Updates and errata for MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game.
Category: Games
Living Rules for MacGowan & Lombardy’s The Great War card game
No additions have been made yet to MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game rules version 5.0.
The backstory on The War of the Worlds expansion for M&L’s The Great War
Click image to visit Kickstarter page.
H.G. Wells penned the science fiction classic War of the Worlds in 1898. Forty years later Orson Wells adapted it for a radio drama script that convinced some Americans Earth had been invaded by Mars. Now Dana Lombardy and Craig Richardson have created a War of the Worlds expansion for MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game. Click the link to download a pdf that tells the backstory of why a science fiction classic was chosen to be the first expansion to a history-based card game.
MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game has been fully funded on Kickstarter, opening The War of the Worlds expansion as a stretch goal. Click here to go to Kickstarter and help bring the Martians into World War One.
The Colors of Napoleon’s Army 1807-1815 painting guide
The Colors of Napoleon’s Army 1807-1815
The goal of this four-page painting guide was to authenticate the color Imperial Blue used on all French infantry and artillery uniforms. Thanks to the assistance of the Musée de l’Emperi in Salon-de-Provence, France, and private collector Jean Brunon, we had the opportunity of handling First Empire uniforms. These were checked against cloth samples in other museums and institutions to provide cross-references.
We do not claim that the colors presented are the only “true” colors worn by Napoleon’s soldiers. However, we made a concerted effort to obtain or examine the best existing samples of First Empire uniforms and nearly all of our visual color matches were made using interior surfaces of garments, behind linings, where colors were most likely to remain consistent over the past 200 years.
The printer used actual samples of cloth to match the colors presented in this painting guide.
The Colors of Napoleon’s Army 1807-1815 painting guide is available for purchase in our Shop.
MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game
Win World War One in an Hour
with this 2-player or solo game!
A collaboration by Game Manufacturers (GAMA) Hall of Fame graphic artist Rodger B. MacGowan and award-winning game designer Dana Lombardy (Streets of Stalingrad, Russia’s Great War 1914). Scroll down to see latest rules, sample cards and examples of play from MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War™ card game.
The game is available as well as add-ons here. Click HERE to sign up for email updates and offers.
“My first impression of the game was that there was probably going to be too much chance—luck of the draw in the game play—rather than strategy. But there is a lot more to it: when to play your nationality cards or the neutral cards, and bluffing like poker. I like the nuance.”—playtester Eric Hosler
- Designed for fast play.
- Cards illustrated with Rodger MacGowan’s artwork or colorized historical photos. A great way for Rodger’s fans to collect his WW1 art!
- Core game cards presented in standard decks (deuce through ace, 4 suits) and can be used for any traditional card game.
Download the Cards, Rules, etc. below
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2021: The links below go to version 6.0 of the rules and other components.
REVISED Decks and Discards Play Mat (May 2022)
The Box Cover
Listen to Dana Lombardy’s interview at Harold on Games on SoundCloud
Listen to Dana in a No Dice No Glory podcast that goes into the background of M&L The Great War as well as discussions of wargame design theory, World War One history, and more.
Game reviewer and podcaster/vlogger Stuka Joe interviewed me at Consimworld Expo in early September 2021 where I explained how this Kickstarter project went sideways. The part where I discuss the World War One card game begins at the 43:48 point of the 57-minute interview. In the first 43 minutes I talk about the battle history, design evolution, and show some artwork of my future (fourth) edition of Streets of Stalingrad – this version of SOS will NOT be a monster game like two of the previous ones that had 2,000 playing pieces and a huge 8-foot long game map.
Stuka Joe Interview
World War One minigames
These quick-playing minigames can be enjoyed solitaire or 2-player
Get all four for $40!
1. Zeppelin Raider
Terror from the Skies
Fly against—or as—one of the MONSTERS OF THE AIR. Diceless.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 1)
2. Assassination in Sarajevo
Can the Austrian Royal Couple Survive?
Was war inevitable in 1914? Requires 1 six-sided die.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 2)
3. On to Paris!
Can the Germans Win the Great War in 1914? Requires 13 six-sided dice.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 3)
4. Russia’s Great War: 1914*
Can the Tsar’s armies win in East Prussia? Requires 3 six-sided dice.
(First published in World War One Illustrated magazine No. 4)
Download a free Russia’s Great War 1914 mini-game tutorial here.
*2019 Serious Play Conference award-winner in Educational Board Game category.
World War One Illustrated is a publication of World War One Historical Association. Click here to read the backstory on the creation of World War One Illustrated magazine.