Map and Counters

JUST A REMINDER

It doesn't seem possible, but John Kranz and company's 2012 Consimworld Expo/Monstergame.Con XII will begin only one short month from today. On June 25^th, gamers from all over the world will again congregate at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in (very) sunny Tempe, Arizona, for an action-packed week (25 June to 1 July, 2012) of both organized and "open" gaming, playtest sessions, designer seminars, new game launches, and other hobby-related special events. In short, Expo 2012 promises to be a great opportunity, as it has in years past, for both new gamers and old to gather together in a celebration of the hobby of wargaming.


Speaking for myself, I am happy to report that this year's convention will be very different from last year's. In 2011, a combination of poor health and transportation problems limited my convention participation to that mainly of a "neutral" observer; in contrast, this year, I fully expect to be busy playing games and blogging at the Tempe Mission Palms from the first day of the Consimworld Expo to the last.

For those readers who continue to "sit on the fence", there is still plenty of time to make arrangements to attend this year's Expo; and for those of my readers who are planning to make the trek to Tempe this June, I invite you to look me up when you get to the convention site. Who knows, if your gaming interests include the Avalon Hill and SPI classics, we may even find the time to play a game or two.

To find out more about CSW Expo 2012/MonsterGame.Con XII, or to register online for this year’s convention, visit the website: http://expo.consimworld.com/

Because I have been embroiled for the last few months in several PBeM tournaments — while, I should note, also trying both to write for this blog and to conduct several informal online tutorials on the Avalon Hill "classics" — I am posting this convention reminder a bit later than is my usual custom. Nonetheless, although the 2012 World Boardgaming Championships Convention is fast approaching, there are still over ninety days remaining before this year’s “DonCon” (which, including associated Pre-Cons, will run from July 28^th through August 5^th), actually gets under way in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Hence, for those readers who still haven't made up their minds about attending this year's WBC Convention, there is still plenty of time to make travel and hotel arrangements if they ultimately do decide to make the trek to Lancaster this summer.

The 2012 WBC Tournament Convention kicks off on the weekend of 28 July with a host of old and new Pre-Con offerings for those dedicated attendees who plan on arriving at the Lancaster Host (the WBC hotel and convention center) a few days before the BPA-sponsored Convention’s formal start date of 30 July 2012. Among the popular titles that are now part of the regular early-bird events in this year’s Pre-Convention line-up are long-time favorites: AXIS & ALLIES, 1830, and THE AGE OF RENAISSANCE. What these relatively recent additions (they were first introduced two years ago) mean for this year’s Pre-Con players is that early arrivals will now have the opportunity to compete in almost twenty different titles, and to do so days before the formal tournament schedule actually begins. [There are even rumors floating around that Bruno Sinigaglio and Don Greenwood are contemplating the temporary addition of Avalon Hill’s venerable old classic, 'STALINGRAD', to the collection of Pre-Con offerings in time both for the 2013 WBC Convention and the game's 50^th anniversary]. All in all, if high-quality and congenial competitive play is one’s goal, both the Pre-Con and regular convention events should make for an action-packed nine days in Lancaster.

For attendees who choose to skip the Pre-Cons, the regular gaming schedule will again include over one hundred titles (the WBC "Century"). Thus, stalwarts like CIRCUS MAXIMUS, SQUAD LEADER, and MERCHANT OF VENUS — which have been standard Convention fare since 1991 — will be back again this year; however, these long-time favorites will be joined by newer, more recent game additions — the selection of which is based, it should be noted, on the preferences of the previous year's convention-goers — such as BRASS, KUTUZOV, DOMINANT SPECIES, and COMBAT COMMANDER. And, as in years past, those players who want to take a short (or not so short) break from gaming (whether tournament or "open") will also be able to attend various hobby-related seminars, new product introductions, play-test sessions, and the not-to-be-missed annual game auction.

One especially convenient ongoing feature of the WBC gathering in Lancaster, particularly given how expensive games have become in recent years, is the Convention's "game lending library". This free service is made possible by the different game manufacturers who support and attend the convention every year, and represents a "no risk" opportunity for interested convention-goers to temporarily check out and play a particular title before actually deciding whether or not to plonk their hard-earned money down to buy a copy for themselves.

Happily, unlike last year, family and health issues WILL NOT keep me from travelling to this year’s Convention. That being said, I want to take this opportunity to wish all of the other convention-goers who will be attending this annual summer gathering of wargamers from around the world an enjoyable and safe convention holiday. For those gamers who are making the trip to Lancaster for the first time, the WBC Convention — in my opinion, at least — is one of the best-run and most enjoyable board game tournaments held anywhere. Then again, after more than two decades of hands-on experience, it should probably come as no surprise that Don Greenwood’s dedicated Boardgame Players Association (BPA) team does a great job, year after year, in organizing and running this tournament convention. Because of this, I am confident that every one of the visitors attending the 2012 WBC Convention, whether for their very first or for their twenty-second time, will enjoy a fabulous seven to nine days of gaming in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country.

