RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (Full Version)

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redcoat -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 2:40:34 PM)


There was an active wargames club at my school. My friends were in it and so I joined too.



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 6:46:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: shunwick


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: shunwick

TOAW II.

I was not into wargames, war books, war films or military history. I don't even remember what made me buy TOAW II in the first place since it was an unusual purchase for me. However, 20 minutes after installing it I was hooked. Only abandoned TOAW II in favour of TOAW III.

Best wishes,
Steve
warspite1

So has an interest in military history followed or are you happy to play wargames without additional knowledge?


Warspite1,

TOAW kick-started my interest in mililtary history. As far as military history goes what interests me most is the way tactics evolve and the enduring forms of strategic thought. From Gilgamesh to Bin Laden as it were. I have never been that bothered by how many rivets in a Sherman.

I should also note that although I did not have any interest in war before discovering TOAW II, I did use to build airfix models with my dad when I was knee hgh to a grasshopper. The first airplane we built was a Stuka and it still holds a soft spot in my heart even after all these years. Building models with my dad remain some of my fondest memories.

Best wishes,
Steve
warspite1

quote:

I have never been that bothered by how many rivets in a Sherman.


Everyone knows that must-know fact, its 30,603. Duh [;)]

quote:

I did use to build airfix models with my dad when I was knee hgh to a grasshopper. The first airplane we built was a Stuka and it still holds a soft spot in my heart even after all these years. Building models with my dad remain some of my fondest memories.


Spooky - my first Airfix plane? A Ju-87 Stuka, built with my dad. Priceless [:)]



pmelheck1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 7:12:30 PM)

I watched films ect as a kid and used to order some plastic sets from the back of comic books. They were not war games but did wet my appetite for war games. I saw an ad for a hex based war game and finally bought panzer blitz as my first hex based game then panzer leader then the whole squad leader plus bought a bunch of SPI titles. Also did a bit of miniatures as well.



SLAAKMAN -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 7:12:52 PM)

Started with WWII & Civil War miniatures and Tamiya tank & aircraft models when I was 3, worked my way up to AH Waterloo when I was 12. Then bought Stalingrad, D-Day, Invasion America, Russian Campaign, Drang Nach Osten, War in the East, War in Europe, Squad Leader, Spartan, Yeoman, Chariot, Legion, Caesar at Alesia, Highway to the Reich, Viking, Fortress Europa & the obsession exploded into full blown militarism ever since. [:D]
[image]http://www.netmerchants.co.uk/shopimages/products/normal/PMACW1.jpg[/image]



Empire101 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 7:45:56 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: wodin

Plastic soldiers and a marble.


I think this is my earliest recollection too, with matchsticks loaded into spring fired cannons!! Plus Escape from Colditz.

The marble and the matchsticks soon gave way to dice and rules sets for minatures, and then I discovered SPI.

'PanzerGruppe Guderian' was my first 'real' wargame, and from their I never looked back.

Armada SPI
Conquistador AH
Squad Leader AH
War in the East/War In Europe SPI
Trajan SPI
etc etc......

and then I discovered ADG's World in Flames & Fatal Alliances............Heaven!!



SLAAKMAN -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 8:00:04 PM)

quote:

and then I discovered ADG's World in Flames & Fatal Alliances............Heaven!!

SELAH!!! [&o]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 9:13:43 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: wodin

Plastic soldiers and a marble.
warspite1

Speaking of plastic soldiers - anyone remember this? I recognised the box art immediately. Happy times! [:)]



[image]local://upfiles/28156/76D69B93EE66422DBE890AC02D4FFE5E.jpg[/image]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 9:26:13 PM)

And how about this little gem?

How many of these do you remember? - most of those pictures are like I saw them yesterday, rather than 30-odd years ago. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGr-mfkNcYM&feature=related



Jim D Burns -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 9:50:29 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1
Speaking of plastic soldiers - anyone remember this? I recognised the box art immediately. Happy times! [:)]



[image]local://upfiles/28156/76D69B93EE66422DBE890AC02D4FFE5E.jpg[/image]


Heh, I had almost forgotten about the little green army men that I used to get for Christmas every year in big box sets like these. So I guess technically my first wargame was one I played with my brother when I was 8 or 9.

