Wargames

My family played games. Lots of games, all the time. From Chutes and Ladders and Candyland to Monopoly, Sorry, and Parcheesi, along with a wealth of card games, we spent most of our free time gaming. Mom and Dad didn't believe in spending money eating out, and moviegoing was, for one reason or another, not something we did (probably also because of their thriftiness, which put my sister and me through college--a good tradeoff, that's for sure). One day, when I was 11 or so, my mom and I went to a garage sale held by our church and I saw a game that looked unlike anything I had ever played before. The boxtop merely had the word "D-Day" on it, with some stark red and black graphics. I believe it was selling for $1, and mom shelled out the buck for me.
"D-Day" opened up a new world for my gaming pleasure. Wargames, of which "D-Day" is one of the acknowledged classics, are relatively faithful simulations of military events. The game is set up to recreate the situation at some point in time, but once the game begins, each player is free to try maneuvers or strategies that did not happen in real life. (Not to be reflexive or anything, but wargames that tried to replicate the actual tactics and strategies used by the real-world commanders, usually by restricting the player to historical moves through semi-coercive rules, became known as "simulations", while those that allowed more freedom to experiment went by the more generic term "games".) Objectives to determine both players' possible victories are known before the game begins, and for virtually all wargames, some luck is introduced by means of die rolling at many points in each turn (usually to figure the outcomes of battles).
The complexity and richness of these games was intoxicating to someone already enamored of history as I was/am, and even though I had no one with whom I could share this passion (wargaming was, even at its height in the late 1970s, not too popular a pastime), that was hardly an obstacle to my enjoyment, since solitaire gaming was usually possible for most of the games. There were a large handful of companies that made wargames, on topics ranging in time from the ancient world to the modern and even some set in the future. Most of the companies produced fairly cheap game components--thin cardboard counters with low gloss finishes and unmounted mapboards being standard. One company stood head and shoulders above the others in production value, however--Avalon Hill, the makers of "D-Day".
Avalon Hill games were always boxed (a not inconsiderable plus--many companies merely provided ziplocked bags!), the mapboards were always mounted handsomely (just like regular gameboards), and the printing on all the components was colorful and vibrant. I became a rapid and faithful convert to AH gaming, sneering disdainfully at other companies' releases as amateurish and unworthy of my hard-earned cash (although my growing interest in the American Civil War, fed only rarely by AH games, led me to buy from them as well). If AH made a wargame on any subject, I usually bought it, and I even bought some that were non-military based as well, to my ultimate satisfaction in a couple of cases.
Wargames are serious affairs, hobbywise. Most of these games have rulebooks that could choke a horse, in density if not always in size (and some in both), and the time it takes to set up and play a single one is measured in hours and days, especially when playing solo. Having little else to do with my free time (other than reading) as a young adult, this posed no obstacle for me, although finding the physical space to lay out the game did, especially when our family got a cat that liked to "play hockey" with the pieces.
As the years wore on, though, I became more active socially, which left me less and less time to devote to my hobby, as often happens. By the time I left for college, I had no time at all to play wargames, having moved on to Dungeons and Dragons during school, and working full time (or going to grad school) after graduation. I have kept my games, though, and every now and then when I visit my mom, I'll go downstairs to where the game shelves are and gaze fondly at my collection, wishing I had the time (and convenient space) to indulge myself. A couple years ago, I noticed that The Avalon Hill Game Company had declared bankruptcy a few years before that, and a pang of nostalgic sadness filled me. I was the cause! (Well, not just me, but people like me who had "grown out of" playing [or more accurately, buying] games.) Hasbro bought the remnants of AH, including their catalog of games, but in the face of economic realities, will almost definitely not be reissuing or supporting any of the wargames. In fact, they are simply using the AH name as a branding device to lend cachet (seriously!) to their line of quasi-wargames aimed at children or families.
I don't know what point this essay was supposed to have, so please forgive my indulgence in maudlin self-pity . . .
All-time favorite AH games (notice that wargames aren't even capturing the top spots):
1) Rail Baron, which is kind of a combination of Monopoly and Railroad Tycoon.
2) Kingmaker, which covers the Wars of the Roses, is pretty unique. Players control various factions of nobles and try to gather enough strength (and kill enough royalty) to crown a single King (or Queen) to rule the land. Originally published by another company, AH bought the rights to it and improved it markedly.
3) Chancellorsville, the first standard wargame on the list here, was the first game I had that incorporated the quality of personal leadership in a game. For example, if Stonewall Jackson commands a batch of troops, they will move more frequently than those under James Longstreet (a somewhat balky, albeit ferocious fighter).
4) The Civil War. Victory Games was a subsidiary of AH that produced this gem covering the entire CW. The interplay of economics, strategic vision, and interesting leader effects color this grand scale approach to the War.
5) Jutland. Modeled after what is known as "miniatures" wargaming, which is an older type of gaming involving figurines representing troops, or in this case, ships, "Jutland" has no gameboard (but still has cardboard pieces). "Jutland" covers the only major ship battle of World War I.