Finally, I am especially glad that, after having been obliged to miss the last few WBC Conventions, I will be returning to Lancaster and the "cardboard" wars again this year; and, depending on how my "trial run" at the 2012 Consimworld Expo works out, I may even try to combine "live-blogging" with my usual batch of other Convention activities this summer. And, on the subject of "blogging": since I'm going to be at this year's "DonCon" from beginning to end, I would like invite any of my readers who will also be at the Lancaster Host, and who are interested in chatting, to look me up (I'll probably be spending most of my time in Bruno's Grognard gaming section, so I should be easy to find); on the other hand, if, for some reason our paths don't cross in Lancaster, I still want to wish good luck and good gaming to you all.

For information about this and other BPA (Boardgame Players Association) sponsored events, please visit the BPA website.

This year, the Cardboard Wars in Tempe, Arizona will begin on June 25^th and run through July 1^st, 2012

Last year, as long-time visitors to "Map and Counters" may remember, a lack of advance planning and unexpected health problems conspired to keep me from actively participating in the many exciting events that were offered By Kranz and company at the 2011 Consimworld Expo. Thus, instead of a week of non-stop wargaming, designer seminars, play test sessions, and other hobby-related activities, I ended up having to settle for a couple of hours — spread over three different days — spent mainly quietly observing others (the lucky sods) having a great time. Needless-to-say, this experience left me both disappointed and frustrated, and I vowed that, come next year, I would not allow my CSW Expo 2012 convention plans to be derailed as those for 2011 had been.

Of course, intentions are one thing, but actions are quite another; for that reason, I am happy to report that — barring some completely unforeseen occurrence — it looks like all of the necessary arrangements have now been made for me to attend the entire Consimworld event, from the first day to the last. This is particularly gratifying because this year I plan on doing something that I have never done before: "live blog" my experiences while I am actually at the convention. And if this approach works out at least moderately well at this year's CSW Expo, then I may even try it when I attend the World Boardgaming Championships Convention in Lancaster, later this summer. In the meantime, I want to invite any of my readers who are planning on attending this year's CSW Expo to look me up. Speaking for myself, I know that I would be delighted to at long last have the chance to meet some of my blog's long-time visitors, face-to-face; who knows, we may even be able to get in a "classic" game or two.

It’s hard to believe, but winter is limping to an end and it will soon be that time of year again. What time of year, you ask? Why, CSW Expo time, of course. On June 25^th, the first convention arrivals will kick-off the early festivities at what will be — in my view, at least — one of the most enjoyable and unique wargaming events of the coming year: Consimworld Expo 2012. This year’s convention is the direct descendant of MonsterGame.Con which, thanks mainly to the vision and hard work of John Kranz, first opened its doors in 2001. And after more than a decade of event additions and enhancements, this once-a-year gathering has become a truly must-attend event with some of the best and most affable players from all over the country, along with some of the leading figures in simulation design, all coming together for this week-long celebration of the wargaming hobby. The CSW Expo is still hosted by John Kranz and company; and convention attendees, as they have in years past, will again meet in the heart of the Old West at the luxurious Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, in Tempe, Arizona.

The feature which really sets the CSW Expo/MonsterGame.Cons apart from other wargaming conventions is that, along with presenting its participants with a bevy of traditional game-related activities, it also opens up unique opportunities for interested convention-goers to compete face-to-face in their favorite monster game titles, both old and new. Moreover, in addition to providing attendees with a rare chance to indulge in six and a half days of non-stop monster gaming, Expo 2012 will also provide attendees with, among other things, prize tournaments, game demonstrations and play-test sessions for new titles, seminars with well-known hobby personalities, a game auction, flea markets, breakfast-meeting speakers and After Action Reports, and even door prizes. Thus, when all is said and done, participants’ options at this year’s CSW convention — whatever their individual gaming interests — will be limited only by their personal tastes, the number of hours in the day, and by their own stamina. Hence, in spite of the CSW convention’s long-time support for monster games and monster game fans, competitive play at Expo 2012 will not be focused exclusively or even predominately on “super-sized” games. And although many players do make the annual pilgrimage to the Consimworld Expo/MonsterGame.Con specifically because of the unique opportunity it affords them to actually play, rather than — as is too often the case — simply admire their favorite "super-sized" games, almost half of the Expo’s attendees will, if previous conventions are any guide, spend most, if not all, of their competitive “table time” at open-gaming in the several excellent (comfortable and well-lit) playing venues set aside specifically for this purpose.

