[avro202]

Wargaming was very much a hobby of the 70s. The bubble burst in the 80s...too many companies trying to sell to too few players. Simulation Publications Inc (SPI) went under and was bought up by another company. Avalon Hill the other "big player", struggled on and eventually got sold to Hasbro in the late 90s. Over the past 10 years or so, there has been a minor resurgence in the hobby, with the internet and software avaiable making it easy to play these turn based games via email, and even online. The market is still small, and the companies publishing are small as well. A small market means limited print runs, which in turn means these games are pricy: $50 to $75 being a comon price.

The graphics have come a loooong way since the 70s. The games published now are works of art. But they usually still retain the basic wargame aspects of (relatively) complex rules (10 pages or more), a large (22 by33 average) map to play on, and a fair number of paper counters to move about and fight with. Oh and they still take you pretty much all night to play.

Here are two pictures to show you what I mean. The first is part of the map I helped create for a game on the Roman Civil Wars. The second is a wargame of the Hundred Years war between France and England. (Thats not me in the picture...I just think that the map and game counters for that game are beautiful...I only wish I could make something that nice!)

Panzerblitz was the first wargame I owned! And yes I have seen, but not played, Panzer Pranks. You actually played it? I thought it was just made up as a kind of wargame spoof, and as such was meant to be read and laughed at.