Flying Pig Games New Kickstarter

This is straight from the Pigs Piehole:

Ghost Front, Hell Bent, OST V2, and V3 all coming to Kickstarter!

In less than a week, on April 14th, 2026 12:00 PM EDT - you can get these four coveted titles from the Old School Tactical series for discounted rates!

As always, we will offer our steepest discounts in the first 30 minutes of the campaign. Make sure to follow the pre-launch page here to be notified as soon as we launch so you don't miss out on these discounts!

These titles were some of our most requested reprints, by you guys, our fans!

Four games, one Kickstarter!

Art and Design by Shayne Logan

This is a YT video about this new KS offer:

Upcoming Old School Tactical Kickstarter - GHOST FRONT, HELL BENT, VOLUME 2 and 3! - YouTube

The Old School Tactical System

Old School Tactical is a squad-level WWII tactical system built around tempo, friction, and player-driven decision making. Each counter represents a squad, half-squad, leader, support weapon, or vehicle, and the system focuses on how those elements interact through line of sight, terrain, morale, and timing rather than layered procedural rules.

At its core is the Impulse Point system, which replaces traditional turn structures with a variable command economy. At the start of each turn, both players roll to determine their available Impulse Points. These points are then spent one at a time to perform actions such as Move, Fire, Assault, Recover (Rally), or Opportunity Fire. Because players alternate spending points, activations occur in a back-and-forth sequence rather than in isolated turns. This creates a constant contest for tempo, where initiative is fluid and decisions must be made in response to an evolving battlefield.

The system forces prioritization at every step. For example, activating a squad to Move into a forward hex may cost valuable Impulse Points—but doing so risks triggering enemy Opportunity Fire if the unit crosses a hex within line of sight. That Opportunity Fire is resolved immediately, potentially causing the moving unit to become Shaken or Broken before it even reaches its destination. As a result, even a simple advance requires planning: suppress the enemy first, move under cover, or accept the risk and press forward.

Fire combat is resolved quickly but carries meaningful consequences. Attacks are based on weapon strength, range, and terrain modifiers, with results that can eliminate units or degrade their effectiveness. A squad that becomes Shaken suffers reduced capability, while a Broken unit is effectively combat ineffective until rallied. This creates a natural battlefield rhythm where units are suppressed, repositioned, and reintroduced into the fight rather than simply removed.

Leaders play a critical role in managing that rhythm. They provide bonuses to rally attempts, improve activation efficiency, and help maintain cohesion under fire. For instance, a Broken squad adjacent to a leader has a significantly better chance to Recover, making leader placement essential when holding a defensive line or sustaining an attack.

Close combat is handled through Assault actions, which resolve quickly and decisively. Units entering an enemy-occupied hex engage in close-quarters fighting where outcomes can swing control of key terrain in a single activation. Because Assault requires committing units into contact, it becomes a calculated risk—especially when the defender may still have Impulse Points available to respond elsewhere.

The system’s Opportunity Fire rules are central to its tactical depth. Units may fire during an opponent’s movement when a valid target presents itself, creating a persistent threat across the map. This discourages reckless movement and rewards proper sequencing—such as using one unit to draw fire before advancing a more critical element.

Vehicles and support weapons integrate directly into these same mechanics. A machine gun team, for example, can dominate a fire lane with high firepower but must be carefully positioned and protected. Armored vehicles provide mobility and strong attack values, but their effectiveness depends heavily on line of sight, terrain, and the presence of anti-tank threats. There are no separate mini-games—these elements operate within the same core system, reinforcing consistency.

Scenario design further enhances the experience by focusing on specific tactical problems rather than abstract victory conditions. Players may be tasked with holding terrain for a set number of turns, exiting units off the map, or seizing key objectives under time pressure. Terrain—whether jungle, urban, or open ground—directly shapes these challenges by affecting movement, visibility, and defensive strength.

What emerges is a system defined by timing, positioning, and economy of action. A player might spend Impulse Points early to suppress a strongpoint, then exploit that window with movement and Assault. Alternatively, they may conserve points to react, using Opportunity Fire and counter-activations to disrupt an opponent’s plan. There is no fixed “right” sequence—only the constant evaluation of risk versus reward.

