What got you started on this hobby?

[crsutton]

This.. A lot under the water since.

[Symon]

Started with the usual Tactics-2 thing. Didn't care much. In Texas, Scotty Bowden got me to paint up some 15mm Russians so he'd have somebody to play with. There was a 1/1200 naval game group at the gym at UTD. Always liked to play conflict simulations. Always had fun. Always knew it wasn't real. Ciao. JWE

[Feltan]

France 1940 by AH, circa 1972?

Followed by Panzer Blitz and then the monster games to include TSS and Wellington's Victory that lead into War in the East/West.

More hours on these games than anything else except perhaps sleeping.

Regards,
Feltan

[Trugrit]

Big B,

Same as you, I started with Marx plastic soldiers then played American Heritage Civil War with a neighbor kid until his dog chewed up the playing pieces.

Played Avalon Hill Kriegspiel in high school and that finally hooked me on wargames for good.
I think I still have it around here somewhere.

Kriegspiel was not a popular game at the time but I liked it. No dice and it had nuclear combat.
http://home.earthlink.net/~pdr4455/krieg.html

When I saw your post I thought you might be a long lost twin but I checked your website
And looks like you still have all your hair – so that rules you out as my brother.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: dr.hal

Midway by Avalon Hill, I remember my first game... I quickly sunk three Jap CLs and then proceeded to loose all my CVs... so much for my nautical prowess. Nothing seems to have changed for WITP AE.

I have their Guadalcanal release. I wish I still wanted to play it, but.... AE is just like it on steroids.

[geofflambert]

This isn't a hobby. This is WAR!

[spence]

Xmas presents of Waterloo (kid across the street) and UBoat (me) by Avalon Hill along with American Heritage Civil War (me) when I was around 12. Unfortunately it has seemed that the number of available opponents decreased as my age and number of wargames I owned increased for many years. Discovering play by email has been the greatest thing since sliced bread (over the last 10-12 years).

[sbetsa]

Pacific Theater of Operations for Nintendo NES, loved that game

[Chickenboy]

ORIGINAL: Big B

So what set you on course for this hobby?

Heroin, Nicotine, Alcohol and Absinthe weren't addictive enough. I apparently had way too much time on my hands. My career and family weren't a sufficient draw. God help me.

[;)]

[Lowpe]

Kids grew up and I stopped drinking so much. Only way I could find time to play this game. But, I am now reconsidering the drinking part. Might improve my play.

Risk/Stratego to Avalon Hill to C64 to DOS games to now.

[CaptDave]

Like some others, I started with chess, Stratego, and Risk -- but those aren't what I normally consider "wargames." I was introduced to the genre by my best friend, whose dad was a career Army officer. My favorite at the time was Kriegspiel (Republic of Red vs. United Black), but quickly graduated to Panzerblitz. We also played Guadalcanal in those days but we never really got into that one. Other AH games followed in rapid succession, and my favorite was Third Reich until I got a copy of Pacific War.

[ChuckBerger]

A friend of my father's game me a copy of Avalon Hill's "Luftwaffe" when I was about 9 or 10 years old. I don't think I ever learned to play it by the rules, I kind of just made up my own. It was soon followed by AH's "Flat Top", which I got closer to playing by the rules.

Then on to the GRD's "Europa" mega-board game, and SSG's computer games, especially the Battlefront series, Carriers at War, and Russia.

Every once in a while, I boot up "Russia" on a C64 emulator on my mac, and I swear it's still good fun!

[oaltinyay]

ORIGINAL: geofflambert


This isn't a hobby. This is WAR!

I can use this as a sig file

[HansBolter]

I guy I met in high school my junior year turned me on to serious wargaming.

My first game was Kreisspeil followed by Afrika Korps.

I really cut my teeth on Panzer Blitz though. Went on to play and own most of the popular and some of the obscure wargames of the 70s-80s-90s.

My collection of board waragmes is well over two hundred.

I actually started much earlier though on Milton Bradley games like Hit the Beach, Broadsides and Stratego.

Avalon Hill's Third Reich was the go to game for my local group for a good fifteen years.

[Herrbear]

Marx plastic soldiers and Avalon Hill D-Day game way back in 1960/61.

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: oaltinyay

ORIGINAL: geofflambert


This isn't a hobby. This is WAR!

I can use this as a sig file

oaltinyay, are you Welsh? I'm only half gorn, the other half is Welsh on my mother's side. Family name Esaias. Do you have your command center in an abandoned coal mine er bunker?

[dr.hal]

Are there any real YOUNG people on this forum that started playing wargames like LAST year and discovered WITP???? Almost all the folks I see on this list started in boardgames from the 60/70s like me....

[geofflambert]

ORIGINAL: dr.hal

Are there any real YOUNG people on this forum that started playing wargames like LAST year and discovered WITP???? Almost all the folks I see on this list started in boardgames from the 60/70s like me....

You're right, I said I was half Welsh but I'm actually Precambrian.

[rustysi]

Avalon Hill's Third Reich

One of my favorite games. Wish I could find someone to play locally.

[johng5155]

Marx toy soldiers, starting with the "Blue and Gray Battle Set", but what really got me hooked was Seapower naval miniature rules and Superior 1/1200 lead ships from Alnavco. By 6th grade my best friend and I were amassing fleets for battle on the living room floor. We started with a DE each (it was all we could afford). My first battleship was the Littorio, he got the Iowa. It did not go well.