GMT Games has lined up two contrasting historical wargames for early May, both arriving as the convention season ramps up. Purgatorio: Battles of the Guelphs and Ghibellines 1176-1325 is the sixth volume in the long-running Men of Iron block-and-counter series, designed by Ralph Shelton. Infernal Machine: Dawn of Submarine Warfare is a solitaire experience set in the American Civil War.
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Start organising for freePurgatorio drops you into the bloody power struggle between the Pope and the Holy Roman Empire as it played out across the city-states of central and northern Italy. Seven battles fit on the map, from the Battle of Legnano in 1176, where the Lombard League shattered Frederick Barbarossa's heavy cavalry, to the Battle of Zappolino in 1325, the Bolognese-Modenese skirmish later immortalised in mock-epic verse over a stolen bucket. The Men of Iron series has built its reputation on quick-to-learn medieval and ancient warfare since the original 2005 release, and each volume keeps the same engine while layering in period-specific tactical wrinkles.
Infernal Machine takes things in a stranger direction. You play a Confederate or Union inventor trying to design and field the world's first practical military submarines, juggling investors, mechanics, crews and a fragile supply chain. It is solitaire, which is increasingly where GMT has been investing. Solo wargaming has exploded as a category over the past few years, and the genre's appetite for design oddities like a Civil War sub R&D simulator is exactly what GMT does well.
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Find events near youFor the heavy historical wargame crowd, two GMT releases in the same month is a proper treat. Both should land at UK specialist shops like Second Chance Games and Leisure Games when they ship.
Sources: Tabletop Sentinel | GMT Games | BoardGameGeek