Tempe Mission Palms

Finally, it is also probably worth noting that this summer’s gaming at the Tempe Mission Palms will not be restricted only to traditional “map and counter” conflict simulations. Quite the contrary, dozens and dozens of old and new titles (from CDG, to “block”, to Euro-style) will — as they have in years past — all be a part of this year’s CSW Expo experience. This means that the convention is both large enough and varied enough to offer players a broad menu of both conflict simulations and multi-player social gaming that — new attendees will quickly discover — should suit virtually any visitor’s taste in games. Nor is the convention aimed strictly at long-time (hard-core) participants in the hobby. Instead, players who make the trek to Arizona this coming summer will find that there are abundant opportunities for the young and not-so-young, and for both inexperienced and seasoned players to enjoy their favorite titles in a matchless gaming environment.

The CSW Expo only comes around once a year; so, if you can possibly find a way to get to Tempe during the last week of June, I strongly recommend that you do so. Of course, I may be a little biased since the convention site is only a thirty-minute drive from my house. Nonetheless, if you enjoy both congenial company and lots of gaming, I'm pretty much convinced that you won’t be able to avoid having a great time.

To find out more about CSW Expo 2012/MonsterGame.Con XII, or to register online for this year’s convention, visit the website: http://expo.consimworld.com/

Although I have, in previous posts, already detailed my reasons for believing that the best games from the "Golden Age" of wargaming, the so-called 'classics', continue to have relevance and value today — both to the broader hobby, and to individual gamers — I thought that I would revisit this topic again; especially since my recent essays on STALINGRAD bring to light precisely those "historical" issues that — in my view, at least — are most worth discussing. This time, however, I have chosen to take a slightly different approach to my subject and to stress, not just the appeal of these early titles as the highly playable, yet challenging games that they are, but also to point to the large body of expert lore — in the form of countless articles on strategy, tactics, and player psychology, among other things — that have attached to them since their first appearance, decades ago. No contemporary design, because of the present-day glut of new game releases will, I believe, ever be able to match the 'classics' when it comes to the quantity and quality of the analysis that has been lavished on them (often by some very smart people) over the years. And this factor alone, I submit, makes them unique among all of the many, many titles currently available to gamers today.

INTRODUCTION

After finally getting around to posting a couple of new game-related pieces on my blog, I decided to go back and review them both on the chance that I might want to do a little post-publication editing. Unfortunately, instead of finding a few small edits, I came away with the strong impression that, in my hurry to get my first couple of "STALINGRAD Notebook" essays written and published, I had neglected to make the case as to why I believe that the Avalon Hill classics (along with a number of other publishers' older titles) deserve a place in the game collections not just of long-time gamers like me, but in those of less-seasoned players as well. In addition, it also struck me that I had skipped over a significant part of the the intriguing, if dimly-remembered, Avalon Hill classics back story. This essay aims to rectify those lapses. And if the points I intend to raise are already at least vaguely familiar (as they doubtless are) to the grognards who regularly visit this site, I still think that the following discussion will be helpful to those players who have only recently developed an interest in these classic Avalon Hill titles from a simpler, less "frenzied" era. That being said, I hope that both veteran and newer players will find this short retrospective both interesting and thought-provoking.

THE CASE FOR THE CLASSICS

For many of us who have been active in the board wargaming hobby pretty much from its beginning, the early Avalon Hill classics — games like D-DAY (1961), WATERLOO (1962), STALINGRAD (1963), AFRIKA KORPS, MIDWAY (1964), and BATTLE OF THE BULGE (1965) — will probably always occupy a special place both in our personal recollections of our early days of gaming, and in our current game libraries. For my own part, except for D-DAY and BULGE '65, neither of which I have played in ten or more years, I still try to revisit the other Avalon Hill classics as frequently as possible, both in face-to-face competition and in PBeM play. Of course, in the case of AFRIKA KORPS and WATERLOO, this really isn't all that difficult to accomplish: both of these titles, although more than four decades old, are still featured as tournament options — thanks to the scores of players who show up, every year, to compete in Bruno Sinagaglio's Grognards Pre-Con — at the World Boardgaming Championships (WBC) Convention in Lancaster, PA. Moreover, MIDWAY, old as it is, still enjoys a reputation among many long-time gamers (myself included) as being one of the most accessible and yet best historical simulations ever published on the decisive carrier battle that turned the tide against Japan in the Pacific War.

