Board Wargaming

For me at least, the golden years of board wargaming were from 1979, the year I first discovered board wargames and probably 1991 when the bottom fell out of the board game market.

I believe the writing was on the wall for the hobby with the advent of Dungeons and Dragons in the late seventies and early eighties. This spawned a number of other fantasy type games and some companies sprung up that further enhanced the fantasy role play genre such as Games Workshop. I have to admit that the fantasy genre does not interest me in the slightest and it is hard enough to get people to accept that at 60 I still play wargames without adding that I am interested in playing an elf or dwarf etc and fight dragons.

The first major casualty was SPI who, after many years of producing great and not so great games and challenging the best namely Avalon Hill, became bankrupt in 1982. I have such fond memories of SPI and own a couple of their classic and much sought after games namely Next War and Art of Siege. These have given me a great deal of pleasure down the years and it is sad that companies like SPI are still not around. Also Avalon Hill eventually sold out and after that the hobby went into freefall.

I suppose in some ways the demise of board wargaming meant that I saved myself money as there were so few retailers around especially near where I live in east of Scotland and eventually these few outlets also closed. When I attend conventions such as Claymore it is mainly miniature gaming on display and although these are esthetically pleasing I personally do not have the space or time to devote to miniature gaming as it is even more expensive and the effort taken to have to paint model armies is just not for me.

Over the past few years I believe the boardgaming industry is beginning to revive and I am pleased to see that some of the old timers from Avalon Hill are now with GMT Games notably Roger McGowan. GMT are without doubt my favourite company now and I have bought a few of their titles such as 3 Days of Gettysburg, Men of Iron, Borodino and Wellington, all of these are very good quality and the sales service is second to none. Also of note is an increase in quality boardgames from a number of independent companies such as Worthington Games, Decision Games and Clash of Arms to name a few so the future is now looking brighter however, my bank account and visa bill are starting to take on a rather worrying aspect. I suppose it’s not too much to pay for the huge amount of pleasure the games give me also it keeps me out of mischief and keeps my failing mind active.

I do hope that the revival is not shortlived as I intend to be around for a long time yet.

I cannot understand the mentality of those people, “the uninitiated”, who can’t see past the perception that we wargamers are a bunch of nerdy no mates who are called Norman and still live with their mother. I mean what is the issue here? Why can’t they please accept that we are just ordinary people who have normal everyday lives with wives and kids, work and financial commitments just like everyone else. We do not belong to some dark and sinister sect and there is also no truth in the rumour that we are all obsessed with our hobby and turn our underwear inside out to save changing. There may well be some of us out there who fit this perception but I believe they are in the minority.

Why should they perceive that our hobby or pastime has any less value than theirs and be seen to be infantile because we play “soldiers”. A game is a game by any standard whether it is simulating a historic battle, playing pool or poker or hitting a little white ball around a field trying to get it in a hole. They are still by definition “games”.

My hobby has not only brought me a great deal of pleasure but also friends and a huge desire to learn more about the history around the battle or campaign I happen to be playing at that time. I have also designed my own scenarios for Avalon Hill Squad Leader games and I am currently writing a short story based on one of the scenarios with characters from both sides being thrown into the conflict and how it affects them. I am also getting on in years and find that the complexity and intensity of playing a game does keep my mind active and that can’t be a bad thing surely.

So those people who fall into the category that I call “the uninitiated” should at the very least understand why we are wargamers and accept that we are not nerds or loners or anoraks but normal people who have a genuine interest in history and re-enact the battles from the past. In reality wargames are not games per se as they are very complex and not designed for young children but more for those from about 12 years to adult. Perhaps they should leave their perceptions behind and try it themselves who knows they might get well and truly hooked.

Back in the early eighties I bought the first of the Squad Leader series and was enthralled. It was such a change from what I had played before and I loved the small unit actions that made you feel that you were a part of what the infantry man had to contend with in battle. I liked the programmed learning method which got you straight into the first scenarios without having to wade through the entire rulebook. Once hooked I was quick to buy up the gamettes CoI and CoD however the rules started to add a lot more complexity and for me slowed the pace down due to referring back to the rules. By the time G I came along the complexity was way above anything I had experienced before, I mean it is necessary to have realism but so much to remember became a bit daunting such as “blind hexes” “reverse slopes” Hull down” “penetration fire” Kindling die rolls” etc. I managed to stay with it however and had so many great battles either solo or with my buddies.

