James M. Day

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James M. Day is an American game designer best known for military based board games, computer games, card games, and miniature rules. He is also an accomplished historian and military weaponry subject matter expert.

His first published title was the board game Panzer [1] from Yaquinto Publications in 1979. This was followed shortly by the board games 88 [2] and Armor [3] from the same publisher.

After leaving a 25-year career in healthcare administration, he spent eight years in the computer gaming industry (1990-1998). Six of those years were spent as a game designer and producer for MicroProse Software, [4] during which he was responsible for the games Gunship 2000 , [5] Gunship 2000: Islands & Ice , [6] F-15 Strike Eagle III , [7] and Across the Rhine. [8]

During the next several years, Day continued to contribute to a number of game and historical publications, as well as designed the board games MBT [9] and IDF [10] for the Avalon Hill Company and wrote the user manual for Jane's F/A-18 . [11]

Day returned to his original interest in miniatures designing the Panzer Miniatures Rules for StrikeNet Games. [12] The card game The Kaiser’s Pirates [13] was published in 2007 for StrikeNet Games—included in Games Magazine's top 100 for 2008.[ citation needed ]The Kaiser's Pirates was re-published by GMT Games in 2009. It was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts award in 2010.[ citation needed ]

The World War II tactical combat board game Panzer was published in 2012 by GMT Games. [14] It was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts award in 2013.[ citation needed ]

It was followed by two expansion sets in 2012, Panzer Expansion#1: The Shape of Battle - The Eastern Front [15] and Panzer Expansion#2: The Final Forces on the Eastern Front . [16] The third expansion set followed in 2014, Panzer Expansion#3: Drive to the Rhine - The 2nd Front. [17] Panzer Expansion #1 was nominated for a Charles S. Roberts award in 2013.[ citation needed ] The fourth expansion, Panzer Expansion#4: France 1940 was released in 2018. [18]

A stand-alone World War II tactical combat board game Panzer North Africa was released in January 2024. [19]

Day went in a different direction from tank oriented games in designing the American Civil War tactical naval game Iron & Oak . It was published in 2013 by GMT Games. [20]

Day designed a new version of the modern tactical combat board game MBT in 2016; [21] its three companion expansions FRG and BAOR were released in 2018, followed by 4CMBG in 2019 by GMT Games. [22] [23]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">GMT Games</span> American board game publisher

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<i>PanzerBlitz</i> World War II board wargame published in 1970

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles S. Roberts Award</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Air Force Germany</span> Former military command formation of the British Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force Germany, commonly known as RAF Germany, and abbreviated RAFG, is a former command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and part of British Forces Germany (BFG). It consisted of units located in Germany, initially in what was known as West Germany as part of the British Air Forces of Occupation (BAFO) following the Second World War, and later as part of the RAF's commitment to the defence of Europe during the Cold War. The commander of RAFG doubled as commander of NATO's Second Allied Tactical Air Force (2ATAF). Its motto was 'Keepers of the Peace'.

<i>Janes Combat Simulations</i> Video game series

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tactical wargame</span> Type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striker (miniatures game)</span> Science fiction miniatures wargame

Striker is a science fiction miniatures wargame, designed by Frank Chadwick, and illustrated by William H. Keith. It was published by Game Designers' Workshop in 1981 as a boxed expansion to the Traveller role-playing game. Although Striker is a 15mm miniatures ruleset, GDW consider it their eighth Traveller boardgame. It was republished in 2004 as part of Far Future Enterprises Traveller: The Classic Games, Games 1-6+.

<i>Gunship 2000</i> 1991 video game

Gunship 2000 is a helicopter combat flight simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse as a follow-up to their earlier game Gunship. It was originally released in 1991 for DOS; this version received an expansion in 1992. The Amiga, PC-98, Amiga CD32 and PlayStation versions were released in 1993, 1994 and 1996 respectively. A sequel, Gunship!, was released in 2000.

Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz game.

<i>Panzer Strike</i> 1988 video game

Panzer Strike is a 1988 tactical wargame that simulates small unit actions during World War II. It was made for Apple II and Commodore 64 and was released by Strategic Simulations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air wargaming</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Board wargame</span> Wargame played on a printed surface or board

A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby developed in 1954 following the publication and commercial success of Tactics. The board wargaming hobby continues to enjoy a sizeable following, with a number of game publishers and gaming conventions dedicated to the hobby both in the English-speaking world and further afield.

<i>Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game</i>

Star Wars: X-Wing is a miniature war game designed by Jay Little and produced by Fantasy Flight Games that was released at Gen Con during August 17, 2012. It features tactical ship-to-ship dogfighting between various types of starfighters set in the fictional Star Wars universe. The game is said to be easy to learn and quick to play taking anywhere between 15 and 60 minutes from first set-up to battle's end. Each round both players give all their ships movement orders without knowing what their opponent is doing before resolving these orders while trying to shoot down enemy craft. On May 1, 2018, FFG announced X-Wing Second Edition, to be released on September 13, 2018. Although the physical models are transferable, an entire new set of rules, templates, and markers have been produced and are available through a new core set, waves, and conversion packs.

<i>MBT</i> (board game) Board wargame published in 1989

MBT is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1989 that simulates hypothetical World War Three tank combat between NATO and Warsaw Pact forces in Western Europe. A second edition was published by GMT Games in 2016.

<i>MechWar 77</i> Board wargame

MechWar '77, subtitled "Tactical Armored Combat in the 1970s", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates hypothetical tank combat in the mid-1970s between various adversaries, using the same rules system as the previously published Panzer '44.

References

  1. "Panzer (first edition)". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  2. "88". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  3. "Armor". BoardGameGeek. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  4. "Game Designer James Day – Armchair General Interview | Armchair General Magazine - We Put YOU in Command!". armchairgeneral.com. Retrieved 2023-08-03.
  5. "Gunship 2000 for DOS". Moby Games. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  6. "Gunship 2000 Scenario Disk and Mission Builder for DOS - MobyGames". Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2007-03-11.
  7. "F-15 Strike Eagle III for DOS (1992) - MobyGames". MobyGames.
  8. "Across the Rhine for DOS (1995) - MobyGames". MobyGames.
  9. "MBT (first edition)". BoardGameGeek.
  10. "IDF (Israeli Defense Force)". BoardGameGeek.
  11. "Jane's Combat Simulations: F/A-18 Simulator (2000) Windows credits". MobyGames. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  12. "Panzer Miniatures". BoardGameGeek.
  13. "The Kaiser's Pirates". BoardGameGeek.
  14. "Panzer - Reprint Ed". GMT Games, LLC. Retrieved 2018-04-24.
  15. "Board Game Publisher specializing in strategy and war games but also offering a line of family and Euro games". GMT Games, LLC. Archived from the original on 2014-12-06. Retrieved 2014-11-29.
  16. "Panzer Expansion #2: The Final Forces on the Eastern Front". GMT Games, LLC.
  17. "Panzer Exp. #3: Drive to the Rhine - The 2nd Front". GMT Games, LLC.
  18. "Panzer Expansion #4: France 1940". GMT Games, LLC.
  19. "Panzer North Africa". GMT Games, LLC.
  20. "Iron and Oak". GMT Games, LLC.
  21. "MBT". GMT Games, LLC.
  22. "FRG: MBT Expansion". GMT Games, LLC.
  23. "BAOR: MBT Expansion". GMT Games, LLC.