Strategic Simulations, Inc. CD-ROM (WINDOWS 95/3.1 OR MACINTOSH) $40 ON THE STREET REQUIREMENTS: PC-8MB RAM SVGA MAC-8MB RAM If you are like myself, you may have felt guilty about many years of utterly neglecting wargaming in favor of RPGs and video games. Every time I walk by a wargamer's table at a game convention and see a grizzled old veteran of a thousand battles push a stack of counters towards enemy lines I think, "You know, I should really give that a chance. After all, wargaming started it all. And little wars are neat." I then hide my Vampire: the Masquerade shirt in shame and move on. But, aside from dabbling in some older games like Centurion (FASA) and the classic Ogre (Steve Jackson Games), I have steered clear of games with hex maps and counters. Part of the problem has been finding the right game, and part of the problem has been getting into the game's mechanics. SSI has come to the rescue. Allied General gives you all the fun of moving little tanks around on little hexes and shelling little soldiers with little artillery pieces without the hassle of sorting Counters and keeping notes. If you have ever felt the urge to give old-fashioned World War II wargaming a try, this is a great way to do it. It does all the book-keeping for you, letting You concentrate on strategy. There are over 35 scenarios included plus a scenario editor for when those run out, and you can play as an American, British, Russian, or German commander. Perhaps best of all, you can play against a friend via email! If you already like historical wargaming, you are apt to enjoy Allied General a great deal. If you are curious about wargaming, this is a great way to start--I have a feeling that many people who enjoy computer strategy games like Civilization and Master of Magic will really get into Allied General if they give it a chance. Back to Shadis #23 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1996 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com