So you want to be a wargamer? Skip the plinky-dinky and go with Gettysburg

Games
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From Bruce Geryk’s article:

This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2019/04/08/so-you-want-to-be-a-wargamer-skip-the-plinky-dinky-and-go-with-gettysburg/
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“I often get asked what would be a “good game to introduce someone to wargaming.” My answer usually is that if the person is interested in wargaming, you should just take them to The Compleat Strategist in New York and point them at the wargame shelf and let them pick something out that interests them. If they like it, they’re going to be a wargamer, if not, it doesn’t matter what you recommend.”

Indeed. Haven’t played tabletop wargames but it certainly works with videogame wargames. I once tried Ultimate General Gettysburg but couldn’t get into it. I’ve asked for some supplementary material and Bruce himself recommended The Killer Angels novel. I’ve read it - not without problems. My native language is Russian, this book is not translated to Russian. And it’s not an easy read. I liked the book, no remorse after reading it. But I still couldn’t care less about an American Civil War that to me looks like a conflict with inherently uninteresting and similar sides, strategic situation that all but dictates who wins starting with day 1, not very interesting tactics. In The Killer Angels Longstreet talks to himself about how the world is changing but it’s still more static and like Napoleonic warfare rather than a transformative WW1 which you start with red pants and white gloves and end with tanks.

Then I try something like Fields of Glory 2 - that thing speaks to me. It’s easier to get into. Wargames mechanics are in service to the theme, they are rarely interesting on their own. Many people don’t really play videogames at all but are able to get into something horrifically complex like War in the East cause it’s interests them, just like plenty of people play Football Manager.

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I can see how players interested in the “whys” of military history might appreciate a simplicity that brings certain basic factors into sharp relief. Gettysburg does this reasonably well, and for that alone, it’s worth a play or two.

The downside to this complexity ceiling is that as a game, Gettysburg doesn’t have much to offer experienced players after a few passes.

Fair review, @Brooski. One pass was enough for me (Dice Off!). I’d play again, if purchased as a gift for, say, a nine-year old nephew or niece. After a play or two, if he dug the game, I’d ask them to pick something else out and move on to more interesting (and challenging) fare.

But if I was trying to introduce a youngster to the hobby, I’d more likely follow your “Compleat Strategist” method. My first game was Guns of August. To me today, playing that game is like volunteering to go to the dentist and gleefully agreeing to get 4 fillings a day for a week. But the game sure called to me at 10, as I then proceeded to play it wrong for a year. If someone young is interested in history and interested in playing a game, the best thing you really can do is just let them follow their own self-selected fascination, and just play it with him or her.

Unless it’s WiF.

Or ASL.

You need to be a conscientious mentor.

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Guns of August was one of the biggest dogs ever released by a major publisher. That there are apologists for it to this day goes to show that every game, no matter how shitty, has its supporters. Thank god that was not my first wargame.

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Agree. However…

Rodger McGowan made a convert with he cover art. Fascination piqued. Started me off. I stayed with the hobby.

The heart wants what it wants.

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I still consider myself “wargame curious” more than anything else - I think I like reading Bruce’s articles more than I’ve enjoyed playing any “real” wargame. I still dig Advance Wars though.

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Thoroughly enjoyable (as usual), Bruce. But what really made me smile is learning that The Compleat Strategist is still there! I loved that store when I lived in New York, but really hadn’t thought about it since I moved away 30 years ago. From the photos on the web site, it looks like the place hasn’t changed in all that time, except, perhaps, being more over-stuffed, which only stands to reason.

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A bit of a tangent, but the title made me remember this book.

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Guess who has two thumbs and recently got a gift certificate to The Compleat Strategist?

I love browsing there. It’s cluttered as all hell, but all the more charming for it. And I’ve never seen a store with such a large wargame selection.

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The quality of fighting in the ACW was not up to snuff, probably, compared to the Napoleonic armies or those that fought in the Franco-Prussian War. On the other hand, as drama it is superlative. That’s my primary interest in the topic – the amazing personalities, the epic stakes, the deep moral questions, the desperate struggles. Of course, it helps that it’s my own country’s history. If you’re Russian, my understanding is you folks had a civil war that makes ours look like a Sunday picnic.

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I’m not Russian (Belarus), but I do know about the Russian Civil war. If you compare it to ACW then American version is vastly superior as wargame material: factions are much more clearly defined yet are very similar in many regards. And there are just two of them. There’s little external influence in the conflict.

So I see that it’s not just popular because it’s interesting to people in the richest country around. Still, all that you talk about is hardly seen in wargames unless you bring that knowledge there and know what happens. You have to already be hooked. Wargames about something like WW2 have a bigger appeal cause most of the world has feelings about this conflict. I suspect that 100 years later WW2 will stop dominate the market and will be not bigger than Napoleonics or Punic Wars. And if aliens come today and ask for wargame we’d better give them something abstract and self-contained. Probably with elves and dragons.

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Thanks for the write-up, Bruce. It’s interesting to read about simple systems that aren’t simplistic.

Corrections:
“What does that have to do with fitting two three [sic?] units in a hex”
“Units must stop and move no further th[e]n turn”
“whether or not her [sic] or she”