RockyMountainNavy, 14 March 2024
In 1988 the Avalon Hill Company was riding high. Wargames were popular and the decision was made to release a special edition of The General magazine at Origins ’88. This special 64-page edition was designed to showcase Avalon Hill wargames and boardgames. Looking back this Throwback Thursday, for me the issue evokes feelings of nostalgia, boredom, and some rueful thoughts.
click images to enlarge
Nostalgia
Looking back at the 1988 Special Edition of The General magazine brings back nostalgic feelings. Several of the articles, like “Fighterspeak” I had seen before as I was an avid player of Flight Leader (1986).
I was also excited for newer games like Tac Air (1987) which I eventually acquired. Looking over the one page ad, what strikes me is how the advertisement was much more a capsule summary of the game rather than slick marketing. Lessons for today?
Other articles, like “The Evolution of Strategy” and “Simulating the Art of War,” I probably skimmed over back in the day. Rereading them now I am reminded at how prescient wargamers can be. A few of the words in “The Evolution of Strategy” are as applicable today as they were back then:
“As the wargame industry churns out more and even more titles, players seem to be increasingly seduced by novelty. New, innovative games appear, only to be replaced on the shelves and gaming tables by the latest fad. The veteran wargame that can successfully compete against the fresh product is increasingly rare.”
Wargamers of that day also seemed more accepting of, uh, imperfection. Take the words of Jerry Pournelle in the article “Simulating the Art of War” which starts out with, “WATERLOO [Waterloo, 1962] is the most frustrating game Avalon Hill ever published.” After a discussion of what really happened at Waterloo, Pournelle pronounces, “None of this is possible in the game.” Yet, the author doesn’t give up. Instead they write:
“You cannot maneuver during the battle as the game is now structured. Intelligence is perfect, orders never miscarry, there is no delay between intent and actuality. In most every respect WATERLOO is unsatisfactory.”
“Yet. Somehow. Despite using an inappropriate combat results table, despite everything else, there is a flavor to WATERLOO that makes it one of my favorite games. It is, as I said, frustrating. I keep thinking that it could be one of the finest of all AH games, if only…”
Boredom
Not all the Avalon Hill boardgames and wargames from those days were my cup of tea. Through the years my tastes have changed, but I admit that Kremlin, new to Avalon Hill in 1988, was of no interest to me. Today, however, The Dietz Foundation has a new edition available for sale. Color me interested, comrade.
Ruefulness
(Will Regimental Commander Brant cut this next part or just censor the picture?) Wargaming has long been accused of being a “Boys Club.” In more recent days there have been many efforts to welcome women into the hobby. We have come a long way since Avalon Hill—in their Special Edition of The General—advertised for a very non-wargame product that while likely intended to entertain the boys illustrates just how far the hobby has come, and still has to go. While the artwork for the “G.I. Jane Calendar,” is a bit risqué we can still try to make the best of the situation by noting that at least it’s not AI. The cringe-worthy line, “When people mention the Battle of the Bulge, they’ll be speaking of the G.I. Jane Calendar” unfortunately cannot be unread. This ad certainly will not be getting any Votes for Women. Rueful wargame memories, to be sure. This ad doesn’t need a throw back, but something more like a throw out…
(ed note: no reason to censor this as it was a product of its time; let’s just do better going forward)
Thank you for visiting The Armchair Dragoons and mounting up with the Regiment of Strategy Gaming.
You can find our regiment’s social media on Mastodon, BlueSky, Facebook, TwXtter, YouTube, and even Threads, if we could ever get an auto-post to it.
(We have an Instagram page and it’s really just a placeholder & redirect to our articles.)
You can support The Armchair Dragoons through our Patreon, also, and find us at a variety of conventions and other events.
Feel free to talk back to us either in our discussion forum, or in the comments below.
In wargaming discussions, they shine,
Armchair Dragoons, so refined,
With tactics profound,
Strategies unbound,
Their insights, a treasure divine!
The 1980’s was 40 years ago…https://i.ibb.co/G0cwT6y/Human-Hourglass.jpg
“Looking over the one page ad, what strikes me is how the advertisement was much more a capsule summary of the game rather than slick marketing. Lessons for today?”
To me it looks more like a “takes one to know one”. Slick marketing could probably be conductive for more sales, but not necessarily brought in more repeat customers, I think. After all, Richard Berg apparantly said that “Wargaming is the hobby of the over-educated”, and those people crave reliable info more than marketing spin I think.
“Richard Berg apparantly said that “Wargaming is the hobby of the over-educated””
And how often has that notion been bandied about?
If he said that, he merely took a page out of Avalon Hill’s Psychology 101 playbook, with their cringey “DO A FRIEND A FAVOR” inserts that they used to put into every one of their game boxes, and which read in part:
“If you know someone who has the basic brain power to comprehend Avalon Hill games then get him to send us this postcard.”
Implying that anyone who simply might not have an interest in playing dice games of glorified plastic army men, ie, about 99% of the public, might very well be lacking in “basic brain power”.
And the thusly stroked and inflated egos of the countless blowhards in this hobby have not recovered to this day.