#THE AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[oldschoolfrp]

Gettysburg (Avalon Hill, 1958) is considered the first wargame to depict an historic battle. It was released in advance of the centennial of the bloodiest engagement of the American Civil War, fought July 1-3, 1863. Designer Charles S. Roberts acknowledged the game had some flawed mechanics and balance issues due to a lack of playtesting but it remained in print for many years, with a 2nd edition in 1961, a 3rd ed in 1964, and later printings through the 1970s and 80s. Attempts to fix the movement rules resulted in different editions of the game switching back and forth between a square grid and hexes on the board.

Suggested improvements to the game included those offered in The General V1 N5, January 1965, by Staff Sergeant Lou Zocchi (later a published game designer himself and the founder of dice company Gamescience):

[unseenphil]

Thinking about how WOTC technically owns the rights to a bunch of older RPGs that aren't D&D thanks to buying the companies that made them, and thus those will never see the light of day again except on piracy sites.

Okay, a lot of them aren't actually -good- games, but I will always have a soft spot for SPI's Dragonquest for reasons I've gone over before, and can't even bring myself to dislike Avalon Hill's RPG output- I'm pretty sure Lords of Creation ended up being some people's first introduction to Julie D'Aubigny, for example.

[arconinternet]

RAM! (DOS, The Avalon Hill Game Company, 1985)

You can play it in your browser here.

[jamietherelentless]

I love finding weird puzzles in thrift shops. Just look at this monstrosity

I am picturing this man painstakingly sculpting all these stupid food abominations and taking high quality pictures of them to have this company make puzzles of it. What a beatiful world we live in.

And then there's this on the box:

Interlocking pieces? Who do you mean? This together with the shape on the box led me to believe it might be a random cut puzzle, which are hard to find and always cool. But no, this puzzle only has the most regular piece shape, which also made the background take forever. So this claim on the box must mean that before this, the puzzles from this company had pieces that didn't click into each other and this was pretty new technology. The puzzle is from 1986 so kinda old but not super old. According to a quick google search, fully interlocking pieces have been around since the early 20th century, so having them in 1986 was not special at all. They were just new to the game.

So I also googled the Avalon Hill Game Company (which I think is a pretty fancy name) and it's not really known for puzzles. They started in 1952 and mostly sold wargames and board games. In 1998 it was sold to Hasbro. They're still making games under the Avalon Hill name, and they are all strategy and wargames. So these game makers known for serious strategy games just decided to make a whimsical series of puzzles with food abominations in collaboration with this sculptor/photographer who spent 24 hours straight cutting up pineapples and watermelons for his art. Thanks to this weirdo I got to see kiwi potatoes. Amazing.

[hugagap]

3-D Brickaway - 1983 - Atari 2600( Atari VCS )

Name: 3-D Brickaway

Alt Names: Breakthru , Breakthru in 3-D , Breakthru in 3D , Breakthru: Avalon Hill's Microcomputer Game of 3-Dimensional Racquetball , Wall Ball

Year: 1983

Platform: Atari VCS - Atari 2600

Publisher: Avalon Hill Game Company

Developer: Britt Monk CDP

Theme / Genre: Action Games, Paddle Games, Pong Games,

1980s games, 80s games, games of 1983, atari games, atari 2600 games, atari vcs games, atari game console, rom cartridge, trending games, popular games, funny games, arcade games, retro games, classic games, video games, old games, old video games, best games, best quality games, most popular games, most fun games, best selling games, most interesting games, most played games, free games,

[boredtechnologist]

Avalon Hill's "Empire of the Overmind" for the TRS-80 Model 1 and 3, Apple ][, and Atari 400/800/1200 computers

Released in 1981 by Avalon Hill, a company renowned for its board games and wargames, "Empire of the Overmind" was an early computer game that combined elements of adventure, strategy, and role-playing, specifically designed for the TRS-80 Model 1 and Model 3. This game is noteworthy not only for its engaging gameplay but also for its technological innovations and contributions to the development of computer gaming genres.

