Grognard Wargamer Thread!

I just imagined Roberto Bolaño hosting a gaming session of Third Reich for musty dead French philosophers.

Can you imaging the rules lawyering? With Foucault, Derrida and Baudrillard? Mother of Pearl! The game wouldn’t move past Winter '39!

I would play a game of A3R with Foucault and Derrida.

No you wouldn’t. They’d deconstruct the rules text until you were playing a boring Euro. And if you complained, they’d accuse you of hating the “other”.

Well, I was under the impression that A3R was a game all about deconstruction.

So I finally finished @Brooski’s podcast with The Zacny on Great War games (the last 20 minutes…it was long!).

So my first game…ever…:

It was name-checked in the podcast (let me give Brooski a flashback: 1 3-3-3, 1 3-2-2, 3 5-7-4’s. 1 0-1-2. Entrenchment level 3.) played it again 2 years ago. God what an unrewarding slug fest. But…I wonder if that’s the reality and PoG, etc., are just giving you window dressing and illusions of fluidity?

You can go East in GoA. After 2 years of slogging, it may pay off. And it might not.

Just saw this. What is the story with this, @MiquelRamirez ? Significant improvements? PBEM++ -capable and Steam sales?

(I’m hoping…)

Ah, that off-hand remark on the Garriot’s game thread didn’t escape your steely eyes.

They have been working on it for quite some time. The first time I am aware Joel talked about this publicly was here, a couple years back.

At the moment, we’re working on both War in the East 2 and Steel Tigers, and I’m equally excited by both. War in the East 2 is a continuation of the progress we’ve made with the WitEand WitW system, using the map we created of all of Europe that was used in WitW. Exactly how far we will take this system is unknown. We’d like to be able to ultimately reach a point where we can have games with Soviet, Axis and Allied units all fighting in Europe. Getting a game that allows this starting in 1943 would be easier than starting in 1941, and much easier than starting in 1940 or 1939. At the moment we’re relying on Gary for the AI programming while Pavel is doing 90% of the rest of the programming. I really like the changes we’ve made so far, and think this game will go a long way to providing an even more accurate simulation of the Eastern Front. As for Steel Tigers, we’re working closely with Matrix’s internal development team. It’s really a joint effort as the goal is to be every bit as state of the art with ST as SP was when it was released.

which basically means that they’re using GG’s signature tactical combat from SP as a backend for something which is state of the art. In English, that means using Slitherine’s Archon engine (the same used by Battle Academy 2, Pike and Shot and Field of Glory 2). Development has been going for quite a while, see this job posting from a year ago. That means PBEM++, nice graphics and more modern UI.

What I can publicly say is that GG is fully engaged with Steel Tigers and enjoying it very much. In terms of systems and mechanics, I guess that we will be seeing a evolution/refactoring of the old Steel Panthers tactical engine. Or if you want, the same old panther dressing up as a tiger :)

Personally, I like it when the old Spanish M48 dresses up as a tiger.

Or as a PzKpfw IVF2.

http://i.imgur.com/hDVOYMH.jpg

This is good news. SP was fantastic for Multiplayer, and if they go with the “Editor/Mod-able” route (which will allow, at bare minimum, the rewriting of canned modules as “balanced PBEM” versions, let alone a LOT of PBEM modules), then it will provide a lot of entertainment at that scale. Which is a great Tactical Scale (platoon).

Believe it or not, I saw a platoon of those M48 (with many upgrades) still in “service” (that is, being driven occasionally out from a depot for training purposes) by 1997.

Interesting post, kind of feels familiar with my feelings (and why I really don’t buy boardgames any more)

I found this post bemusing

Well this topic is disheartening. I thought you finally had the time to play everything once you reached this age.

Storm Above the Reich is in P500: https://www.gmtgames.com/p-725-storm-above-the-reich.aspx

This is evidence of exactly what I said up-thread: We are experiencing a wargame glut right now. In the last few years I’ve bought more board wargames than I had in the prior 30 years combined, for certain. Something is up and I’m not sure it’s about broadening interest in wargames. It seems more like a marketing scheme that has worked on the old timers like me.

I think there are more avenues for independents to market and produce. There aren’t more games; but you are hearing about a lot more than you did 30 years ago.

Good point: gaming magazines used to carry like 4 or 5 reviews per issue, usually covering one of each “theme”: ancients, horse and musket, Napoleonics and WW2.

That on a “good” month, at least in Spain in the late 1990s. There was a fierce competition from RPGs and proto eurogames for space on magazines.

None of those constraints exist any more.

Don’t make me come down there!

No recursion in this thread, man! You just proved that (there ain’t more games) to scores of readers spanning the globe!

I would argue that there were fewer games released per year in 1980 than now. Or in 1990.

That sounds like a worthy data project. :) Comparing published wargames. PrntNPlay would have to be left out. That would have to include the plethora of 1980s magazine games. SPI, Avalon Hill. Interesting.