Mark Simonitch (born December 30, 1957) is an American

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 ...

designer and graphic artist. His game designs include ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' and ''Ardennes '44'', and he has made maps for ''Wilderness War'' and ''Empire of the Sun'' among others. He has worked at

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' ...

and

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 ...

. He was inducted into the Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame in 2002.

Biography

Simonitch was raised in

Ross, California Ross is a small List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located west-southwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at ...

. He studied at California Polytechnic State University. He began wargaming in 1966, his first gaming experiences included ''

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

'' and '' Gettysburg'' by Avalon Hill. From 1991 to 1994 he was a freelance artist and created maps and counters for over 100 wargames with clients including ''

Strategy & Tactics ''Strategy & Tactics'' (''S&T'') is a wargaming magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for publishing a complete new wargame in each issue. Beginnings ''Strategy & Tactics'' was first published in January 1967 under its original edit ...

'', '' Command Magazine'',

, 3W, and Avalanche Games. During this period he also started Rhino Game Company (or Rhino Studios) and published three games. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland in spring 1995 where he was employed by

until 1997. He has worked at

from 1997 to the present as a Graphic Designer.

Awards

The below are all

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 ...

wins, the list does not include nominations. Of his 14 awards, 5 were won by him alone (), the rest shared awards where he designed the map. *1990 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Kadesh'', map (XTR Corporation) *1991 James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability & Design Winner, ''The Legend Begins'' (Rhino Games) *1992 Best Wargame Graphics, ''

SPQR SPQR, an abbreviation for (; en, "The Roman Senate and People"; or more freely "The Senate and People of Rome"), is an emblematic abbreviated phrase referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic. It appears on Roman currency, at t ...

'', map (GMT Games) *1993 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Lion of the North'', map (GMT Games) *1994 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Battles of Waterloo'', map (GMT Games) *2000 James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability & Design Winner, ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games) *2000 Best World War Two Game, ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games) *2001 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Wilderness War'', map (GMT Games) *2002 Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame *2003 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Ardennes '44'', map (GMT Games) *2005 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Empire of the Sun'', map (GMT Games) *2007 Best Wargame Graphics, ''1914: Twilight in the East'', map (GMT Games) *2010 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Normandy '44'', map (GMT Games) *2010 Best World War Two Game, ''Normandy '44'' (GMT Games) Other awards include: *2004 '' The Wargamer'' magazine Award for Excellence, ''Ardennes '44'' (GMT Games) *2008 Golden Geek Best Wargame Winner, ''Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage'', game (Valley Games) *2008 Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game Winner, ''Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage'', game (Valley Games) *2018 Golden Geek Best Wargame Winner, ''Hannibal & Hamilcar'', game (PHALANX) with Jaro Andruszkiewicz

Game designer

*1991 ''The Legend Begins'' (Rhino Studios) *1992 ''Campaign to Stalingrad'' (Rhino Studios) *1994 ''Decision in France'' (Rhino Studios) *1996 ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' (Avalon Hill) *1997 ''Successors'' (second edition) (Avalon Hill). With Richard H. Berg *2000 ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games). With Tony Curtis *2003 ''Ardennes '44'' (GMT Games) *2008 ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' (Valley Games) *2009 ''The Caucasus Campaign'' (GMT Games). With Joe Youst *2010 ''Normandy '44'' (GMT Games) *2013 ''France '40'' (GMT Games) *2015 ''The U.S. Civil War'' (GMT Games) *2017 ''Holland '44: Operation Market-Garden'' (GMT Games) *2018 ''Hannibal & Hamilcar'' (PHALANX, Asyncron Games, Mas Que Oca, Feuerland, Cranio). With Jaro Andruszkiewicz *2019 ''Stalingrad '42 (GMT Games) *2022 ''Salerno '43 (GMT Games)

Notable graphic art

Simonitch has designed maps, counters, box art, cards and other elements for hundreds of games, below are some of the most notable titles. *1998 ''Bitter Woods'' (Avalon Hill) *1998 ''For the People'' (Avalon Hill) *1999 ''

Paths of Glory ''Paths of Glory'' is a 1957 American anti-war film co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of ...

'' (GMT Games) *2000 ''Battle Line'' (GMT Games) *2001 ''Wilderness War'' (GMT Games) *2005 ''Empire of the Sun'' (GMT Games) *2005 ''

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 ...

'' (GMT Games) *2006 ''Combat Commander: Europe'' (GMT Games) *2006 '' Here I Stand'' (GMT Games) *2010 '' Washington's War'' (GMT Games) *2010 ''Commands & Colors: Napoleonics'' (GMT Games) *2010 '' Labyrinth: The War on Terror, 2001-?'' (GMT Games) *2011 ''No Retreat! The Russian Front'' (GMT Games) *2012 ''1989: Dawn of Freedom'' (GMT Games) *2012 ''Next War: Korea'' (GMT Games) *2015 ''Churchill'' (GMT Games)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonitch, Mark 1957 births Board game designers Living people People from Ross, California