New Games versus Old 'Standbys'

Time, sadly enough, has not treated STALINGRAD or its Western Front counterpart, D-DAY, nearly as kindly as it has some of the other Avalon Hill classics. The proliferation of newer, better (read: more realistic) simulations dealing with the War in the East (starting with some of the earliest offerings from SPI and GDW), and the flashier, more sophisticated simulations of Operation "Overlord" that have appeared since D-DAY first saw print in 1961, have steadily drawn more and more of the older games' original players away, never to return. However, the fact that both STALINGRAD and D-DAY have managed — in spite of their dated graphics and obvious flaws as simulations — to hold onto an international cadre of loyal fans right up to the present is actually rather remarkable, especially since the popularity of both games was severely damaged by their almost complete disappearance from the tournament circuit ever since the debut of John Edwards' action-packed double-whammy, THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN (TRC) followed by FORTRESS EUROPA (FE), both in the late 1970's (the Jedco vesion of FE was published in 1978; the AH version in 1980). This is actually too bad because, although I personally like a number of the games that have taken their places, including TRC and FE; when it comes to simpler, uncluttered wargame designs that, nonetheless, reward precise play and strategic (multi-turn) planning, D-DAY and STALINGRAD are both solid, reliably entertaining games. And on those occasions that I find myself in the mood to play a truly chess-like wargame, I will still, more often than not, reach for my copy of STALINGRAD because — at least in my view — it continues to have few equals in this regard, even now.

So, Who Still Plays the Classics, Anyway?

Unfortunately, just because a game is both challenging and enjoyable is no guarantee that it will retain a following among gamers over time. New titles constantly appear and players' tastes change. In the "good old days", everyone knew how to play the same games because, frankly, there just weren't that many titles to choose from. In contrast, when we look around our game-cluttered hobby today, it seems to be virtually impossible to find, at least on an ad-hoc basis, opponents who are well-versed in almost any of the more recent game releases. Except for their development teams and play-testers, who ever really plays these brand new titles frequently enough to truly master them? [The recent experiences of a seasoned player I know hammers this point home nicely: while at PrezCon, he at last found the opportunity to play a new East Front game that he had been wanting to try for some months. As things turned out, because of a fairly loose convention schedule, he ended up playing the game three different times and, as is usually the case in these situations, felt that, not only had he enjoyed himself enormously, but he had also learned something substantial about the game system and its rhythms with each replaying. Unfortunately, once the convention ended, the new game, he noted regretfully, would go back into its box; and by the time someone finally got around to developing an online platform for the game on VASSAL, Cyberboard, or Zun Tzu, he was pretty sure that he would have probably long since moved on to some other title. Nor is the experience of this player — who, I should add, has decades in the hobby — at all unique.] This situation is, and has long been, a source of frustration to me; and, as my conversations with other gamers have revealed, to many others in the hobby as well. Which is not to say, by the way, that a determined player can not, with a little bit of effort (thank Heavens for the internet!), track down an opponent with similar gaming tastes; but only that, in spite of all of the people currently active in the hobby, it is surprisingly difficult to find, in any randomly-selected pair, two individuals who are comfortably familiar with any, much less several of the same games. For old-timers like me, this is a bit vexing because, while I continue to try out those newer releases that genuinely interest me, I also still enjoy playing many of the older titles in my collection. Thus, it should come as no surprise that, along with some of the newer games currently on the market, there are — as already noted — a number of early Avalon Hill (and SPI titles, for that matter) that I and others I know still like enough to play. Unfortunately, given the proliferation of competing titles available to players nowadays, I am only too well aware of the fact that, were I to suggest one of these older games for a "pick-up" match with the typical attendee at most of today's regularly-held wargame conventions, I would most likely get a puzzled look followed by a polite, but firm "no thanks". Time, as they say, marches on.

In one sense, I suppose, it is reassuring that at least a few of the "old" standbys have managed to hang on as long as they have. Hence, in spite of everything, classic games like STALINGRAD, AFRIKA KORPS, WATERLOO, and MIDWAY still retain, as pointed out previously, the loyalty of a dedicated, even if relatively small, pool of gamers. I think one reason for this is that, despite their crude graphics and simple design platforms, these games still present their fans with interesting and often truly taxing strategic and tactical problems. In addition, however, I suspect that there may be another less-obvious explanation for some of these classics' long-term staying power; one that derives, oddly enough, not so much from the innate qualities of the games themselves, but from the early (and downright odd) Avalon Hill business practice of only publishing one or two wargames a year. This assertion, I know, probably sounds a little strange, so permit me to explain.

If You Play the Same Game Over and Over Again, You're Bound to Get Better, Right?