Technological and Historical Context

The TRS-80, launched by Tandy Corporation through its Radio Shack stores in 1977, was one of the first mass-marketed personal computers. By 1981, the TRS-80 had undergone several iterations, including the improved Model 3, which offered better graphics capabilities, a more integrated design, and greater memory capacity. These enhancements made the TRS-80 a viable platform for more sophisticated software applications, including complex games like "Empire of the Overmind."

Gameplay and Design of Empire of the Overmind

"Empire of the Overmind" is set in a fantasy world where players must defeat the titular Overmind, a tyrannical ruler with psychic powers. The game featured a mix of adventure-style text inputs and top-down graphical segments, where players could explore the world, interact with characters, and engage in combat. The gameplay was innovative for its time, combining narrative-driven adventure elements with strategic and role-playing components, such as character development and tactical combat.

The integration of text and graphics was particularly significant, as most games of the era were primarily text-based or used very rudimentary graphics. "Empire of the Overmind" utilized the TRS-80's graphic capabilities to display maps and environments, enhancing player immersion and interaction with the game world.

Technological Innovations

One of the key technological aspects of "Empire of the Overmind" was its use of the TRS-80's limited graphical capabilities to create a visually engaging experience. The game demonstrated how developers could effectively use available technology to push the boundaries of what was expected from computer games at the time.

Furthermore, the game's ability to combine textual narrative with graphical gameplay helped bridge the gap between traditional text-based adventures and the more graphically-oriented games that would become popular in the years to follow. This hybrid approach allowed for more detailed storytelling and more dynamic gameplay, setting a precedent for future multi-genre games.

Cultural Impact

"Empire of the Overmind" was part of a broader movement during the early 1980s that saw the transformation of personal computers from business tools into entertainment devices. Games like this demonstrated the potential of personal computers to provide complex and engaging entertainment, appealing to a demographic beyond just technology enthusiasts and professionals.

Legacy and Influence

The innovative blend of adventure, strategy, and role-playing elements in "Empire of the Overmind" influenced the development of similar hybrid games throughout the 1980s and beyond. Its success proved that there was a market for complex, multi-genre games on personal computers, encouraging other developers to explore and expand on this formula.

Conclusion

"Empire of the Overmind" for the TRS-80 Model 1 and 3 stands as a pioneering example of how video games could combine multiple gameplay elements to create a rich and engaging experience. Its technological achievements showcased the capabilities of the TRS-80 and helped to elevate the status of personal computers as versatile platforms for gaming. Through its innovative design and gameplay, "Empire of the Overmind" contributed significantly to the evolution of computer games and remains an important part of gaming history.

[gmlocg]

65.) Voyager I: Sabotage of the Robot Ship

Release: 1981 | GGF: Action-Adventure, Shooter | Developer(s): William D. Volk, Microcomputer Games, Inc. | Publisher(s): The Avalon Hill Game Company, CSK Research Institute Corp., Kiya Overseas Industry Co., Ltd. | Platform(s): Apple II (1981), Atari 8-bit (1982), Commodore PET/CBM (1982), DOS (1982), TRS-80 (1982), FM-7 (1983), TRS-80 CoCo (1983), PC-88 (1984)

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[oldschoolfrp]

Journey: A Quest for Galactic Power, was one of several board games without miniatures released by Grenadier Models in 1980 in their "Great Little Games Line," all with Martin Kealey cover art. Their term "midi game" indicated these were larger than other companies' microgames or minigames but smaller than a full sized Avalon Hill or SPI bookshelf game.

[frimleyblogger]

Smokers Wild And Bombshell

Smokers Wild And Bombshell - #boardgames of dubious taste

We all know that smoking nicotine is not the smartest of habits and it is best not to start in the first place or, if you do, give it up. What better way of enforcing an anti-smoking message to impressionable young minds than through a fun-packed and enthralling board game. That at least was the thought behind the launch, in 1978, of Smokers Wild by the Avalon Hill Game Company. “This game will…

[tilthedayidice]

Do you have any ttrpg recs??