The backyard had been tilled up in anticipation of planting a vegetable garden and while it was loose dirt, my brother and I got some shovels and made two giant forts. We then set up hundreds of our little green soldiers and then each stood on either side of the yard and bombarded each other’s forts with dirt clods.

LOL, it was a blast. We kept finding buried green army soldiers for years after.

Jim



Empire101 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/17/2012 10:39:07 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1

And how about this little gem?

How many of these do you remember? - most of those pictures are like I saw them yesterday, rather than 30-odd years ago. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGr-mfkNcYM&feature=related


That was great Warspite.....it bought back memories of a small boy gazing at the rows of Airfix kits stacked on the shelves, wondering which one to buy that week with his hard earned paper round money....
Happy Days......


Or was it more like this?..........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL9qH27WUvc&feature=related



bigbaba -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 12:01:29 AM)

my first war game was "north&south" (hate the jump&run part[;)]) at my good old amiga 500. then playing "battle isle" and "warlords" in hot seat modus against my buddies brought my definitly to wargames.



Fred98 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 12:07:20 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1

How many of these do you remember? - most of those pictures are like I saw them yesterday, rather than 30-odd years ago. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGr-mfkNcYM&feature=related



Wow! Fantastic!

And near that video is an interview by James May with the Airfix artist!

I still buy the Airfix catalogue from time to time.




redcoat -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 12:14:54 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: wodin

Plastic soldiers and a marble.
warspite1

Speaking of plastic soldiers - anyone remember this? I recognised the box art immediately. Happy times! [:)]

[image]local://upfiles/28156/76D69B93EE66422DBE890AC02D4FFE5E.jpg[/image]


I remember that. The Airfix Waterloo boxset. Happy days indeed. [:)]

I think I got all the bits and pieces separately over a couple of years: the plastic La Haye Sainte kit and the plastic redcoats, British Hussars, Royal Horse Artillery, Highlanders, French line infantry, Cuirassiers, French artillery and Old Guard. They are probably in a trunk in my attic now.




Arjuna -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 12:45:52 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1

And how about this little gem?

How many of these do you remember? - most of those pictures are like I saw them yesterday, rather than 30-odd years ago. Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGr-mfkNcYM&feature=related

Hey that brought back some great memories. Thanks warspite 1.[:)]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:44:11 AM)

Whilst taking a trip down memory lane - this is the board game journey that brought me ultimately to computer wargaming and Matrix [:)]

Starting with:



[image]local://upfiles/28156/C4EA40BB13E246618B658D83203E06D4.jpg[/image]

Played this as a young lad - great gun game! Appel!!! Do or Die cards - great colourful pieces!

[image]local://upfiles/28156/AB48E8349CAF4042B625EBC5F8C0473B.jpg[/image]

Hours of fun with this - and Diplomacy too

[image]local://upfiles/28156/A11CCC7F284B4EDF84C1349ECEFF3D3B.jpg[/image]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:45:01 AM)

Then getting a bit more serious with:



[image]local://upfiles/28156/02ACD803DD0449E5AC1564944D2DF0CD.jpg[/image]

Brilliant game!

[image]local://upfiles/28156/9CC623CA0A624E29B33AE59B6146BC8A.jpg[/image]

On reflection, not a very good game but....



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:45:43 AM)

Then a bit of:



[image]local://upfiles/28156/4CED18A552CE41908B4E60E3CDD90E13.jpg[/image]

Couldn't find a picture of the front of the box [&:] My copy of this and W+P (below) now gone sadly.....

[image]local://upfiles/28156/BEB65B56DE1349D7BDFA48B32C32DB4D.jpg[/image]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:46:40 AM)

Before taking the big picture view!



[image]local://upfiles/28156/C2B427B3D87C41379CAA767B6122E535.jpg[/image]

Really enjoyed this and her Pacific sister PTO

[image]local://upfiles/28156/E7C5160B76C84638A03AE305B34B9E5A.jpg[/image]

Terrible game [:(] quickly discarded

[image]local://upfiles/28156/541294D2D25C4411AE15B4D211BEDEC1.jpg[/image]

Oh Yes!!!!



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:49:06 AM)

Meanwhile collecting all the GRD Europa games - although it seems this will now never be completed [&:][:(]



[image]local://upfiles/28156/154EE74C35034D3B90D6F81344BA2BC0.jpg[/image]



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:54:24 AM)

How have other peoples journey evolved?



rodney727 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 6:29:13 AM)

Gettysburg battlefield when I was six.



histgamer -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 9:26:24 AM)

I was 13 had a Playstation 1 and saw Panzer General. Bought that loved it played it for years. Then saw Sid Meier's Gettysburg and got into that and then Waterloo Napoleons last battle, then Combat Mission Beyond Overlord.

I was always interested in history, probably blame my 16 year military vet father and my mother who loved Egyptian history.

Combat Mission, Falcon 4.0 and Panzer General we're probably the big 3 that kept me into wargaming into my late teens early 20s and now I have many other interests. Other games up until the last 3 years or so were for the most part passing interests. Those we're the only games that kept me interested.



Max 86 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 12:18:09 PM)

Grew up watching all the war movies with my Dad. He also taught me about WW2 aircraft and helped me with making models. My brother bought me SPI's USN game covering the pacific with the stacks of cardboard counters on a paper map for Christmas when I was around 12 or so. That was all she wrote. Then when my birthday came around the next year he bought me AH's Squad Leader and 1776. I have been hooked for life and wargaming has ruined me for all other games.

For those of you who started around 12 yrs old or so, let me ask you this; did playing wargames improve your geography skillls and history knowledge? For me school history classes became a breeze and even to this day I astound people with my knowledge of geography. Which isn't saying much considering how schools underperform these days.

Some of these boxart samples really bring back the memories. I haven't thought about AH's War and Peace game in years. I wore that one out and is probably why I like the larger-scope PC games like TOF and Making History. Thanks for that.




Neilster -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 5:02:25 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Max 86

Grew up watching all the war movies with my Dad. He also taught me about WW2 aircraft and helped me with making models. My brother bought me SPI's USN game covering the pacific with the stacks of cardboard counters on a paper map for Christmas when I was around 12 or so. That was all she wrote. Then when my birthday came around the next year he bought me AH's Squad Leader and 1776. I have been hooked for life and wargaming has ruined me for all other games.

For those of you who started around 12 yrs old or so, let me ask you this; did playing wargames improve your geography skillls and history knowledge? For me school history classes became a breeze and even to this day I astound people with my knowledge of geography. Which isn't saying much considering how schools underperform these days.

Some of these boxart samples really bring back the memories. I haven't thought about AH's War and Peace game in years. I wore that one out and is probably why I like the larger-scope PC games like TOF and Making History. Thanks for that.



I was once chatting up a gorgeous Dutch girl in Australia and asked her what part of The Netherlands she was from.

Her: "Oh...you wouldn't have heard of it. It's called Nijmegen."

Me: "It's close to the German border. It's near Arnhem and Eindhoven."

Her: "You have been there?"

Me: "Err...no, but I'd like to."

Her: "You have a Dutch girlfriend?"

Me: "No"

Her: "How can you know this?"

Because this is the equivalent of a Dutch girl saying to me, "You grew up in Devonport? I know where that is. It's on the NW coast of Tasmania between Ulverstone and Latrobe". I decided not to say, "Well I'm a massive World War 2 freak and there was a fascinating battle in your area that I've wargamed extensively". Instead I went with, "Ahh..I'm just really interested in Geography. So...do you want another drink?..."

She must have really liked a man who knew his geography [;)] Lovely girl...very enthusiastic [:'(] So there are other benefits as well [:D]

Cheers, Neilster






Empire101 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 6:14:44 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Before taking the big picture view!



[image]local://upfiles/28156/C2B427B3D87C41379CAA767B6122E535.jpg[/image]

Really enjoyed this and her Pacific sister PTO

[image]local://upfiles/28156/E7C5160B76C84638A03AE305B34B9E5A.jpg[/image]

Terrible game [:(] quickly discarded

[image]local://upfiles/28156/541294D2D25C4411AE15B4D211BEDEC1.jpg[/image]

Oh Yes!!!!



I hated Third Reich too...was also quickly consigned to the attic!!

World in Flames......sublime wargaming.

