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Summary of 2020 and plans for 2021

We invite you to read the hottest text of this year on our website. Once again, we will tell you about our plans – both the past and the future.

In the text at the beginning of 2020, we described what we wanted to do and what we managed to do in 2019. The text is available here: http://www.gmboardgames.com/blog/en/summary-of-2019-and-plans-for-2020/

It’s been a tough year for most of us. The old Chinese curse says: “May you live in interesting times”. And unfortunately it happened. Life has shown that it is much better to live in the “boring” ones. The restrictions hit the entire wargaming industry – including gamers – in the most severe way. They made playing difficult or even temporarily impossible. And although many of us painted a lot of new miniatures during this time, meetings with people close to us at the wargaming table, interesting conversations, nice time, sometimes even with a mug of good drink in hand – all this was certainly missing last year. And we guarantee that to us too. The most negative result of the difficulties in playing for us was that it severely limited the possibility of testing new nations or games, therefore, unfortunately, the projects planned for this year were not completed. We are talking about Crazy Horse, Grant and Togo. For some of them we have already found a way out and returned to testing, others have to wait a while for a better pandemic situation and the possibility of more frequent meetings. Remember that we are also players and we would love to play these ready-made games and add-ons.

Let’s start with a summary of the last year, and then we will present what we are preparing for 2021.

  1. On February 23, 2020, the premiere of second edition of Gods of War: Lee rulebook (in Polish) took place in the Bolter.pl store. It was by far the most important event of the year. After more than 18 months of work, we released a paper version. In addition to the rulebook, we have also introduced new versions of the cards.
  2. We have finished translating the English version of the Gods of War Lee rulebook. Thanks to this, we are working on the DTP of this book and it will be available to all English-speaking players. This is one of our priorities because we want to reach more people all over the world.
  3. We started our own production of miniatures and accessories using 3D printing technology. It was the biggest revolution for us and it pushed us forward. In 2019, we wrote about the fact that we were probably the first company in the world that produced 3D miniatures in a 6mm scale with details that did not differ – or even exceed – from metal casts (info here: LINK). Thanks to our own production, we are able to replenish deliveries on an ongoing basis, and what’s more, we managed to lower prices a bit.
  4. We played the Battle of Antietam – a great historic clash. It was the biggest battle – in terms of the number of figures – in the history of our game (Info here: LINK).
  5. Megabattles. In addition to historical battles, we managed to play three great battles that were part of our campaign. More information here: LINK.
  6. For the first time, we found our way to wargaming magazines. The well-known Wargames Illustrated magazine wrote about us, which we boasted about here: LINK.
  7. We have introduced new functionalities in our army builder LINK.
  8. We have created a beautiful Santa Claus promotion, thanks to which everyone who met the appropriate conditions while shopping in the Bolter store could get a unique model of the Santa LINK.
  9. We conducted a painting competition, which resulted in many beautiful, painted figurines🙂 LINK
  10. And finally – we have launched as many as 20 new miniatures sets! They were:

BRITISH:

  • Colonial Cavalry (mounted and dismounted).
  • British infantry in pith helmets.
  • Lancaster Gun.
  • Naval Brigade.

FRENCH

  • Naval artillery.
  • Mountain howitzers (m1828).
  • Hussars (for 1859 and 1870).
  • French Foreign Legion.

CONFEDERACY

  • Confederate Militia (in shooting positions).
  • Mountain gun.

UNION

  • Western Theater Infantry / Iron Brigade (in shooting positions).
  • Mountain gun.

NATIVE AMERICANS

  • Mounted and dismounted Lakota warriors and chieftains.

OTHERS

  • Animals (bisons, cows, pack mules)
  • Stonewalls, Gabions, Chevaux de Frise, Stockades.

When it comes to miniatures and models, as you can see, last year was very successful and we are going to continue this trend in 2021.

So what are the plans for 2021?

  1. It will be the year of many miniatures and ship models premieres. Expect many new sets for your existing and planned armies and fleets. Most of the miniatures that we will release will be made in 3D technology, where we remain pioneers in introducing it to the 6 mm scale for historical games.
  2. Due to the increased number of sets, we will introduce a pre-sale system this year, i.e. it will be possible to order new sets well in advance of the premiere. Thanks to this, you will be able to get your dream models first (and faster).
  3. In addition to miniatures, more and more accessories will appear. Stonewallas, Gabions, Chevaux de Frise and Stockades are just the beginning 🙂
  4. This year is the year of the release of the English version of the Lee rulebook. We started DTP, so we’re close.
  5. With the advent of gaming-testing opportunities, we want to complete the most delayed projects, namely Togo, Crazy Horse and Grant. Apart from them, the publishing plans also include a rulebook for the Crimean War. At the instigation of the players, we changed the publishing policy some time ago. Instead of publishing individual army books, we will publish entire expansion books for a specific war. They will contain the most important information about the armies fighting in it, army lists, special rules etc. The Crimean War will contain rules for the French (who are already available), a new army list and rules for the British, Russians and Turks. Yes! The Ottoman Empire will appear in the game.
    The speed at which new rulebooks are published will depend on the speed and ability to test the new rules.
  6. Historical battles. We hope to get back to playing the big battles of the Civil War (and beyond). In 2020, we have already played the biggest battle in the history of our rules – Antietam. The next planned clash is Fredericksburg – its timing depends of course on pandemic issues.
  7. Events and trips to wargaming conventions: We would love to (we know what it depends on) come back to travelling and meeting with you. If they take place, we will come to Field of Glory (Niepołomice in Poland), and also to Crisis in Antwerp. We also hope to come back to many Polish cities and maybe visit our good neighbors in Germany and Czech Republic.
  8. New campaign. In 2021, we would like to re-play a campaign in which every player could participate.
  9. We are also preparing a few surprises that we will let you know about in the coming months 🙂

These are the plans for this year. Keep your fingers crossed that they can be realized. We hope that together we will manage to slowly return to normal, to our favorite hobby. To meetings with our wargaming friends.

At this point, we would like to thank you for the great support we receive from you. It provides us with extraordinary energy to work – you are wonderful! 🙂

See you on miniature land and sea battlefields!