JagdPanther is a game magazine that was published from 1973 to 1976.
JagdPanther is a game magazine that was published from 1973 to 1976.
In 1973, Texas Tech student Stephen V. Cole started playing PanzerBlitz , a tactical-level World War II wargame published by Avalon Hill. Cole grew so enamored of the game that he conceived of a series of variants and expansions that he called "PanzerBlitz Unlimited". In order to provide a forum for this, he founded the company JagdPanther Publications to produce the fanzine JagdPanther, dedicated to PanzerBlitz and other World War II wargames. [1] The quarterly publication featured complete small games in every issue and also provided scenarios as well as variants for existing games. [2] : 114
The first issue, published in April 1973, contained the first article on PanzerBlitz Unlimited, an article on World War II mechanized combat, a variant for the wargame Borodino, and two reviews of commercial wargames, as well as several original mini-games — the squad-level WWII game MP44, a football game called Scrimmage IV, and a simulation of the Battle of Cowpens. [1]
By 1975, JagdPanther had evolved from a hand-typed zine to a professional magazine, and won the first of two Charles S. Roberts Awards at the Origins Awards. By that time, the focus of the magazine had moved away from World War II wargames, and to reflect this, Cole changed the title of Issue #15 (October 1976) to Battlefield. Cole had graduated from Texas Tech the previous year, [3] and found he was becoming more interested in building a game company than publishing a magazine. Following the release of the re-titled Issue #15, he ceased publication of the magazine. Shortly afterwards, Cole joined with Allen Eldridge to found Task Force Games. [3]
In the February 1976 edition of The Strategic Review (Issue #6), Gary Gygax called this zine "a veritable goldmine of information on boardgames. Each issue contains dozens of items: variants, reviews, suggested rule changes, etc." Gygax favourably compared the small zine to the professional glossy magazines Wargamers Digest and Panzerfaust, and on a scale of "Major Tragedy" to "Major Triumph", rated it a Major Triumph. [4]
At the 1976 Origins Awards, JagdPanther won the Charles S. Roberts Award for Best Amateur Magazine of 1975. [5]
The following year, JagdPanther/Battlefield was again the winner of the Charles S. Roberts Award for Best Amateur Magazine. [6]
Alarums and Excursions (A&E) is an amateur press association (APA) started in June 1975 by Lee Gold; publication continues to the present day. It was one of the first publications to focus solely on role-playing games.
James F. Dunnigan is an author, military-political analyst, Defense and State Department consultant, and wargame designer currently living in New York City.
PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1970 that simulates armored combat set on the Eastern Front of World War II. The game, which was the most popular board wargame of the 1970s, is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation wargame. It also pioneered several concepts that would become industry standards.
The Charles S. Roberts Awards is an annual award for excellence in manual, tabletop games, with a focus on "conflict simulations", which includes simulations of non-military as well as military conflicts, as well as simulations of related historical topics. From its founding in 1975 through 2021, the award was almost exclusively focused on historical wargaming, changing to a broader "conflict simulations" in award year 2022.
Matrix Games is a publisher of PC games, specifically strategy games and wargames. It is based in Ohio, US, and Surrey, UK.
Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies. These units are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. The first tactical wargames were played as miniatures, extended to board games, and they are now also enjoyed as video games.
Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz game.
War in Europe is a grand strategic "monster" board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that attempts to simulate the entirety of the European theatre of World War II from 1939 to 1945. One of the largest wargames ever produced, War in Europe features 4000 counters, four rulebooks, and nine maps that when placed together cover an area of 38.5 ft2. The game is nominally a three-player game, but each side can be represented by teams of players. SPI estimated the full game would take at least 180 hours.
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Robert J. Kuntz is a game designer and author of role-playing game publications. He is best known for his contributions to various Dungeons & Dragons-related materials.
Stephen V. Cole is an American game designer and the CEO of Amarillo Design Bureau which publishes Star Fleet Battles, Federation and Empire, Federation Commander, Prime Directive, and other wargames set in the Star Fleet Universe. ADB became ADB, Inc., in 1999.
Owl and Weasel was a newsletter for board gamers, role-playing gamers and wargamers, published in London, England, by Games Workshop. A total of 25 issues were published from February 1975 until April 1977; it was edited by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone. It was superseded by White Dwarf.
Don Turnbull was a journalist, editor, games designer, and an accomplished piano and pinball player. He was particularly instrumental in introducing Dungeons & Dragons into the UK, both as the managing director of TSR UK Ltd and as the editor of the Fiend Folio.
Steel Panthers is a 1995 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations. Designed by Gary Grigsby and Keith Brors, it simulates ground warfare during World War II, across the Western Front, Eastern Front and Pacific Theatre.
Rodger B. MacGowan is an artist, game developer, art director and magazine publisher who has been active in the board wargame industry since the 1970s. MacGowan is a prolific artist of cover art for wargames, and the wargaming magazine he founded, Fire & Movement, won the Charles S. Roberts Award several times while under his editorial control.
Desert War: Tactical Warfare in North Africa is a board wargame published in 1973 by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) that simulates combat in North Africa during World War II..
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