43s: The RPG Flatpack 1h19m34s: The productivity games Habitica, SuperBetter, Chore Wars, and Zombies Run. 1h20m58s: Sharang's game A Shroud for the Seneschal.

An interview with Designer Volko Ruhnke. See additional podcasts with Volko Ruhnke at: Harold-buchanan – Harold-on-games-podcast-1-with-volko-ruhnke Harold-buchanan – Special-podcast-1-2018-san-diego-historical-games-convention See additional podcasts with Morgane Gouyon-Rety at: https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/podcast-17-morgane-gouyon-rety https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/five-pack-13-morgane-gouyon-rety

An interview with Designer Volko Ruhnke. See additional podcasts with Volko Ruhnke at: https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/harold-on-games-podcast-1-with-volko-ruhnke https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/special-podcast-1-2018-san-diego-historical-games-convention

Today we have the great pleasure to share with you this interview with Volko Ruhnke, Luke Billingsly and Albert Alegre recorded at BellotaCon 2020 in Badajoz (Spain). We talked about Nevsky, Labyrinth in PC, Almoravid and other stuff. We hope you will enjoy it!

Today we have the great pleasure to share with you this interview with Volko Ruhnke, Luke Billingsly and Albert Alegre recorded at BellotaCon 2020 in Badajoz (Spain). We talked about Nevsky, Labyrinth in PC, Almoravid and other stuff. We hope you will enjoy it!

THIS podcast is offered in 2 parts, and is singularly composed of an interview with GMT Games President, Gene Billingsley. We will discuss his work at GMT and also his latest design, Mr President. https://conflictsimulations.com/ Gene Billingsley founded GMT Games in 1990. As Avalon Hill turned to computer games and was eventually sold to Hasbro, Gene built GMT into the new home for board wargamers. He started with some of his own designs. These titles garner instant acclaim. Operation Shoestring was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts Award and Silver Bayonet and Crisis Korea won Charles S. Roberts Awards. I’m sure his current design project, Mr. President, won’t disappoint As the distribution network for boardgames went into retreat in the 1990s, GMT pioneered the preorder system called P500. It remains the best deal in board wargaming. The system allows GMT to thrive in uncertain waters as customers vote their interest in designs and accelerate the production schedule of the most interesting. Customers get 30% off and can cancel at any time. The Company is now the bell weather for conflict gaming, anchored by Gene and his partners Rodger MacGowan, Mark Simonitch, Tony Curtis and Andy Lewis. GMT continues to produce quality games with marquee designers like Mark Herman, Richard Berg, Volko Ruhnke, Chad Jensen, Ted Racier and many others. I spent a couple of days with Gene during his semi annual Weekend at the Warehouse. We discuss everything from college football and his beloved Sooners to how he encourages designers to develop the breadth of offerings GMT has become known for. We start the day with Gene cooking me scrambled eggs at his home in Hanford California. While he claims the recipe is from Richard Berg, I doubt it due to the lack of random events.

Dear Grandsons We leave you the interview maintained with Volko Ruhnke in the II Bellota Con organized in Badajoz last 24 to 27 January 2019 by Sergio @WargameReviewer. The interview is in English and very interesting topics are covered: 2:30 About Volko Ruhnke 5:00 How VR start in the hobby 9:23 Epiphany moment on wargaming design and first tinkering on games 18:00 Board games and models in compenhension of complex problems 27:46 COIN series genesis. 35:38 COIN is a model about factions 39:40 Let's talk about Labyrinth (spoiler: a great notice is told in this block) 49:50 Nevsky 53:45 Hunt for Blackbeard 1:09:00 What we've played this weeks 1:12:53 Non gaming recomendations

Dear Grandsons We leave you the interview maintained with Volko Ruhnke in the II Bellota Con organized in Badajoz last 24 to 27 January 2019 by Sergio @WargameReviewer. The interview is in English and very interesting topics are covered: 2:30 About Volko Ruhnke 5:00 How VR start in the hobby 9:23 Epiphany moment on wargaming design and first tinkering on games 18:00 Board games and models in compenhension of complex problems 27:46 COIN series genesis. 35:38 COIN is a model about factions 39:40 Let's talk about Labyrinth (spoiler: a great notice is told in this block) 49:50 Nevsky 53:45 Hunt for Blackbeard 1:09:00 What we've played this weeks 1:12:53 Non gaming recomendations

