Sometimes you just can't figure out this industry. One of the traits of some game companies is the "band wagon" approach to marketing. The band wagon is a cattle heard mentality applied to wargame production. I suspect this sort of thinking afflicts companies of other industries too, but my experience is limited to the three-ring circus we know and love as the wargame industry.

In the five short years we have been in business we have watched no fewer than three band wagons go by-and a forth seems to be cranking up its organ. Dave and I laugh whenever the herd goes charging off in one direction or another-it's funny to watch.

Whenever a game does well (it seems), some companies seem examine it with a quick uninformed glance to come up with the "reason" for its success. The reason seems always to be a simplistic expression of what the game is-they never seem to grasp that it might be things like conditions at the time of release, or maybe-just maybe-it was that the game was actually good. At any rate, with the key "reason" in hand, they will proceed to flood the market with barely playable attempts to tap into the same vein of success. Naturally, the flood will not match the initial success and they will be ripe for another "hit" to redirect their thinking.

So what "band wagons" have we had to endure in the few short years we have been in business? Let's see, how about the Intro game, Card game, and Ancients crazes?

Intro Game Band Wagon

The Intro game wagon began because a simplistic analysis of the fact that gamers have less time on their hands now and the fact that so many bad games in the late 80's literally drove off game players and new blood had to be found to replace them. The solution to both problems was to make games dedicated to the beginner and the old hand would be able to play them in the limited amounts of time available.

Wrong! The games were too simplistic to hold the interest of the demanding vet and marketing these games in traditional game outlets did not expose them to the expected flood of newcomers. The correct solution was the "simple, not simplistic" approach of Stalingrad Pocket. By the time that game appeared, the intro band wagon had gone bust.

Card Game Band Wagon

The card game band wagon died a pretty quick death because it is so hard to create a good card game and the production of such games isn't exactly child's play. With the notable exceptions of a few excellent GMT products, the card game craze came and went with Modern Naval Battles in 1989. 3W attempted to keep the band wagon going with follow-on MNB games which, I understand, got progressively worse. 3W even announced a new "card game division" for its "SPI of the West" structure. Then it hit the coral reef.

Ancients Game Band Wagon

The latest fad was the ancients craze. This one was based on the usual 50-gamer feedback on "what haven't you seen lately" in an attempt to get something different. After a slew of magazine and boxed games, the gamers I know are starting to say "Oh yeah, that's why I didn't like ancients games..."

If you happen to like ancients games (or any of the others listed above), no offense intended-the point here has nothing to do with the topic, but rather of the cattle mentality of the producers. To their great credit, I can think of no time when Clash of Arms fell for the band wagon line of BS. Others should be as smart as those great guys!

So, what' s next? Well, after the success of Stalingrad Pocket and Guderian's Blitzkrieg (as well as Rhino's Stalingrad), a betting man would say we're looking down the barrel of the Eastern Front band wagon. A slew of Eastern Front games are on for production next year and more are on the way. This after years of complete neglect. I even had one distributor tell me to get on the band wagon while it was still hot...

The funny thing is that the games which initiate a band wagon obtain most of the benefits the "band wagoners" (BWs) are looking for. The problem is the superficial analysis of the BWs. They look at SP and GB and decide that"the eastern front is the key."

Wrong! The key is solid, well thought out, fun games. Naturally, they will be completely baffled by the low sales of their quickie tap-in effort. The failure of the piece-of junk "sequels" will, of course, cause them to announce to the world that "the eastern front doesn't sell" which will kill both the band wagon and that topic for years to come-until the next band wagon scoops it up. I prefer to remain completely away from this silliness and will, instead, continue to publish good solid games on topics we find of interest-regardless of the opinion of the band wagon thinkers.

C'mon are producers so unable to pick up on the fact that good, honest, solid games at a decent price sell? That it isn't the topic, complexity, gimmickry, or color of the box? Time to crank up the band again!

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