It seemed natural then to graduate to ASL and I bought this in the early nineties. About that time the work place was becoming all encompassing and 15 hour days with a further 40 minutes drive back home became the norm and left me drained with very little time to play games or even relax. This eventually started to ease off but it took about 2 years before I started to find some “me” time and by then my interest had waned somewhat and the thought of learning a new set of complex rules just did not appeal. ASL was put in the cupboard and over the years I did make the effort however the complexity of the rules just ended with me selling the whole ASL stuff on E-Bay.

I still have the original SL quad and play on occasions also I have enjoyed the design your own and have done some of my own scenarios and they work OK. Personally I much prefer the SL to ASL as the complexity is at least manageable with SL and, to me, still keeps hold of the enjoyment factor which is after all why we play these games.

We are fast approaching 11 November when the UK and Commonwealth countries remember the fallen of the Great War and World War Two in services of rememberence to mark the hour and day that the Armistice was signed in 1918 that was supposedly to be the war to end all wars. As we all know it was not and was the catalyst that caused the second world war and every other conflict since.

I believe that certain powers are trying to diminish the rememberence traditions and say it is outdated and no longer relevant however there is more need than ever now to continue the tradition as we seem to be constantly at war and the casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan grow daily. It was encouraging when after years of campaigning a new war memorial was built in the south of England to remember those British men and women who have lost their lives in conflicts since 1948. It totals 16,000 and remembers those who died in Palestine, Korea, Malaya, Suez, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and most recently Iraq and Afghanistan. All those names are carved with pride into the marble walls but most poignant is the section of wall that bears no names and reminds us that this will soon be filled with a further roll call of honour.

I would imagine that there are similar rememberence services in other countries to mark these occasions and I sincerely hope that the fallen will continue to be remembered for the sacrifice they made.

About 3 years back I mentioned to a friend that I owned SPI’s Art of Siege Quad and he was somewhat taken aback that I had this game. He asked whether I had seen a recent auction on E-Bay where a mint copy of AoS was sold for over £400.00. I was amazed however I told him I would be lucky to get 400 beans for my copy as it was well played and a bit worse for wear.

A while later I got to thinking about this situation where someone buys a game such as Art of Siege and does not even open the box then puts it away for 20 years or so then sells it for a fair profit. I mean what is the true value here? I bought my copy in the early eighties and played constantly with it over a period of 10 years where it eventually got consigned to the attic in favour of newer games that never really appealed as much to be frank. I reckon that over those 10 years or so playing AoS I derived so much pleasure and enjoyment that, to me, seems more valuable than the £400.00 the guy received on EBay.

We have a programme in the UK that has run the past thirty years called “Antiques Roadshow”, I believe there is as similar version in the US, this has a panel of “experts” who give values of various objects brought in by the general public who hope that the hideous vase left to them by their great aunt Edith will fetch a small fortune. On one show a guy who was in his late 50’s brought in a cardboard box containing numerous pieces of model railway rolling stock from engines to pullman coaches, passenger coaches and freight cars. Each was in mint condition and in the original box and had been in a cupboard unused for over 50 years. The “expert” was amazed and after examining the stuff told the guy that a collector at auction would probably pay £5K for what was on the table. The guy was dumbstruck and after his initial shock told the “expert” that he had about three times more of this back home so in effect this was probably worth about £20K.

Again like my experience with my Art of Siege game we have another situation where this guy was given a Heaven sent present all those years ago that would have given him so much pleasure and introduced him to another world where he could have created a miniature world and possibly a hobby for life but he decided to use it to boost his pension 50 years later. People have different values I suppose. It would be good to get your view on this blog by adding any comments.

To follow on from my earlier blog “Are Wargamers Getting a Bad Press” I found this article written by a guy named Matthew Caffrey under the title of History of Wargames.

“Before we get into the history it is necessary to make sure we understand the language. The term, “wargame” is simply a translation of the German term, “kriegspiel.” One source of confusion is that many in the military are simply uncomfortable with the term “wargame”, feeling perhaps that war is too serious for “games”. As a result you will often see every term but wargame used to describe wargames. These include Map Maneuver, Chart Maneuver, Field Maneuver, Exercise, or increasingly, “modeling and simulation.”

