Originally posted by Kuniworth Hitlers war and axis and allies were my first.
Kuniworth, is "Those men on white horses are terrifying...but we´ll match´em with our lancers!" a documented quote from the Little Corporal, or is it from the flick Waterloo?? (No wonder Rod Steiger died!) As I recall, the Scots Greys are gearing up for their ride into eternity, chased by the Polish Lancers. That film had about the worst editing of any I've ever seen and only The Ten Commandments has a lousier script.
Re miniatures: I used to play a lot of Civil War miniatures in the days before Johnny Reb became the defacto standard. I gave it up for the same reason as board games: too long to play and it took up too much space. Besides, standing around with rulers screaming that your guys couldn't see my guys (take that you blasted Texas Brigade!) got awfuly silly. I felt like the Hanson Brothers from Slapshot playing with their cars. I did once participate in a Napoleonic Wars game that was actually played on three levels of a house with about 20 other guys. Apparently none of us could get laid.
Mark
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Kuniworth, is "Those men on white horses are terrifying...but we´ll match´em with our lancers!" a documented quote from the Little Corporal, or is it from the flick Waterloo?? (No wonder Rod Steiger died!) As I recall, the Scots Greys are gearing up for their ride into eternity, chased by the Polish Lancers. That film had about the worst editing of any I've ever seen and only The Ten Commandments has a lousier script.
Yes you´are absolutely right, it´s from the 1970's russian-italian movie Waterloo with Rod Steiger. Ponsonby unleashes the Scots Greys against D´Erlons 1:st corps and they charge to far straight against the french lines. The dialogue goes as follows;
Bonaparte; Those men on white horses are terrifying
Ney; They are the noblest cavallry in Europe, and the worst led..
Bonaparte; That may be, that may be...but we´ll match them with our lancers!
I really liked the scope of that movie, with thousand of actors involved. However the editing made it impossible to get a grip of the action.
"Those men on white horses are terrifying...but we´ll match´em with our lancers!"
1) Panzer Leader (I must have been 7 when my brother first let me push M4 Sherman counters)
2) late 70's
3) too many to mention
While Panzer Leader was technically my first wargame, Africa Corps and Buldge (6?) were the first I learned to play myself (language was a huge barrier).
WS&IM is originally an AH board game, much better then the later computer adaptation.
Kingmaker is not originally AH, it's an English design (I can look up the company, I have 1 original edition left, someone stole my second one).
I sometimes get nostalgic about those old pink and blue counters of Africa Corps and Buldge. But must confess I haven't played either in ages.
First Wargame was Playing War with neighborhood kids.
We Made rules, brought our own playguns that parents bought for us,and grew in size to around 20+
My Dad taught me how to play chess during this time.
Played Risk.
During High School found the Chess and Wargame club. Run by our Math Teacher.
Battle for Midway was First Wargame.
Then Afrika Korps, Then it snowballed.
Joined US ARMY and found like minded wargamers in all units served at.
Side note.
Dad, served with 45th Infantry Division during WW2.
Math Teacher, Dautless rear gunner Pacific Theather.
Courage is fear singing a hymn arranged for four voices.
Fear passes. But leaves a record of its stay.
You want to be brave. You also want to be.
But your greatest danger is from your fellow human beings.
Originally posted by WarLover First Wargame was Playing War with neighborhood kids.
We Made rules, brought our own playguns that parents bought for us,and grew in size to around 20+
My Dad taught me how to play chess during this time.
Played Risk.
During High School found the Chess and Wargame club. Run by our Math Teacher.
Battle for Midway was First Wargame.
Then Afrika Korps, Then it snowballed.
Joined US ARMY and found like minded wargamers in all units served at.
Side note.
Dad, served with 45th Infantry Division during WW2.
Math Teacher, Dautless rear gunner Pacific Theather.
We have very similar gaming backgrounds.
Just one thing?....How could anything SNOWBALL after Afrika Korps?!-hehe
"When I was a toddler in Europe, my U.S. Diplomat parents relocated a number of times. Ultimately though, my nanny and I would always find them." - Stefdragon
Must be that we inhabit a known parallel
universe.
As far as Snowballs go, it must have been a freak Desert winter that allowed my snowball to gather momentum and size as it rolled over SPI games, which included War in Europe, War between the States, Fulda Gap, Musket and Pike to name a few.
Oh yes one of my all time fav boardgames, WiF from edition 2 onwards. Looking forward to the release of this game on computer.
Been playing beta version Barbarrossa scenario mostly tho it has a couple more to choose from.
thanks for reply
over
Courage is fear singing a hymn arranged for four voices.
Fear passes. But leaves a record of its stay.
You want to be brave. You also want to be.
But your greatest danger is from your fellow human beings.
CWiF will probably take a while till publication. Much as I know Chris is still working on it alone and has been at it for years. I think all rule clarifications were done before the beta, but some more of that might require work as well. All in all that project has been ongoing for 5 years I think.
Still, the beta is quite playable, once that game is done it will be a great room saver (versus a fully setup WiF;-).
Joined US ARMY and found like minded wargamers in all units served at.
Side note.
Dad, served with 45th Infantry Division during WW2.
What part of the 45th was your father in? I've been to their museum half dozen times and gathered a lot of info on that unit. Spent 3+yrs in Aschaffenburg which was fought over in 1945 mainly by their 157th Regt and talked to vets of that battle. My father was in the 180th RCT of that division in Korea 51/52 and Merchant Marine in WWII hauling german pows.
