RECOMMENDED WARGAME RESOURCES

The Internet has a large number of wargame-related sites, far too many to be listed here. However, there are a some that are good starting points. As time goes on, there will be more added.

 

Above the Fields-----A site with two main themes, pbem gaming, and Avalon Hill boardgames.

Academic Gaming Review-----Don't let the word "academic" scare you; this is a very accessible web magazine that carries a downloadable game in every issue.

Ancient Empires-----Shareware game of ancient civilizations in the Mediterranean.

Armchair Brigade-----The main appeal of this site for board wargamers is its support of older game systems, namely SPI's editions of the Great Battles of the American Civil War series, After the Holocaust,  and Avalon Hill's Civilization.  It purports to support Imperium Romanum (West End) as well, but so far nothing is available except a capsule synopsis of the game.

The Armor Site-----Tanks, tanks, and more tanks! For people who don't like tanks, The Armor Site has panzers. There is a lot of good technical information on the Tiger tank and modern, NATO armor in the form of the M1A12 Abrams, Challenger 2, and Leopard II. Plus, The Armor Site supports armor-oriented computer games, from Wargame Construction Set II: Tanks! (SSI) to Steel Panthers: World at War (Matrix Games).

The Armory-----Supporting SSI's Pacific General and Panzer General II games.

ASL Crossroads-----A site dedicated to Advanced Squad Leader, with plenty of resources for Avalon Hill's definitive World War II tactical game series.

Avalon Hill General Index-----Java-based search engine for the late and lamented Avalon Hill house organ. Unfortunately, coverage prior to Volume 10 appears to be missing, and some games are inexplicably left off. However, for later years the site works quickly and easily.

A World at War-----Designer Bruce Harper's official site dedicated to the Third Reich-based A World at War, published in boardgame form by GMT, and to be published as a computer game by Matrix Games.

Battlegames-----British online wargame magazine.

Battleplay-----Desktop-published boardgames, available for downloading and printing, all for free.

Ben Hull's Home Page-----The online home of the designer of GMT's This Accursed Civil War and the upcoming Sweden Fights On.

Bitter Woods-----A site dedicated to Randy Heller's Bulge game The Bitter Woods, formerly published by Avalon Hill and MMP, and to be published in a thrid edition by L2 Design Group.

Blank Hex Sheets By Jim Werbaneth-----Just what the name says.  These are Adobe pdf files that can be downloaded, then copied and pasted into graphics programs to facility map design on the computer.  These come in both small- and large-hex formats, short-grain and long-grain, and with or without numbers.  Distributed exclusively by Wargame Downloads.com, and a product of Line of Departure's own publisher.

Bordspel.com-----No relation to Godspell or any other musical, this is a Dutch site concentrating mainly on Eurogames. In Dutch.

British Wargames-----This site is still growing, but now has some good World War II unit organization data, and a lot of support for Talonsoft's Campaign Series of computer games. But perhaps the attraction with the most potential is The Wargames and Military History Search Engine.

Desperation Morale-----Mark Pitcavage's Advanced Squad Leader web site.

M. Even Brooks Home Page-----Brooks knows his computer wargames, and he is ready with his opinions. He also combines insight and a sense of humor, always showing the first, and unleashing the latter at appropriate targets. Besides his citation of Alice Roosevelt Longworth's reputed line "If you can't say something good about someone, sit right here by me," he could have added one from Genesis (the band, not the book): "I know what I like, and I like what I know."

Chris' Harpoon Page-----Scenarios designed for Harpoon Classic for Windows, concentrating on the North Atlantic.

Cold War Naval Battles-----Modern Naval Battles, Dan Verrsen's popular card game designed for 3W in the eighties, is back and redesigned as Cold War Naval Battles. It is also available now as a free download, as are two expansion sets.