For experienced wargamers, Old School Tactical offers a design where the rules stay out of the way, but the decisions do not. Its strength lies in how a small set of clearly defined mechanics—Impulse Points, Opportunity Fire, morale states, and terrain interaction—combine to produce a battlefield that feels dynamic, reactive, and tactically demanding.

Here is the preorder page:

Old School Tactical: The Pacific and West by Mark H. Walker — Kickstarter

 AGAINST THE IRON RING

FROM

VUCA SIMULATIONS

As with several previous Vuca Simulations games, Against the Iron Ring is a significant revamp of an earlier boxed game or magazine game.  In this case, Six Angles magazine game, Paulus' 6th Army, designed by Masahiro Yamazaki.  Its system has basic features very close to that in the two excellent games in the Traces of War series that I have previously reviewed.  It presents an operational treatment of the Soviet campaign that begins with Operation Uranus and continues into Winter Storm - a campaign that covers the encirclement which led to the surrender of the German 6th Army under General Paulus and Von Manstein's attempted relief.  It also covers much the same ground as Stalingrad Pocket, the first game in the Standard Combat Series (published by The Gamers).

The production bears all the hallmark qualities that we've come to expect from Vuca Simulations.  Excellent, thick pre-rounded counters, 2 maps in a muted steely grey, various play aids in solid, rigid boards and a clear, comprehensive full-colour rulebook.

All contents displayed above and the double map shown below
   

There are a few minor niggles.  The first being a small number of inaccuracies with counters, such as the Soviet unit 4MK 51st Army. Being a particularly powerful unit it has several counters to show it from its strongest to weakest strength.  Unfortunately the strongest counter with an armour symbol is missing.  Fortunately however, its corresponding counter with a Nato symbol is there - so a slightly hybrid result existence transpires for this unit.  My copy also came accompanied by the corrected foldable player aids - both the originals and their replacements display that substantial solidity that has been a hallmark of Vuca Simulations games from their outset, as do the four excellent double-sided Set-Up sheets that cover the game's three scenarios.  

Scenario 1 presents Operation Uranus's drive for the Kalach Crossings and this is played out on a single map over the first three turns, while Scenario 2 takes us to the end of the campaign in Winter Storm, again needing only single map and covers turns 8 to 12.  Finally, Scenario 3 uses both maps for the complete 12 turns of the whole campaign. 

Both the shorter scenarios are excellent for learning the rules and provide a lively and punchy experience in their own right.  If you're familiar with the Traces of ... series you may be forgiven for plunging straight into the full campaign, as none of these games need either the time or table space that could bring them anywhere near the label "monster"!  However, Against the Iron Ring provides a slightly more detailed system than that in the Traces of ... series.

So, diving in, the Turn Sequence is a fairly familiar and fairly standard igo-ugo one; with the Soviet turn being followed and mirrored by the German one in an identical sequence of Phases.

Soviet Movement Phase

Soviet Combat Phase

German Reaction Phase

Soviet Exploitation Phase

Soviet Supply Phase

German Movement Phase

German Combat Phase

Soviet Reaction Phase

German Exploitation Phase

German Supply Phase

The basic rules are also a familiar and generally standard affair.  However, there are many significant modifications and additions that give each side a slightly different quality  and character.  Consequently, both players need to get well acquainted with them to make sure they play their side accurately while being familiar with what their opponent can do that is slightly different.

Such is true of one of the features of this system that I continue to be uncertain whether I like it or not.  That feature is the colour coding signalled by division and corps for the Germans and Army for the Soviets.  As in the Traces of… series, this is largely irrelevant as units are activated according to their being within range of any HQ. In this game that is something of a relief, as some of the colours (particularly for German units), at least to my eyes, are all too similar especially under artificial lighting. However, to my surprise divisional integrity as shown by these colours does play a part for the German player in combat whether as attacker or defender.  Though this will only occasionally come into effect, the need to be on the alert for it would have been helped by more distinctively different colouring.