I'm also retired army/right patcher.
First wargame, may not qualify as such, but in the mid 60's I had all of M&B's wargames: Dogfight and maybe 5 others (civilwar/WWII). Then got Blitzkrieg in 71 I think and with SPI #16's add-on module I was hooked! First computer wargame was SSI's "Computer Ambush!". Favorite boardwargame, SPI's Terrible Swift Sword which is practically identical to Talonsoft's BGGettysburg.
Enlisted during Nixon, retired during Clinton then went postal - joined the USPS, then retired from that during Obama.
My father was in the 180th Inf. Reg.
M company, 1st Platoon.
This information is from his Regimental Book. It has the names of all members living or dead, but not those MIA and confirmed KIA after the publication.
Each Platoon is Photographed with a list of named personnel and names of those not in photo but assigned to said unit.
Another piece of info my dad placed in this Reg. Book is a Memorial day Services program for the 45th Infantry Division conducted on May 30, 1945 in Konigsplatz, Munich Germany. The following is the Dedication:
"From the beaches of Sicily to the birth-place of the Nazi party in Munich, Germany has been a long and circuitous way. It has been an historical one, with high points that shall be forever remembered-- Salerno, Volturno, Venafro, Anzio, Rome, Southern France, Vosges, Saar, Rhine, Bavaria. Not everyone who started on that July day in 1943 made the whole conquest which we have completed now -- in some units, not many made it. They made another conquest, they were the sacrifice. To these our comrades, is this day and this occasion dedicated, and of those names remembered, their names shall stand above all."
After opening this book of photos and Stars and stripes news articles. Looking into the faces of these young men, my father's and his best friend among them, moves me to silence as i turn off all i control and sit here thinking, feeling, only the outside world and me. My dad passed away when i was 15. Not enough time to ask the questions that appear in ones mind as he grows older and hopefully wiser. To ask about his youth in the days of Depression and Total War. But i come close, with photos and written words, travels to places of battle great and small, the sight of articles and the sound of music of that time, and most important of all chance encounters with men and women of that time. They convey pieces of a grand puzzle to a question still forming within my mind about War, Violence, Honor, Mercy, Future and Past human choices.
A door has been opened from without to a place within. It comes at a time of reflection. Where it takes me is a choice i will make.
Thank You Marc aka Caran, Your 1 question leads me through a maze of questions which both feeds my spirit and drains my soul.
Thats all the words i have for now.
Courage is fear singing a hymn arranged for four voices.
Fear passes. But leaves a record of its stay.
You want to be brave. You also want to be.
But your greatest danger is from your fellow human beings.
Sorry for the mixed up reply,
what was meant for BvB was mistaken for Caranorn. Oh well live and learn.
Thanks for the replies.
Courage is fear singing a hymn arranged for four voices.
Fear passes. But leaves a record of its stay.
You want to be brave. You also want to be.
But your greatest danger is from your fellow human beings.
There was a board game something about China and Vietnam. It included economics and political points along with a few military units. Somehow i had met a teacher of a different highschool and played it with him for several weekends.
He provided naval rules for ship to ship combat. I started writing a fortran program in university to try and play the thing.
I noticed Stratego in about 74 at University. I created my own markers and added some unique troopers. Sgt and Leitenant Frog...which jumped in the lake and upon leaving the lake was a level higher. The sgt, lietenant and major Air also were a level higher upon parachuting back to ground. Timing was everything as the frog only had air to survive one turn in the water and the airmen could only stay in the air for 2 turns. Movement for airmen was a 4 square grid...landing in any chosen square. A special miner was also capable of "pushing" a special movable bomb as well. I cannot remember if normal miners could "pull" all bombs toward them or just the one movable bomb.
My next board game would likely have been Blitzkrieg about 1977 after i started work. One of my bosses owned it. I believe the canons did have range.
I think my next major game was SSI War in Europe. After 2 years of playing and planning for my offensive as the Russians, the german leader quit in disgust as he decided he did not like the air range rule(3 zones for all of Russia, North Africa, and Britain.
I had bought SSI War in the Pacific but never played it. I still have it. I had made up about 40 forms for keeping records of various aspects of the game.
Kampgruppe and Grigsby's Battle of Britain for the apple II, were among my first computer war games that i remember.
Tactics II first game. The best was Fire in the East, very detailed. HUGE play map. There was one called Kursk, I believe, that was a good one too. The map for Fire in the East was about 7x5 ft. Oh, too many to name. Battle of the Bulge was cool.
Originally posted by Svar My first wargame that also hooked me was Tactics II by Avalon Hill. The time was sometime in the mid 1950s. I had a version so old that the counters had designations like 1st Ar Div or 25th Inf Div but no symbols. Years later I was told that it was a collectors item and gave it to the person who told me. It was completely worn out by then.
I'm too young for this thread... Had Victory Games' (?) Pacific War and and some of those mammoth Europe games (that I never played). I think I also had Third Reich. All this in the early-mid 80s.
First game was "russian front" - AH i think.
the the series from Ah ? : Rommel (with tridimensional grid - a nightmare for supply, few troops - i still think this was a must), Sicily 43, east & west (bof), moscow, the one about Crusades (never played it) then THE REAL ones : Victory in the pacific by VG (one year wit the mpas under my bed for 6 days and out on sunday), Gettysburgh (20' time moves - took me 1 hour to play 20' of real time - never went beyond 2d day of battle). Last i bought is Tokyo Express someting like that - never played). oh and the Ambush series - great.