Colonial Wargaming-----Though the work of a Briton, this has nothing to do with the Colonials who fought for their independence at Saratoga and Yorktown. Bob Cordery focuses instead on Victorian-era miniatures wargaming, including two sets of rules he wrote on the subject.

ConsimWorld Discussion Board-----This is a service of Consimworld, and is the center for wargame discussion and support.  It also offers the official Line of Departure forum.

Consolidated Great War in Europe/Great War in the Near East Rules-----Rules for combining Command magazine's twin games of World War I grand strategy into one monster game, incorporating all official errata as well. In Adobe Acrobat format.

Cyberboard-----Free software for playing games by e-mail.

Frédérick Bey's Web Site-----English-Language rules and support for Bey's games, originally published in French in Vae Victis.

Gamer Cadre-----Joseph Miranda's site. The long-time Strategy & Tactics editor is also a very prolific game designer and writer with a wide range of interests.

The Gamer Hotsheet-----A great-looking news site, covering the whole hobby, started in July 2006.

Gamespot-----An excellent source for reviews, information, screenshots, of computer games, and not just historical military titles.

Great Battles of History Home Page-----A site dedicated to GMT Games' outstanding series of ancient and early gunpowder games.

Greg Costikyan's Web Site-----One of my favorite designers from the days of SPI, Costikyan is not a man to hold back his opinions; his designer's notes for Pax Britannica are a case in point, in which being true to his views takes precedence over political correctness. He is still active and still outspoken, and as always worth reading.

The Grognards-----Simply the best; the most comprehensive source of errata and other information on the web, with a large number of links to other sites. Every wargamer should have this bookmarked on his browser.

Harold Van Veenendaal's Wargames Page-----Lots of links for wargamers, and those interested in other games, including the fast-growing German titles. In Dutch.

Hexwar-----UK site for playing SPI games online, founded in concert with Decision Games.

HFC Homefront Wargame Center-----"Supporting Our Hobby" in Germany, written in English.

Ian's "Great Battles" Home Page-----This unofficial support site looks at the Great Battles of Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar computer games published by Interactive Magic, and based on the Great Battles of History boardgames from GMT Games.

iSimulacrum------Maintained in concert with John Kula's excellent collecting journal Simulacrum, it is not a magazine support and subscription site in the strictest sense of the term. Instead, it offers a very extensive database of games published in the modern era, which can be accessed as an online database, or downloaded as an Excel spreadsheet.

Jim Dauphinais' Unofficial Website for GMT's Great Battles of the American Civil War-----A new site dedicated to the latest iterations of the classic Civil War tactical series.

Lady Gamers-----A site for and by women with, as the site puts it, "Nothing but PURE devotion to action and strategy GAMES."

La Tactique-----SPI veteran and History Channel fixture Brent Nosworthy's study of tactics during the age of muskets.

Lou Coatney: Home Page-----A veteran game designer's home page; Coatney offers a free game on El Alamein, plus material on his commercially-published titles.

The Magazine Pocket Review Project-----Elias Nordling's long-term project to present capsulized reviews of as many magazine wargames as possible, recently merged with Danny Holte's similar project.

MapSymbs-----Major Tom Mouat of the British army has created a boon for wargame designers, desktop publishers, and writers by making True Type fonts incorporating military symbols.

Maverick's Microgames Museum-----Little games, lots of fun, from the original Golden Age.  Lots of memories here...

MigMan's Combat Diary-----Home to his "Flight Sim Museum," MigMan's site is an homage to the wonder of flight, and its simulation on the computer screen.

Norm Koger's Home Page-----Koger is one of the most important computer wargame developers, both for SSI and now at TalonSoft, where he developed the two Operational Art of War games. Koger's site is a most impressive resume of his many professional, military and educational accomplishments, plus views on sundry topics such as his favorite books and music.. Of particular interest are his reflections on his own designs, going back to SSI's Stellar Crusade.

The Unofficial Panzer Campaigns Home Page-----Dedicating and supporting the Panzer Campaigns series of computer games, designed by John Tiller for HPS Simulations.