Personally have only played DnD, I’d like to try more so here’s a list of some I find interesting!! Here’s a link to a bunch that I may or may not have listed as well!!! I hope something catches your eye!!!!

Included will be the name of the TTRPG, their Wikipedia description, and a like to their site!!

Pathfinder:  The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that was published in 2009 by Paizo Publishing. The first edition extends and modifies the System Reference Document (SRD) based on the revised 3rd edition Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) published by Wizards of the Coast under the Open Game License (OGL) and is intended to be backward-compatible with that edition. The first major revision of the ruleset, Pathfinder 2nd Edition, was released in August 2019.

Star Wars the Role Playing Game: (couldn’t find the official site so here’s a link to one of the books!!) a  role-playing game set in the Star Wars universe, written and published by West End Games (WEG) between 1987 and 1999. The game system was slightly modified and rereleased in 2004 as D6 Space, which used a generic space opera setting. An unrelated Star Wars RPG was published by Wizards of the Coast from 2000 to 2010. Since 2012 the official Star Wars role-playing game is another unrelated game, published by Fantasy Flight Games.

Vampire the Masquerade:  a tabletop role-playing game (tabletop RPG) created by Mark Rein-Hagen and released in 1991 by White Wolf Publishing as the first of several Storyteller System games for its World of Darkness setting line. It is set in a fictionalized "gothic-punk" version of the modern world, where players assume the roles of vampires, who are referred to as "Kindred", and deal with their night-to-night struggles against their own bestial natures, vampire hunters and each other.

Warhammer:  a tabletop miniature wargame with a medieval fantasy theme that simulates battles between armies from different factions. The game was created by Rick Priestley and sold by the Games Workshop company.

RuneQuest:  a fantasy Tabletop role-playing game originally designed by Steve Perrin, Ray Turney, Steve Henderson, and Warren James, and set in Greg Stafford's mythical world of Glorantha. It was first published in 1978 by The Chaosium. Beginning in 1984, its publication passed between a number of companies; Avalon Hill, Mongoose, The Design Mechanism, finally returning to Chaosium in 2016.[2]RuneQuest is notable for its system, designed around percentile dice and with an early implementation of skill rules, which became the basis of numerous other games. There have been several editions of the game.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Other Strangeness:  ( I couldn’t find the site so here’s a link to an article about it!!) a role-playing game based on Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book. It was written by Erick Wujcik. It introduced the short comic Don't Judge a Book... on pages 47 to 54.

[doubleattitude]

Radix Dance Convention, Dallas, TX: RESULTS

High Scores by Age:

Rookie Solo

1st: Lucia Piedrahita-’Fields of Gold’

2nd: Sylvie Win Szyndlar-’Rainbow Connection’

3rd: Ariella Scott-’Baby I’m A Star’

4th: Shale Herrera-’Wonderful World’

5th: Capri Barrett-’Ladies Night’

5th: Gwen Kramer-’Suitcase’

6th: Grace Bednar-’Cold Hearted’

7th: Saige Hibbard-’I’m A Star’

7th: Audrey Tiss-’When She Loved Me’

8th: Dejana Kostur-’More Than Words’

9th: Hayden Goren-’Cha Cha Cha’

10th: Maeve Olsen-’River’

Mini Solo

1st: Braylynn Grizzaffi-’God’s Creatures’

1st: Ellary Day Szyndlar-’Light Gathers’

2nd: Anna Holley-’Reminiscence’

3rd: Ainsley Epton-’Presto Change O’

4th: Paislyn Schroeder-’Defeated’

4th: Journey Uy-’Donna’

4th: Sasha Milstein-’Ephemera’

4th: Cali Cassidy-’Weird People’

5th: Isabella Piedrahita-’All Along’

5th: Mia Menjivar-’Spiral’

6th: Ava Grace Merritt-’Clumsy’

7th: Olivia Armstrong-’Hit Me With A Hot Note’

7th: Claire Gestring-’On The Mast of Faith’

7th: Sophia Bodendorf-’What Can I Do?’

