The General Vol 05 No 3

**** The AVALON HILL THE GENERAL PAGE 2 *. 4 $h ~VA~ON GENEWaL . a losing vcnturc published bi-monthly, pretty closc to thc first day of January, Marck, May, July, Scptcmbcr and November. Thc Gcncral ia cd~tcdand published by The Recent surveys administered both by playability. While re capturing esaent- Avalon Hill Company almost solely for the cul- The General and purists among the ually the same overall conditions as tural edification of adult gamfng. (It also helps to war gaming cult Aave produced a rather they actually existed, Stalingrad is not scll Avaloil Hill products, tool) sharp diviaion between adherents to over-encumbered with a myriad of de- Articles from aubscribrrs are considered for realism and adherents to playability. tails. With all of its units, this game Such publication on a gratis contributory bmis. Under the aseumption that a game can- can be played rather quickly. Action articles must be typrwrittcn and not txcccd 700 not be both realistic and playable, con- abounds words. Examples and diagrams that amampany on every turn. Small wonder such articIes must bc drawn in black ink, rmdy sensees favor playability 60-40. While that Stalingrad is still a favorite among for rcproductiol~.No notice can be given regar- it is possible, and the battle games many of the hard-core players even . ding acceptance of articles for publication. seem to prove it, to produce games though it is an "oldu game. Another ' All back issues, except Vol. 1, Nos. 1 & 4, which that are both realistic and playable the game continuing to be a favorite is + are out of $rock, are available at $1.00 per issue. only really successful games have been Afrika Korps. Again, complex- sim- Full-year subscriptions o $4.98. abatractions. We only have to look to plicity is the keynote. In both Stalin- Monopoly to prove this point. ! o I= The Avalon Hill Company, Baltimore, @ and Afrika Korps, a high degree Maryland. printed in U.S.A. While the game-makers over in our of abstraction has been built into their research department axe loath to admit design. They have proved to be the - it, AH'S battle series cannot be con- panacea for all concerned. sidered successes from amass-market Outside the area of battle games, standpoint. However, the true history we have found that it is not possible to COVER STORY: buffs and realism nuts are great enough produce a realistic game that is fun to in number to guarantee a certain de- play. And after all, isn't the important gree of success for any battle game thing about a game how much fun it it that is produced. As a matter of fact, to play? A case in point is a stocb If Ever There Was other game producers who have publish- market game we have been testing for ed battle games of an abstract type have over a year. We designed it too realis- an Unsung Hero. failed in their quest to move such games tically. It lacked inter -plaFr com- off the store shelves in profitable num- petition. Although it had re-captured If they ever hand out unsung hero bers. the action of the stock market in its awards in wargaming, Russell Powell However, even with the design staff truist form, it simply wasn't any fun to should win hands-down. at AHoriented toward "realism, " there play. We scrapped the whole idea. With expeditious help from wife is a limit to how far one can carry this The next step down, then, was to philosophy. Jutlandand 1914 are clas- inject some abstraction to get play mov- Donna, Russell Powell. has taken the p spark of an idea that flamed back in sic examples of realism-to-the-T. ing quicker. Also, areas of inter- 11966 and kindled it into the most demo- More detailed research has gone into player competition were injected. As cratic wargaming "league ' I existing to- their design than into all cthir battle we leanedmore and more in this direc- day -- the Spartan Wargamer s. games combined. The research team tion, the game became less and less Although beset with growing pains, of James F. Dunnigan Associates, with realistic from a realistic standpoint. their never-exhausting supply of inside financial crises, and petty bickering The stock market, itself, is no game, typical of many such wargaming organi- dope, has been able to transcend the at least not from the standpoint of one zations, the Spartan Wargamer s have most minute battle detail into excitingly player attempting to outscore his op- flourished while many others Aave realistic battle games. Pardon, we ponent. Unlike the stock market, war either floundered, reorganized, or been mean simulations. Because that's ex- lends itself much more readily to inter- personal ani- actly what we have in JutIand and 1914; consumed by the fires of - player competition because that's what mo'sities. Hardly a wargame club today games so realistic that they are simu- the participants basically are trying to is the same organization it was two lations of the real thing. In fact, it is do - to beat the other guy. At thi years ago. Even such early stallwarts being brought to our attention that these point it is safe to conclude that the de as Red Lions and Aggressor Homeland games are too realistic.. .so realistic gree of realism and abstraction is de have switched names and experienced as to become boring after severaI play- termined by the subject matter of that3 drastic organizational and personnel ings. area of life we are attempting to por- changes. Not so with the Spartans. With Jutland and 1914, we have tray in game format. We are therefore They have experienced a steady growth finally satisfied theappetite of the hard- wiIIing to sacrifice absolute realism in pattern that puts all others to shame. core historical buff. But in the mean- favor of a design that is, first and for- The reason for this is Russell Powell; time, the hard-core game-game fana- most, fun to play. who has been able to stand up above tics have had to "give upN1on these the power -plays and intrigues that often titles because they feel that the intra- Jutland and 1914 are fine games. slow - undermine the leadership of even the caies of realism the action down ooops. we mean simulations. Thei~ most uptight organizations. Russell to a walk. In short, there's too much publication has done much to enhancr complex fun has had to weather such storms by detail for what competitive the quality of the AH image. Thei~ groups of dissidents bent-on taking over can be had. Thus, the game-makers publication has done much to broader club leader ship. Alas, the coups have have come to the conclusion that a wed- our distributional base thus making tht failed mainly on the strength of Rus- ding between realism and playability rest of our line more readily availablr quick sell's loyal friends who realize how results in a rather divorce. to the public. Within this framework much time, effort and money. ..over The alternative is abstraction. -Stal- we are proud of these two titles. Bu ingrad is an excellent example of the we are even "prouder" of what we'll bt (Continued on Page 3) proper combinationbetween realism and introducing next Spring. PAGE 3 THE GENERAL The success of such a strategy rests upon the continuance of your luck and not upon the merits of your tactics. Success Thru Patience In Midway, how tempting it is to by Jared Johnson launch a "devastating',' attack before the time is ripe. (In the iong run, perhaps not devastating to the enemy. What causes the downfall of many Atlantic for a few days, - good wargamers? They are in a hurry! Consider Afrika Korps. How often This is a serious problem with many Granted that time is of the essence in does the German commander conduct wargamers. They are over-anxious, many instances. However, not always. a reckless 2-1 attack against Tobruch too eager to rush in and slaughter the In his fervent desire to annihilate his which wasn't really necessary ,yet? opponent. His means are contradicting opponent, a player often makes rash Suicide charges are fine as a very last his desired ends. A competent general to decisions, and decides most often in resort, but many players just don't knows when let his opponent attempt: favor of the plan which will allow him realize what suicidal tactics they are the bravado tactics. A competent gea- should to act the soonest, usually without employing too early in the game. Many era1 knows when ha be content weighing other merits. Consider the players faced with a tough situation will plodding along at a snail's pace. game of Bismarck. In the long run it make a bad decision in favor of a plan Take heed: All of you power-happy is rarely wise for the Bismarck to that will "break the iceii the soonest; generals who want to cross the Meuse to stay and fight a battle which he can usually, a. series of suicide attacks. by the 25th turn, who want take Bas- withdraw from, even when it ia an easy How tempting it is in Bulge for the togne by the 17th, who want to sink the victory. However, he is overwhelmed U.S. to surround one of those miser- Atago the minute it comes onto the at the moment of conflict by the desire able German 10-5 panzer units at 1-2 board, and who want to pop into port May ta sink the British BB.

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