After an extended hiatus, the Gaming Timeline is back! In case you don’t know what this is, you can check out the initial article (https://opinionatedgamers.com/2021/02/10/a-gaming-timeline-introduction/), which explains things.
With the 1970’s, we start to see more familiar titles on the timeline. There are wargames, card games, mass market titles, and abstracts; I assume that many of you have played at least some of them. We even had a gaming event which captured the imagination of the world and that doesn’t happen every day. So let’s talk about the highlights of this four-year period.
Larry
Panzerblitz (1970)
Panzerblitz, which was set in the Eastern front of WWII, was the first tactical level wargame, with the counters representing individual tanks and infantry platoons, as opposed to earlier wargames, where the counters represented much larger units, like divisions. It was also one of the first wargames to feature the extensive usage of ranged combat. It included other innovations as well, such as isomorphic mapboards. The game was an enormous success and wound up selling over 300,000 units. It was Avalon Hill’s top rated game for many years following its release.
Panzerblitz was designed by Jim Dunnigan, who was something of a wargaming wunderkind. He created his first game for Avalon Hill, Jutland, when he was just 23 and Panzerblitz came three years later. At about the same time, he founded Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI), which became Avalon Hill’s main competitor for most of the next ten years. Dunnigan is one of the most significant figures in wargame history. Continue reading
Trick-taking in 2021: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of My Favorite Mechanic
I played Ghosts of Christmas last night. It was, simply put, one of the best trick-taking games I’ve ever played. I’m hooked. Thematically, it is a nod to the Dickensian novel A Christmas Carol. Players can play into one of three tricks — the past, present, and future — and winning a prior trick can help with winning a later one. Not only is it mechanically innovative, but the gameplay is tense and engaging, and the artwork is striking. As a bonus, the theme matches the mechanics, which can rarely be said for trick-takers.
It’ll be released in a few weeks by BoardGameTables.com, and I’ll likely do a full review then. In the meantime, it is one of my most anticipated games of 2022.
But while we’re still in 2021, I wanted to reflect on the state of trick-taking in our hobby. This is my reflection on the past, present, and future of what is likely the world’s most popular game mechanic. I’m sorry if it veers into rambling, but I hope fans of the genre will enjoy the post.
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