PanzerBlitz-----A site dedicated to Avalon Hill's seminal tactical armor game, plus its sequels Panzer Leader and The Arab-Israeli Wars. There are scenarios, variants, questions and answers, even new counters.

Paper Wars-----The venerable wargame review magazine's site.

Perry Moore's Military History-----Perry Moore is the true pioneer of desktop self-publishing, starting before DTP was cool. His site promotes his more recent offerings, but especially supports his Landships World War I game, professionally published by Clash of Arms. In addition, the photographs of the Allies' intervention in the Russian Civil War, taken by RAF pilot John Prouse, are a rare treat.

PBem Emporium-----Dedicated to Play By E-Mail wargaming, with lots of good resources.

Portal dos Wargames-----Profiles wargames published in Portuguese, especially from Brazil, plus others from Latin America.  In Portuguese.

Principles of Game Design-----Alan Emerich's graded course on how to design wargames, previously taught at Stanford University, the University of California at Irvine, and the Art Institute of California (Orange County Chapter)

Scenario Design Center-----The name says it all. More specifically, its main focus is on TalonSoft titles, especially the Battleground series.

Simulacrum-----John Kula's wargame collector's magazine, published in Victoria, British Columbia.  One of the more witty and distinctive magazines out there.

SPCamo Workshop-----Home of the free Steel Panthers: World War II and Steel Panthers: MBT, both free downloads.

Stalag 13 BBS Steel Panthers Page-----Scenarios for Steel Panthers, and links to utilities. See also their Steel Panthers II Page.

Storm Over Europe-----Free World War II grand strategic wargame, designed as a module for Aide de Camp II.

Successors-----A site devoted to Richard Berg's game, for Avalon Hill, of the struggles between Alexander the Great's generals for his empire, upon his death.

Uncle Ted's ADC Collection-----Aircraft Data Cards for J.D. Webster's Fighting Wings World War II air games, so far consisting of Over the Reich and Achtung-Spitfire! for Clash of Arms.

The Unofficial Panzer Campaigns Home Page-----Dedicating and supporting the Panzer Campaigns series of computer games, designed by John Tiller for HPS Simulations.

VASSAL Game Engine-----A series of boardgame player's aids, developed with the Java programming language on the open source model. It began with Virtual Advanced Squad Leader, then moved on to close to over thirty other titles, mainly from Avalon Hill. Also see the VASSAL site on SourceForge, the clearinghouse for over seventy thousand open source projects.

Virtual Advanced Squad Leader-----Provides all you need to play Advanced Squad Leader over the Internet through a Java-based software application.

Wargame Academy-----A boardgame site that looks at classic games, at present Avalon Hill and SPI. Besides capsule overviews and article lists, it also serves as a gateway for VASSAL player's aids modules.

Wargame HQ-----A wargaming site that contains, among other features, an opponent finder and a store finder.

Wargame Downloads.com-----Many boardgames, card games, and miniatures and role-playing rules for sale via download in the form of Adobe pdf files.  Wargame Downloads also retails subscriptions to Line of Departure, and is the exclusive distributor of Jim Werbaneth's blank hex sheets, for designing wargame maps on the computer.  Now retails Rommel at Gazala too.

The Wargamer-----A superlative site dedicated to computer gaming. There are reviews, news, links, and in cooperation with SSI, many, many scenarios for that company's games.

Wargame Replays-----At its inception its primary coverage is the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War series, Twilight Struggle and Empire of the Sun, but more is promised.

ZOCO Historical Simulations Archive-----Based in the UK, a massive library of wargame reviews, with game assistance programs and game kits. Highly recommended.

