![Tactics_(1954)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Tactics_%281954%29.jpg)
A board wargame is a
wargame
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
with a set playing surface or
board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in
miniatures game Miniatures games are a form of tabletop game which prominently features the use of miniature models or figures.
War games
One of the oldest and most popular miniatures game genres is that of war games, where figures are arranged into competing " ...
s. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, or
war games
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
) developed in
1954 following the publication and commercial success of ''
Tactics
Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to:
* Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks
** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield
** Chess tactics
** Political tact ...
''.
[.] The board wargaming hobby continues to enjoy a sizeable following, with a number of
game publishers and
gaming conventions dedicated to the hobby both in the English-speaking world and further afield.
In the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, commercial board wargames (often shortened to "wargames" for brevity) were popularized in the early 1970s. Elsewhere, notably
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
where miniatures had evolved its own commercial hobby, a smaller following developed. The
genre
Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
is still known for a number of common game-play conventions (or
game mechanics
In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide the player's actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, a ludeme is an element of play like the L-sha ...
) that were developed early on.
The early history of board wargaming was dominated by
The Avalon Hill Game Company
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company' ...
, while other companies such as
SPI also gained importance in the history of the genre.
Overview
Like many games, wargames exist in a range of
complexities. Some are fundamentally simple (often called "
beer-and-pretzel games") whereas others attempt to simulate a high level of
historical realism Historical realism is a writing style or subgenre of realistic fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals a ...
("consim"—short for 'conflict simulation'). These two trends are also at the heart of long-running debates about "realism vs. playability". Because of the subject matter, games considered 'simple' by wargamers can be considered 'complex' to non-wargamers, especially if they have never run into some of the concepts that most wargames share, and often assume some familiarity with.
Wargames are best considered as a
representational art form. Generally, this is of a fairly concrete historical subject (such as the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
, one of several popular topics in the genre), but it can also be extended to non-historical ones as well. The
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
provided fuel for many games that attempted to show what a non-nuclear (or, in a very few cases, nuclear)
World War III
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical World war, worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use ...
would be like, moving from a re-creation to a predictive model in the process.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
and
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
subjects are sometimes not considered wargames because there is nothing in the real world to model; however, conflict in a self-consistent
fictional world
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes m ...
lends itself to exactly the same types of games and game designs as does military history.
While there is no ''direct'' correlation, the more serious wargames tend towards more complex rules with possibilities for more calculation and computation of odds, more exceptions (generally to reproduce unique historical circumstances), more available courses of action, and more detail or "chrome". The extreme end of this tendency are considered "
monster game
A monster game is a game that is either very large, very complex, or both. One criterion sometimes adopted is the number of pieces; a game which puts greater than 1000 counters into play at once may be considered to be a monster game. This classif ...
s", which typically consist of a large subject represented on small scale.
A good example of this would be ''
Terrible Swift Sword'', which tracks individual
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
s in the Battle of Gettysburg, instead of the more common scale of
brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.
Br ...
s.
These games typically have a combined playing surface (using several map sheets) larger than most tables, and thousands of
counter
Counter may refer to:
Mathematics and computing
* Counter machine, a subclass of register machines
* Counter (digital), an electronic device, mechanical device, or computer program for counting
* Loop counter, the variable that controls the iter ...
s.
Wargames tend to have a few fundamental problems. Notably, both player knowledge and player action are much less limited than what would be available to the player's real-life counterparts. Some games have rules for
command and control
Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...
and
fog of war
The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...
, using various methods. These mechanisms can be cumbersome and onerous, and often increase player frustration. However, there are some common solutions, such as employed by
block wargames, which can simulate fog of war conditions in relatively playable ways.
History
The first modern mass-market wargame, presented as a board game, was designed by
Charles S. Roberts in 1953.
The game,
''Tactics'', was published by Roberts as "The Avalon Game Company" in 1954 and broke even, selling around 2,000 copies. These sales convinced Roberts that there was a market for intelligent, thoughtful, games for adults. Four years later, he decided to make a serious effort at a game company. Finding a conflict with another local company, he changed the name of the company to The Avalon Hill Game Company.
Avalon Hill
The beginning of the commercial board wargaming hobby is generally tied to the name "
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the company ...
"
[Jason R. Edwards, ]
Saving Families, One Game at a Time
'' and the publication of ''
Tactics II'' in 1958, along with ''
Gettysburg'', the first board game designed to simulate a historical battle.