On the other hand what is highly useful to ease of play is each Player's substantial, individualised Player Aid.  Typically each contains the essential Combat Results Table and a range of other tables, such as Surrender Check, Supply Capture, German Mobile Unit Supply and German Supply Airlift, as well as a comprehensive Terrain Chart.  

Beyond that, each contains a very detailed Sequence of Play specific to the individual player and an equally comprehensive display that highlights the key points for Movement, Exploitation Movement, Reserve Status and Reaction.

These I've found very, very useful, both in learning the game's rules and during play.  They provide such helpful reminders not just of basic elements, but the minor individualities for that player.

One of the most significant for the Soviet player is the function of Soviet Offensive Supply Markers.  

A limited and finite number of these mobile units begin play on the map and the Soviet player will gain no more in the course of the game.  At what point in the game you choose to use them makes for some careful consideration, especially as they have to be flipped to their Offensive Supply Side at the beginning of the Soviet Movement Phase. They affect the HQ that they're stacked with, bestowing a series of important benefits.  First of all the HQ can act as a supply source even if it cannot trace a valid supply line to a normal supply source.  Next it allows every eligible unit within its range to undertake overruns and finally in the Combat Phase it grants units within range a +2 column shift right when attacking.

A typical Soviet HQ - 

its range in hexes being the number on the left

By contrast the German player has none of these limiting restraints, but, on the other hand, nor does it gain the Combat Phase benefit of a 2 column shift.  By and large, all the rules that give each side its individuality present contrasting or limiting modifications.  

So, regarding Reserves, the Soviet player can place a single unit per HQ into Reserve.  As there are 10 HQs that allows a maximum of 10 units placed in Reserve, whereas the German player can place 4 stacks in Reserve.  As a stack may contain a maximum of 4 steps and units range in size from a single step to 4 steps, this gives both sides considerable flexibility and diversity.  If the Soviet managed to put ten 4-step units into Reserve this would be a significantly more powerful force than the German who can marshal at best four 4-step points of strength [i.e. 40 steps as opposed to 16 steps]!

What is even more startling is the distinction between how steps are signified for stacking purposes and what they mean in terms of a unit's durability.  Look at the example below.

The number of steps for stacking purposes is shown by the dots in the top left hand corner of the counter.  However, in conventional 

terms stacking points frequently equals the number of steps a unit possesses.  Not so here, as can be seen in the example above of one of the strongest units in the game.   The Soviet 1st Tank unit is represented by 4 separate counters, each of which has the same stacking value on its front and back.  Consequently, though it has only 4 stacking points at its strongest, it takes 8 losses to eliminate  the unit!

Another striking feature of the system is the developed Supply rules.  In particular, there are 3 levels of being out of supply that affect Attack strength, Defence strength and Movement in increasingly punishing ways  and with a specially debilitating Level 3 marker for Soviet Corps units!  The final additional rule that I like here is that Levels of being Out of Supply don't just increase by continuing to be OOS when Supply is next checked, they also get worse if you take part in Movement or Combat while being OOS.

The markers for 3 Levels of OOS

The final aspect to consider is the overall quality of the Rule Book.  This is well organised and structured, supported by plentiful examples that combine both pictorial illustration accompanied by substantial written explanation.  A typical example is the one below which starts with a picture of a series of potential overrun situations.

This is then followed by a full and very substantial unpacking of the diagram.  

As I've already indicated the rules are of medium density and the rule book takes you systematically and carefully through them.

The last aspect I want to explore are the Scenarios.  The following image shows the set up for Scenario 1: Operation Uranus.  This is a 3 turn scenario played out solely on the right hand map.  As such it's an excellent introduction to the system having a fairly low counter density and short playing time.  It's also useful for honing your skills for launching the full two map campaign scenario.

Set up for Scenario 1

(with Stalingrad inset overlaid at the bottom)

One minor draw back is that an excellent expanded display of the four hexes that constitute the area of Stalingrad is printed on the other map.  If you don't want to have your units piled up high, then  creating a copy of the display (like the image below) solves the problem.

Finally in the image below, I've left the four hexes that constitute Stalingrad empty for you to see.  Normally, I leave one counter in each hex with the remainder set up, as indicated above.  Though you can overstack in these hexes, it's important to note that you can still only attack from Stalingrad with four stacking points of units and only four stacking points can be used in defending Stalingrad hexes.