 

 

BOARDGAME COMPANIES

 

Age of Eagles (Miniatures Rules)

atgamesonline.com

airbattle.co.uk

Australian Design Group

Avalanche Press

Avalon Hill (Now A Part of Hasbro)

Blue Guidon Games

The Boardgamer

BoneGames

Bro Games

The Canadian Wargamers Group

Clash of Arms

Columbia Games

Compass Games

Critical Hit

Command

Dan Verssen Games

Decision Games

DGA Games

Fat Messiah Games

Fiery Dragon Productions

Firefight Games-----A joint venture between renowned DTP veterans Perry Moore and Paul Rohrbaugh

Gio Games-----Italian game company, but in English

GMT Games

GR/D

Guild of Blades Publishing Group

Heat of Battle

Ivy Street Games

Kyber Pass Games

Last Stand Games

Lock 'n Load Games-----No longer a mere support site for Mark Walker's tactical wargame, Lock 'n Load Games is now a publisher in its own right .

Lost Battalion Games

L2 Design Group

Majestic Twelve Games

Markham Designs

Miku Games

Minden Games

Multi-Man Publishing

Napoleon's Battles (Second Edition of Avalon Hill's Miniatures Rules)

NEPPA Games

Norman Smith Games

Operational Studies Group

Prism Games

Q.E.D. Games

Red Sash Games

Relative Range

Saxon Games

Schroeder Publishing and Wargames

Schutze Games

Sierra Madre Games Company

Simmons Games

Simulations Workshop

Steve Jackson Games

Task Force Games

Thunderhaven Games

Turning Point Simulations

Udo Grebe Game Design

Vae Victis

Warhorse Simulations

White Dog Games ---- Publishers of downloadable "print and play" board wargames, some of them free.

Your Move Games

 

 

COMPUTER GAME COMPANIES

Ageod-----French company founded by Philippe Thibaut of Europa Universalis fame; their first title is Birth of America, covering the French and Indian and American Revolutionary Wars.

Atomic Games

Battlefront.com

Breakaway Games

Electronic Arts

Empire Interactive (US)

Ensemble Studios

HPS Simulations

Killer Bee Software

LucasArts

Matrix Games

Microsoft Games

Naval Warfare Simulations

Shrapnel Games

SSG

Sudden Strike

Talonsoft

2 By 3 Games

Ubi Soft

Ultimation

Wings Simulations

 

 

WARGAME ORGANIZATIONS AND CLUBS

 

AHIKS-----Founded in 1965, a venerable organization founded to spread interest in wargaming, facilitate play-by-mail, and "provide members with mature opponents who would complete games promptly and fairly."

Boardgame Players Association-----An organization dedicated to, among other things, continuing the Avaloncon gamer's convention under a new name, the National Boardgaming Championships.

British Historical Games Society-----Miniatures-oriented, this group sponsors the BRITCON convention.

Buckeye Boardgamers-----Game club in the metropolitan Columbus, Ohio area.

Guildford Wargames Club-----Meets in the town of Guildford, in Surrey, England.

Hong Kong Society of Wargamers-----Board and miniatures gaming in Asia. Miniatures play a big part in the club, and the site reflects that. There are also some good historical articles.

Metrowargamers NYC-----Located in Brooklyn, one of the few game clubs that can claim to own its own gaming space.

Silicon Valley Wargamers-----Since 1977, located in Mountain View, California.

The Society of Twentieth Century Wargamers-----The name says nearly everything; this site is dedicated primarily to miniatures, with downloadable rules, scenarios, and valuable background information.

Strategy Gaming Society-----Founded in 1973 as the American Wargaming Association, the SGS is the longest continuously functioning wargaming club in the United States. It also publishes The Strategist newsletter, and offers for sale the comprehensive, four-volume Pimper's All the World's Wargames and The Wargamer's Encyclopediac Dictionary.

The Westbank Gamers-----New Orleans-area gaming club.

Yankee Air Pirates-----Birmingham, Michigan. It has features that go beyond the usual local club pages, such as a variant for Avalon Hill's Trireme, and some good articles by Chris Fawcett.

 

 

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