FORMATS | TEST
SERIES GAMES |COUNTERS / SSGS |
WHITE BOXES |
FLAT PACKS |
QUADS | DESIGNER EDITIONS |
SIMPUBS
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SNAPSHOTS - not finished | WORKING AT SPI |
ALL SYSTEMS GO - not finished | BOXES |
CAPSULES |
SPI
BY THE NUMBERS - Draft| END GAME - not finished |
Chapter 1: The
Coming of S&T...
In the beginning, there was only 2 games a year - both from The Avalon
Hill Game Company (TAHGC). Wargames had sprouted from nothing in the
1950s largely thanks to Charles Roberts. He named his company Avalon Hill,
and would reach annual sales around 200,000 games in the early 1960s. But
Roberts would not be there. The high cost of printing materials for games
and the need for large numbers of games to reach distribution in retail
outlets would result in the printing company taking over Roberts' company
when a recession hit in 1962-63.
But a variety of people were coming together around these games, and a
few of them wanted more. Fans created newsletters and game materials to find
other fans. A notable early circular was Kampf, a
fanzine / newsletter dedicated to producing "a series of lucid, concise, and
inexpensive military histories." Information included Orders of Battle.
troop strengths, characteristics of weapons, tactics and an incisive
narrative of the battle or campaign. They also featured numerous maps,
charts, diagrams, and illustrations. The author of this 'zine was
James F. Dunnigan, who had begun wargaming during his hitch in the Army.
By 1967, Dunnigan had already produced issues featuring the Ardennes
Offensive (1944-45) , Battle for France (1944) ; Guadalcanal (1942-43), and
the Battle of Jutland. (1916). In the planning stages for Kamph
by 1967 were Waterloo (1815), North Africa (1940-43) , and Korea (1950).
Kampf had attracted the attention of others. One was likely
Tom Shaw, a high school friend of Charles Roberts who started as a sports
game designer, but quickly became the guiding hand behind TAHGC after
it was taken over by Monarch Publishing. Another innovator,
Christopher Wagner, an American serviceman stationed in Japan, had also
started a newsletter that mirrored the early formats of TAHGC's
The General, but wanted a broader audience, and more history. He
named his magazine Strategy & Tactics and mailed the first
issue to subscribers in January of 1967.
His goal? Well, let's get it straight from the issue:
Announced: Strategy & Tactics 1
Editorial column, January / February 1967
"Our purpose is to bring you (the reader) all aspects of wargaming so
as to further the hobby and the industry and produce. the highest quality of
skill at our art. ... We hope to become the spokesman for the serious,
experienced wargamer,
and an advisor to the novice."
A lofty goal. Wagner went on to say,
"There is another goal we are attempting to attain with S & T:
development of the 'general' wargamer. The majority of kriegspiel
enthusiasts are limiting themselves to one aspect of their hobby.... You'll
find articles in S & T that deal with all types of wargames, and though
there will be "something for everyone" here, the readers who have the widest
interest will enjoy the magazine most."
The cover of the first issue sets the tone. Only 12 pages, the issue is
text heavy with few graphics. The front page is spilt into two columns. The
left is an examination of the Avalon Hill game "Blitzkrieg." The right
column explores the historical background of the Remegan Bridgehead. On page
9 is an article on a tabletop game examining that battle for the bridge,
with all the necessary information to play it yourself as a miniatures game.
Dunnigan's Kamph is mentioned numerous times in the issue,
and a coming attractions note for issue two headlines with Dunnigan while
actually listing him as 'Janes' . No matter. Dunnigan himself arrives in
issue 2, dominating the cover. Over the course of the coming year, his
material would be featured prominently. By issue 7, James Dunnigan is listed
as staff, in charge of Research. He graduates to History Editor by
issue 9. And disappears from the masthead in issue 10. Where, by great
coincidence, Albert Nofi takes his first bow in issue 10 with "The Battle of
Ulsan."
Other changes abound - more pages, and more graphics. Dunnigan is back on
the masthead by issue 13, but that issue also sees the touch of a serious
graphics up grade - with the familiar touches of Redmond Simonsen on the
cover. By now , S&T has expanded to 32 pages. By issue 16, Redmond Simonsen
is listed as layout director, and S&T now looks like a professional
magazine.
But it almost didn't happen. The editorial alludes to the near financial
shutdown of the project. Only the intervention of Eric Dott and TAHGC makes
it possible. Why? As issue 14 points out, S&T staff were instrumental in the
creation of 1914, AH's newest game release. It is Dunnigan's second game for
TAHGC. Third time, of course, will be the charm.
Issue 18 - and bigger things are afoot!
With issue 18, there is a new sheriff in town. Wagner has turned over
his ownership of S&T to Jim Dunnigan, and Dunnigan and Simonsen pool their
skills to not only continue the improvements in the magazine, but make a
great leap forward with it.
First game in the magazine - Crete! No inserts - the rules, and pictures
of the counters and the map are printed on the pages!
But at the same time, they are creating together a new game company. But
before all of that is finalized, there is a test: Does the public really
want
more wargames?
In the beginning, there were the Test Series Games.
The Test Series Games were the original efforts by the formative band of
would-be designers that came together around S&T magazine in the early days.
Poultron Press was organized to improve the games offered to wargamers, and
break the 'one game a year' stranglehold AH exerted on the hobby. Poultron
Press first advertised in S&T 18.
The answer is yes. WEll, it is more emphatic than that.
The response was overwhelming.
The rules were not typeset. The maps were black & white, on very thin paper.
Counters were essentially printed on construction paper, unmounted. And yet
- they sold hundreds.
(Check out all the great pictures at the bottom of the
page.)
By the way -
Poultron is the French word for 'lunatic.' (It may not be - but the people in
charge of the company thought it was!)
The List:
in 1969:
With the clear success of the Test Series Games, Dunnigan and
Simonsen join forces, and launch the successor to Poultron Press'
successor: Simulation Publications, Incorporated. Their first
effort - to meet all the orders generated by the single ad for the
Test Series Games!
Here is an article reviewing these games: TEST
SERIES GAMES
After that, they will work on how to put out a
magazine on time, and on budget, while moving in short order from less than
a thousand subscribers, to over 20,000 within 20 months.
Oh - those Test Series Games? They will quickly become
the basis for the new company's line of Simulation Series Games - SSGs.
The Test Series Games
were
the emissaries of a new wave in simulation games, and they changed the
gaming business forever. As we will see in the next chapter!
Next page - Chapter 2: Mounted Counters, Retrofit
and 'Second Edition' Games - Next
FORMATS | TEST
SERIES GAMES |COUNTERS / SSGS |
WHITE BOXES |
FLAT PACKS |
QUADS | DESIGNER EDITIONS |
SIMPUBS
|
SNAPSHOTS - not finished | WORKING AT SPI |
ALL SYSTEMS GO - not finished | BOXES |
CAPSULES |
SPI
BY THE NUMBERS | END GAME - not finished |
