Updated from Strategist 288

The Classic Wargames Video Library (CWVL) is a series of VHS videotapes about board wargames and magazines. Now, you might wonder how it could be possible to offer the history of a subject as languid as a board wargame, in a medium so obviously geared to motion and action.

The question that immediately crossed my mind was: "Why not a book?" A book could provide much more detail about the games and their components, it would be immediately accessible for reference when needed, and it would provide random access to the information it contained (i.e., open it right to the spot you want, instead of having to jockey around a videotape searching for what you want).

Admittedly, an appropriately designed book, complete with full color reproductions of maps, counter sheets and cover art, would be quite expensive to produce, and would also entail certain difficulties relating to copyrights. However, CWVL is not inexpensive, at a suggested retail price of $24 each or $64 for the first series of three. One of the disadvantages of this hobby is that the limited niche it fills is not conducive to economies of scale; there is little hope of bargains befitting mass-marketing.

There are a few publications available on the history of board wargames and magazines, including Lou Zocchi's SPI Designers & Chronology List, Consumer Guide's the Complete Book of Wargames, Tom Slizewski's Wargame Collector's Guide and, of course, Jeff Pimper's All the World's Wargames.

The fact is, however, that these are either limited to one manufacturer, hopelessly out of date, not very descriptive or definitive, or a simple repository of factual information. An encyclopedia of board wargames and magazines, complete with color illustrations and interesting commentary, is not likely to happen in the near future. CWVL promises to fill this void. There is no better place to start than with the first Strategy and Tactics (S&T) magazine to contain a game. The three videotapes currently available deal with S&T 18 to 40 (1969 - 1973), S&T 41 to 67 (1973 - 1978) and S&T 69 to 90 (1978 - 1982). The next three, which would deal with the remainder of the S&Ts from number 91 on up to the present, might possibly be available sometime in the future, according to Big Bear Productions.

From a technical perspective, CWVL is professionally produced. The bad news is that you have to live with credits front and back. The good news is that there are no glitches in the continuity of the video imagery, the voice-over and the background music. The fade-ins and super- imposition were particularly well handled. Imagery was, on the whole, crisp and sharp. There were some minor color difficulties with contrast and posterization, but nothing to detract from the overall presentation.

In the final analysis, this type of product succeeds or fails on its content, and CWVL succeeds to a degree I had not expected. A standard format is used for each segment, which deals with one issue of S&T.

The opening screen provides basic data about the magazine issue and the game: date, title, description, number of counters, designer and developer. This is followed by a visual overview of the magazine's lead article, subsidiary articles and the game and its components. Almost every segment includes interesting facts about the issue and/or the game, providing evidence of substantial peripheral research. And almost every segment ends with a quote or bit of information from the magazine which, with twenty years' hindsight, can be either very humorous or very telling.

Interspersed amongst a few of the segments are fascinating reminders of the hobby in its infancy. My two favourites are the SPI advertisement which appeared in a few mid-western cities during an early Star Trek show in the 1970's, and a film short about the wargaming hobby. This kind of ephemera could easily have been lost to posterity, and certainly could not be easily reproduced in a printed medium. The producers went to great lengths to track this material down. The nostalgia factor alone is worth the price of admission.

CWVL is a must for anyone who has any interest in the history of the wargaming hobby, in the development of board wargame systems or in collecting board wargames. The quality and quantity of the information presented is just not available anywhere else.

Unfortunately, CWVL is currently available only in the North American TV standard NTSC, not in PAL or SECAM. For further information, contact: Big Bear Productions, Star Route 176-A, Ridge MD 20680 phone: (301) 872-9540 ebauer@eaglenet.com, www.eaglenet.com/ebauer