8th: Olivia Meehan-’Parade’

8th: Delilah Hewitt-’Shop Around’

8th: Annie Carlson-’Young’

9th: Kinsley Eversole-’Circus’

9th: Olivia Randolph-’Unchained Melody’

10th: Evelin Peterson-’Able To Love’

10th: Atlee  Millard-’Big Time’

10th: Madison Ramsey-’Sunny’

Junior Solo

1st: Laci Stoico-’Mibiso’

2nd: Campbell Clark-’I’ll Be Seeing You’

3rd: Maddie Ortega-’Island Song’

3rd: Kira Chan-’Mama’

4th: Kaili Kester-’Red’

5th: Avalon Rivera-’L Train’

5th: Breanna Bieler-’Moonlight Sonata’

6th: Audrey Domingo-’Eclipse’

6th: Stella Eberts-’Valley’

7th: London Barron-’Bones’

7th: Avery Lee-’New York, New York’

7th: Gigi Johnson-’The Way It Was’

8th: Riley Zeitler-’Breathe’

8th: Lillie Lainer-’Business of Love’

8th: Tiffany Morales-’Over The Love’

9th: Eastyn Turner-’Afraid of The Dark’

9th: Carolyne Knutson-’Peace’

9th: Mia Narvaez-’Who am I?’

10th: Emmy Claire Kaiden-’Eyesore’

10th: Layla Solsvig-’Like A River Runs’

10th: Madison De Dios-’On My Mind’

Teen Solo

1st: Willow Notary-’Expo’

1st: Avery Lau-’Fear of the Unknown and The Blazing Sun’

2nd: Kaitlyn Tom-’Charity Hound’

3rd: Charlotte Cogan-’You’

4th: Ava Greenwaldt-’Outside The Lines’

5th: June Hurley-’Don’t Think of Me Like That’

5th: Grace Underwood-’Sing’

6th: Kaitlyn Ortega-’All Human Beings’

6th: Georgia Ehrlich-’On My Mind’

7th: Nia Kester-’Cellophane’

7th: Madeleine Chen-’Luminous’

7th: Laira Naslund-’Mountainside’

7th: Taylor Hoke-’Wild Is the Wind’

8th: Sarah Laskowski-’Broken’

8th: Sasha Zitser-’Do You Love Me’

9th: Maia Sokmanan-’Everything’

9th: Leigha Sanderson-’Gypsy’

9th: Kenzie Jones-’Love Of My Life’

9th: Kaylin Lehmann-’Speaking’

10th: Riley Platenberg-’Talking Points’

10th: Tatum Johnstone-’The Fall’

10th: Alexis Olson-’The Final Call’

10th: Avery Reyes-’The Garden’

10th: Faith Kramb-’Wicked Games’

Senior Solo

1st: Skye Notary-’Inside The Color’

2nd: Anna Miller-’50 Ways’

3rd: Priscilla Tom-’The Blues’

4th: Ariel Banfalvy-’Existence’

4th: Perris Amento-’Addicted to Love’

4th: Mikayla Sokmanan-’Free’

4th: Sydney Solomon-’Looking For You’

4th: Lauren Wallingford-’Put Your Head On My Shoulder’

4th: Keylee Watkins-’The Source’

5th: Riley Canterbury-’Nothing Compares’

5th: Clara Gough-’Snow Queen of Texas’

5th: Christina Naslund-’So Low’

5th: Megan McAdoo-’Timeless Existence’

5th: Makenna Wallace-’Woman’s Work’

6th: Kendall Scott-’Heart of Glass’

6th: Olivya Sessing-’House On The Hill’

7th: Dakota La Penna-’Dancing Under red Skies’

7th: Britton Moore-’Radiator’

7th: Cameron Suckle-’Sweet Dreams’

8th: Mikaela Quintana-’I Will Rescue You’

8th: Emily Chen-’Mike and Judy’

9th: Jordi Landry-’Far Away’

9th: Eyllah Babbitt-’Only The Bravest’

9th: Kennedy McCann-’Why’

10th: Brooke Ricketts-’Blank Page’

Open Solo

1st: Summer Martin-’Insomnia’