Avalon Hill was subject to a number of bad economic forces around 1961, and quickly ran up a large debt.
In 1963 Avalon Hill was sold to the
Monarch Avalon Printing company to settle the debts. The new owners resolved to let the company continue to do what it had been doing, and while Roberts left, his friend, Tom Shaw, who already worked at the company, took over. The sale turned out to be an advantage, as being owned by a printing company helped insure that Avalon Hill games had access to superior physical components.
Roberts had been considering producing a newsletter for his new company. Under the new management, this became the ''
Avalon Hill General'' in 1964, a
house organ
A house organ (also variously known an in-house magazine, in-house publication, house journal, shop paper, plant paper, or employee magazine) is a magazine or periodical
A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simp ...
that ran for 32 years.
Avalon Hill had a very conservative publishing schedule, typically about two titles a year, and wargames were only about half their line.
Serious competition: SPI and GDW
This type of situation indicated a large amount of pent-up demand, and a situation that could not remain static for long. By the end of the
1960s, a number of small magazines dedicated to the hobby were springing up, along with new game companies. Many of these were not available in any store, being spread by 'word of mouth' and advertisements in other magazines.
The eventual "break-out" into a larger public was accomplished by the magazine ''
Strategy & Tactics''.
It was started in
1966, as a typical "hobby
zine
A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to writ ...
", and despite some popularity soon threatened to go under. However,
Jim Dunnigan
James F. Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City.
Career
Dunnigan was born in Rockland County, New York. After high s ...
bought the ailing magazine, and restructured his own company (then known as Poultron Press) to publish it, creating
Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI). An aggressive advertising campaign, and a new policy of including a new game in every issue, allowed ''S&T'' to find a much larger market, and SPI to become a company known to all wargamers as having a line of games that surpassed Avalon Hill's (at least, in numbers—arguments about quality raged).
This caused a tremendous rise in the popularity of wargaming in the early 1970s. The market grew at a fast pace, and if anything the number of wargaming companies grew at an even faster pace. Most of these quietly failed after producing a few products. Two of these new companies would each last for about two decades and became well known in just a few years:
Game Designers' Workshop
Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) was a wargame and role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. Many of their games are now carried by other publishers.
History
Game Designers' Workshop was originally established June 22, 1973. The founding m ...
(GDW), and
Tactical Studies Rules
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had been ...
(TSR).
Started in
1973 by
Frank Chadwick
Frank Chadwick is an American multiple-award-winning game designer and ''New York Times'' best selling author. He has designed hundreds of games, his most notable being the role-playing games ''En Garde!'', '' Space: 1889'' and ''Twilight 2000' ...
,
Rich Banner
Paul Richard "Rich" Banner is an American game designer and graphic artist.
Beginnings
Rich Banner and Frank Chadwick formed the ISU Game Club at the Illinois State University (Normal, Illinois). Banner engineered a grant which funded the printin ...
,
Marc W. Miller, and
Loren Wiseman
Loren Keith Wiseman (March 7, 1951 – February 14, 2017) was an American wargame and role-playing game designer, game developer and editor.
Career Game Designers' Workshop
After graduating from Illinois State University, Loren Wiseman co ...
, GDW's first game, ''Drang Nach Osten!'', immediately garnered attention and led to the ''
Europa
Europa may refer to:
Places
* Europe
* Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace
* Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro
* Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development
* Europa Cliff ...
'' series. They quickly followed this with other games, which also got favorable reviews. It has been estimated that GDW published one new product every 22 days for the 22 year life of the company (to be fair, this would include magazines and supplements, not just complete games).
TSR was started in 1973 by
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax ( ; July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008) was an American game designer and author best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') with Dave Arneson.
In the 1960s, Gygax created an ...
and
Don Kaye
Donald R. Kaye (June 27, 1938 – January 31, 1975) was the co-founder of Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), the game publishing company best known for their ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') role-playing game. He and TSR co-founder Gary Gygax had be ...
as a way to publish the miniature rules developed by the Tactical Studies wargaming club (thus, Tactical Studies Rules). While TSR produced several sets of miniature rules, and a few boardgames, it became much better known as the publisher of ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
'' in
1974. The first
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...
, it sparked a new phenomenon that would later grow much bigger than its parent hobby.
