Matrix Games Forums

Sad News

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Very much so. That's made me dig through my collection...

Click on Sad News to get the link.

In first post not this one.

Truly a giant in gaming . . . Man those SPI maps were a thing of beauty, couldn't wait to open up the game to look at the map and counters.

Man, time's really moving on. Kind of a young guy, too. RIP.

If not for RAS, I wonder if any of us would be here today on this forum, talking about playing War in the Pacific. He made this hobby....

ORIGINAL: dr. smith

Truly a giant in gaming . . . Man those SPI maps were a thing of beauty, couldn't wait to open up the game to look at the map and counters.

Yep. Even if I did not play the game for whatever reason I always checked out the maps and counters.

I subscribed to SPI as soon as i DEROS'd..Miss his great contributions..

ORIGINAL: irrelevant

If not for RAS, I wonder if any of us would be here today on this forum, talking about playing War in the Pacific. He made this hobby....

The hobby was well established before he bought into SPI. He was a mover and shaker but he hardly invented board wargaming.

SPI boardgames were the first wargames I ever played.

ORIGINAL: Drex

SPI boardgames were the first wargames I ever played.

For me it was Avalon Hill. Before that, toy soldiers on the floor.

Indeed sad news...

ORIGINAL: Tristanjohn

ORIGINAL: Drex

SPI boardgames were the first wargames I ever played.

For me it was Avalon Hill. Before that, toy soldiers on the floor.

I started with AH, about sixth grade, because that's what my best friend played, but I quickly moved to SPI. I felt that SPI's games were generally more interesting and in-depth; furthermore, they just plain "looked" military, with their flat-colored counters and maps, and text-only rule books with their precisely numbered paragraphs.

A tip of the hat and a shot of scotch to a man that filled many many many hours of some great war gaming time in mine and it sounds like our family here.[&o][&o][&o][&o]

Hi, SPI was my first as well. "War in Europe"

ORIGINAL: Tristanjohn

ORIGINAL: irrelevant

If not for RAS, I wonder if any of us would be here today on this forum, talking about playing War in the Pacific. He made this hobby....

The hobby was well established before he bought into SPI. He was a mover and shaker but he hardly invented board wargaming.

Didn't mean he invented it. SPI changed everything.

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, SPI was my first as well. "War in Europe"

Glad you started "small" [:D] A few times I spread out all the maps in WiE, never played the full blown war.

SPI may not have been the 1st, but Redmond & SPI took the hobby to new level in sharp colorful graphics, plus as Mog points out in scale. They created the Monster Game, of which WitP is but a derivative.

Hi, While SPI was around I bought everygame they published as soon as it hit the shelf in my local wargame shop. In fact there was a period when I was between tours in military where my apartment was above the shop and we pretty much played wargames around the clock.

I loved War in Europe, Terrible Swift Sword, Bloody April, Wellingtons Victory, Campaign for North Africa, War in the Pacific, Civil War, Whact am Rhein, and so on. I bought every game they made. Then TSR bought them.

ORIGINAL: Mogami

Hi, SPI was my first as well. "War in Europe"

Boy, you like jumping in the deep end, Mogami! WiE your first boardgame? WiE was great fun though. In one game our group got as far as the end of '43.

I also much preferred the 'look' of the SPI games over others such as Avalon Hill.