Rookie Duo/Trio

1st: Danceplex-’Stand By Me’

2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Fashionista’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’It Must Be Love’

Mini Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Gracious’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’About That Walk’

3rd: Stars Dance Studio-’Rescue’

Junior Duo/Trio

1st: Elements Dance Space-’Seperate’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Go Girl’

3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Painted Black’

Teen Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company- ‘Blue Jeans’

2nd: The Dallas Conservatory-’Falling Like The Stars’

3rd: The Dallas Conservatory-’Changes Of The Wind’

Senior Duo/Trio

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Small Things’

2nd:  AVANTI Dance Company-’Would You Be Mine’

3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Landslide’

Mini Group

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Hey Pachuco’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Brighter Days’

2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Nails Hair Hips Heels’

3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Angel’s Staircase’

Junior Group

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’

2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Agness’

3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Dreams’

Teen Group

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Parachute’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Pale Yellow’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’In In’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’The Cuckoo’s Nest’

Senior Group

1st: AVANTI Dance Company -’Strange’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Need U Tonight’

3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Say Goodbye’

Rookie Line

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Minions’

Mini Line

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Enter Sandman’

2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Monsters’

3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Work’

Junior Line

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Let’s Get Loud’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Can You Dig It?’

3rd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Sun’

Teen Line

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Bohemian Rhapsody’

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Sellers of Flowers’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Fever’

2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Runnin’

3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Highway 27′

Senior Line

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’One Eye Open’

Mini Extended Line

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’I Don’t Speak French’

2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Bills’

Teen Extended Line

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’What Kind of Man’

2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Flashing Lights’

3rd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Sinking Deep’

High Scores by Performance Division:

Rookie Hip-Hop

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Minions’

Mini Jazz

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Hey Pachuco’ 2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Nails Hair Hips Heels’ 3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Mambo 5′

Mini Ballet

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Code Name Vivaldi’

Mini Hip-Hop

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Monsters’ 2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Mechanics’

Mini Tap

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Bills’ 2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Places’

Mini Contemporary

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Brighter Days’ 2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Glad It’s Raining’ 3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Work’

Mini Lyrical

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Angel’s Staircase’ 2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’I Will Always Love You’

Mini Specialty

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Enter Sandman’

Junior Jazz

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Agness’ 2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Let’s Get Loud’ 3rd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Can You Dig It?’

Junior Ballet

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Spring’

Junior Hip-Hop

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’ 2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Missy’

Junior Tap

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Jitterbug’

Junior Contemporary

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’Clairvoyance’ 2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Sun’ 3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’No Darkness’

Junior Lyrical

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’I Will Rescue You’

Junior Musical Theatre

1st: The Industry Dance Academy-’West Side Story’

Junior Specialty

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Dreams’

Teen Jazz

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Fever’ 2nd: AVANTI Dance Company-’Emotional Rescue’ 3rd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Bajale’

Teen Hip-Hop

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Runnin’

Teen Tap

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Can’t Hold Us’ 2nd: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Dress’

Teen Contemporary

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’What Kind of Man’ 2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Parachute’ 3rd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Pale Yellow’

Teen Lyrical

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Ne Me Quitte Pas’ 2nd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’I Don’t Think About You’ 3rd: Pure Movement Dance-’You Take My Breath Away’

Teen Ballroom

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Que Calor’

Teen Specialty

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Bohemian Rhapsody’ 2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Flashing Lights’ 3rd: Pure Movement Dance-’Maneater’

Senior Jazz

1st: AVANTI Dance Company-’Need U Tonight’ 2nd: The Industry Dance Academy-’Mein Herr’ 3rd: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’One Eye Open’

Senior Hip-Hop

1st: Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Formation’

Senior Contemporary

1st: AVANTI Dance Company -’Strange’ 2nd: Soar Dance Academy-’Undertow’ 3rd: Soar Dance Academy-’Reality’

Senior Lyrical

1st: Soar Dance Academy-’Reborn’

Senior Musical Theatre

1st: Pure Movement Dance-’Boots’

