Just a few days ago, we were delighted to present the new expansion for Gods of War: Lee – Napoleon III, and today we bring you some news regarding Gods of War: Togo.
In our February update, available here: http://www.gmboardgames.com/blog/en/starters-squadrons-and-new-ship-releases/, we wrote about the upcoming release of Russian cruisers for the Vladivostok squadron in June, as well as the fact that we’re working on completely new single-player starters for each fleet (and an additional new two-player set “Battle of the Yellow Sea,” featuring the Japanese and Russians). We also mentioned new squadron boxes for each fleet – these will not include order dials, making the squadrons much more competitively priced compared to individual ships. Practically every box will feature entirely new ships.
Today, we bring you several updates. First, the unfortunate news: we will not be able to finish the models for the starters by the end of June. Work on the Lee expansion, on the new scenarios for Togo (to bring the total to nine across three categories), and several technical and personal matters meant we could dedicate far less time than originally planned. As a result, the release of the starters is postponed until the end of September – at Fields of Glory – while the squadrons are now scheduled for December. The starters will launch alongside the French fleet, and the squadrons with the first wave of additional French ships. We sincerely apologise for this delay.
However – this does not mean that June will be quiet! Not only will the previously announced releases go ahead, but we also have a few additional ones. Here’s what you can expect:
1. The long-awaited Vladivostok cruiser set – Rurik, Rossiya, and Gromoboi (in a single box). This is the set Russian fleet players have been especially eager to get their hands on. At the last tournament, players had a chance to see the shipyard work on Rurik, which is close to completion. We’ll certainly finish this trio.
2. A new addition: the American light cruiser/gunboat USS Yorktown (two ships in the box). The adventures of one of her sister ships, USS Concord, were described in our battle report from the historic Battle of Manila Bay in 1898: http://www.gmboardgames.com/blog/en/battle-of-manila-bay-1898-battle-report/
She’s a small ship, but impressively armed for her size – a great pick for “filling out” your army list.
The second ship of this class, USS Petrel, will also be released – in a new category we’re introducing: Mail Order. This section will feature lesser-known vessels that may not be tournament favourites or are outclassed in their category, but which we still want to include in the game for historical or aesthetic reasons. As boxed shelf space is limited, Mail Order ships will only be available to order directly. This makes it more feasible to introduce unique units like the Petrel – which, as we know, will be very appealing to many of you!
The coastal fortifications set – including everything from Martello towers to mortars. We’re finally bringing in the models funded during the Kickstarter campaign! This will be one large set containing four classes of coastal fortifications, cannon and mortar models, a Martello tower, and a separate land mortar/howitzer (as mortars can be deployed both in forts and on their own). All these new models have already been added to the test version of the army builder – and now we begin playtesting. We want to give you the opportunity to paint them early. They’ll offer great tactical variety (be sure to revisit the rulebook chapters on mortars and coastal batteries!). And, they look absolutely gorgeous! 😊
A wreck set – also available as Mail Order. Besides the rotating renders shown here, you can also check out Aspirant’s excellent work on the Strategie Forum modelling competition: https://www.strategie.net.pl/viewtopic.php?p=429874#p429874
The set includes wrecks for all four classes. While mainly decorative, isn’t it delightful to replace an enemy ship with her sinking wreck?
Another long-awaited favourite – the sail-powered schooner Effie M. Morrissey – also available as Mail Order. By the way, let us know if you’d like to see more sailing vessels in the game! (In this era, we’d mostly be talking about transports rather than warships.)
Lastly, the famous torpedo pinnaces – also as Mail Order. These units, with the cutter trait, can be purchased as upgrades for 1st and 2nd class ships, providing them with additional torpedoes. We’ve already seen battles where these tiny ships sent mighty opponents to the bottom – don’t underestimate them!
We still have the harbour set to release post-Kickstarter, but we’re holding off a little longer. We want to make it part of a larger “Port” set, which will include not only the already completed harbour pieces, but also a port marker (needed for the Port Bombardment scenario), and additional elements like port buildings, cranes, etc. A perfect way to beautify the islands you place on your gaming table.
And finally – today Kuba and I spent several hours buried in our specialist books, choosing which ships the French fleet will receive for their September premiere at Glory Fields. Mission accomplished! We’ll reveal them in due time.
But to offer a small teaser: one of the vessels appearing in the first wave will be the armoured cruiser D’Entrecasteaux – known in our part of the world as ORP Bałtyk.
As for the rest of the ships – you’ll see them when we unveil their beautiful model designs. Get ready for some elegant hull lines!
Thank you for reading this long update – we hope the June releases will make the wait for the new starters and squadrons a little easier to bear.
⚠️ NOTICE: The old starter sets will remain available until the end of August. In early September, they will be removed from sale, as we need some time to transition logistically between the old and new sets. So if you still want to order the old ones – you have until the end of summer.
The new sets will be available starting at Glory Fields – the last weekend of September.
Full steam ahead!