Scenario 2: Winter Storm is wrongly shown in the Rule Book as being played on the left hand map.  In fact it is played out on the same map as Scenario 1 and the Soviet Deployment  Lines insert on the Soviet counter Set Up  play aid is extremely helpful in getting everything right.

My final photo is simply one of my storage for all the units by Formation. This I've found ultimately to be the best way to sort them in order to swiftly find the correct units for a Scenario and transfer them on to the player Set Up play aids.

All in all, another excellent addition to my collection which I would highly recommend.  Thanks again to Vuca Simulations for providing the review copy and a special thanks for their patience in the four to five month delay in my being able to review Against The Iron Ring because of  family health problems.

 Hubris: Twilight of the Hellenistic World, 220-165 BCE

by

GMT Games

 

 This game deals with the period of history that I love the most. This would be the period from the death of Alexander to the fall of the Roman Republic. The game period also mostly corresponds to the rule of Antiochos III the Great from 223-187 BC of the Seleucid Empire (He was also the Great Grandfather of Mithridates VI Eupator, Rome's most inveterate enemy). Antiochos is my third favorite ruler from the time. The first two would be Antigonus and Pyrrhus. The year 220 BC is two years before the start of the second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. This time period is called the Hellenistic Age. The three families of generals of Alexander had carved up his empire and now ruled it along with some smaller states. The Greece city states were shades of their former glory and power. The Antigonids ruled in Macedon, Lagids (Ptolemies) ruled in Egypt, and the Seleucids had power over a large part of the Asian empire of Alexander. To be correct, the Seleucid empire was not doing that well when Antiochus III came to power. Antiochos first tried to conquer Egypt, but he was repulsed at the Battle of Raphia. After that, he decided to reconquer the other kingdoms in central Asia that had broken free from the Seleucid yoke. His triumphant march reestablished the Seleucid power and earned him his moniker. These three states had now had to deal with a relatively newcomer on the world stage the Republic of Rome. So, the stage is set and the players are on their marks. The curtain rises on them, and the winner of the contest will become the ruler of the Mediterranean. This is what comes with the game:

One 22” x 34” Mounted Map

69 Leader Cards

62 Event Cards

Three Double-sided Roman Agenda Cards

Five Double-sided Punic Wars Cards

37 Optional Satrapy Mini-Cards

25 Leader Blocks with Stickers

Three Countersheets of 5/8”, 2/3” round, and ½” Markers and Counters

Three Player Aid Foldouts

One Player Aid Card & Map Legend

One Solitaire Guidelines Foldout

Three Sets of Four 6-sided Dice

One Rulebook

One Playbook with Examples of Play and Background Material

Published: 2025

Designer: Morgane Gouyon-Rety

Developer: Kevin Bernatz

Art Director: Oliver Chanry

This is from GMT Games and shows all of the components

 This is what GMT Games has to say about the game:

"Hubris: Twilight of the Hellenistic World places players in the shoes of the 2nd century BC Hellenistic kings, heirs to the famous Successors who fought over Alexander the Great's empire for more than 40 years, into their dotage. The world they are living in is different in many ways as, under the Macedonian kings, the Eastern Mediterranean has experienced a boost in urban life and an unprecedented sharing and cross-fertilization of culture, but the dominant theme remains major powers' rivalries and endemic warfare.

In those years, even though the great kingdoms of the Lagids (Ptolemies), Seleucids and Antigonid Macedon have been established for 80 years or more, power remains a very personal endeavour, with everything revolving around the king, and he himself having to rely on his entourage of family members, childhood friends, and veteran advisers to conduct state affairs, whether leading armies, undertaking diplomatic missions, or governing provinces.

Even though the great kings are fixated on their rivals, the world around them has been changing, both from within, where minor kingdoms such as Pergamon have been pushing for a space at the table, and leagues of Greek cities are offering a new challenge to century-old Macedonian hegemony, and from without where, beyond the ever present Barbarian incursions from the savage North, new powers have been flexing their muscles both in the Western Mediterranean and Central Asia...

