''JagdPanther'' is a game magazine that was published from 1973 to 1976.

Publication history

In 1973, while a student at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

, Stephen V. Cole started playing ''

PanzerBlitz ''PanzerBlitz'' is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commerci ...

'', a tactical-level World War II wargame published by

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' ...

. Cole grew so enamored of the game that he conceived of a series of variants and expansions that he called "PanzerBlitz Unlimited". In order to provide a forum for this, he founded the company JagdPanther Publications to produce the

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

''JagdPanther'', dedicated to ''PanzerBlitz'' and other World War II wargames. The quarterly publication featured complete small games in every issue as well as scenarios and variants for existing games. The first issue, published in April 1973, contained the first article on PanzerBlitz Unlimited, an article on World War II mechanized combat, a variant for the wargame ''Borodino'', and two reviews of commercial wargames, as well as several original mini-games — the squad-level WWII game ''MP44'', a football game called ''Scrimmage IV'', and a simulation of the

Battle of Cowpens The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between U.S. forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Lieutenant Colo ...

. By 1975, ''JagdPanther'' had evolved from a hand-typed zine to a professional magazine, and won the first of two Charles S. Roberts Awards at the

Origins Awards The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so (for example) the 1979 a ...

. By that time, the focus of the magazine had moved away from World War II wargames, and to reflect this, Cole changed the title of Issue #15 (October 1976) to ''Battlefield''. Cole had graduated from Texas Tech the previous year, and found he was becoming more interested in building a game company than publishing a magazine. Following the release of the re-titled Issue #15, he ceased publication of the magazine. Shortly afterwards, Cole joined with

Allen Eldridge Allen D. Eldridge is a game designer who has worked primarily on board games. Career Allen Eldridge met Stephen Cole at a local game club in Amarillo, Texas, and joined Cole at his company JP Productions a few years after he founded it in 1973. ...

to found

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) and ...

Reception

In the February 1976 edition of ''

The Strategic Review ''Dragon'' is one of the two official magazines for source material for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game and associated products, along with ''Dungeon''. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed ...

'' (Issue #6),

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 ...

called this zine "a veritable goldmine of information on boardgames. Each issue contains dozens of items: variants, reviews, suggested rule changes, etc." Gygax favourably compared the small zine to the professional glossy magazines ''Wargamers Digest'' and ''Panzerfaust'', and on a scale of "Major Tragedy" to "Major Triumph", rated it a Major Triumph. At the 1976

, ''JagdPanther'' won the

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "C ...

for ''Best Amateur Magazine'' of 1975. The following year, ''JagdPanther/Battlefield'' was again the winner of the Charles S. Roberts Award for ''Best Amateur Magazine''.1976 Origins Awards Winners

References

{{reflist Game magazines Origins Award winners