Senior Specialty

1st: Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Say Goodbye’ 2nd: Soar Dance Academy-’Nutty As A Fruitcake’

Best of Radix:

Rookie

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Minions’

Mini

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Hey Pachuco’

The Industry Dance Academy-’Brighter Days’

Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’I Don’t Speak French’

AVANTI Dance Company-’Glad It’s Raining’

Junior

AVANTI Dance Company-’Clones’

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Agness’

The Industry Dance Academy-’Clairvoyance’

Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’I Will Rescue You’

Teen

The Industry Dance Academy-’Parachute’

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Bohemian Rhapsody’

AVANTI Dance Company-’What Kind of Man’

Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Sinking Deep’

Senior

AVANTI Dance Company-’Strange’

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Say Goodbye’

Soar Dance Academy-’Undertow’

The Industry Dance Academy-’Mein Herr’

Studio Standout:

The Industry Dance Academy-’Parachute’

Beyond Belief Dance Company-’Bohemian Rhapsody’

Artistry In Motion Performing Arts Center-’Sinking Deep’

AVANTI Dance Company-’What Kind of Man’

[sjrresearch]

Breakthroughs in Board Wargaming

By Blaine Lee Pardoe

Having been a player and author in the gaming industry for well over three decades, I have seen numerous innovations that have emerged in wargaming.  I make no claim that these are the most important breakthroughs, but merely some that have had a lasting impact on the games that we all love and play.  

The following list of breakthroughs in board wargaming is far from all-encompassing but includes advances I have taken note of over the years. Also, I have made my best-effort to attribute the innovators; but comprehensive histories of games simply are few and far between, which means that there may be mistakes. A lot of small game companies have come and gone, especially in the early years, making verification of some of the material challenging. 

As such, here is my suggested list: 

NATO symbols for counters

Avalon Hill’s Tactics/Tactics II was the first wargame that introduced the NATO symbols for unit designations.  The NATO symbol set was a ground-breaking innovation that many publishers still utilize today.  It introduced military symbols to a primarily civilian audience. Once understood, it provides players the ability to identify unit types across a variety of games. Despite being a military iconography, they became widely accepted and a mainstay in civilian gaming even now, something many of us take for granted. 

Combat Results Table (CRT)  

Prior to Combat Results Tables, combat tended to be resolved in the same manner as Risk – with simple dice-off resolutions.  Dicing off rarely took into account the odds of the battle and, if they did, they abstracted them to the point of meaninglessness.  We have all experienced attacking in Risk with 20 armies against three and losing.  

CRT’s changed wargaming in that they forced players to look at overall odds in terms of attack and defense to determine combat resolution. Resolutions themselves could be varied depending on the game and the results. Always the trendsetter, Avalon Hill’s Tactics/Tactics II was the first published wargame that introduced this concept and altered wargame design and development from that point on.   

Hexagon maps

Hexes have long been a mainstay of wargaming. Rand Corporation began using hexes on maps for its games in the late 1950s, but these were not commercial products. Most early games used squares for terrain/movement. Hexagons changed everything. There are a number of contenders as to the first published game that utilized these, but the most widely accepted innovator in this category was Avalon Hill’s 1961 Chancellorsville game.  Once Chancellorsville became a product, almost every other game designer defaulted to the use of hexes on their game maps.  

Cards as part of combat resolution

Cards really first surfaced in board gaming with Risk (1957).  The cards were not a factor of combat but rather the means of generating reinforcements.  There was one game that used cards that impacted combat resolution, and that was the release of Kriegspiel by Avalon Hill in 1971.  While not a wildly successful game, the tactical cards used added a new dimension to gameplay. Avalon Hill’s 1776 used a card tactics system, leading to other board games integrating cards into combat in the years that followed. 

Geomorphic Maps

The introduction of geomorphic maps, or maps that can be reconfigured and used for a variety of scenarios, was a stunning innovation at the time.  It allowed game developers to use a relatively small set of maps to create multiple scenarios, without having to create unique layouts.  Jim Dunnigan’s Avalon Hill release of Panzerblitz in 1970 broke this ground.  Games like Advanced Squad Leader have amped up this concept to a whole new level of variety and variance. 