What I mean by the closing statement in the preceding paragraph is that, because there was such a paucity of wargames available to players in the early days of the hobby, gamers tended to lavish an unbelievable amount of time — it helped that quite a few of us were students in those days — playing, analyzing, and fiddling with the small number of titles that actually were available. Not all of these repeated trips to the game table, of course, produced improvements in play. Like the old saying suggests: "A person can have ten years' experience, or they can one year's experience, ten times". Some players actually gained deeper insight into, and appreciation for, the games they were experimenting with in the course of their repeated play-throughs; other gamers, in contrast, appeared to benefit from their multiple gaming sessions — in the immortal words of Borat — "not so much"; which is to say: the more some individuals played the same games, the more they tended to lock themselves into rigid — and often not very effective — theories about the game. Nonetheless, as time went on, a few innovative gaming "pioneers" came to be generally recognized as experts in their specialties: for example, George Phillies and Dave Roberts in STALINGRAD; Omar DeWitt and Jonathon Lockwood in AFRIKA KORPS; Harley Anton in WATERLOO, and William Searight and Harold Totten in MIDWAY. And, of course, when you have experts, it is only a matter of time before you can expect to see expert opinions. Thus, the result of this increased strategic and tactical expertise was that games like WATERLOO, AFRIKA KORPS, MIDWAY, and STALINGRAD — because gamers tend to be a loquacious bunch — gradually came to generate a voluminous amount of print in the hobby press. Of course, not all of the early articles published on these titles were particularly useful (it should be noted that the early, semi-amateur wargame magazines often left a lot to be desired), but as my friend and GBACW expert, Russ Gifford, pointed out to me awhile back, by the early 70's, the quality of the game analysis finding its way into print had improved dramatically. The most obvious effect of this phenomenon was that the level of play associated with these titles, especially in tournament competition, improved noticeably. On the down-side, thanks to the steady flow of insightful gaming articles and the proliferation of wargame conventions (and their accompanying tournaments), the scourge of both the social and the casual gamer — the convention attendee who specialized in only one or two titles: the "tournament shark", as it were — came into being.

No Pain, No Gain

Now, if we fast forward to the present, the cumulative effect of the reams of expert commentary — along with the game lore that has evolved as a result of decades of play — together have combined to discourage more than a few otherwise interested players from trying any of the older Avalon Hill games: they know only too well that they will be at a pronounced disadvantage if they go up against a veteran classics player, and they would just as soon avoid what will almost certainly be a frustrating and disappointing outcome. This trepidation on the part of less-experienced gamers when it comes to games like STALINGRAD, AFRIKA KORPS, or WATERLOO is perfectly understandable; after all, almost no one wants to sit down at a game table knowing that they will have little, if any, chance of winning. Nonetheless, when it comes to the Avalon Hill classics (and some of the early SPI games, as well), I think that this quite understandable attitude actually ignores a major benefit of playing with a more experienced, more knowledgeable opponent; and that is the opportunity to learn something valuable about the game being played and, in the process, improve one's own abilities as a player. This, as regular readers of my blog will already know, is an argument that I make to new players, both face-to-face and in print, with monotonous regularity. [In my own defense, Dr. Frank Luntz, in "Words That Work", argues that repetition is the key to any successful messaging.] Whether Luntz' advice actually works or not, I still believe that while playing with opponents who are less skillful when one is starting to learn a game may massage one's ego, it will virtually never improve a player's understanding of the subtleties and nuances of a game. Drawing from my own painful experience, as someone who has lost more matches than I can count, both my understanding of a game (any game) and my skills as a player have vitually always improved as a result of competition with better, more experienced adversaries. In my early days in the hobby, I rarely won, but I learned an awful lot, and, happily enough, I also collected a load of interesting game-related stories and anecdotes along the way to go with my various matches. Moreover and somewhat unexpectedly, I have found that mastery of the classics tends to have a beneficial spill-over effect when it comes to other unrelated games. This is not to say that a deeper understanding of the flow and tempo of WATERLOO, for instance, will make you a better SETTLERS OF CATAAN player; on the other hand, it just might make you a more formidable NAPOLEON'S LAST BATTLES player.

Why Settle for Being a 1-1-6, When You Could Be a 7-7-10?

One fundamental difference that I believe separates at least some newer players from the grognard community, is the mistrust and even distaste that this group of younger gamers tends to show for game lore and for published articles on game analysis and theory. Games, these newer voices say, are supposed to be fun, and formal discussions on strategy, on tactics, or on efective lines of play, in their view, completely take the fun out of gaming. This attitude among younger players, by the way, is not nearly as unusual as one might think, and it crops up in the most unexpected situations. I remember, for example, an early-round AFRIKA KORPS tournament game at the annual WBC convention some years ago; this particular match has stayed with me because I think that it perfectly illustrates this all too common attitude among some (but, certainly not all) of the younger players in the hobby. My college-age opponent, who I had not met prior to our match, but who seemed amiable enough, volunteered, as we were getting started, that AFRIKA KORPS was his favorite game and that this was his first tournament ever. Given the gap in our repective experience levels, I suggested that we skip the regular "bidding" for sides and that he could just have his choice. This was a big relief, he explained as he picked the Axis, because he wasn't really sure how the "bidding" process even worked. With sides selected, each of us took our respective seats, and since the game board had been set-up in advance, we were able to start play almost immediately.

