This Month It's Oc-Tohver at Against the Odds!

Just a couple of quick items with this news flash this time, plus announcement of a neat special offer further below.

Website Security: The credit card industry upgraded security features in late May this year. Regrettably, our hosting service refused to go along with these so we suspended accepting credit cards via the web over the summer. I’m pleased to say we’ve moved to a new hosting service that fully meets the tougher industry standards. We are back to accepting Mastercard and VISA credit cards once more. You can shop safely and securely at all our sites now.  

ATO #44 Mailing: All subscriber copies of ATO #44 with Vercingetorix inside are in the postal system as of last week. You may not have gotten yours yet, but they have all been mailed. If you’re not a subscriber yet, but curious about the background for the name of the game, read on.

His father's name was Celtillus, of a noble family and a chief of the Averni tribe of Gauls -- a people with a remarkably sophisticated civilization and tradition as warriors and craftsmen, but fiercely resistant toward having a ruler at beyond the tribal level. Celtillus tried to assert authority to organize and ally the disparate tribes against Roman incursions, but tradition and habit were against him and he was killed by his own people.

But strife with Rome worsened, and his son elected to try again for tribal unification to survive against the two threats of voracious Rome and ambitious Julius Caesar. The son negotiated, inspired, made alliances, and finally took on the traditional title of "supreme warlord" that his father had died reaching for. That title was "Vercingetorix," and he bore the title so well that people today think of it as his name (which we do not know).

This new 2-4 player game by designer Richard Berg, challenges players to unify Gaul in and around the 1st Century BCE. Players compete for power in all three of the main Gallic areas. The Romans and Germans are NOT active players, but introduced with random and temporary control to interfere with active player intentions.

Players draw chits each turn to improve their holdings, begin campaigns, or obtain more tribal allies. Or, they may draw surprising "Opportunities" that allow them to interfere with other players' turns and even launch revolts that could suppress Roman activities and elevate player esteem. Game length varies with number of players, but most games will last 2-3 hours. Read more here.

Subscribe or re-subscribe now to get yours at the best price.

What’s Next?: Issue #45 of ATO features Red Dragon: Blue Dragon which examines the decisive Huaihai Campaign of 1949.

While this battle has been called the “Gettysburg of the Chinese Civil War” it’s more like three Stalingrads, plus Destruction of Army Group Center...rolled into one.

It’s not just red counters against blue counters, but two worlds colliding. You can read more about it here.

The Special Offer: I did mention that above, didn’t I? Well, our chief game developer, Lembit Tohver, has been getting some good press lately for his fine efforts in bringing our games to market fully developed. As a way of saying thanks, we declared this month it’s OC-TOHVER here at Against the Odds!

Make a special purchase and you can pick up one of Lembit Tohver's favorite ATO back issues and games, in ziplock, FREE with your purchase.

For more details, visit our website or just click on the banner below:

 
It’s an offer so good, I’ll repeat it. Get a FREE back issue of ATO throughout this month!

Last, I’ll mention a new Pocket Battle Game is out, Surrender Unto Caesar. In a final decisive move, the warlord of Gaul, Vercingetorix, occupies the hilltop of Alesia and accepts a Roman siege. Before being encircled, he send out messengers summonsing every Gaul in the country to his rescue. Caesar in turn digs in twice around the town, facing both inwards and outwards, supremely prepared to fight on two fronts!

Pick it up (plus the mounted counters for it) as a freebie with any purchase you make at our site.

Thanks for reading,

 
Steve Rawling, Publisher, Against the Odds Magazine