Tactics (game)

Last updated
Tactics
Tactics (1954).jpg
Tactics (1954)
Other namesTactics
Manufacturers Monarch Services
J.E. Smith & Co. [1] : 175 
Designers Charles S. Roberts
Publishers Avalon Hill Games
Publication1954;69 years ago (1954)
II: 1958;65 years ago (1958)
Years active1954-1958
II: 1958-1972, 1973-1998
Genreswar
Languagesen
Players2
Playing time120 minutes
Age range12 and up

Tactics is a board wargame published in 1954 by Avalon Hill as the company's first product. [2] Although primitive by modern standards, it and its sequel, Tactics II , signalled the birth of modern board wargaming for the commercial market. Tactics is generally credited as being the first commercially successful board wargame.

Contents

Publication history

Wargames before 1950 were usually just a set of rules — players were expected to provide their own miniature soldiers and create suitable terrain as a battleground. [3] Charles S. Roberts believed there was a market for an entirely self-contained wargame that would include a map and "soldiers" in the form of cardboard counters, as well as rules and a box to hold everything. [4] He designed a game that was similar to other wargames published in England and elsewhere over the previous half-century, albeit not for the mass market. [3] This game became Tactics, which Roberts self-published out of his house in 1952, [5] using the name "The Avalon Game Company", [5] [2] later changed to "Avalon Hill". It eventually became the first commercially successful board wargame, although for the first six years, Roberts sold the game on a mail order basis from his home in Catonsville (outside Baltimore), selling 2,000 copies and barely breaking even. [6] [7]

In 1958, Roberts replaced Tactics with a revised game titled Tactics II . The rules were nearly identical, with only slight changes made to the map and counters. Avalon Hill produced an updated edition of Tactics II in 1961, then discontinued production in 1972 due to rising costs. The following year, Tactics II was redesigned with less costly components, and sold as a loss-leader, being a "gateway" game that Avalon Hill hoped would lead new players into the hobby. [2]

In 1983, Avalon Hill released a 25th anniversary edition of the original Tactics, although with a new and different map.

Description

Tactics and Tactics II are 2-player board wargames, pitting the military forces of two imaginary nations, Blue and Red, against each other. Although they have identical armies, the geography of each nation is different.

Gameplay

Tactics pioneered many game mechanics that have become standard in the board wargame industry, including: [8]

Counters include armored units, headquarters units, regular infantry units, and specialized units consisting of mountaineers, paratroopers, and amphibious units. There are special rules for roads, hidden movement, aphibious units, mountaineering units and paratroops. There are also optional rules for nuclear weapons, reinforcements, supply, and weather. [8]

Reception

The UK magazine Games & Puzzles admitted that this game was "much criticized", and that "its main shortcoming was the use of a square grid rather than a hex grid." Nonetheless, it was "a useful tool in teaching the rudiments of serious board wargaming. [...] the game allows experimentation with a large number of war game techniques and is in itself an interesting strategic game which is easier to play than most of the games from [Avalon Hill]." [10]

In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion noted that this game was one of the two original commercial wargames, "and many old-timers have a soft spot in their hearts for it." He also commented that "It is sometimes recommended as an introductory game and in fact has served that function for many wargamers, but it has a square grid that makes its geography somewhat different from that of the now standard hexagon grid board." Campion concluded, "It has little historical interest because its representation of World War II conditions is so oversimplified." [11]

Related Research Articles

<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.

<i>War at Sea</i> Board wargame published in 1975

War at Sea is a strategic board wargame depicting the naval war in the Atlantic during World War II, published by Jedko Games in 1975, and subsequently republished by Avalon Hill in 1976 and more recently by L2 Design Group in 2007.

<i>PanzerArmee Afrika</i> (board game) Board wargame

PanzerArmee Afrika, subtitled "Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the World War II North African Campaign that pitted the Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel against Allied forces. The game was revised and republished in 1984 by Avalon Hill.

<i>Blitzkrieg</i> (game) 1965 board wargame

Blitzkrieg is a strategic-level wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1965 that simulates a non-historical attack by one major power against another using the blitzkrieg strategy. It was the first commercial wargame that did not simulate an actual historical battle, and with almost 400 counters, it was a precursor to the "monster" wargames of the 1970s featuring more than a thousand counters.

<i>1776</i> (boardgame) 1974 board game

1776, subtitled "The Game of the American Revolutionary War", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1974 that simulates the American Revolutionary War. Its release was timed to coincide with the bicentenary of the Revolution, and for several years was a bestseller for Avalon Hill.

