I. A Radical New Approach As you can see, 1969 was a pretty important year in both the "real world" and in the gaming world, except in Baltimore of course, they wanted to forget '69. The wargame hobby and business were now over ten years old (Avalon Hill Game Company having been formed in 1958 by Charles Roberts). As game players we had cut our teeth on AH's Tactics II and Gettysburg in the late 1950's and early 1960's. We came of age with All's Afrika Korps, Midway and Guadalcanal in the mid-60's. And we were beginning to broaden our base and mature in the late 60's with new game companies, magazines and game designers, i.e., GameScience's Battle of Britain, Strategy & Tactics magazine and James F. Dunnigan. In 1969 the latest release from Avalon Hill was Anzio: A Realistic Game of Forces in Italy, 1944 — the ad copy read "Why not visit Rome this year... and bring along the 5th Army." Game reviews on Anzio were mixed, with Paul Serio writing in S&T #18, "... In conclusion, I feel that the amount of time, paperwork and energy expended in playing this game is not worth it. I feel that Avalon Hill has gone off the deep end with this game..." Well, as we know today, AH didn't go off the deep end and Anzio (revised of course) has stood the test of time — in fact, many today consider Anzio to be a classic. We didn't know it then, but that 18th issue of S&T also marked a turning point in the history of our hobby. A second generation of board wargaming had begun. James F. Dunnigan formed a new company in 1969 called Poultron Press and purchased Strategy & Tactics magazine from its founder Chris Wagner. Dunnigan's first issue was #18 and he began the "game-in-the magazine" format which revolutionized the industry (later to be imitated by Conflict, Battle Flag, JagdPanther, The The year was 1969... Wargamer, etc.). Also in that issue, Poultron Press (later known as SPI or Richard M. Nixon began his first term as the President of the United States; Simulations Publications Inc.) ran a full- Soviet and Chinese forces were fighting on the Manchurian border over some page ad announcing ten new games! This was unheard of. We had all become disputed island; 25,000 U.S. troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, leaving accustomed to one new release per year 474,000 remaining; Formal truce negotiations began in Paris to end the from AH and an occasional Vietnam War; Charles de Gaulle resigned as the President of France; "independent" title like Battle of Britain or Americans Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. were the first men to walk on Trafalgar. This ad marked the the Moon; Radio Hanoi announced the death of Ho Chi Minh; John Wayne beginning of a flood of wargames which won the Academy Award for Best Actor in True Grit; the New York Jets beat would reach its crest in the late 1970's. the Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl; the New York Yankees beat the But let's return to the Poultron Press ad in Baltimore Orioles in the World Series; and New York's Strategy & Tactics S&T #18. Among the many exciting titles listed were Barbarossa, beat Baltimore's Avalon Hill to the punch in designing and producing the first true tactical wargame... 34 F&M Special Edition F&M Special Report Normandy and Leipzig (all later released as SPI, boxed games) and a game Squad Leader entitled simply Tactical Game 3. The ad copy read: "A new departure in games. A platoon/company level game whose main objective was to compare different weapons/tactical systems. This version deals with the situation on the Russian front in 1944. Counters include T34c, T34/85, JSII, Su85, PzIV, PzV, PzVIb, and many other armored fighting vehicles as well as infantry, mortar, artillery and other types of weapons. A radical new approach to historical gaming. The first to be published of a series of similar games... $5.00." This truly was a "new departure" in wargames. It seemed, to many of us, that for quite a number of years we had been experiencing some kind of self- regulation in the game design business. As if certain topics or subjects were off limits or just plain "undesignable." Tactical level wargames fell into this off limits area, but then Tactical Game 3 opened the door to a new genre of games as well as a new approach to designing and playing wargames. It wasn't that we disliked strategic/operational level games, like AH's Stalingrad or Guadalcanal, but some of us found it difficult to imagine each cardboard counter representing thousands or tens¬of-thousands of men. How about one counter representing a handful of men or a few tanks, like