Something about the second (or later) printing of a game always gets me. I am not sure if it is just the knowledge that the second printing will have less errata (usually having known errata incorporated). Maybe it is the assurance that enough people bought the first printing that I have a reasonable chance to find opponents. Maybe it is the assurance that enough people bought the game that I know it's not a dud. Some combination of these three, whatever it is, makes newer printings of games almost irresistible to me. Today's topic, Bayonets & Tomahawks, 2nd Printing, from GMT Games, is just the latest in the trend of such purchases.
It is possible I would have picked this up without the new printing- the topic (French and Indian War) is interesting enough, and I have played at least one game on it and enjoyed it (A Few Acres of Snow). I don't own many games on the war (I believe the only other one is Bloody Mohawk, from Lock 'n Load Publishing). It is well-regarded, award-winning, the system looks interesting at first glance... plenty of reasons I may have grabbed this. A new printing just solidifies it.
As with all games that come into my collection, I always spend a bit looking over the components. It gives me the first feel for the game, and the table appeal is what I hope will get my friends to try it too. So, let's take a look.
As with all games, we start with the box:
Classic GMT look, which is to say it is nice, clean, with a good piece of art on the top. I think the newer boxes are more visually interesting, of course, but I don't really expect them to drastically change something as important as a cover for a new printing. And the classic GMT cover style really is quite nice as it is.
The back of the box:
As always, a lot of good information, with a sampling of components. The complexity seems lower than I'd expect (BGG gives it a 'weight' of 3.2 out of 5, but non-wargamers may find this more complex than a wargamer would), and a brief perusal of the rules indicates that the six solitaire rating comes from a solitaire-friendly set of rules, not a specific set of solitaire rules, although the playbook does have one column with some slight modifications to play, in order to make solitaire play easier.
The rulebook is the first thing you encounter when opening the box:
Full color, very nice quality. GMT hosts a digital version of this here. One picture to show the inside of the book:
I have briefly read through the rules, and the game is much different than I expected. In my head, I was anticipating more of a traditional CDG, but this seems more... card-paced, than card driven. I am not sure what the term would be. You draw a card, and your options are limited by the action provided by the card, but you do have a single reserve card you can use to replace the drawn card, once per year. It feels more like what COIN games do than a CDG, but even that is a very poor comparison. Either way, the rules are nicely laid out- this will be an easy one to put on the table.
Next up is the playbook:
Again, given to us online by GMT here. Again, full color, and great quality:
The playbook's focus is on examples of play (with several detailed examples of various parts of the game), some strategy advice, and historical background on the various cards/events in the game. As a wargamer, the playbook is frequently the part of the game I spend the most time with- yeah, I need to read the rules to play, but seeing how the designer tied mechanics to the history, as well as learning about said history is something I will read for pleasure in my free time.
Next up are the countersheets. The game comes with three such sheets:
I honestly tried to take pictures in better light than usual, but that seems to have made almost no difference in picture quality. Anyway, the counters are very nice, up to GMT's typical standards. The triangle counters are light units, and I am certain their non-standard shape will annoy me at some point. Do light units not stack with the other unit types (there are circle and square units)? Well, again, this game justified a second printing. How about I play it before I worry about how awkward it will be.
Next up we have scenario set up cards:
Every scenario uses the Indian setup card, and there are separate British and French cards to allow the setup of the any of the game's four scenarios (there are also variant scenarios presented in the playbook). The printing of a particular scenario's setup across two different cards is very handy- nothing slows a game down more than both players needing to pass setup information back and forth. Smart choice!
Two identical player aid cards are included:
A lot of information is on these cards, and presumably once you are familiar with the game, these will be all you need.
The game comes with custom dice:
These dice are excellent! Custom cut, painted, and really high quality. The sides show what units get a hit (matching the shapes of the counters), and the others deal with a Battle Victory marker, or potential leader loss... well, that is pretty cool. The battle rules look to be more involved than I would have expected- very exciting.
The game comes with a beautiful, mounted map:
GMT is also kind enough to provide a much better digital version to see the details here. I quite like the map, and the actual physical quality is very impressive. Of course, this is GMT, they have some of the best component quality in the business.
Next up is a fabric bag:
This is used for reinforcement draws, where counters called 'Vagaries of War' will be added to provide additional uncertainty in the schedule and arrival of reinforcements.
Finally, we have a number of cards, with three different card backs. The French cards have a blue back:
Here are some other pictures of these cards, with a bit more going on:
The cards have events, limits as to what sort of units you can activate on your turn, an initiative value (the die on the bottom). You will have the choice of using this card or your reserve card each turn, but you will definitely be at the mercy of these cards throughout the game. I imagine if I played it more than once, some time analyzing the spread of activations would be really helpful.
There are also British and Indian cards (the latter drawn by the French player):
And some more interesting examples:
And there you have it. The game looks incredible, as everyone has come to expect from GMT. My brief read through the rules made me very excited for this game- it is not what I expected at all. If anything, it seems much meatier than I was anticipating, which is a very pleasant surprise. My friend Bob has expressed interest in playing this (I think he has a copy), so I am going to sort and sleeve this one in the next month, on the off chance it gets on the table soon.