My young adversary opened by dispatching his Italians tramping up the Coast Road, while the 21^st Panzer Division, along with Rommel and his single supply counter, were all sent racing due east across the desert. This, he informed me, was a new opening move for the Germans that he had only recently hit upon. As gently as I could, I explained that his opening move actually wasn't all that new, and that there was even a name for it: the "DAK". "After all," I continued, "the game has been around almost fifty years; it only makes sense that, in all that time, there has probably been very little that hasn't been tried by somebody, somewhere, at some time or other." He seemed genuinely surprised by this but — once I had completed my part of the first turn — reacted with seeming unconcern to the Commonwealth countermove, which was to send units both to seal the pass at N19 and to block the Italians on the Via Balbia. Although this British move is usually enough to force the German's to abandon the "DAK", my opponent seemed oblivious to the difficulties he was getting into and, leaving the Italians to await help from the incoming 15^th Panzer Division, continued his run east with Rommel, the 21^st Panzer, and what was now his second supply counter. This, as those who are familiar with the game will know, was a mistake. Although both quite intimidating at first glance, the threats posed by a single unsupported panzer division (with or without supply) and by the "recce down and out" are both comparatively easy for the Commonwealth player to thwart. So, it was not surprising that within a turn or two, the Germans' eastern drive sputtered to a halt. Unfortunately for Rommel, by the time he had decided to give up on the raid against the Allied Home Base, the British June reinforcements had arrived, and the July reinforcements (with their single dangerous "recce") were just around the corner. It was pretty much all downhill from there for the Axis; and the game, much to my dismay, was pretty quickly over.

I use the word "dismay" because, much as I enjoy the prospect of beating one of my fellow grognards like a "rented mule", I actually hate to trounce a younger classics player: new "recruits" that show an inclination to join the grognard ranks are hard to find, and I really don't like to turn an interested player off one of the classics before they have really even had a chance to learn it properly. In any case, as we went about the process of returning the game pieces to their starting positions, I complimented him on the game and then suggested that he might find it useful to consult some of the many excellent articles on different aspects of AFRIKA KORPS play that have appeared, over the years, in past issues of The General. His response to this, however, took me completely by surprise.

"Naw," my opponent replied, "I never read those kinds of  "perfect plan" strategy articles; I think they're lame. Besides," he continued, "using that kind of 'how to' stuff from other people would really take the fun out of the game for me: I like to use my own ideas and intuition rather than borrow someone else's." I was momentarily speechless and after shaking hands good-bye, glanced over at one of my friends (another old-timer) who was still involved in his own AK game a couple of feet away; he looked back at me, and, without saying a word, briefly rolled back his eyes. A few minutes later, having completed his move, my friend motioned for me to join him outside. As soon as we got outdoors, he looked at me and shook his head; it was clear that he was still thinking about my young opponent. "Why," he asked rhetorically, "would anyone want to be a 1-1-6 in a tournament world full of 7-7-10's?" I had no ready answer for him then, and I still don't. Why indeed?

CONCLUSION

The author mulls over an Afrika Korps move at WBC 2008 while a smiling (and winning) Bert Schoose looks on

In the end, of course, each player will approach wargaming with his or her own set of preferences and biases. I know that many current players prefer recently-published titles in which the turn-to-turn play tends to be spontaneous and free-wheeling, as well as being relatively unburdened by pre-existing game lore; that is: games in which no player is likely to have a significant advantage in either experience or in skill over that of their most likely opponents. On one level — that is: purely in terms of casual recreation — I can certainly understand the appeal of this approach to gaming; however, it is not now, nor has it ever  been my own. Speaking purely for myself, I play wargames for one of two reasons: when it comes to "serious" historical simulations, I play because I want to understand the central themes that the designer presents as being critical to the game narrative that he is trying to depict; in the case of less rigorously-detailed games (e.g., games like WAGRAM, CAULDRON, AFRIKA KORPS or STALINGRAD), these titles I play because I want to test my own understanding of the game (that is: its basic structural underpinnings, its dynamics of play, and its underlying rhythms) against that of my opponent. In both cases, I have found that — for me, at least — the higher the skill level of my adversary, the more enjoyable the entire gaming experience becomes. Call me old-fashioned, but, given my druthers, I would still much prefer to face a seasoned expert in an old Avalon Hill or SPI classic, than a fellow novice in a brand new release. And it is this feature of the classics — for me, at least — that represents their greatest advantage over most contemporary titles when it comes to the realm of competitive play. When I take my seat across the game table from another grognard to fight it out in one of the classics, I can pretty much bet that I will be in for a hard-fought, expertly-played game; perhaps, I'm being unfair, but I cannot think of a single contemporary title about which I can say the same thing.

