The Complete Book of Wargames
The Complete Book of Wargames
was written in 1980 by Publications International, Ltd.,
credited officially to "the editors of Consumer Guide
with Jon Freeman" and published as a Fireside Book by Simon
and Schuster. The book was released in both hardcover
(ISBN 0-671-25374-3) and paperback (ISBN 0-671-25375-1). Also
contributing to the book were Richard Berg, Jeff Johnson, Dave
Minch, Jim Connelley, John Prados and Tony Sabado.
The book serves as a good
introduction to what wargames are, including a brief history
of the genre and even an introductory game (no counters or
separate mapboard are provided). Several chapters forming the
core of the book compare and evaluate existing wargames in
several genres - ancient, medieval, pre-Napoleonic,
Napoleonic, early modern, First World War, Second World War,
modern, science fiction, fantasy, RPGs and computer games.
As an introductory book, the evaluations do not contain great
detail but there are interesting comments throughout for
students of the history of wargaming itself. A few tactical
titles dealing with modern land subjects (i.e. sharing the
scope of this website) are rated in the pages of the book.
This is how the state of tactical board wargaming looked to
veterans of the industry in 1980, and what they thought of the
games:
Title |
Pub |
Sugg.
Price |
Playing
Time |
Balance |
Comments |
PanzerBlitz |
Avalon Hill
1970 |
$12 |
2-7 hrs |
Dependent
on scenario |
"This was
an enormously important game - really the first to break
out of the 'classic' Avalon Hill mode. Its success led
directly to the popularity of the eastern front, of
tactical games, and of innovative designs. It is also a
very good game that is fluid in play, exciting, and
colorful. It's a good model of combined arms tactics,
and it leads players to use historical fighting
techniques. Its biggest flaw is a product of the
spotting rules, which allowed units to skulk from woods
hex to woods hex without being fired on - a pattern
known as the 'panzerbush syndrome.' This can be
countered by increasing the spotting distance into such
terrain. An alternative is an option in later editions:
opportunity fire - defensive fire occurring during the
attacker's movement phase - considered by some to
be essential for simulations at this level. Another
complaint is the high - perhaps excessive -
effectiveness given high-explosive artillery by the
indirect fire rules, a problem exacerbated by the
optional rules allowing free spotting. Nonetheless, the
units are varied and interesting, and the game remains
very popular. Panzer Leader and The
Arab-Israeli Wars are applications of the same
system to other settings; they are attractive
alternatives - but not replacements - for PanzerBlitz." |
Soldiers |
SPI
1972 |
$12 |
2-4 hrs |
Very good |
"Soldier
is - unfortunately - little noticed now, but as the
first of the close-tactical infantry games, it is the
grandparent of Sniper!, Squad Leader, and even
StarSoldier. It was a breakthrough in design and
remains a good game in its own right." |
Panzer Leader |
Avalon Hill
1974 |
$12 |
2-7 hrs |
Generally
good |
"While
the units individually don't have quite the interest of
some employed on the eastern front (in PanzerBlitz),
there's a bit more variety overall and a bit more
realism in this western front version of PanzerBlitz.
Choosing between them is little more than personal
preference in local and battles." |
Mech War '77 |
SPI
1975 |
$14 |
6-8 hrs |
Generally
favours defender |
"Mech
War '77 demonstrates the lethality of modern
weaponry in dramatic fashion. Infantry and even some
armored personnel carriers can blow away armored units
with deadly consistency (a distinct improvement over the
weak infantry of Panzer '44). Tactical finesse
becomes important, as direct actions tend to result in
great slaughter for the impetuous. On the negative side
are teh same written firing plots and the same stupid
command control rules of the World War II relative.