THIS podcast is offered in 2 parts, and is singularly composed of an interview with GMT Games President, Gene Biillingsley. We will discuss his work at GMT and also his latest design, Mr President. https://conflictsimulations.com/ Gene Billingsley founded GMT Games in 1990. As Avalon Hill turned to computer games and was eventually sold to Hasbro, Gene built GMT into the new home for board wargamers. He started with some of his own designs. These titles garner instant acclaim. Operation Shoestring was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts Award and Silver Bayonet and Crisis Korea won Charles S. Roberts Awards. I’m sure his current design project, Mr. President, won’t disappoint As the distribution network for boardgames went into retreat in the 1990s, GMT pioneered the preorder system called P500. It remains the best deal in board wargaming. The system allows GMT to thrive in uncertain waters as customers vote their interest in designs and accelerate the production schedule of the most interesting. Customers get 30% off and can cancel at any time. The Company is now the bell weather for conflict gaming, anchored by Gene and his partners Rodger MacGowan, Mark Simonitch, Tony Curtis and Andy Lewis. GMT continues to produce quality games with marquee designers like Mark Herman, Richard Berg, Volko Ruhnke, Chad Jensen, Ted Racier and many others. I spent a couple of days with Gene during his semi annual Weekend at the Warehouse. We discuss everything from college football and his beloved Sooners to how he encourages designers to develop the breadth of offerings GMT has become known for. We start the day with Gene cooking me scrambled eggs at his home in Hanford California. While he claims the recipe is from Richard Berg, I doubt it due to the lack of random events.

I recorded some of the sounds of the 2018 San Diego Historical Games Convention. The SD Hist Con took place over Veteran’s Day Weekend in November and included special guests Mark Herman, John Butterfield, Ananda Gupta, Morgane Guoyon Rety, and Volko Ruhnke to name a few. In this first segment, Volko kicks off our designer challenge. This year the focus is on the COIN game Pendragon. Along with the games’ Designer Morgane Gouyon Rety Volko takes on 5 games. Each played one of the Barbarian factions and moved between tables to take their turns. We are going to check in with them while they play through this challenge. We will also check in with other players at the convention to see what they are playing and how it is going. I will post a few notes and photos on my website conflictsimulations.com. Thanks to Edgar Malik and his San Diego, California based band Shaolin Signal for the intro and outro music. Check them out Facebook, and You Tube. I will close with a special thanks to the participants of the 2018 SD Hist Con. We are already working on a bigger better event for 2019. Check out the web site at www.sdhist.com or search for us on Face Book. NOTES at: http://conflictsimulations.com/2018/12/08/harold-on-games-special-podcast-2-san-diego-historical-games-convention-notes

In which we talk about Dice Tower Con, interview Volko Ruhnke, talk about the Overturn kickstarter disaster, industry news and games we played.

Gil and Geoff are pleased to welcome Volko Ruhnke, designer of the COIN series, about Counter-Intelligence operations throughout history. How do you capture the dynamics of these complex conflicts in a game? What are the challenges with designing simulations and general? And what can he tell us about his time in the CIA? Duration: 1:09:25

Let's shuffle some cards with DeckBuilding Games! In these games players begin with identical decks of cards and alter them throughout the game. Listen to hear about the clank bank, Rob's most played mobile game, and the importance of pinnipeds in the Third Century Crisis. Featured Games: Ascension: Deckbuilding Game by John Fiorillo & Justin Gary (2010, Stone Blade Entertainment) Clank!: A Deck-Building Adventure Game by Paul Dennen (2016, Renegade Game Studios) Time of Crisis (The Roman Empire in Turmoil 235-284 AD) by Wray Ferrell & Brad Johnson (2017, GMT Games) Games of the Week: Isle of Syke: Journeyman by Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister (2017, Lookout Games & Mayfair Games) Necromunda by Andy Chambers, Jervis Johnson & Rick Priestly (1995, Games Workshop) Cuba Libre by Jess Grossman & Volko Ruhnke (2013, GMT Games) facebook.com/hotgamescast hotgamescast@gmail.com

Hola nietada, Hoy con Armando Felgueroso y Juan Francisco Cano @canitoswar vamos a pasar frío y calamidades por los bosques y montañas de Norteamérica en un conflicto que allá por 1754 se desarrolló entre Inglaterra y Francia en sus colonias americanas, pillando a los indios por medio que tuvieron que tomar partido por uno u otro bando y luchando por el control de un continente entero. Una guerra en un ambiente salvaje y hostil al que los soldados europeos no estaban acostumbrados y que se representa de manera espectacular en este juego de Volko Ruhnke, Wilderness War. Para más info visita nuestro blog http://jugandoconlosabuelos.blogspot.com.es/