<i>Battle of the Bulge</i> (board wargame)

Battle of the Bulge is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill (AH) in 1965 that simulates the World War II battle of the same name. General Anthony McAuliffe (ret.), who had been commanding officer at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, was a consultant during the game's development. The game proved popular and sold more than 120,000 copies, but was dogged by criticisms of historical inaccuracies, and was finally replaced by a completely new edition in 1981. A third edition in 1991 was released as part of the Smithsonian American History Series.

<i>D-Day</i> (game)

D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine. It was the first wargame to feature the now ubiquitous hex grid map and cardboard counters, and was revised and re-released in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.

<i>Afrika Korps</i> (game) Board wargame

Afrika Korps is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1964 and re-released in 1965 and 1978 that simulates the North Africa Campaign during World War II.

<i>Arab–Israeli Wars</i> (game) Board game

The Arab-Israeli Wars, subtitled "Tank Battles in the Mideast 1956–73", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1977 that simulates various battles during the Suez Crisis, Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War.

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

<i>Gettysburg</i> (game) American Civil War board wargame published in 1958

Gettysburg is a board wargame produced by Avalon Hill in 1958 that re-enacts the American Civil War battle of Gettysburg. The game rules were groundbreaking in several respects, and the game, revised several times, was a bestseller for Avalon Hill for several decades.

<i>Conquistador</i> (game) Board game

Conquistador, originally subtitled "The Age of Exploration: 1495–1600", is a board game published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the exploration of the New World in the 16th century. Players take on the role of European countries sending expeditions to find gold and establish colonies. Although the design uses the trappings of board wargames such as a hex map, combat is not a major part of the game.

<i>Tobruk</i> (game) Board wargame that simulates tank combat

Tobruk, subtitled "Tank Battles in North Africa 1942", is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1975 that simulates tank combat in North Africa during World War II.

<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>Manassas</i> (wargame)

Manassas is a board wargame originally published by Historical Concepts in 1974, and republished by Game Designers Workshop (GDW) in 1977 that simulates the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War.

<i>Firefight: Modern U.S. and Soviet Small Unit Tactics</i> Tactical wargame

Firefight: Modern U.S. and Soviet Small Unit Tactics is a tactical wargame originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that hypothesizes combat between small units of American and Soviet forces in West Germany in the 1970s.

<i>Wacht am Rhein</i> (game) Grand tactical monster board wargame

Wacht am Rhein is a grand tactical monster board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates Germany's Battle of the Bulge offensive in late 1944 during World War II.

<i>Barbarossa: The Russo-German War 1941-45</i> 1969 board wargame

Barbarossa: The Russo-German War 1941-45 is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1969 that simulates the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front of World War II. This was only SPI's second game produced during a preliminary round of "Test Series" games, and proved to be the most popular. Despite the title, taken from the German operational name for their initial invasion of the Soviet Union, the game covers the entire Eastern Front campaign from the German invasion in 1941 to the Fall of Berlin in 1945.

<i>Korea: The Mobile War</i> Board wargame

Korea: The Mobile War is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1969 that simulates the Korean War.

<i>Luftwaffe</i> (board wargame) Board wargame

Luftwaffe, subtitled "The Game of Aerial Combat Over Germany 1943-45", is a board wargame originally published by Poultron Press in 1969 under a different title, then subsequently sold to Avalon Hill, who republished it in 1971. The game is an operational simulation of the American bombing campaign against Germany during World War II.

References

  1. ↑ Shannon Appelcline (2011). Designers & Dragons. Mongoose Publishing. ISBN   978-1-907702-58-7.
  2. 1 2 3 "The General Index and Company History". The General Magazine Index and Company History. 1980. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Matthew B. Caffrey Jr. (2019). "On Wargaming: How Wargames Have Shaped History and how They May Shape the Future" (PDF). The Newport Papers. Naval War College Press: 77–78. Archived from the original on 2020-01-25.
  4. ↑ David W. (May 22, 2017). "WARGAMES 101: OR, "HOW YOU CAN LEARN TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE CONSIMS"". The Daily Worker Placement. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Rienzi, Greg (May 2009). "Baltimore Observed: Encounter". The Urbanite Magazine. Urbanite Baltimore. p. 35. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  6. ↑ Christopher Lewin, War Games and their History, Chapter 8, Fonthill Media, Stroud (GB) 2012, ISBN   978-1-78155-042-7
  7. ↑ James Dunnigan (1991). "Chapter 5". The Complete Wargames Handbook (2nd ed.). Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. 1 2 Freeman, Jon (1980). The Complete Book of Wargames. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 205.
  9. ↑ War Tactics or Can Great Britain Be Invaded? at the Imperial War Museum
  10. ↑ "The Best in Strategy". Games and Puzzles. No. 55. December 1976. p. 9.
  11. ↑ Campion, Martin (1980). "Tactics II". In Horn, Robert E.; Cleaves, Ann (eds.). The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications. p. 516. ISBN   0-8039-1375-3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.