Barticus Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 While reading some of the posts in the GI Combat thread, I had a thought. Ya, ya, rare enough I suppose, but here goes anyway (so nyah! ) Where did wargaming start with you? For me it was Avalon Hill's Panzer Blitz!, Panzer Leader, and Arab-Israeli wars, followed closely (and lovingly) by the original Squad Leader (sorry, not advanced squad leader, too rich for my blood) Ahhhh yes, brings back some fond memories for me. Bart ------------------ "I have slipped the surly bonds of earth...." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaffertape Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 The original Squad Leader, and probably around the same time, B17: Queen of the Skies. GAFF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compassion Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 Tactics ][ was the first game I leaned... it was the second game that I bought. Tried 3R first and got swamped. Had to put it on the shelf for a few years. FIrst coputer wargame awas The Cosmic Balance and Computer Ambush. Bought them at the same time for the Apple //e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 AHs Squad Leader and Zargos Lords from IT. Fred ------------------ "I got signals, I got readings, in front and behind of us!" - PFC Hudson on LV-426 mission Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilhammer Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 Many threads on this. My first wargaming actually was with the neighbors and my brothers, hunting each other in the Craddock neighborhood of Portsmouth, Va. (Town Center had a 3in gun we could play with). One day, some refugees from East Germany moved in 4 doors down, and we had some "bad" guys to play with; twas a big family with 6 boys in it. We built forts of woven sticks for our army men. Drive sticks into ground about 4 inches apart, and weave other sticks between them, then try to penetrate our bunkers with rocks. By the age of 12, we were digging slit trenches in the woods, and once dug a pretty good size pit we covered with plywood and earth. Then I bought a copy of Tactics II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remo Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 Originally posted by Barticus: Where did wargaming start with you? For me it was Avalon Hill's Panzer Blitz! I'm a newcomer to wargaming. I started playing ROLE-PLAYING games back in 1977, and haven't stopped. But wargames never interested me much until two critical games appeared. Microprose's X-COM: UFO Defense was the first computer game that I liked enough to play for more than a few minutes. I _still_ play it once in a while. It's not really a wargame, but it involves moving your troops around to find (and eliminate) alien invaders. The first real wargame I got into was STARGRUNTS, a tabletop SF combat game. Large numbers of computer games have looked interesting to me until I saw the dreaded words "Real Time" in the description. I am not now, nor will I ever be, as organized and as fast at manipulating my units as a computer's CPU can be. So I refuse to play those games, despite the fact that they've virtually taken over the market and turn-based games (like X-COM) are nearly extinct. It was while investigating rumors of an X-Com like combat game (computer Squad Leader) that I stumbled across glowing reviews of Combat Mission. So I downloaded the demo, and the rest is history! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeoffP Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 I got sucked in by the box art of Avalon Hill's 'Luftwaffe'. It was a bit too tough at age 11, but it introduced me to AH. I own probably 3 dozen AH titles, including Tactics 2 and all the Panzerblitz family. Spent the most time playing 'War at Sea' and 'Wooden Ships & Iron Men'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firefly Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 I started at about the age of 12 with a copy of Donald Featherstone's 'Wargames' and Airfix miniatures. My first board wargame was SPI's Napoleon at Waterloo which was free in those days with a subscription to Strategy and Tactics. My first computer wargame was SSI's 'Typhoon of Steel', a precursor to 'Steel Panthers', on the Amiga. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big-Joe Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 I started with Tactics 2. But Loved Ambush! I also played Typhoon of Steel on the Commodre 64, Over run, Witch came 1st? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt Steiner Posted February 2, 2001 Share Posted February 2, 2001 Hi all ahh dont you just love nostalgia threads Just like 'Firefly' (Hi Mike) I started Wargaming when I was 12 (about 1976) with Airfix figures & Roco Minitanks and a classic set of Miniatures rules called 'Battle !' by Charles Grant. Bought my first Board Wargame that year 'PanzerBlitz' closely followed by PzLeader and then Squad Leader (ahh the memories of opening up that beauty for first time !) First PC Wargames were Steel Panthers in 1997 and Eastern Front (actually bought the PC for this one) Am filling up now......sniff......blub... Cheers Gary Barr ------------------ Sgt Steiner Belfast NI UK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt Canuck Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I started playing WW2 games when I was ten years old, (only four years ago.) Started out with playing on paper, then I found East Front by Talonsoft then went to West Front, and played through both expansion packs in about a month, now CMBO, now I am addicted, had to uninstall all my other games so I could download mods for CMBO. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Started with Avalon Hill's Niuchess, then Tactics ][, and the wonderful games that followed like Stalingrad, Blitzkrieg, Afrika Korps, Waterloo, etc. Must have been 1963 or so in my high school days. Thanks for making me feel old, you young twerps... Actually it's never been better. CMBO is like a dream for me, I can't get enough of it as it embodies what I'd looked for over many years. Thank You BTS for real! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windopaene Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Blitzkrieg for me, followed up closely by Panzerblitz, etc., etc, ad infinitum [This message has been edited by Windopaene (edited 02-02-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sturmtiger101 Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Hey all, Similar scenario for me, around age 13 started w/ Tactics II~Panzer Blitz series~Third Riech~Fortress Europa ( Normandy Campaign and beyond at the divisional/corps level )~Stalingrad~Squad Leader~Panzer General on the Playstation, then PGII on the pc~Steel Panthers~Ostfront~PG3D Assault~now? Exclusively CMBO!!! Cheers, Eric ------------------ " They're acting as if they have already won the war! " B. Woll " We will prove them wrong. " M. Whitman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stodge Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Table-top recreations of Napoleonic battles with 25mm hand painted plastic figures. The best!!! Until my mum wanted the dining-room table for sunday dinner, at which point the war came to an end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forever Babra Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 SPI's "Napoleon's Last Battles" was my first. I thought it was the be-all and end-all How far we've come... ------------------ When it's my turn to march up to Glory, I'm gonna have one HELL of a story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricM Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I started when I was around 17 or 18 going with a friend to a hobby store that was mainly for wargaming and watching the big battles that they did with 25mm figures. Then along came War Games Research Group rules for Armour & Infantry 1925-1950 for micro armor. Had a whole bunch of US stuff but then the store went out of bussiness and could never find people to play so sold it off. Never really got into board games though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boozer Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 After Panzerblitz and Squad Leader I think I went whole hog and bought a good 10 AH titles, then I found SPI and decided I needed a mega game- War In The Pacific. I gave up wargames for 10 years and moved 3 times and still find destroyer counters behind the dresser. Boozer *hic* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Michael emrys Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Stalingrad in the summer of '64, followed a year later by Battle of the Bulge, followed shortly by Africa Korps (the game I was really looking for when I bought BotB). AK I played until 4:00 in the morning and then dropped out of college. After that, I spent six years being a Hippy. Got called back to wargaming in 1972 by Panzer Blitz and France 1940. Discovered SPI and GDW and never looked back. Over 150 boardgames in my collection, most from the '70s and '80s. First computer wargame was an arcade-type game rigged to play on a LAN that some guys from Stanford had rigged up for a party sometime around 1977. In 1986 tried Nuclear Destruction on a Mac. Got my own Mac in 1993. I think the first wargame I bought for it was Battle of Britain from Deadly Games. Things sure are getting better. Michael [This message has been edited by Michael emrys (edited 02-02-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herr Oberst Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Kriegspiel... Then some 15 other Avalon Hill games, up through Squad Leader, then switched over to electronic versions. ------------------ To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DekeFentle Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I went to some older guys (they were 14 I was 12)house on afternoon in late summer and played a WWI air combat game as I remember it was very simple with little plastic air planes on a stand that you got to stack "Kill Rings" on when you shot someone down. I thought it was great and tried to explain it to my mother. Bless her heart, I got Lutwaffa for Christmas LOL Spent that whole vacation with a kid from down the street trying to figure out how to play it. I also got Panzer blitz but couldn't really understand it so I put it on the shelf. I took it down a year later and discovered the joy of WWII tactical combat. That was 30 years ago. I found CMBO two weeks ago and it was like rediscovering a lost love. ------------------ Winning is why we play! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximus Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I think I started with RISK. Then in the early 80's an Apple II game called Global Wars which was a RISK-based game. I bought AH's Flight Leader, boy was that a bitch to play. I tried playing Third Reich. My first computer wargame was Three-Sixty's V for Victory series, followed by AH's World at War series. Three-Sixty also came out with High Command which was basically a computerized Third Reich. It had a few bugs but that was before Internet patches. Then Steel Panthers I and II. Then Soldiers at War. Then Talonsoft's East Front & West Front. Then CM. [This message has been edited by Maximus (edited 02-03-2001).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Offwhite Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 When I was in grade school, my mom bought me AH's D-Day at one of those "educational toy and game" type stores, and it was all downhill from there. But the good kind of downhill, like skiing or a roller coaster. I learned what a T-34 was from PanzerBlitz; how much fun scenario design can be from Squad Leader; and Kingmaker taught me that if you go to any town in Britain, sooner or later the plague will get you. Out of curiosity, has anyone who owns Panzer Leader tried converting its scenarios to CM? My old PB cards are all ready for CM2... ------------------ Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap - Rudyard Kipling, "Tommy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HGA Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 I never got around to playing boardgames besides chess and later risk. On the computer my first wargame was "Mac'Arturs war" on the C64 (I think it was SSG). Then I moved on to The Perfect General (QQP,amiga). Warlords (amiga),Warcraft 2(Blizzard,PC),The Perfect General II (QQP,PC previous favorite of mine now replaced by CMBO) and Starcraft. HGA ------------------ "Oh. Oh, I see. Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!" BLACK KNIGHT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Treeburst155 Posted February 3, 2001 Share Posted February 3, 2001 Hey Deke, that game with the plastic airplanes and kill rings was called Dogfight by Milton Bradley I believe. I loved that game as a pre-teen. There was actually some thinking involved. When I was twelve I bought AH's Blitzkrieg with some allowance money. My dad looked it over, told me the game was difficult to learn and volunteered to teach me. I never read the manual since dad volunteered to do that. About a year later I actually read the rules and realized my dad had dumbed things down quite a bit. For a year I played that game according to dad's simplified rules and liked it. Later on I played Afrika Corps, Panzer Leader, Luftwaffe, and a game called Origins which involved WWII diplomacy, all by AH I believe. Treeburst155 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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