Hola nietada, Hoy con Armando Felgueroso y Juan Francisco Cano @canitoswar vamos a pasar frío y calamidades por los bosques y montañas de Norteamérica en un conflicto que allá por 1754 se desarrolló entre Inglaterra y Francia en sus colonias americanas, pillando a los indios por medio que tuvieron que tomar partido por uno u otro bando y luchando por el control de un continente entero. Una guerra en un ambiente salvaje y hostil al que los soldados europeos no estaban acostumbrados y que se representa de manera espectacular en este juego de Volko Ruhnke, Wilderness War. Para más info visita nuestro blog http://jugandoconlosabuelos.blogspot.com.es/

https://conflictsimulations.com/2018/03/28/harold-on-games-podcast-1-with-volko-ruhnke-notes/ Im going to use this forum to share my thoughts about the games I play and the people I meet. We will experiment with a few things and work to find interesting content. I look forward to your thoughts, comments and ideas. THIS podcast is singularly composed of an interview with Volko Ruhnke the father of the COIN series. We will discuss his new Campaign and Levy Series published by GMT Games kicking off with Nevsky. Wait till you hear whats next in the series. He will also update us on what’s going on in with the COIN series.

Two months in and I'm really liking this new schedule of a quarter per topic. Those 90 days feel like enough time to dig into a subject, but also to keep moving so that I get to explore several throughout the year. I'll stick with this for the foreseeable future, and in this episode I share what some of my future topics will likely be. Plan of Fort Carillon in 1758 The main feature of this episode is another interview with designer Volko Ruhnke. I say "another" because he was on my podcast a year ago to talk about Alesia, while this time he's on to talk about the French & Indian War. Though he's probably best known now as the originator of the COIN system, Volko's first published design was a CDG, Wilderness War. We get to talk about that, as well as an entirely new game system he's working on. I don't know if this is a "scoop" or what because I had not heard of this before, and cannot find anything else about it online. Enjoy! Volko tells about this new system in the context of describing the time he had playtesting games at San Diego's wargaming convention, SDHistCon. I missed going this year...maybe I should make it a priority in 2018? Wargaming at BGG.con One of the reasons I didn't make it was that I went to another gaming convention in November, Boardgamegeek's BGGcon. This was my fourth time, having been to the very first (2005), and then three of the past few years (just missed when I lived in France--2016). Although primarily a eurogame event, I'd say perhaps 10% of the gaming is wargaming. Since BGGcon is such a large event (2500+ people over 4+ days), even 10% is quite a bit of wargaming. I did some of that this time, too. A plan of Fort William Henry, published in 1765 I've got one more designer interview planned for the final F&I War episode, next month in December. At that time I'll also recap the games & movies I've enjoyed. Then we'll put a bow on 2017 and look forward to the new year. -Mark Fort Oswego   Remember to follow along & chime in on my geeklist/discussion) for all of my French & Indian War explorations. If you're a wargamer on social media, follow me on Twitter (@WargamesToGo). Feedback is always welcome.

Another month, another podcast! More important, another famous subject of military history. I'm planning to get through one topic per month to maximize my subjects to study & visit during my year in Europe. I have to say, though--this month illustrated that it doesn't me dive in as deeply as I'd like. As with most of you, I don't have a ton of time to get wargames on the table, especially during the week. Even with my focus on the small titles, they still take time. Especially if they require print & play preparations, and you feel the need to round counter corners.   Volko Ruhnke   Am I supposed to root for the Gauls? As an American of Swedish ancestry, who can say? As an engineer, though, I am in awe of the Roman army. I picked Alesia for a few reasons. I didn't want to fall into the trap of focusing exclusively on WW2 battles while living here. Going all the way back to Ancients is a good cure for that. Sure enough, I quickly found the subject as fascinating as any from WW2. There was a whole lot to learn here, as much about the Gallic society as the Roman army and one particular battle. Some of my reading was about the individual battle, and some was about the entire Gallic War. There's a hot game right now that covers that broader conflict. Though I knew I wouldn't get to it myself just now, I was pleased to interview designer Volko Ruhnke and hear some of the design features and objectives of Falling Sky. Alesia Frédéric Bey also offered me a chance to see the battlefield. At least, where we THINK the battle took place. I got to see the museum there, the reconstructions of Roman fortifications, and take in the view from the hilltop where Vercingetorix may have once stood in the oppidum of Alesia. There are some competing theories among historians for the location, though, so one wargame designer made a second title with the most prominent alternative. That designer is my other interview subject for the podcast, Frédéric Bey.   Movies Ugh, are you sure you want to look at these? I didn't--they look terrible. • The Gaul (2001) • Caesar the Conqueror (1962) • Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar (1999) (Ok, not history, but any Frenchman will remember Asterix if you bring up Alesia) • The Conquerors - Episode 12: Caesar - Conqueror of Gaul (a "History Channel documentary," but a pretty good one) Books • The Gallic War by Julius Caesar • Alesia 52 BC by Nic Fields • Caesar's Legion by Stephen Dando-Collins Remember to follow along & chime in on my geeklist/discussion) for all of my Dunkirk & explorations. If you're a wargamer on social media, follow me on Twitter (@WargamesToGo). Feedback is always welcome. -Mark P.S. If you want to get started on my next topic, it will be The Battle of the Bulge.

