I happen to be a member of the International Federation of Wargaming. Last time I heard, our membership last month was 185, this month it is 205. A number of members run Avalon Hill game Societies, there is the Game Design Bureau run by ex-IFW President Scott Duncan and much more. With a particularly large increase of members in the Mid-west area (a dozen members are known to Ray Johnson and Fred Vietmeyer, the U.S.A's Napoleonics experts) and having 3 members running the University of Illinois's Chicago Circle Campus's Game Society, we have been able to secure an entire cafeteria for weekly meetings during school sessions. The cafeteria is about 30 x 80 yards! Pushing tables together gives us at least 20 x 20 feet 'tables'.
One of the more epic battles featured over a half dozen players per side, and about 20 tanks per side! (There were also mortars, MGs and a company of infantry, but they so bogged down play that they were removed after the 4th turn!) An unfordable river divided the board into a German and Soviet sector. Two towns with bridges formed focal points for attacks and whole 5 tank platoons would wheel across the board.
At the next meeting, Avalon Hill and miniatures were combined. Each side had a mapboard of about 22 x 28 inches, with platoon sized units. The judges had a 3rd board which showed all the units on-board; both side's Supreme Commander wrote out their orders, the judges compared them and issued information reports, and major forces sighting each other were placed on the miniatures table with the appropriate terrain.
Obviously, this game lends itself quite readily to campaign play and to recognition of certain logistics problems but should be regarded as such and is not to be played in a few hours! (Each side had about half a battalion of tanks, and another half-battalion of infantry and infantry weapons involved).
I agree with Newell Chamberlin in that plastics are far superior to lead! Not only are they MUCH cheaper (we students simply CANNOT afford to buy a 20-man lead regiment when we can get 15 or 20 times that many plastic troops from Airfix!) and the quality of the plastics in some instances are superior! Unfortunately, lead can easily be painted while Airfix insists upon coming up with newer types of plastic that NOTHING will stick to! In fact, I have been entertaining the idea of doing the 7 Years War with Airfix Civil War figures (Prussian basic colour was blue, and Austrian was white, which is close enough to grey to suit me!) One can call the Civil 'War artillery pieces available "6 Pdrs", and use 7th Cavalry troopers as Prussian Dragoons or Hussars. The armoured knights from the Sherrif of Nottingham sets make excellent cuirassiers. Admittedly, they do not look too authentic, but the effect is good. Besides, the soul of an artist I don't have, but merely the one of a wargamer, especially one who enjoys campaigns!
I should mention that several plans are underway to take a popular series of 116word and Socery" fantasy (such as Howard's colourful "Conan" series) and construct an Avalon Hill strategic, miniature tactical game out of it; with economic political, and, especially, diplomatic rules. (How about an article on the huge 'underground' Diplomacy cult? There are more Diplomacy 'zines out than any other type of wargaming magazine on any other subject!)
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© Copyright 1970 by Donald Featherstone.
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