Some say, “Modeling, Simulation and Wargaming,” as if it were one term. Each is not only distinct; they build on each other. Models are simply proportional representations of reality. A painting is not a model but a blueprint is. Models vary in abstraction, for example, a physical model of an aircraft, a blueprint of that aircraft, or a mathematical equation representing that aircraft’s characteristics are all models. Simulations are proportional representations of reality over time. For example, a small wing that is exactly the same shape of a full size wing is a model, put that wing in a wind tunnel and measure the effect of various wind speeds and you have a simulation. As for wargames, while the earliest (first generation) wargames were multi-sided abstract representations of combat, modern (second-generation) wargames require multiple sides that compete within a simulation of an armed conflict.

An exercise may or may not also be a wargame depending on whether or not it fits the above criteria. Typically the deciding factor is the presence or absence of a thinking opponent. Hence a Red Flag exercise with its aggressor force is a wargame while a mobility exercise is not.”

I suppose he is on more about actual maneuvers rather than about our hobby however there are some optional terms for what our gaming is about.

Being someone who cannot always commit to my beloved hobby due to business pressures or wifely pressures I find myself, not unlike many others, stuck with having to play solo. I do enjoy playing solo as I wont be letting anyone down if I cannot play on a certain agreed date so it does suit me somewhat. Only problem is I feel a bit like a hermit as some games go on for ages and you get so absorbed into the campaign at the exclusion of everything else but what the heck.

Most two player games are suitable for solo gaming but it is still hard to “surprise” yourself with a subtle move that you had come up with. GMT now have the Activation Group system where turns are randomised so you will not know what chit is coming out each time and this is an added edge for solo players.

I am interested to know what other players think of solo gaming and if they have some system whereby you can create a “fog of war” situation against yourself. I have tried some ideas out such as rolling a die to determine whether your squad has walked into a mined hex etc (used in Squad Leader) plus other innovations but it has its flaws.

If anyone out there has any ideas how we can make solo gaming “surprising” with “fog of war” then let me know.

Those of us old enough to remember the Cold War between the West and the former Soviet Union will know what it was like to wonder whether the Rooskies would ever take that fatal step across the East/West German border and invade our homelands.

There was, during the late seventies and early eighties, an influx of wargames dedicated to this fearful possibility pitting Nato forces against Warsaw Pact forces and these games were extremely enjoyable to play notably two SPI classics Fulda Gap and The Next War that I still have in my collection.

It has been many years since I played these games as it seemed irrelevant to play when the possibility of it ever happening was killed off when the Soviet Union collapsed however is it irrelevant? When you think of it what is our hobby is about, I say it is alternative history being simulated so why let our old Nato/Warsaw pact games gather dust. Most wargames have a “what if” option so perhaps we should be replaying those old favourites, I surely will.

I feel that most wargamers get a bad press, not from the media, but by the reactions of the uninitiated. By uninitiated I mean those who live rather ordinary dull everyday lives and have never experienced the thrill of coming home after a hard days graft to then go to your study and invade Poland before going to bed. When I tell people what my hobby is they look at me in a rather bemused way and ask “why?” at which juncture I move onto something verging on extreme mundanity that they will find more interesting.

I think I have discovered why there is this reaction and it is the word “wargame”. The confluence of the words WAR and GAME I believe might conjure up an image of some strange warmonger who sits at home dressed in combat fatigues and a Rambo headband playing games because they have never matured beyond their early formative years. Perhaps it would be better if we described ourselves as Historical battle simulators and the games as alternative history simulations, it sounds more technical and upmarket just as refuse disposal operative sound more sociably acceptable than binman.

We wargamers are never seen for the intellectual tactical strategists we really are and we need to get some more positive reactions to our hobby, any suggestions?

A wargame is a game that simulates or represents a military operation. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which are also called conflict simulations. The somewhat similar, professional study of war is generally known as a military exercise or “war game,” with the words war and game kept separate. Although there are occasional disagreements as to what qualifies as a wargame, the general consensus is that they are not only games about conflict or warfare, but that they must realistically simulate war to some degree. Depending on the style and scale of the game, such factors as flanking, supply, line of sight, terrain, and morale must be considered. For these reasons, games like chess and Risk are not generally considered wargames. Most wargames are historical or contemporary in nature, but science fiction and fantasy themes are also represented.

The wargaming hobby has its origins at the beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of miniatures games in which two or more players simulated a battle as a pastime. During the 1950s the first large scale, mass produced board games depicting military conflicts were published. These games were at the height of their popularity during the 1970s, and had become quite complex and technical by that time. Wargaming has changed dramatically over the years, from its roots in miniatures and board wargaming, to contemporary computer and computer assisted wargames. Light wargames with accessible rules and high quality plastic components, such as Memoir ‘44, have also become popular in recent years.