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• A Few Thoughts About Online Gaming
• A Personal Aside on the Old and New Faces in Wargaming

Loyal visitors to "Map and Counters" will, I have no doubt, already be aware of the fact that it has been over a month since my last blog post. In my own defense, I have endeavored to keep up with reader comments, but these occassional entries have been the extent of my recent contributions to my blog. This has been an ongoing bother to me, particularly since one of the things that I most pride myself on (it certainly isn't my skill as a wordsmith) is my ability to crank out fresh and original material on a fairly regular basis. In any case, I thought that it might just be time for me to offer a brief, but patently self-serving explanation for this unusually long period of inactivity.

What is odd, especially given the events of this past summer, is that I have really had no significant disruptions to my schedule during the last month or so: which is to say, I have had no new health or computer issues to interfere with my blogging. In point of fact, my (admittedly lame) excuse for being so slow in publishing new posts is a simple one: in spite of my having been writing pretty steadily throughout the period in question, I have somehow managed to run afoul of a couple of my own self-imposed guidelines when it comes to posting new articles on my blog. What I mean by this is that, although I have more-or-less completed a book review on Thomas Packenham's excellent and highly readable "The Boer War", and have another piece on John Keegan's workmanlike but surprisingly affecting "The First World War" nearing the finish line, I have no plans to post either review in the near term because, as a long-standing personal rule, I never publish book reviews back-to-back. Thus, I actually do have new material to post, but it probably won't be going up for awhile. The real culprit in all this, and the main reason for my long delay, is that I have allowed myself to become completely blocked by the follow-up installment in my new set of classics-based essays, "The 'STALINGRAD' Notebook". What had appeared — at least when I started this second entry in the series — to be a relatively uncomplicated gaming retrospective on a long-time favorite of mine has grown "tribble-like" in scope and length until I have finally been forced to split it into several separate essays. That being said, I am happy to report that, barring the unforeseen, I should finally be able to wind things up with this minor opus in the next day or two.

And now for something completely different ...

One of the odd little ironies that I have encountered in my ongoing role as a blogger on wargames and wargaming is that I rarely seem anymore to have the opportunity to actually play wargames. Most of my long-time hobby friends and regular PBeM opponents seem, like me, to be bogged down most of the time with the mundane but unceasing demands of everyday life. Moreover, since I detest air travel, I seldom make the cross-country trek back to the WBC or PrezCon conventions, much as I like both events; Origins, I should note, was scratched from my personal convention list a long, long time ago. That, of course, still leaves the Consimworld Expo/Monster Con convention in Tempe; and, as I have already promised John Kranz, I expect to attend every day of the 2012 convention — although I am still undecided as to whether I will attempt to "live-blog" next year's event.

So why, it is reasonable to ask, do I bother to bring up the topic of my personal gaming or lack thereof, at all? The short answer is that, for the first time in years, I will be playing a set of PBeM STALINGRAD matches with a new opponent who is also one of my regular readers. And while it is still early days in our first game, my adversary has informed me that he hopes to post screen shots, at some point in the future, from our matches (we are playing using the Zun Tzu game platform) on the Consimworld STALINGRAD forum. Based on my previous experiences with these sorts of projects, I am only too well aware that a lot can happen to scuttle plans like these. However, if these graphics-based "After Action Reports" actually end up being posted, I will provide a link from "Map and Counters" to the hosting site along with a brief bit of commentary on each of the displayed moves. So stay tuned; I hope to have more on this project as time goes on.

