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The Complete Book of Wargames
Complete information and reviews of over 150 of the most popular wargames on the market today. (1980) Dungeons and Dragons, Air Assault on Crete and Malta, Blue & Gray QuadriGame, Fall of Rome, Gettysburg, Melee, Sniper, Space Patrol, and many others.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 1, 2015
I thought I wrote up this review as soon as I finished reading The Complete Book of Wargames last summer. However, as I was filing Jon Freeman’s The Playboy Winner’s Guide to Games on my shelf, I realized that I hadn’t reviewed this one. So, here goes.
The Complete Book of Wargames has a concise survey of the history of wargames in the first few pages of the book. It moves from the predecessors of Chess through the machinations of Helwig and Reisswitz through H. G. Wells and Charles S. Roberts to those companies which were contemporary with Freeman when the book was written (Avalon Hill, Battleline, Fantasy Games Unlimited, Flying Buffalo, Gamescience, GDW, TSR, and SPI). It isn’t as thorough as Peter Perla’s synopsis in The Art of Wargaming in that it leaves out the naval rules of Fred Jane and Fletcher Pratt which had tremendous influence on the hobby.
Then, still in the first chapter, he deals with who might want to play wargames in additional to professionals in the military and intelligence branches of government. At the time, he saw wargamers from 14-40 (Wow! Has that demographic aged!) He noted that some gamers are “historians,” intending to fill the gaps in their education with an intense learning experience. Other gamers, he calls “assassins,” the “just-win, baby” gamers who are obsessed with victory whether they learn anything or the competition is good. Some gamers, he calls “specialists” because they are interested in game themes that fit their other interests (particular eras of history, fantasy, science-fiction, naval, etc.) or others, he simply calls “collectors” because they try to buy as many games as they can (and subscribe to all the magazines that come with games).
The second chapter attempts the difficult task of defining a wargame. Freeman, as a game designer himself, is quite right to observe that “wargame” and “conflict simulation” are essentially the same (though, as he notes in a discussion of historicity, some simulations restrict the “game” aspect). He goes on to suggest, however, that games should be flexible, but have verisimilitude and historical validity, as well as being consistent. He points out that it isn’t really the old “bugaboo” of “realism versus playability” that makes a difference as to how much work you’re willing to put in to get a realistic experience. He points out that realism takes longer and requires more rules and bookkeeping. Fortunately, his ratings later in the book take into consideration that some players prefer a simulation’s quirks and difficulties over too much abstraction.
I liked some of his additional design principles in the second chapter which overlap with those of the dean of wargame design, James F. Dunnigan: 1) a simulation must be internally consistent, 2) a simulation must reflect a reality outside of the game, 3) a simulation must represent the “possibilities” of an engagement (one reason Dunnigan called them “speculative history”), and 4) there is no “ideal” scale any more than there could be a “perfect” war (p. 38).
Chapter 3 offers some general tips on winning wargames. These are so general as to almost be like the military acronym, OCOCA (Observation, Cover and Concealment, Obstacles, Key Terrain, and Areas of Approach). Freeman simply offers the idea of looking at the map in much the same way without spelling out the idea of the acronym, but he also advocates considering the VICTORY CONDITIONS first (an obvious idea, but one too frequently ignored as he notes) and the capabilities (advantages and disadvantages) of unit types and deployment, second. He also offers very practical advice on not spreading oneself too thinly or overbuilding one attack to the detriment of another. So, one should study the CRT (Combat Results Table) to make sure that one is doing neither.
Chapter 4 is an actual introductory wargame (not surprisingly, since Dunnigan includes one in his classic work on designing wargames) that I am adapting for use in the session dealing with wargame design in my design class. Kassala is based on a 16th century battle where Ethiopian troops joined by Portuguese soldiers made a stand against Moslem invaders. It is small, concise, and easy-to-explain.
Chapter 5 builds off the generalities of Chapter 3 along with ideas like Liddell Hart’s “indirect approach,” studying the CRT to be certain you know what the worst results for purposes of risk management, and knowing how to maximize terrain and ZOCs (zones of control) for defensive purposes.
The rest of the book summarizes the most prominent games (published prior to 1980) covering certain eras: ancients, medieval, pre-Bonaparte, Napoleonic, pre-World War I, WWI, WWII, Modern, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, and Role-Playing Games. The summaries are very informative (for collectors who frequent eBay, convention auctions, and thrift stores) since they cover: the original publisher, original retail price, subject matter, estimated playing time, scale, size of components, play balance, key features, and Freeman’s own comments. Then, all games are rated from poor to excellent in five categories (and an overall evaluation that is more than the sum of its parts). The five ratings are: presentation, rules, playability, realism, and complexity.
My only criticism would be that the photographic images for SPI games (with one exception) and TSR games are generally only box shots and cover shots. Only the Metagaming and Avalon Hill games consistently show maps and components. I suppose the publisher/author were dependent upon public relations department shots and Avalon Hill just did a better job with their catalogs and brochures, but this wasn’t as strong as it could have been. The only glaring omission is that where Freeman usually does indicate which games are multiplayer games, he very rarely delineates the range of players which can play.
