
A block wargame is a
board wargame
A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...
that represents military units using wooden blocks instead of cardboard
counters or metal/plastic
miniatures.
Description
A block wargame uses wooden blocks to represent units. These blocks are typically square, have a labeled and an unlabeled side, and are generally thick enough that they can be placed on their side with the labeled side facing the owning player. Details about the unit (for instance, its identity as well as its attack, defense and movement scores) can then be seen easily by the owning player, while the opposing player will be left unsure of the exact nature of piece; while he can see ''where'' his rival's forces are, the
fog of war
The fog of war 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, and adversary Intent (Military), inten ...
is emulated by preserving the secrecy of the type and quality of the troops.
Often, block pieces display the main information in the center with a series of numbers (or
pips) around the edge, so that the current strength of the unit can be shown in a "step-reduction" system (where a unit's strength is reduced step-by-step, as it takes damage during combat.) When the unit is undamaged, the largest number will be displayed at 12 o'clock. When the unit is damaged, the player turns it counterclockwise so that the next largest number is at 12 o'clock, with the number of pips at the top of block indicating its current strength. This continues until the unit's strength reaches zero, whereupon it is removed from play.
Alternatively, some block wargames require the player to remove the block representing the damaged unit from the board and replace it with a block with a lower strength.
History

The initial idea of pieces that are visible to only one of two players traces back to the 1908 introduction of the game ''L'Attaque'', the first version of ''
Stratego
''Stratego'' ( ) is a Strategy game, strategy board game for two players on a board of 10×10 squares. Each player controls 40 pieces representing individual Army officer ranks, officer and soldier ranks in an army. The pieces have Napoleonic W ...
''. Early ''Stratego'' pieces were cardboard but were replaced by wood after World War II. (Today ''Stratego'' pieces are plastic.) However ''Stratego'' was not a direct inspiration for block wargames.
In 1972, Lance Gutteridge of
Gamma Two Games originally planned on using six-sided dice to represent pieces and to provide for step reduction in combat strength. The high cost of dice led him to decide to instead use embossed wooden blocks showing 2, 3 or 4 steps in combat strength.
The first such block wargame was ''
Quebec 1759'', depicting the campaign surrounding the
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...
.
Gamma Two Games later produced the block wargames ''
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
'', simulating
the war of that name, and ''
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
'', simulating the campaign leading up to the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
. In 1982, Gamma Two changed its name to
Columbia Games
Columbia Games is one of the oldest manufacturers of board wargames, and has also produced the '' Hârn'' role-playing game as well as various card games and collectible card games. Their wargames are notable for using small wooden or plastic bl ...
.
Through the 1980s and 1990s Columbia Games was practically the sole publisher of block wargames. Their releases during this time included ''Rommel in the Desert'', covering World War II's
North Africa campaign
The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...
; ''
EastFront'' and its sequels, covering the European theater of World War II at the corps level; and ''Bobby Lee'' and ''Sam Grant'', covering the Virginia and Western theaters of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
. The only significant change was to replace the relatively expensive embossed wooden blocks used in the old Gamma Two Games with plain plastic blocks. Each game then comes with a sheet of stickers to be affixed to the blocks.
Today
Block wargames are enjoying a minor resurgence. Columbia Games' ''
Hammer of the Scots'' by designer
Jerry Taylor has been well received. His next title, ''Crusader Rex'' also fared well by many. Jerry Taylor recently released another block game based on
the War of the Roses. GMT Games entered the block wargame market in 2003 with the release of ''Europe Engulfed'', a simulation of the entire
ETO. A sister game, ''Asia Engulfed'', was released in 2007, using blocks to represent fleets as well as ground forces.
GMT also released a block wargame series called ''Commands and Colors: Ancients'' which met with wide approval. Note that this series of games does not fall under the tradition definition of "block wargame" as the units have identifying marks on both sides of the blocks, eliminating the
fog of war
The fog of war 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, and adversary Intent (Military), inten ...
aspect of most Block Wargames. Simmons Games has published the innovative ''Bonaparte at Marengo'', which was nominated for a 2005 award for Best Historical Simulation by ''Games Magazine''; the game features unique long blocks, reminiscent of the symbols used on battle maps.
Since 2011, VentoNuovo Games has modernized the block wargames sector with the use of new logical algorithms and the creation of ultra-detailed topographic maps. With 14 published titles, it is today the most active company in the sector.
Reception
In the inaugural issue of ''Command'', Bill Stone called the idea of using blocks "not a bad idea, but too clumsy for use in games with high piece density."
References
External links
*
Block wargames from Columbia Games
{{wargames
Board wargames