Boom: Task Force Games, Steve Jackson, et al.
The period 1975–1980 can be considered the '
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
of Wargaming',
with a large number of new companies publishing an even larger number of games throughout, powered by an explosive rise in the number of people playing wargames. Wargames also diversified in subject, with early science-fiction wargames appearing in
1974, and in size with both
microgame {{Short description, Wikimedia disambiguation page
The term microgame can refer to several subjects including:
* MicroGame, line of board games by Metagaming Concepts
*Microgame (board games), type of board game or wargame
* Microgame (company), Ita ...
s and monster games first appearing during the decade.
Designer
Steve Jackson produced several celebrated games for
Metagaming Concepts
Metagaming Concepts, later known simply as Metagaming, was a company that published board games from 1974 to 1983. It was founded and owned by Howard Thompson, who designed the company's first game, '' Stellar Conquest''. The company also inven ...
and then founded his own company,
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''.
History
Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...
in
1980, which is still active today (albeit mostly as an RPG company).
Task Force Games
Task Force Games was a game company started in 1979 by Allen Eldridge and Stephen V. Cole. TFG published many games, most notably including both '' Star Fleet Battles'' (currently published by the original designers, Amarillo Design Bureau) a ...
was founded in
1979 by former staff of
JagdPanther
The ''Jagdpanther'' (German: "hunting Panther"), Sd.Kfz. 173, was a tank destroyer ('' Jagdpanzer'', a self-propelled anti-tank gun) built by Germany during World War II.
The ''Jagdpanther'' combined the 8.8 cm Pak 43 anti-tank gun, similar to t ...
and lived into the 1990s, and its most popular game, ''
Star Fleet Battles'' is still in print. ''
Squad Leader
''Squad Leader'' is a tactical level board war game originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by John Hill and simulates on infantry combat in Europe during World War II. One of the most complex war games of its time, ''Squa ...
'', often cited as the highest selling wargame ever, was published in
1977.
Crash: The death of SPI
The boom came to an end, and was followed by the usual bust, at the beginning of the 1980s, most markedly with the acquisition of SPI by TSR in
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
. From 1975 to 1981 SPI reported $2 million in sales—steady dollar volume during a time when inflation was in double digits. At the same time, the attempt to go from a mail-order business to wholesale caused a cash crunch by delaying payments.
By 1982 SPI was in financial trouble and eventually secured a loan from TSR to help it meet payroll. TSR soon asked for the money back, and SPI had to agree to be taken over by TSR. As a
secured creditor
A secured creditor is a creditor with the benefit of a security interest over some or all of the assets of the debtor.
In the event of the bankruptcy of the debtor, the secured creditor can enforce security against the assets of the debtor and av ...
, they had first opportunity at SPI's assets. However, they refused to take over SPI's liabilities. TSR then refused to honor existing subscriptions to SPIs three magazines, which TSR took over, in addition to nearly the entire existing line of SPI's games.
Largely as a result of this, ''Strategy & Tactics'' circulation shrank from its high mark of 36,000 in 1980, until TSR sold it off to
World Wide Wargames
World Wide Wargames, or 3W, was a wargame company founded in 1977 (as UKW, UK Wargamer) by Keith Poulter.The Wargamer Issue 9, page 10
History
3W Inc, also known as World Wide Wargames, was a wargame company that began publishing in 1977. Origin ...
(3W) in 1986, where its circulation continued to shrink to a low 10,000 in 1990.
Meanwhile, most of the existing staff left SPI, and negotiated a deal with Avalon Hill. Avalon Hill formed a subsidiary company, Victory Games, staffed by the former SPI employees. Victory Games was allowed to publish pretty much what they wanted, and produced many commercially and critically successful wargames. However, there were no new hires to replace departing personnel, and the company slowly died a death of neglect in the 1990s.
If this was not the start of a bust that affected board wargaming through the 1980s and beyond, then it was the first symptom. This period is marked by a decrease in the number of wargamers, and lack of new companies with commercial viability while the larger companies experiment with ways to sell more games in a shrinking market.
Malaise
While TSR tried to leverage its line of existing SPI property,
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
started the
Gamemaster
A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...
line of mass-appeal wargames in
1984. With the financial backing of a company much larger than any in the wargame business, the Gamemaster games had excellent production quality, with mounted full-color boards (something that only Avalon Hill could regularly do), and plenty of small plastic
miniatures as game pieces. The games were generally simple, by wargaming standards, but very playable and successful. The first game of the line, ''
Axis and Allies'', is still in print today, and has spawned a number of spinoff titles.
While the wargaming business continued to be poor, new companies continued to be formed.
GMT Games
GMT Games is a California-based wargaming publisher founded in 1990. The company has become well known for graphically attractive games that range from "monster games", of many maps and counters, to quite simple games suitable for introducing new ...
, one of the most respected names in wargaming today, got started in 1991.
However, the popularity of role-playing games,
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s, and, finally,
collectible card games
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in 1993.
Genera ...
continued to draw in new players. These attracted the same sort of players that had gravitated to wargames before, which led to a declining, and aging, population in the hobby. The continued marginal sales of wargames took its toll on the older companies. Game Designers' Workshop went out of business in
1996. Task Force Games went bankrupt in
1999.
Finally, in
1998, Avalon Hill itself was sold to
Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...
. While it might have been possible for Hasbro to revitalize the company and wargaming with its distribution chain and marketing clout, it was shown that Hasbro had no interest in this with the immediate laying off of the entire AH staff and the closure of its web site.
Combined with
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for ga ...
's acquisition of TSR the year before, and their acquisition by Hasbro the year after, what is sometimes called the "adventure gaming market" was going through a profound shakeup.
Hasbro has kept the Avalon Hill name as a brand, and republished a few of its extensive back catalog of games, as well as released new ones, and moved the remnant of the Gamemaster series (''Axis and Allies'') from Milton Bradley to Avalon Hill. While ''A&A'' is the only wargame offered by the "new" Avalon Hill, several of AH's wargames have been reprinted by other companies, starting with
Multi-Man Publishing
Multi-Man Publishing, LLC ("MMP"), founded in 1994, is a Maryland based game company that publishes many wargame titles, including ''Advanced Squad Leader'' and Operational Combat Series.
History
Multi-Man Publishing (MMP) was founded in 1994 ...
's license for the rights to ''
Advanced Squad Leader
''Advanced Squad Leader'' (ASL) is a tactical wargames, tactical-level board wargame, originally marketed by Avalon Hill Games, that simulates actions of squad sized units in World War II. It is a detailed game system for two or more players (wi ...
''.
Current
![A Victory Denied](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/A_Victory_Denied.jpg)
Despite the long-term malaise of the board wargaming industry, it does continue and shows no sign of shutting down completely in the foreseeable future. It can even be argued that the hobby is doing better now than for the past two decades.
This is made more difficult by a lack of hard figures from the publishers. ''The Complete Wargames Handbook'' shows sales of wargames (historical only) peaking in 1980 at 2.2 million, and tapering off to 400,000 in 1991. It also estimates a peak of about a few hundred thousand (again, historical) board wargamers in the U.S. in 1980, with about as many more in the rest of the world; the estimate for 1991 is about 100,000 total.
Another estimate puts the current number of board wargamers in the 15,000 range (this is limited to people ''purchasing'' games, which leaves some room for groups with one person who buys the games, or people who stick to older titles—who do exist, but are cold comfort for publishers). During 2006, several publishers reported that sales were up, but this could remain a short-term bump in sales.
Styles
The actual subject matter of wargames is broad, and many approaches have been taken over the years towards the goals of simulating wars on a grand or personal scale. Some of the more popular movements constitute established subgenres of their own that most wargamers will recognize.
Hex-and-counter
![ScreamingEagles_GameDetail](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/ScreamingEagles_GameDetail.jpg)
The oldest of the subgenres, and the one that still retains "iconic" status for board wargaming as a whole. It got its start with the first board wargame, ''
Tactics
Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to:
* Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks
** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield
** Chess tactics
** Political tact ...
'' (which, ironically, used a square grid; hexes were a slightly later innovation), and is still used in many wargames today.
In its most typical form, a hex-and-counter wargame has a map with a
hexagonal grid imposed over it, units are represented with cardboard
counters that commonly have a unit type and designation as well as numerical combat and movement factors. Players take turns moving and conducting attacks. Combat is typically resolved with an odds-based
combat results table
A Combat results table or a CRT is used in wargaming to determine the outcome of a clash between individual units within a larger battle.
The attacker and defender typically compare the relative strengths of the units involved in the clash and ...
(CRT) using a six-sided die.
Strategy games
This subgenre started with ''
Risk
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
'' in 1957 and focuses on entire wars rather than battles, typically using regions or countries as spaces rather than hexes, and often using plastic pieces. These games are often designed to support more than two players. The ''
Gamemaster Series'' popularized the subgenre further in the 1980s, with ''
Axis & Allies
''Axis & Allies'' is a series of World War II strategy game, strategy board games. The first version was initially published in 1981 and a second edition known colloquially as ''Axis & Allies: Classic'' was published in 1984. Played on a board d ...
'' eventually evolving into an entire line of games. Many
American-style board game
An Amerigame, short for American-style board game, is a loose category of tabletop game that generally features a prominent theme, encourages direct conflict between players, and has a significant degree of luck. It is distinguished from a Eurog ...
s are strategy wargames.
Block game
![Richard III from Columbia Games](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Richard_III_from_Columbia_Games.jpg)
This subgenre was created in the early 1970s, when
Gamma Two Games produced the three initial games of this type. It has long been the province of Gamma Two and its successor, Columbia Games, but recently other companies have been putting out games of the same type.
The defining aspect of this type of game is the use of wooden blocks for the units. These are tilted on their side normally, and then put down for combat. Until combat occurs, the opponent can see how many units are where, but not what type and what strength, introducing
fog of war
The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...
aspects. The blocks are also rotated to show different strength values in a
step-reduction system.
Card-driven
The most recent of the major types of board wargame, which was created by the game ''
We the People
The Preamble to the United States Constitution, beginning with the words We the People, is a brief introductory statement of the Constitution's fundamental purposes and guiding principles. Courts have referred to it as reliable evidence o ...
'' published by Avalon Hill in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
. In most aspects it is much like a typical board wargame (on the simpler side of the spectrum), but play is driven by a deck of cards that both players draw from. These cards control ''activation points'', which allow the use of troops, as well as events that represent things outside the normal scope of the game. Newer card driven games have helped reinvigorate the war game genre as well as other differently themed games. ''
Twilight Struggle
''Twilight Struggle: The Cold War, 1945–1989'' is a board game for two players, published by GMT Games in 2005. Players are the United States and Soviet Union contesting each other's influence on the world map by using cards that correspond to ...
'', a game based on the Cold War, was ranked #1 on the website
BoardGameGeek
BoardGameGeek (BGG) is an online forum for board gaming hobbyists and a game database that holds reviews, images and videos for over 125,600 different tabletop games, including European-style board games, wargames, and card games. In addition ...
from December 2010 to January 2016. As of September 2018, it's ranked fifth overall but first for wargames.
See also
*
Air wargaming
Air wargaming, like naval wargaming, is a niche specialism within the wider miniatures wargaming hobby. Due to the relatively short time over which aerial combat has developed air wargaming periods tend to break down into three broad periods:
* ...
*
Game Manufacturers Association
The Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) is a non-profit trade association based in Columbus, Ohio, dedicated to the advancement of the non-electronic social games industry – Board/Tabletop Games, Miniatures Games, Card Games, Collectable/Tra ...
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International Wargames Federation
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List of board wargames
This is a list of board wargames by historical genre (and some subgenres) showing their publication history. All games can be presumed to have been published in English unless another language is noted.
Historical
*'' The Art of Siege'' ( ...
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List of wargame publishers
{{Wargaming
List of wargame publishers is an index of commercial companies that publish wargames.
* 3W or World Wide Wargames – publishers of the wargaming magazine '' The Wargamer''.
* A and A Game Engineering – concentrating on air and nava ...
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Naval wargaming
Naval wargaming is a branch of the wider hobby of miniature wargaming. Generally less popular than wargames set on land, naval wargaming nevertheless enjoys a degree of support around the world. Both historical and fantasy rulesets are available. ...
*Origins Game Fair
*Simulation game
*Tactical wargame
References
External links
ConsimWorld.com(Wargame news and discussion site)
The Wargamer(War and strategy games website, tabletop, miniature, and computer)
Web-Grognards(Has a listing of most every game and publisher, usually with reviews, extra scenarios, after action reports, etc.)
Board Game Players Association(Noncommercial group manages the Avaloncon convention and other board wargame events)
Limey Yank Games(Support of Internet and Play by Electronic Mail systems)
{{Wargames
Board wargames,