All in all, though, in spite of the dated material, The Complete Book of Wargames is still valuable.
The Complete Book of Wargames has a concise survey of the history of wargames in the first few pages of the book. It moves from the predecessors of Chess through the machinations of Helwig and Reisswitz through H. G. Wells and Charles S. Roberts to those companies which were contemporary with Freeman when the book was written (Avalon Hill, Battleline, Fantasy Games Unlimited, Flying Buffalo, Gamescience, GDW, TSR, and SPI). It isn’t as thorough as Peter Perla’s synopsis in The Art of Wargaming in that it leaves out the naval rules of Fred Jane and Fletcher Pratt which had tremendous influence on the hobby.
Then, still in the first chapter, he deals with who might want to play wargames in additional to professionals in the military and intelligence branches of government. At the time, he saw wargamers from 14-40 (Wow! Has that demographic aged!) He noted that some gamers are “historians,” intending to fill the gaps in their education with an intense learning experience. Other gamers, he calls “assassins,” the “just-win, baby” gamers who are obsessed with victory whether they learn anything or the competition is good. Some gamers, he calls “specialists” because they are interested in game themes that fit their other interests (particular eras of history, fantasy, science-fiction, naval, etc.) or others, he simply calls “collectors” because they try to buy as many games as they can (and subscribe to all the magazines that come with games).
The second chapter attempts the difficult task of defining a wargame. Freeman, as a game designer himself, is quite right to observe that “wargame” and “conflict simulation” are essentially the same (though, as he notes in a discussion of historicity, some simulations restrict the “game” aspect). He goes on to suggest, however, that games should be flexible, but have verisimilitude and historical validity, as well as being consistent. He points out that it isn’t really the old “bugaboo” of “realism versus playability” that makes a difference as to how much work you’re willing to put in to get a realistic experience. He points out that realism takes longer and requires more rules and bookkeeping. Fortunately, his ratings later in the book take into consideration that some players prefer a simulation’s quirks and difficulties over too much abstraction.
I liked some of his additional design principles in the second chapter which overlap with those of the dean of wargame design, James F. Dunnigan: 1) a simulation must be internally consistent, 2) a simulation must reflect a reality outside of the game, 3) a simulation must represent the “possibilities” of an engagement (one reason Dunnigan called them “speculative history”), and 4) there is no “ideal” scale any more than there could be a “perfect” war (p. 38).
Chapter 3 offers some general tips on winning wargames. These are so general as to almost be like the military acronym, OCOCA (Observation, Cover and Concealment, Obstacles, Key Terrain, and Areas of Approach). Freeman simply offers the idea of looking at the map in much the same way without spelling out the idea of the acronym, but he also advocates considering the VICTORY CONDITIONS first (an obvious idea, but one too frequently ignored as he notes) and the capabilities (advantages and disadvantages) of unit types and deployment, second. He also offers very practical advice on not spreading oneself too thinly or overbuilding one attack to the detriment of another. So, one should study the CRT (Combat Results Table) to make sure that one is doing neither.
Chapter 4 is an actual introductory wargame (not surprisingly, since Dunnigan includes one in his classic work on designing wargames) that I am adapting for use in the session dealing with wargame design in my design class. Kassala is based on a 16th century battle where Ethiopian troops joined by Portuguese soldiers made a stand against Moslem invaders. It is small, concise, and easy-to-explain.
Chapter 5 builds off the generalities of Chapter 3 along with ideas like Liddell Hart’s “indirect approach,” studying the CRT to be certain you know what the worst results for purposes of risk management, and knowing how to maximize terrain and ZOCs (zones of control) for defensive purposes.
The rest of the book summarizes the most prominent games (published prior to 1980) covering certain eras: ancients, medieval, pre-Bonaparte, Napoleonic, pre-World War I, WWI, WWII, Modern, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, and Role-Playing Games. The summaries are very informative (for collectors who frequent eBay, convention auctions, and thrift stores) since they cover: the original publisher, original retail price, subject matter, estimated playing time, scale, size of components, play balance, key features, and Freeman’s own comments. Then, all games are rated from poor to excellent in five categories (and an overall evaluation that is more than the sum of its parts). The five ratings are: presentation, rules, playability, realism, and complexity.
My only criticism would be that the photographic images for SPI games (with one exception) and TSR games are generally only box shots and cover shots. Only the Metagaming and Avalon Hill games consistently show maps and components. I suppose the publisher/author were dependent upon public relations department shots and Avalon Hill just did a better job with their catalogs and brochures, but this wasn’t as strong as it could have been. The only glaring omission is that where Freeman usually does indicate which games are multiplayer games, he very rarely delineates the range of players which can play.
All in all, though, in spite of the dated material, The Complete Book of Wargames is still valuable.
June 20, 2011
Re-read this to get the lay of the land (circa 1978, I guess) and it was better than last time. Bumped it a star.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews