Board Wargames at WFHGS

Although our main focus is miniature gaming, several of us got started in the hobby with board wargames and continue to play them to this day. Our combined collections of board wargames vary from the tactical level of GMT's Combat Commander all the way to monster games like Proud Monster Deluxe or The Battle For Normandy. On the average we add about 25-30 new games a year, although as a group we usually only play board wargames a few nights each year.

From Classics to the Newest Releases

With such varied interests as there are in our gaming group, you would expect a wide variety of games in our collections and that would definitely be the case. Not only do we visit older titles like Avalon Hill's Kingmaker or SPI's Conquistador from time to time, but we generally have several games on pre-order featuring the latest releases from companies like GMT Games, MMP, Compass, Decision Games, Clash of Arms, and more. As with most gamers we tend to not focus on just a few periods, but play everything from classic hex and counter wargames to the latest card driven titles.

Group Games

While we do play a lot of two player board wargames outside of our regular gaming nights, if a game is going to be run on Friday nights it generally needs to be a multi-player affair. Over the years we have played games like Britannia, Successors, Here I Stand, Space Empires, Kingmaker, and a lot more. The criteria is usually that the game needs to be four players or more, takes less than 15-30 miinutes to explain, then can be completed in around four hours. We usually have just as much fun on board game nights, plus it is a good break every now and then from having to remember all of the miniatures rules that we use!

Complexity?

Although we usually choose low to medium complexity board wargames for most occasions, complexity is not something that frightens us! Many of us have been in the gaming hobby for quite some time and have played games like SPI's Air War, Harpoon 4, Tractics, and more that would take several hours per turn, so we usually know what to expect when we see high complexity ratings on today's board wargames. There is usually a time and a place for complex board games, so we usually do those outside of our regular club gaming nights. That doesn't prevent us, however, from trying outstanding games like GMT's Downtown, Bloody April, or Elusive Victory from time to time along with others.