How did you get your start into War games?

Neal

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Oof, that was a long time ago (for many of us).

As a kid I played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons in the 70s. That led me to get into some fantasy/scifi based hex and counter games like: Divine Right, War of the Ring, Sword & Sorcery, Starship Troopers, etc. Then my buddy who also played with us, but was more into historical wargames introduced me to those. So games like Russian Campaign, Panzer Leader, etc...and eventually Squad Leader.

I stopped playing D&D in the 80s and divested of my collection years later. But still play wargames, pretty much ASL exclusively.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Why did Sgt. Saunders have a camouflage helmet cover in the ETO? Was he a lost Marine?. FYI, I only saw reruns in the '80
It was parachute silk. Not often done, but occasionally. Most famous picture is of a German doing it during Market-Garden (using Allied camo para silk as a helmet cover)Image result for german helmet with parachute cover"

Actually Google finds a few pics of Germans doing this.
Image result for german helmet with parachute cover"


Image result for german helmet with parachute cover"

More common use for the camo silk was as a scarf - you see it in several places in Band of Brothers, including a scene where you see Webster actually slicing up his parachute for that purpose.
 

The Purist

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:unsure: Hmmm,....1974, shy of my 13th birthday, 7th grade, Avalon Hill's "France 40" ( I still have the original, fully equipped) was the first wargame I played. I was hooked. The first game I bought was AH's Waterloo, followed shortly thereafter by France 40, once a copy came into the toy store at the mall (no such thing as "game stores" back then in my small town).

My military genius has been unsurpassed since then. :whistle:
 
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R Hooks

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:unsure: Hmmm,....1974, shy of my 13th birthday, 7th grade, Avalon Hill's "France 40" ( I still have the original, fully equipped) was the first wargame I played. I was hooked. The first game I bought was AH's Waterloo, followed shortly thereafter by France 40, once a copy came into the toy store at the mall (no such thing as "game stores" back then in my small town).

My military genius has been unsurpassed since then. :whistle:
Yea it's crazy how smart we all are. But I never found enough dice to roll when I was in, maybe that's how the generals keep their jobs.
 

stuh42asl

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Bought Squad Leader in college in 85, that was the start to wargaming. But played DnD , Risk, a lot of chess, that is what really started me on wargaming. Got into ASL when it first came out in 86 and then into Battletech, by then is as a solo ASL player due to the complexity. Joined the Canadian Forces in 1989, and it became part of my job.... love it ever since. Now into more operational games, as well. Death Ride Kursk, OCS Case Blue, Gunderians Blitzkrieg.
 

CTKnudsen

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Started off in a tiny town in northern BC, got into D&D, first basic, then Advanced. Then we got right into Battletech. Moved to a much bigger city, discovered GW (Blood Bowl!) and a thriving gaming community - played everything under the sun, although mainly focused on minis. But I always had a soft spot for historical monster-ish games - Empires in Arms, Europa, World in Flames, etc., and so when a guy came to the store I worked at looking to get rid of an almost complete (at the time) ASL set, I jumped.
 

stuh42asl

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Started off in a tiny town in northern BC, got into D&D, first basic, then Advanced. Then we got right into Battletech. Moved to a much bigger city, discovered GW (Blood Bowl!) and a thriving gaming community - played everything under the sun, although mainly focused on minis. But I always had a soft spot for historical monster-ish games - Empires in Arms, Europa, World in Flames, etc., and so when a guy came to the store I worked at looking to get rid of an almost complete (at the time) ASL set, I jumped.
Where in northern BC , I lived near Dawson Creek ?
 
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