Civil Power: interview with The Players Aid

Will neither confirm nor deny this was considered for the rulebook cover.

https://theplayersaid.com/2020/09/28/interview-with-brian-train-designer-of-civil-power-from-conflict-simulations-llc/

Yes!

Over at The Players Aid, an interview about the provenance and mechanics of Civil Power. 

In this interview I was glad to have the chance to point out some of the obvious bits:

• that while the technology might change, riots are still much like ancient/medieval battles;
• even though it is a battle, it is still a confrontation with citizens in a relatively civilized overall situation and you cannot shoot your way to victory (except in the 1944 Warsaw scenario of course); and
• using the idea of an Engagement Level to acknowledge that there are two mobs at every riot: the civilian and the non-civilian, and that while they have different structures they feed off each other’s energy.

We’re getting into the final stretch of Getting It Ready For You, laying out rules and player aids. 

Fight the Power!

(or be the Power, or both… there’s no solitaire AI or anything like that)

Interview: Diagonal Move

Over at the Diagonal Move blog, an interview where we cover my design history, thoughts, and descriptions of some projects I have been working on.

Interview: Brian Train, Designer of Colonial Twilight and Brief Border Wars

Thanks Neil!

[ETA: Neil reposted this interview to his blog on Boardgamegeek.com on September 5, where it was top news for a day!]

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/107850/interview-brian-train-asymmetric-wargames-and-diy

Interview with Compass Games, 5 June 2020

Coming to an Orthicon Tube near you: John Kranz of Compass Games does a live online interview with me!

Mostly we will be talking about the Brief Border Wars Quad, coming out Real Soon Now from Compass, but maybe other things if John lets Unca’ Gran’pa’s mind and mouth wander….

Friday, June 5, 2020: 1700 Pacific, 2000 Eastern

Click on the above or below to set a reminder!

Tune in, maggots!

China’s War: interview with The Players Aid

Sorry, I seem to have missed posting this in the relative tumult of end-of-year 2019 (though relative to the tumult of now, it was not that tumultuous).

Lengthy interview with Grant Kleinheinz at the Players Aid, all about China’s War 1937-41! Originally posted on his website 30 December 2019.

https://theplayersaid.com/2019/12/30/interview-with-brian-train-designer-of-coin-series-volume-xii-chinas-war-1937-1941-from-gmt-games/

Interview with Howard Buchanan

A surprise interview with Howard Harold Buchanan, from confinement.

A very enjoyable three quarters of an hour!

Kind of a weird echo sometimes on my end, and just as many umm, uhhh, ahhs as ever.

Fair bit of detail about China’s War 1937-41, if you haven’t heard it already, and a bit about Strongman (remake of Caudillo).

But I hope you like it.

 

Brief Border Wars quad: interview at The Players Aid

 

https://theplayersaid.com/2020/02/17/interview-with-brian-train-designer-of-brief-border-wars-from-compass-games

Just posted: Grant Kleinheinz’s interview with me on the Brief Border Wars quad, which is now available from Compass Games! (or so the website tells me)

Any curiosity you might have about this set of smaller, simpler games should be satisfied here, if not please ask!

I’d also note that today, 17 February, is the 41st anniversary of the start of the Sino-Vietnamese War, one of the games in the quad.

Interview with Harold Buchanan – part 2

 

https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/podcast-22-an-interview-with-designer-brian-train-and-his-top-5-list-part-2-of-2

Continuing on from a week or two ago, part 2 of my long interview with Harold Buchanan when we were at Consimworld Expo 2019.

For some reason he starts off with me explaining and singing the Smarties song….

Also, the tale of the Pantzooka!

Games (inspirational and not) referenced in the interview:

• Central America
• Minuteman: Second American Revolution
• National Liberation Front
• Nicaragua
• Plot to Assassinate Hitler
• South Africa
• Tito
• Vietnam 1965-75

 

Interview with Harold Buchanan out now!

Looks as if I’ve run out of rant and have put myself to sleep.

Remember that Harold Buchanan interviewed me while I was at CSWExpo this year? He managed to edit my gibberish down into something halfway coherent, and now you can listen to it!

https://soundcloud.com/harold-buchanan/podcast-21-gen-con-insurgency-and-an-interview-with-designer-brian-train-1-of-2

The Benno Effect gets a shout-out around 33:35.

Be sure to tune in for the next episode, part 2 of 2. Highlight will undoubtedly be the tale of the history and deployment of the Pantzooka!

Ave hominem vestitum!

District Commander Maracas: interview at The Players Aid

https://theplayersaid.com/2019/07/22/interview-with-brian-train-designer-of-district-commander-maracas-from-hollandspiele/

The doughty (now that I’ve looked it up, I’m confident that’s a good word) Grant Kleinheinz over at The Players Aid has published an interview with me about District Commander: Maracas, the first of four modules in the District Commander series to come from Hollandspiele.

Grant says this is the eighth interview I’ve had with him, and I believe it!

(Why wouldn’t I? Well, perhaps I should – these days I’m feeling rather like Hank Kimball from Green Acres.)

It’s quite long – over 7,000 words – but it tells you most everything you might want to know about the system itself, and the changes rung on it for the Maracas module, which covers the action in a made-up large city (the capital of Virtualia, reeling in the aftermath of the sudden departure from power of the charismatic strongman Jesus Shaves).

Hollandspiele will bring the game out in probably late August; I’m not sure of the price at this point. But in the meantime, you can still score a free print-and-play copy here, if you want a closer look at the rules and mechanics of play.

Free Games!

Interview with Scott Cole

photo: found on goodreads.com

Scott Cole, Wargame Wednesday blogger, recently asked me some pointy questions about my take on the current situation in Venezuela, points of designing games on insurgencies, and other such thoughtful stuff. A bit disjointed but then so is the situation, so is my body of work… pop on over and have a look!

https://wargamewednesday.blogspot.com/2019/03/brian-train-game-designer-interview.html