Board Wargame Longevity

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Wargames have come and gone over the course of many years. The original Charles Roberts game Tactics is a collector's item--just one of many.

My question is, which wargames have best stood the test of time without just becoming collector's items? In other words, what are the oldest wargames people are still playing today and plan to keep on playing?

I'm thinking of Tom Oleson, who dedicated many years to his game Anzio. Or the die-hard SL/ASL fans who've continued playing even though their game has been out of print for years. Or fans of the "Avalon Hill Classics" who still attend conventions and play the likes of Afrika Korps and Waterloo.

What's the oldest game on your shelf that you'd gladly take down and play today? What's the oldest one you still play pretty regularly? And is there any game of which you'd say, "Oh, yeah, I'll definitely be playing this one as long as I live"?
 

ericmwalters

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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 version)
FLATTOP (AH version)
NAPOLEON (AH version)
MBT/IDF (AH)
SQUAD LEADER (AH)
AFTER THE HOLOCAUST (SPI)
1776 (AH)

I'm sure there's a few more that I'll pick up now and then for nostalgia's sake--like ANZIO, or AFRIKA KORPS...even some of the old SPI games that haven't been reprinted.

--emw
 

BigMik1

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I have pulled down Panzer Leader to play again. Computer wargames are my focus. But, I am glad I found this hobby from board wargames and my Mom's money to buy them long ago!!

BigMik1
 

Viking67

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We're forgetting one of the oldest and most elementry military games: Battleship!
 

jguritza

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The list for me that I could play anytime would include:

Axis and Allies
Panzer Blitz
Panzer Leader
B-17 Queen of the Skies
Russian Campaign
Afrika Korps
Midway
Risk
Squad Leader
Advanced Squad Leader

And

Settlers of Catan for my wife!
 

PanzerElite

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I'd have to say Avalon Hill's "Battle of the Bulge" '65 edition and "The Russian Campaign" are pure classics that never lose their releveance or replayability...
 

ericmwalters

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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
 

jguritza

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L2’s RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN version is awesome. I got to see it at Origins this past year and I was excited. The game got a few minor upgrades but it all went to improve the quality of the game. I was finishing a Russian Campaign game before I went to Origins and was excited to see the update by L2. The map is more defined and some more key areas were added. Worth the buy if you want the upgrade but if I remember correctly it was a little expensive.
 

The Doctor

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1)Stratego
2)Panzer Blitz / Panzer Leader (AH)
3)Victory in the Pacific (AH)
4)Luftwaffe (AH)

I have a brand new Stratego game. My AH games are all 20-30 yrs. old.
 

phililphall

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Oldest Boardgame

Blue Max. But now I generally play it on line at

www.youplay.it

Also Wooden Ships and Iron Men.

SPI's Sniper

BRotherhood, the game of organized crime

Junta

GDW's A HOUSE DIVIDED
 

Jorath13

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AH games are the best

Panzergruppe Guderian for its replayability. Amazing how it warranted only 1 major article in the now defunct General magazine and just a couple of replays and tactical articles.

Bismark for its zen-like Battleship atmosphere.
"You sunk my battleship!"
"Yes, that was the Bismark...that's the point."

Third Reich (in any iteration) - specifically Advanced 3R and it's cousing Rising Sun. Combined makes one hell of a game.
 
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Originally posted by Jorath13
Panzergruppe Guderian for its replayability. Amazing how it warranted only 1 major article in the now defunct General magazine and just a couple of replays and tactical articles.
Well, it's a pretty plain-looking game. And SPI had released it years earlier, so it wasn't exactly new when AH produced it. On top of that, we'd already seen Stalingrad and The Russian Campaign (and PanzerBlitz); did we really need another east-front WWII game?

It may be a superb game for all I know. I bought it and playtested it solitaire once or twice. But I was turned off by the "untested" counters. Also, WWII on the eastern front is one of my *least* favorite subjects in all of military history.
 

Palantir

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The Classics I'd take down & play any time (if I had that time!).

AH- Anzio / Midway / original Bismark, or the newer "floor" version.

SPI- Highway to the Reich / Terribile Swift Sword.

Phililphall mentioned SPI's "Sniper." I remember playing that almost like a RPG- I would be the gamemaster while two friends battled it out with me providing the sounds they heard & what they could see. Great stuff.

I still have my very first "real" historical boardgame-
1972 AH-Luftwaffe.
 

chrisvalla

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Luftwaffe, A&A, and Supremacy propably get the most used at my place, and that's not very often. I think the last time I even took them down was over a year ago.
 

Palantir

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Since marriage & kids my boardgaming life has become the "family classics" (Monopoly / Risk (all versions) / Uno etc.)

Although I did get my boys involved in a Diplomacy game once- it started off with a backstab & escalated from there! It was a short game of every one for themselves- and they say brothers don't get along!

Maybe now that they are older...
 

alanp

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Gotta be:

SL/ASL
A3R

Settlers is destined for a spot on many 'classic' lists - just have to wait a decade or two. . .

and it's kind of hard to imagine a computer game that's still going to be played in 20-30 years.

Alan
 
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