PART 2 of Podcast #16 Gene Billingsley of GMT Games Part 2 of 2

THIS podcast is offered in 2 parts, and is singularly composed of an interview with GMT Games President, Gene Billingsley. We will discuss his work at GMT and also his latest design, Mr President. https://conflictsimulations.com/ Gene Billingsley founded GMT Games in 1990. As Avalon Hill turned to computer games and was eventually sold to Hasbro, Gene built GMT into the new home for board wargamers. He started with some of his own designs. These titles garner instant acclaim. Operation Shoestring was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts Award and Silver Bayonet and Crisis Korea won Charles S. Roberts Awards. I’m sure his current design project, Mr. President, won’t disappoint As the distribution network for boardgames went into retreat in the 1990s, GMT pioneered the preorder system called P500. It remains the best deal in board wargaming. The system allows GMT to thrive in uncertain waters as customers vote their interest in designs and accelerate the production schedule of the most interesting. Customers get 30% off and can cancel at any time. The Company is now the bell weather for conflict gaming, anchored by Gene and his partners Rodger MacGowan, Mark Simonitch, Tony Curtis and Andy Lewis. GMT continues to produce quality games with marquee designers like Mark Herman, Richard Berg, Volko Ruhnke, Chad Jensen, Ted Racier and many others. I spent a couple of days with Gene during his semi annual Weekend at the Warehouse. We discuss everything from college football and his beloved Sooners to how he encourages designers to develop the breadth of offerings GMT has become known for. We start the day with Gene cooking me scrambled eggs at his home in Hanford California. While he claims the recipe is from Richard Berg, I doubt it due to the lack of random events.