Quad Games

In 1975, SPI introduced a unique innovation in the industry with Napoleon At War Quad Game – the quad-game concept.  Quad games had a standard set of rules, four unique maps, rules for the individual games (there were four in a pack – hence the ‘quad’), and counters for the four games.  The games were not huge in scale but designed to be highly playable with players only having to learn one set of core rules and integrating minor modifications to those rules for specific battles. 

On the surface, this may not seem like much of an innovation – but it ushered in a new era of game series for the wargaming industry. Wargaming companies could create a single set of core rules for a series of games. It reduced development time and costs since the companies could focus on the maps, counters, and variant rules for that particular game. Companies that have quad-games in their series can trace their origins to SPI for this innovation.  

Games produced as part of a magazine

Strategy & Tactics, initially produced by SPI, was a game-changer (pun intended) in the wargaming industry. Starting in 1968 with issue 18, a game was provided as part of a historical magazine. These games were of almost equal quality to those produced by SPI at the time, sans the box and counter system. Some would go on to be published in box form. 

With Strategy & Tactics, you got history articles about a subject and could then simulate it.  The price was reasonable, allowing for a lot of gamers to subscribe. Many gamers got their initial fix on gaming with a copy of Strategy & Tactics, and it and a number of other companies leverage the same model today.   

Dots in Hexes to Determine Line of Sight

Line of sight on hexagon-based wargames was always a bit of a challenge.  Given hex sizes and the geographic features, it was sometimes a challenge to determine whether line of sight/line of fire was blocked. It often led to debates/arguments, some of which required involving the game designers.  

Game designer John Hill tackled this issue head-on with the Avalon Hill 1977 release of Squad Leader.  To resolve these conflicts, he placed a tiny dot in the center of the hexagon to be used to draw the line of sight.  If anything touched the line, it was considered blocked.  While this does not seem like a stunning innovation, many game companies have leveraged this idea over the years, and it has often brought an end to game table debates before they started.  

Progressive Wargame Rules

Starting in the 1970’s, wargames started to explore the gap between realism and playability by becoming more complex. In doing so, it often became an onerous task to attempt to read, digest, and process increasingly thicker rulebooks.  

Avalon Hill broke new ground in 1975 with their Tobruk: Tank Battles in North Africa by introducing a progressive set of rules. Players learned the core mechanics of the game and played a scenario that used those rules. They then would read more rules, learn more gameplay features, then play that scenario… and so on. Each scenario built off of the other, introducing more game mechanics until the players were prepared to play utilizing all of the game rules. 

This teaching concept for game play allowed companies to introduce more complicated games in an easier to process format.  

The Monster Game

Attempting to qualify what constitutes a monster game can be challenging.  Generally, it is a game that has a massive map and counter set and cannot be played in a signal session. Essentially, monster games are big, expensive, and require a significant commitment of time to play.  GDW (Game Designers’ Workshop) broke new ground in 1973 with Drang nach Osten!  It covered the eastern front of WWII and was staggering in terms of scale, with five 21”x27” maps, 1700+ counters, and a playing time that was easily well over 200 hours. 

Other publishers hopped onto the bandwagon with SPI releasing War in the East a year later.  Other monsters followed, including Terrible Swift Sword (Gettysburg), War in the Pacific, Campaign for North Africa, GDW’s Europa series, and Avalon Hill’s magnum opus, The Longest Day.  While the price of these monster games has increased over the years, they are still a significant niche in the wargaming marketplace.   

The Monster Game Runner Up – The Rules Monster

Not all game systems can be considered monsters because of the time to play them or their sheer bulk but by the staggering ruleset.  The winner in this category is Advanced Squad Leader by Avalon Hill and Multiman Publishing.  Introduced in 1985, this game was on the same tactical scale as the original squad leader – but with a staggeringly thick three-inch binder’s worth of rules.  With supplemental releases added in, it is over 1,000 pages of rules. Advanced Squad Leader was not just a game, it was a commitment.  The game has sold well over a million copies and remains in print in several forms even today.   