The times for a final push for final triumph, or descent into irrelevancy, are near..."

  This is definitely a game that cries out 'Eurogame' when you look at the components. The board is colorful and totally filled with game information and tracks. It comes with both blocks and counters and has three decks of cards, one of which is Tarot card in size. There are also enough player aids and rules to choke a horse.

 The map is in Ancient Greek. So, the place names might be different than even a Grognard who plays ancient games would be used to. The map goes from Egypt in the south to Illyria in the north, and from Italy to Bactria from east to west. It is cut up into the different satrapies (many left over from the Achaemenid Empire) and ruled by satraps (governors). There are also the smaller nations in Asia Minor, Pontus, Bithynia, and others, along with Sparta and the Aetolian and Achaean Leagues in Greece. The satrapies and nations have their own banners that denote victory points along with other game information. Cities and tribes are also marked on the map as are strongholds, capitols, and places of interest. The satrapies are combined into regions, these being:

Greece: Peloponessos, Boiotia- Euboia, Thessalia, Aitolia-Epeiros

Europe: Illyria, Makedonia, Thrake

Asia Minor: Mysia, Ionia, Lydia-Phrygia, Bithynia, Lykia-Pamphylia

Africa: Kyrenaike Delta, Pelousiakon Stoma, Thebais

 Some might say the map is a bit busy, but everything on it is more than large enough to easily read and find the information you are looking for. One more thing, I find the map to be absolutely wonderfully illustrated, but this might be my bias talking.

 Next, we have the different Rulebooks etc.:

Rules of Play - 51 pages

Learning to Play - 27 pages

Solitaire Rules - 11 pages

Companion Book (Tome) - 68 pages

 All of the books are in blazing full color and use double-column pages. The Companion Book is jammed packed with almost everything in the game discussed in its pages. This is its Table of Contents:

Historical Introduction

Events Appendix

Second Punic War Appendix

Leaders Appendix

Designer Notes

Pronunciation Guide

Map Gazetteer

Bibliography

Credits

 Every single Leader, place, and playing card has its own history or bio written out. Even someone like me who has read widely on the era will learn plenty of history here. 

 The Players' Aids are made of card stock and are also in full color. There are three, one for each Kingdom player, that fold out to four pages. The next is double-sided with a Map Legend on one and Information about Rome in the game on the other. Lastly, there are two Players' Aids about Non-Player Kingdoms for playing solitaire. One is double-sided and the other is a fold out four pager.

 Coming up next on the hit list is the counters. There are three full countersheets of them. They range from 5/8" and 1/2" squares to circles representing armies, navies, and game tokens. The 5/8" counters are rounded, while the 1/2" are not. The squared counters have no writing on them, but the circle counters do. Unfortunately, this writing is small. There is also a small bag of muti-colored blocks and two sheets of stickers for them. There are 12 die that come with the game, four for each of the Hellenistic Kingdoms. 

 Last, but definitely not least, are the three sets of cards. Their sizes remind me of the story of Goldilocks. The three decks go from small to normal and Tarot in size. The smallest deck has all of the game's separate satrapies on them. The normal wargame sized deck has all of the leaders and Kings along with some other cards to be played. In this deck every single personality has a picture on the card representing them. They are very nicely done and remind me of what you would see in a graphic novel. The Tarot sized deck has all of the event cards that you will play or have to deal with. They also have the same type of graphic novel illustration across the top of the cards. 

 Please understand that I am not doing justice to the game's components. Unless you get the entirety of them in your hot little hands you will not completely understand the art and design that went into everything in the box.

 These are the scenarios:

220 (Historical) New Hopes

220 (Alternate) The Seleucid Thunderbolt

220 (2 Player Introductory Scenario) The Fourth Syrian War

205 Antiochos the Great

192 (1 Player Solitaire Scenario) Antiochos's Hubris

190 (1 Player Solitaire Introductory Scenario) The Dance of Ares

180 Last Glimmers

 The scenario setups also have a full color map to show you where every piece and token goes.

 Victory in the game is decided by points in these three categories:

Territorial Victory Points

Dynastic Victory Points

Renown

Total Victory Points (all three added together)

A player can also get an Automatic Victory if he has 30 Total Victory Points. There is also a Historical Victory Performance Spreadsheet. You can use this to see how you are doing compared to your historical counterparts. 