Thoughts About "DonCons" Past, Present, and Future

This past Sunday, August 7^th, was the final day of the 2011 WBC Convention; and, I confess that a wave of nostalgia washed over me as I watched the minutes slowly tick by on Sunday morning. Assuming this year's convention followed the same course as those of the recent past, I knew that things would probably limp along to a close for the last die-hard attendees by about noon. In my mind's eye I could see the main gaming areas, no longer teaming with attendees, but with a few isolated pockets of players here and there still surrounded by the signs, "kiosks", and other paraphernalia left over from the convention. By mid-morning, of course, the hotel staff would begin the process of tearing down and stacking the banquet tables and chairs that had, only hours before, been the focus of days of intense gaming activity. A few players, I was sure, would hang on to the absolute bitter end: I well know the urgency felt by many of those last few convention holdouts as they desperately tried to get in just one more game before packing up and beginning their individual journeys home. I know all this, in spite of the fact that I was unable to attend this year's gathering in Lancaster, because my own convention-going experiences have all followed pretty much the same general pattern over the years: exultation and excitement upon first arriving at the convention site; but then followed by a gradual and inexorable (day-by-day) slide into an unshakable funk by the morning of the last day. The experiences of other wargamers may vary (particularly for those who attend more than one or two conventions a year), but that is the way it has always been for me; and I really don't expect it to change.

Before there can be a last day for a convention, of course, there must also be a first. And the first day of a well-run wargame convention is one of those few happy experiences that, at least for me, never diminishes in its excitement no matter how many times it is repeated. In that sense, I suppose, the first emotional response that I get upon arriving at a convention site is more than a bit like the anticipation that Christmas morning holds for children; the difference is that, as the years have passed, holidays mean less and less to me, but the thrill of walking into the hosting site's lobby and seeing the other gamers (friends and strangers, alike) queueing up to register just never loses its appeal. I personally hate crowds; but this is perhaps the only crowd that I actually enjoy mixing with. In any case, after check-in is completed, there follows the rapid trek to one's hotel room; the hurried unpacking of clothes and games; and then, most satisfying of all, the short but intense internal debate as to which games to bring along, and which to leave behind, before dashing off to the gaming areas. Even for an old grognard like me, it just doesn't get any better than that!

My old friend, Greg Smith plays Afrika Korps.

Nowadays, most tournament-style conventions, besides being longer (which is good), tend to schedule many of their most important events on the last few days (usually Friday and Saturday) of their tournament calendars; from an organizational standpoint, this makes perfect sense. Nonetheless, it is invariably the first few days of a convention, and not the climactic last few, that I tend to enjoy the most. During those hectic first hours, there are lots of things to do and yet no real pressure to actually get anything specific done. Thus, there is ample time to try new games, to renew old wargaming bonds, to play that neglected onetime favorite that has been gathering dust for years; and, at the end of each busy and (hopefully) enjoyable day, to celebrate one's wins and losses with a convivial drink or two in the hotel bar with both old and new wargaming friends. As one old wargaming friend (and a fellow Vietnam vet) once observed: "Wargame conventions are a lot like R&R trips, but without any of the latter's language issues or manic debauchery."

Vince Meconi and Andy Choptiany play War at Sea.

From mid-week on, things begin to pick up their pace. For old line tournament "sharks" like me, this is the period during which we tend to "pull out the stops" in an effort to gain a quarter-finals slot in one or more of our tournaments of choice. This is also usually the last chance for a player to change course and enter a new event if things haven't panned out in one or more of our various specialties. For my own part, I usually try to gain one of the play-off slots in WATERLOO and AFRIKA KORPS; however, if time permits, I also usually try to compete (at least for the first couple of rounds) in the WAR AT SEA tournament. And, of course, there are always those conventions in which things simply don't work out as planned. Speaking for myself, in more than a few instances, I can remember sitting down to games as diverse as ATTACK SUB, BREAKOUT: NORMANDY, CIRCUS MAXIMUS, and VICTORY IN THE PACIFIC after being knocked-out of my first-choice tournaments during the early qualifying rounds. I guess, when it comes to my own tournament gaming, I tend to do what the lyrics from the old Pop standard suggest: "If you can't be with the one you love; love the one you're with."

Don Greenwood, the WBC Convention Organizer.

When the last day of a really enjoyable convention finally arrives, it is always (for me, at least) a real "downer". Some of this, I suspect, derives from the tedious necessity of packing up, checking out of one's hotel room, and of confirming final travel arrangements for the impending trip home. Part of the cause of this last-minute case of melancholy, however, comes from the realization that the convention's remaining life can now be counted in minutes and hours, and no longer in days. To return to my earlier "Christmas" analogy: The last few hours of a convention remind me of that time on Christmas Day, after all the presents have been exchanged and opened, when it is finally time to clear away the wrapping paper and other jumble from under the tree -- a task that inevitably reminds everyone present that another Christmas morning has come and then too speedily gone. On the bright side, for me at least, is the knowledge that this momentary bout of depression always passes quickly; and by the time I board the train for Philadelphia (many attendees, myself included, fly into Philadelphia and then take the train to Lancaster) I inevitably find my mood lifting as I begin to plan for my return the following year. And happily, for those gamers who were able to attend this year's convention, and even for those, like me, who were not, there's always the promise of next year.