Recent content by ericmwalters

  1. ericmwalters

    Musty Nostalgia

    The question is...what old game do you have fond memories of...you dragged it down from the top shelf to play...and then realized, upon playing it, that you were victim of "musty nostalgia"...once you began playing you realized why you'd left it up on the top shelf of the closet because better...
  2. ericmwalters

    Board Wargame Longevity

    L2 Bringing Back the Classics L2 brought back RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN and looks poised to do the same thing for PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN, although that game will see some additions/revisions while retaining those elements that made it a classic. I can't wait. --emw
  3. ericmwalters

    Napoleon at Bay

    Nap At Bay--a Classic Definitely get it. The game has seen three editions--the original was put out by OSG when it first formed and was an immediate hit. When OSG folded, Avalon Hill reissued it. When AH folded and OSG was reborn, they fixed up the game a little and republished it...
  4. ericmwalters

    If you only had one war game...

    One more thing.... A bit of philosophy. Yes, you can get people hooked on complicated games provided you are an expert and help them through it. ASL is a "comic book brought to life" and so many improbable things happen that it's hard for a newbie not to think it's all in the dice...and both...
  5. ericmwalters

    If you only had one war game...

    HASL RED BARRICADES While I'd be tempted to say ASL in general, I'd consider myself to be cheating on the spirit of the question which is confined to a single GAME. So I'd pick "Red Barbeque"...the best Historical ASL game of the lot. Could play it a lifetime and still never get tired of...
  6. ericmwalters

    Which is a better Beer and Pretzels Game?

    My Picks Can't go with either game for various reasons. Here's my picks: 2 player game: The "old" AH NAPOLEON (wooden blocks) or a shorter scenario of Columbia's ROMMEL IN THE DESERT (wooden blocks). 3-4 player game: Either SPI/DG's BATTLE FOR GERMANY ( a LOT of fun!) or a home-made...
  7. ericmwalters

    Board Wargame Longevity

    My Wargame Classics I'll never stop playing these games, even though they are now long out of print: PANZERGRUPPE GUDERIAN (AH version) CONQUISTADOR (AH version) FREDERICK THE GREAT (AH version) STARFORCE: ALPHA CENTAURI (SPI) TURNING POINT: STALINGRAD (AH version) SUBMARINE (AH...
  8. ericmwalters

    Board Wargame Graphics: Likes and Dislikes

    Niko and counter art If you haven't checked out the links that Niko posted, you ought to. Great iconic counter work. I'm sold on DEVIL'S CAULDRON just by looking at the pieces! --emw
  9. ericmwalters

    Love-Hate Relationship with ASL

    CAVEAT: I was one of the original playtesters for the ASL Rule Book. I also have nearly everything produced for the game by AH, MMP, Critical Hit, Heat of Battle, and a slew of other "third party" producers. I love this game...but I also hate this game. Here is the source of my schizophrenic...
  10. ericmwalters

    What battles are over done?

    Tarawa Simulations Yes, MMP produced a Historical ASL (HASL) module on the Tawara battle for that system--and is quite an incredible experience to play. I personally have a hard time thinking the battle could be done justice at a higher scale. Certainly others have tried. STRATEGY AND...
  11. ericmwalters

    Entertainment or education?

    Big on Bibliographies and Designers Notes I'm personally big on bibliographies and designers notes that talk about the sources and any ideas/historical interpretations that influenced the design focus for the game. This is especially true for topics that have been done quite frequently--such...
  12. ericmwalters

    Board Wargame Graphics: Likes and Dislikes

    What kind of board wargame graphics do you prefer the most? The least? Why? Here are the categories: -- Computer Graphic built map and counters. Typical of this genre were Fresno Gaming Associates (FGA) games and--more recently--the Gamers' efforts. Color and clarity/ease of use are...
  13. ericmwalters

    Entertainment or education?

    Education over Entertainment...mostly My wargaming usually propels me into doing more reading...and more reading usually propels me into playing more games on the topic. Certainly the best games combined entertainment and education together, but I tend to focus on the educational aspects as...
  14. ericmwalters

    What's your complexity level?

    But what if you play them all? Tough poll because I play games that fall into all complexity levels and don't seem to prefer one level over the others. For example, Frederick the Great was not a complex game, but it was a real mind-bender to play. Same with Air Assault On Crete. Russian...
  15. ericmwalters

    What games are you looking for?

    GDW's Team Yankee Game Designer's Workshop (GDW) did Team Yankee. It was pretty faithful to the book...which was the major problem of the game. The system was good--and created a host of spinoff titles using further developments/refinements. The problem was that the tactical...
Top