 

 So, as the old adage goes, it looks very nice but how does it play? Well for starters, the complexity is nowhere near as high as the mass of components would make you think. The game is rated by GMT at a difficulty of five and I think that is spot on. It is certainly not Squad Leader or a beer and pretzels game. Like a good number of games that are coming out, it does help if you already know the history. That doesn't mean you will have to have taken a course on the Hellenistic age to play it, although the designer has put so much history into it that I would be surprised if you didn't receive some of it by osmosis. The game does have a lot of parts, and you will have to follow the sequence of play at least for a few turns. However, then you should be getting into the groove of playing it.

 One part of warfare that the game does a very good job of showing historical reality is money. The talent is the going denomination in the game. If you do not have enough talents your grandiose plans are just that. The Macedonian Antigonids are the poorest Kingdom with the Seleucids roughly in the middle between Macedonia and the Ptolemies of Egypt. The Ptolemies definitely have a leg up as far as wealth goes. However, it can be more than offset by gameplay in other areas. Another very historical part of the game is that Hellenistic Kings did not make peace treaties lightly. Historically, no King reneged on his word and attacked another that he made peace with. So, in the game you have to follow this policy. However, if a new King is enthroned the gloves are off. The treaties were made between the Kings and not Kingdoms.

 The very nature of the game means that every time you play it will be a different game. Oh, the starting setups will be the same but the minute you start to play things will be different. The goal of the game is to conquer and to increase your renown as far as you can. However, the name of the game is Hubris. This is taken straight from the Greek definition. So, just like Icarus you can fly too high and destroy yourself and your Kingdom in the process. For a historical reference Antiochos the Great has 29 Total Victory Points in the year 200-196 BC (turn 5). That means he is just one point away from winning. However, after his war with Rome he and his Kingdom crash and burn.

 You start with the setup of the Treasury, Victory Points, your starting Court Members etc. Then you prepare all of the decks for play. Next is the Revenue Phase (collecting taxes from your satrapies). The Mercenaries Phase is where you will vie with the other Kingdoms for the control of the Kretans, Galatians, and others. The Action Phase with the Events cards and activations are now dealt with. Then comes the Winters Quarters Phase, Pending Events Segment, Peace Segment, War Exhaustion Segment, Victory Segment, Returning Home Segment, Strengthened Defenses Segment, Inflation Segment (this is a big one - your treasury is cut in half), and finally the End of Turn Segment.

 Hubris is a game designed by Morgane Gouyon-Rety. You might remember her as the designer of Pendragon for GMT Games. If you look closely on some of the YT videos about Hubris you will see some are from David Bernatz, the game developer. That in itself isn't groundbreaking, but the fact that some of them are five years old is. So, you can see that a lot of time and effort has been put into this game. I have a bias toward anything during the Hellenistic age. However, that also means that if a game set in the period is not up to snuff, I will be the first to mention it. This is definitely not the case with Hubris. The game is just dripping with historically correct play and design. However, if you are more of a straight wargamer and do not like the GMT Games COIN games or politics and intrigue in your games I would look for something else. Hubris is meant for the player to try and keep his Hellenistic Royal Family at least alive and well if nothing else. At this point in history usurpers, assassinations, and governors who try to make themselves Kings are the norm. I cannot recommend this game highly enough. If you have the slightest interest in the era, I will say definitely pick it up. If you want to learn about the era that is even better. This game will give you a ton of information on the time period.

Antiochos III Megas- I am definitely going to get a replica of this bust at some time.

 My only wish is that we have an expansion that takes us back to the Diadochi (Successors) Era, or an entire new game. Remember what Plutarch said: "Antigonus, oldest and greatest of the Successors". 

Robert Peterson

Hubris: Twilight of the Hellenistic World, 220-165 BCE

GMT Games

This is a link to Book 1 of a five-part series that Morgane Gouyon-Rety did for GMT Games. It is absolutely wonderful history of the people and times:

The Hubris Histories – Book 1: Historical Overview – InsideGMT