miniatures do — we could relate to that. What about realistic terrain considerations, like line-of-sight and proper tactics like fire-before-movement. Of couse nothing is perfect and Then, in 1972, Dunnigan did it again, he Maybe some kind of "plug-in" multiple PanzerBlitz was no exception. The crossed into another of those off limits scenario format. game naturally had its limitations and its areas. The game was Red Star/White critics. One of the critics was the Star: Tactical Combat in Western James F. Dunnigan provided us with the designer himself. Dunnigan stated in Fire Europe in the 1970's. The controversial system and tools to simulate these & Movement #15, "...I always felt that subject of potential future wars in Europe concepts with Tactical Game 3. The next Tactical Game 3 was a better game and the clear depiction of the Soviet big step came in 1970 when Avalon Hill than PanzerBlitz. I think we just Union as the real enemy opened another bought the rights to the game from added a lot of accessories on a small, but door. Since the release of Re d Dunnigan and released PanzerBlitz: The nimble little vehicle and thus loaded it Star/White Star we have seen Game of Armored Warfare on the Eastern down..." And among PanzerBlitz's numerous tactical level games on the Front 1941.45 — the start of the second devoted fans were those who didn't like subject and related subjects — not to generation. the "PanzerBush Syndrome" or they mention operational/strategic level II. wanted more "realism," more weapons designs. This dividing line between systems, more game maps, more World War II and Modern Era tactical The Blind Alley of Realism scenarios and more of everything. game designs remains today as most 20th Century tactical games fall into one of For many wargamers PanzerBlitz was Thus the early 1970's saw numerous these two categories. their renaissance in wargaming. It new tactical game systems. Almost all of brought many disenchanted, disinterested them were designed by Dunnigan and Red Star/White Star proved to be a big and "turned-off" players back into the SPI. They included Grunt (1971), which success for SPI, but again its designer fold and for many others it marked the depicted the ongoing war in Vietnam on the was disappointed with it. Dunnigan beginning of a new and exciting hobby platoon level; Combat Command (1972), reflected on his overall development of experience. The level of energy and which was suppose to be the Western tactical wargames in MOVES #12 (1973): activity in the hobby and business went Front sequel to PanzerBlitz, but failed to up. PanzerBlitz was a giant hit (it would generate much excitement (change of "Red Star/White Star is an unrealistic and eventually sell over a quarter-of-a-million scale hurting it most); and Soldiers obsolete game. Just for the record, so is copies!). (1972) truly one of the real sleepers in the PanzerBlitz and Combat Command. history of the hobby — an excellent WWI Unfortunately, the two most popular tactical wargame. games available today are PanzerBlitz and Red Star/White F&M Special Edition 35 F&M Special Report Squad Leader Star. While it is true that I am not movement/combat system games: representative of most; or even many, of the Patrol!: Man-to-Man Combat in 20th people who play PanzerBlitz and Red Century and Tank!: Armored Combat in Star/White Star, I did design both of them. So 20th Century. Dunnigan was working on that does, I feel, give me the right to say expanding the series and stretching the something about their authenticity and system. Patrol! was the natural sequel to design quality. Sniper! featuring open terrain and countryside. Tank!, on the other hand, The basic reason for this rather negative attitude emphasized armored fighting vehicles over lies in the fact that tactical games are extremely infantry and other weapons systems — the tank difficult to design with a large degree of was the "queen of the battlefield." realism. This was readily apparent while designing PanzerBlitz. We went through a But with these sequels and series good half dozen approaches. The one we expansions the degree of complexity, finally arrived at was not, in our opinion, the best additional bookkeeping and the "plug-in" look of one. In other words, the research the games started to turn players off. What a n d development on tactical game designs price realism? More to the point, was this could not stop with PanzerBlitz. This is probably realism or just more dirt? Wasn't there another fairly obvious to those of you who later saw direction to go? Had Dunnigan selected the Combat Command.