The Endorsement: Gallipoli: Ordered to Die (Kickstarter campaign)

 

Proposed cover art

Okay, this is a first for A Fast Game, but I'm going to take a bold step into new territory here and give my personal endorsement for a game that has just begun it's campaign on Kickstarter. This is something I can't see myself doing often - I don't like to tell people how they should spend their money, but this something I feel like I can get behind with a clear conscience.

Gallipoli: Ordered to Die (The Dietz Foundation, ~2025) is the game in question. Its designer, Clint Warren-Davey has been gaining some traction lately. His first published wargame - One Hour World War II (Worthington Publishing, 2024) is a nominee for the Best World War II game category in the Charles S. Roberts Awards (voting is still open at time of writing; go here and vote if you haven't already), and Legion Wargames will be shipping Mr Warren-Davey's second published game, Werwolf: Insurgency in Occupied Germany 1945-1948 (Legion Wargames, 2025), inside of the next couple of months. 

I'm boosting Gallipoli: Ordered to Die for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I have some familiarity with the game; about a year ago Mr Clinton-Davey was kind enough to send me the print-and-play files for the game when it was well through its playtesting stage. By the time I saw it, it was a mature game with solid rules. I confess I never got around to paper-crafting my own copy, so I haven't played the game, but I did go through the rules a couple of times and liked what I saw there. G:OtD promises to be a solid, robust, tense, and unforgiving game that nonetheless should be playable in an evening. A fast game and a good game. I feel comfortable recommending the game on this basis.

A picture of the game detail I lifted from the KS campaign page
(for illustrative purposes only)..

Secondly, I'm a fan of the Dietz Foundation and what they do. Jim Dietz set his company as a foundation run by himself, but under the scrutiny of a board of directors with the stated goals of educating people through games giving back to the community through scholarships and school outreach. In the seven years-or-so of the foundation's existence, it has released some seriously good games.

The final reasons are parochial and selfish, but - like it or not - Gallipoli is a part of international history that has a particular hold over the Australian psyche. There are, of course, other games on the subject (Kieran Oakley and Russell Lowke's Assault on Gallipoli (Hexasim, 2024) springs foremost to mind), but the subject warrants revisiting often through play and reflection.

Finally, at time of writing, the Gallipoli: Ordered to Die Kickstarter campaign has about 27 days to go; it is due to close at the weirdly specific time of 1:03am Adelaide time on Sunday, June 15. In the meantime, Jim Dietz is offering a special early-bird pledge level specifically for Australian supporters of US$45.00 (at current exchange rates, about A$72.00) shipping inclusive. This offer is limited, but as this post goes live, there are still about 120 slots open for local punters to back the campaign at this pledge level. And, if enough punters back the game 

I don't know Mr Warren-Davey - we've only communicated via email the once - and I have no skin in this particular game, so to speak. but I'd really like to see the project get up. It's a solid game and it deserves a wider audience. And if it gets some of a new generation of kids asking questions about the Gallipoli campaign and  engaging with or shared past, that would be a good result.

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