So there you have it – my personal list of early breakthroughs – some big, some small, but all with some sort of impact on the games we enjoy playing.  

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At SJR Research, we specialize in creating compelling narratives and provide research to give your game the kind of details that engage your players and create a resonant world they want to spend time in. If you are interested in learning more about our gaming research services, you can browse SJR Research’s service on our site at SJR Research.

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(This article is credited to Blaine L. Pardoe. Mr. Pardoe is a long-time gamer and has written material for numerous RPG’s and game systems over the years and is an award-winning author and historian.  He is a New York Times bestselling author and has presented on historical subjects at the US Naval Academy, the US National Archives, and other prestigious venues.)

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Tag Game: Fave movies by decade

Tagged by my evil bestie @midnightinjapan (and this list is by no means complete! Just what I could think of without Google)

Rules: pick your favorite movies from every decade (that is, if you watch tons of old movies – if you don’t, just go as far back as you can)

1920: Nosferatu, The Phantom of the Opera, Steamboat Willie 

1930: Dracula, The Wizard of Oz,  Camille, Gone with the Wind, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, King Kong, The Adventures of Robin Hood, Drums Along the Mowhawk, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Gunga Din, Goodbye Mr. Chips,Jezebel, Queen Christina, Frankenstein

1940: Gaslight, Ben Hur, Fantasia, Bambi, The Red Shoes, The Wolf Man, Now Voyager, The Body Snatcher, Gilda, The Ghost and Mrs Muir, Arsenic and Old Lace, The Magnificent Ambersons, Anna Karenina

1950: The King and I, My Cousin Rachel, The Vikings, A Streetcar Named Desire, Seven Samurai, Cinderella, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Lady and the Tramp, Moby Dick, Ivanhoe, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, The Ten Commandments, Sleeping Beauty, Bridge on the River Kwai, Roman Holiday, 

1960: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Raven, Dr. Zhivago, The Birds, Romeo and Juliet, Anne of the Thousand Days, Camelot, Oliver, Cleopatra, Valley of the Dolls, A Hard Day’s Night, Mutiny on the Bounty, West Side Story, Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion in Winter, To Kill a Mockingbird,

1970: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Rescuers, The Great Gatsby, Alien, The Hobbit, the AristoCats, Grease, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Robin Hood, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Salem’s Lot, Patton, Live and Let Die, The Godfather Part II, Cabaret

1980: Highlander, The Secret of Nihm, Labyrinth, Dead Poets Society, The Black Cauldron, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Witches of Eastwick, Beverly Hills Cop, Oliver and Company, The Color Purple, The Outsiders, Scarface, The Princess Bride, The Shining Beetlejuice, Little Shop of Horrors, Clue, Clash of the Titans, The Flight of Dragons, The Last Unicorn, The Great Mouse Detective, Moonstruck, The Little Mermaid, Lonesome Dove

1990: The Secret Garden, Into the West, Misery, Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Witches, Practical Magic, Dazed and Confused, Jumanji, The Swan Princess, Schindler’s List, Remains of the Day, Pretty Woman, The Silence of the Lambs, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Beauty and the Beast, Dragonheart, The Secret of Roan Inish, Merlin, Interview with the Vampire, Hocus Pocus, Hercules

2000: Peter Pan, Pride & Prejudice, Queen of the Damned, The Devil Wears Prada, Secret Window, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Moulin Rouge, Atonement, Shrek 2, Hannibal, Gladiator, LOTR Trilogy, The Patriot, Troy, Rent, Sweeney Todd, Tristan and Isolde, The Mists of Avalon, 300, Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Summer Wars, The Hours

2010: Tolkien, Alice in Wonderland, Brave, On the Basis of Sex, Snow White and the Hunstman, Knives Out, Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Greatest Showman, BlackkKlansman, Rocketman, Murder on the Orient Express, Peter Rabbit

2020: The Old Guard, Emma

Play if you want to, peeps! No pressure.