In this episode of The Long View, I'm pleased to be joined once again by Adam C as we investigate the game Labyrinth: The War on Terror, 2001 � ? by Volko Ruhnke and GMT Games. Is this game an accurate depiction of the challenges of fighting terrorism? Is it possible to play a game about this topic? Is it a good game regardless of theme? What can be gleaned from playing the game? Listen to hear our thoughts about this game and this difficult topic. Thanks to Adam for doing this episode of the show, thanks to my sponsor www.gamesurplus.com for their continued support, thanks to The Dice Tower Network, and thanks, of course, to YOU for listening! This episode is dedicated to the people of Paris. Our thoughts and prayers are still with you all.

As part of Bruce Geryk’s series on Vietnam boardgaming, we talk to Volko Ruhnke, the co-designer of the upcoming Fire in the Lake, a unique treatment of Vietnam. We discuss the hows and whys of expressing Vietnam as a boardgame, and how it fits in with — and stands apart from — Ruhnke’s series of […] The post Qt3 Games Podcast: bringing Vietnam to the table appeared first on Quarter to Three.

As part of Bruce Geryk’s series on Vietnam boardgaming, we talk to Volko Ruhnke, the co-designer of the upcoming Fire in the Lake, a unique treatment of Vietnam. We discuss the hows and whys of expressing Vietnam as a boardgame, and how it fits in with — and stands apart from — Ruhnke’s series of […] The post Qt3 Games Podcast: bringing Vietnam to the table appeared first on Quarter to Three.

In this episode of The Long View, I'm pleased to be joined by Joel Eddy as we discuss the fascinating game of Andean Abyss, and the COIN series in general. Along the way, Joel and I discuss the unique aspects of this game, and the themes tackled by designer Volko Ruhnke. Is the COIN system the future of wargames? Does it best model the complex realities of modern conflicts? Find the answers to all of these questions and more in this episode of The Long View. The Long View is a proud member of The Dice Tower Network, home of great podcasts, reviews, news and commentary. Thanks to them for their support! The Long View is also generously sponsored by www.gamesurplus.com Gamesurplus is your first, best choice for online boardgame purchases. Customer service is second to none, and their prices simply can't be beat!

Welcome to Episode XVI: July 31, 2013 of Guns, Dice, Butter: a series of conversations with members of the wargaming tribe 0:02 Introduction: Episode Preview 0:07 Panel discussion with Maymi Hayakawa (FushigiTerebi youtube channel) and Gesine Staniend (kallisto73 youtube channel) on their journey as new and relatively new wargamers; very interesting perspectives. 1:05 Panel discussion with Mark Herman, Brian Train and Volko Ruhnke regarding Games of the WWIII: The Cold War Goes Hot. We survey 3WW and discuss our favorites (Third World War {GDW}, The Next War {SPI} and a few others). We also examine how the subject was covered in media (movies, tv, etc), why WWIII didn't happen (yet!) and WWIII games today. 2:56 Wrap up: On our wargaming desk,  shout outs and Guns, Dice, Butter news.   Survey of third world war games and media available on http://gunsdicebutter.libsyn.com/

Welcome to Episode X of Guns, Dice, Butter. 0:01 Intro 0:06 Conversation with Mercury Games: Richard Diosi (Doc Stryder) and Kevin Nesbitt 0:32 Panel discussion with Mark Herman, Brian Train and Volko Ruhnke regarding insurgencies and wargames: Wide ranging discussion examining wargames that model insurgencies (see website for link to games on insurgencies and national/strategic will games), political dynamics of insurgencies and insurgency games in the pipeline from this group of designers (A Distant Plan {Afghanistan}, Fire on the Lake {Vietnam}, etc). 2:18 Wrap up