Mech War '77 was a replacement for the old Red
Star/White Star (not to be confused with the new
version) and will be phased out in favor of its
successor, Mech War 2. (If at first you don't
succeed ... ) But it can be fun for armor buffs." |
Panzer '44 |
SPI
1975 |
$10 |
3-5 hrs |
Generally
good |
"Despite
the typically peculiar ratings of games in Strategy &
Tactics magazine, this is, if anything, more
complicated than its Avalon Hill analogue, Panzer
Leader - not less. While the system used is not as
tedious as full, written orders for movement and combat,
it's unsuited for anything but two-player face-to-face
play, even if it's marginally more realistic than pure
sequential turns. Adding a massive dose of pure chance,
the absurd command control rules cannot be justified on
the grounds of either realism or playability. If you
must have that sort of thing, using a decimal die or
chit set to check each unit's status independently will
slow the game even more, but it's preferable to the old
method. Despite the offensively useless infantry,
Panzer '44 isn't a bad game and when published it
represented something of an advance in the state of the
art of tactical armor simulations. But compared to its
Avalon Hill counterparts, its attractions are few." |
Firefight |
SPI
1976 |
$14 |
1-2 hrs
(intro scen) |
US/NATO
favoured |
"Firefight
is an extremely professional, accurate, and
well-laid-out piece of work. It is, however, a learning
device - not a game. FireFight was specifically
designed for the U.S. Army to use for training purposes;
the aim of the system was realism, not playability. The
scenarios that can be played without an enormous
investment of time and effort are rather wooden and
one-dimensional, and the constraints on the Soviet
player make playing that side less than satisfying.
Using all the rules and the most complicated scenarios
makes a more interesting but also far longer and more
complex game. FireFight is possibly the most
tedious game on the market; every single unit must check
for defensive opportunity fire every single hex on every
single turn. If enjoyment is a consideration in your
game playing, pass this by." |
Squad Leader |
Avalon Hill
1977 |
$12 |
2-7 hrs |
Fairly
good |
"Squad
Leader was a Charles Roberts Award winner for 1877 -
and deservedly so. It is probably the most popular
tactical World War II game since PanzerBlitz. The
game is exciting, colorful, and almost endless in its
variations and scenario possibilities. While the play
sequence (complicated as it is) is geared more to fun
than to an accurate representation of a squad-level
firefight, the game does give the players a remarkable
feel for close-tactical combat. Two other factors
contribute to its success: the game has been given a
topnotch physical presentation by Avalon Hill, and the
charts have been kept to a minimum. This allows the
players to enjoy the game without resorting to charts
and rules at every step. Although clearly intended only
for advanced players, Squad Leader is not unplayably
long and does reward the time spent learning the rules.
It seems to be that rare bird: an instant success with
staying power." |
The Arab-Israeli Wars |
Avalon Hill
1977 |
$12 |
3-4 hrs |
Generally
good |
"This is
the second descendant...of the famous PanzerBlitz,
and while it is not in some ways as successful or as
satisfying as its preeminent forefather, The Arab
Israeli-Wars is nonetheless a good tactical game.
Many of the earlier rules have been updated and
expanded, and play in this game flows much smoother than
in PanzerBlitz. The main problem is that the
system is becoming a little tired, and players may feel
they are just getting some new scenarios for an old
game. While some of these scenarios are exciting, many
are dull and unwieldy. Moreover, according to many
experts in this area, a surprising amount of the hard
information is of doubtful veracity. SPI's October
War is more accurate and innovative but is,
unfortunately, less successful overall." |
Cross of Iron |
Avalon Hill
1980 |
$12 |
up to 8 hrs. |
Very good |
"This is
designed to be an improvement on one of the best and
most successful games around. The new armor rules are
far superior to the original ones and add a depth of
feeling for the subject that had been lacking. The
complexities of the system are effectively summarized on
the counters themselves in a masterfully done job of
graphic representation. This is the last word - the
state of the art - in tactical armor games. With Squad
Leader it forms the most complete and realistic
playable game system ever published. Newcomers, of
course, will have to work their way up to it gradually,
but they have a treat in store when they get there." |
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The
Complete Book of Wargames.
Hardcover courtesy of Andrew H. Hershey, softcover from
webmaster's collection
Title |
Presentation |
Rules |
Playability |
Realism |
Complexity |
Overall |
The Arab-Israeli Wars |
VG |
G |
G |
G |
7 |
G |
Cross of Iron |
E |
E |
G |
E |
9 |
VG* |
Firefight |
E |
VG |
P |
E |
8 |
** |
Mech War '77 |
G |
G |
F - G |
VG |
8 |
G |
Panzer '44 |
G |
R |
F - G |
G - VG |
7+ |
G |
PanzerBlitz |
E |
G |
VG |
G |
7 |
VG |
Panzer Leader |
E |
G |
VG |
G - VG |
7 |
VG |
Soldiers |
G |
G-VG |
VG |
G-VG |
6 |
VG |
Squad Leader |
E |
VG |
G - VG |
VG |
8 |
VG |
E - Excellent VG - Very Good G - Good F - Fair Complexity - 1
least complex, 10 most complex
*But only for the experienced
**E as a simulation, P as a game
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