by Brant Guillory, 10 September 2026
Designer Fred Schwarz was the lead on the most recent Air & Armor game from Compass Games, and he joined us for a quick interview about the games.
Bruce is credited as the designer on the first of the rebooted Air & Armor games, with you as the developer. Those roles flipped for the most recent one (Air & Armor: V Corps). How have you guys managed the division of labor between the two sets? And how will guys continue juggling it going forward on the next ones?
In many ways we are co-designers as we both contribute to the work with ideas. That said, the designer is the one who comes up with the subject idea for a specific module. He has over-all sovereignty in the final say and comes up with the initial design and most of the scenarios. The designer guides the game through its initial build, meanwhile the developer is checking things and making recommendations. We work closely with lots of phone calls. We have no problem switching roles. Frankly, the games are designed by a team: we have a map guy, a VASSAL guy, and art guy and a bunch of play-testers. Everyone’s thoughts and suggestions are given consideration.
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Thanks to some subsequent geopolitical changes since the original Air & Armor design, as well as your time in Germany, there’s a lot more information available today than 40 years ago about the units, equipment, training, and people that would’ve been involved in that (non-)conflict. What’s the research been like on the new versions of the game, and how much has been adjusted from the original 1980s-era game?
The orders of battle were changed significantly, believe it or not, especially on the US OoB because the US Army went through significant changes throughout the decade with the fielding of new equipment, doctrinal/organizational changes and the unit designation changes due to the implementation of the US Army Regimental System. The Soviets were not that difficult because of there is an excellent website that has all the changes down to division level for the entire Warsaw Pact.
Tell us about the changes in the rules from Würzburg to V Corps. Obviously there’s going to be some errata or clarifications to incorporate, but once the public had a year of gameplay under their belts to give you some feedback, how’d that get incorporated?
Rules-wise, they are the same game. There are some terrain nuances, such as the addition of Rough Terrain and Polder in the V Corps game. However, we started work, and importantly, testing V Corps before we turned in Würzburg. This turned out to be a good thing because we found the combat system needed a major adjustment due to the denser and more canalized terrain in the Fulda sector while the forces were largely tank formations. The tanks, using the original rules, were nearly ineffective in that terrain, and this didn’t make sense. So, we adjusted it until it felt right. It was a simple change as well. BOAR is going to have more difference in making the British fight like they would have, but again these are minor and force specific. Korea is going to have a time scale change and thus a movement factor change due to the large amount of leg infantry. The game was plodding with infantry moving 1 hex per turn, and they were then also at the mercy of artillery.
How do you view the differences in the “designer” vs “developer” roles? What are some common misconceptions people have about them and what do you wish the game-playing public knew about them?
The developer is like the grizzled editor of a newspaper. “Do you really want to do that?” He is a check and brings things to reality. And he keeps things on track and schedule. The designer is the artist who comes up with the brilliant ideas. The developer also swats down the “good idea fairies” who cause rules creep and lengthen the design time. I firmly believe game designers should have a developer, always. Those that do not could have post-production problems due to hubris. From what I can see, I think many in the wargaming world understand this concept.
Not a lot of designers get to work on a game where they are actually a part of one of the counters on the map. What’s it like working on a game about a conflict that you prepared for (and thankfully never had to execute)?
Oh, it is motivating to do so, especially because the is not just a “what if,” but it is a personal “what if.” I could have actually done this fight. And having this personal connection was the prime motivator to do V Corps and now Korea (I was in the ROK in 1985). I just had to see how the Fulda Gap would have played out in the Air & Armor system. It is funny because questioned me when I proposed it “Do we really need another Fulda Gap game?” And I said “sure, those others are not Air & Armor.”
A big thanks to Fred for taking the time to join us!
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