The Wargame equivalent of a PhD in Military Science!![8D][8D][8D]



quote:

ORIGINAL: Neilster



I was once chatting up a gorgeous Dutch girl in Australia and asked her what part of The Netherlands she was from.

Her: "Oh...you wouldn't have heard of it. It's called Nijmegen."

Me: "It's close to the German border. It's near Arnhem and Eindhoven."

Her: "You have been there?"

Me: "Err...no, but I'd like to."

Her: "You have a Dutch girlfriend?"

Me: "No"

Her: "How can you know this?"

Because this is the equivalent of a Dutch girl saying to me, "You grew up in Devonport? I know where that is. It's on the NW coast of Tasmania between Ulverstone and Latrobe". I decided not to say, "Well I'm a massive World War 2 freak and there was a fascinating battle in your area that I've wargamed extensively". Instead I went with, "Ahh..I'm just really interested in Geography. So...do you want another drink?..."

She must have really liked a man who knew his geography [;)] Lovely girl...very enthusiastic [:'(] So there are other benefits as well [:D]

Cheers, Neilster



Class!!

You should have been a diplomat Neilster!![:D]




doomtrader -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 6:18:58 PM)

I have found some cool tabletop wargames at my cousin house when I was like 9 YO. I already enjoyed reading history books, so the manuals seems to be fun for me. He gave me one of his games and this is how I started.
Unfortunatelly none of the kids in the neighbourhood were interested in playing those, so some simple Amiga' wargames came.

Also the important factor is that you can have the game turned on for the whole day and make your moves when you want to, even when doing something different at the same time.



warspite1 -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/18/2012 6:38:33 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Max 86

For those of you who started around 12 yrs old or so, let me ask you this; did playing wargames improve your geography skillls and history knowledge? For me school history classes became a breeze and even to this day I astound people with my knowledge of geography. Which isn't saying much considering how schools underperform these days.


warspite1

I know what you are saying, although I don't know about astounding people...more like bore people stupid. You know the person no one wants to get stuck with at parties?

Warspite1 to girl at party: "Hello, my name is warspite1. Do you know the capital of the Solomon Islands is Honiara? Betcha don't know how I know that".
Girl at party: "That's nice..er...I 've just remembered I've er... gotta go and lube my car".



OldSarge -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/20/2012 2:23:29 AM)

My family has a long tradition of military service going back long ago to those two "splendid islands" in the North Sea. My father kept a collection of books from a Great Uncle who passed before I was born. Among the collection was a deteriorating set of Gibbon's "History of the Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire". I was dreaming of past battles long before I knew of war games.

The nail was finally driven when I had a history teacher, an 11th ACR veteran fresh from Viet Nam, who used war games to illuminate the historic conflicts that were important to the World...I was hooked!



Gilmer -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (9/21/2012 2:56:37 AM)

I, like others, was a voracious reader. I also was really interested in planes and especially older planes such as WWI planes and WWII planes. Then the TV show "Baa Baa Black Sheep" came out and I watched that religiously. I read books like Toland's The Rising Sun (?) a two book set that my mother bought through a book club. No one else in my family read it. I read it at about 11 or 12 years old. Then, I read Winds of War and War and Remembrance. And then, of course all the movies. My mother (divorcee) took me with her boyfriend at the time and her boyfriend's son to A Bridge Too Far.

Then, as I got older, I bought Flattop. No one to play it with, so I played it by myself as well as I could. Then, in HS we had a computer class and could call into a mainframe computer at a local college and they had a simple text game for the Civil War. You had 11 battles and you chose your stance of 1-4 options. The computer chose its stance. Then you either won the battle or lost it. 7 out of 11 won you the war. I also had a history teacher who had served in 3 wars. WWII, The Korean War, and then the Vietnam War. He was a crusty old guy. Favorite saying was someone was "sucking on the hind titty of a cow".

On to Nintendo and games like Nobunaga's Ambition and Romance of the 3 Kingdoms. And I used to buy all the computer gaming magazines and long for the day I could afford a computer. My first true computer wargame was probably West Front with the watercolor picture of Eisenhower on the front. SSI? or SSG? I can't remember. I loved/love that game.




Orm -> RE: What exactly got you into wargaming? (10/8/2012 10:14:20 PM)

There is a long answer and a short one to this qestion. The short one is that I went into a hobby store and they had a wargames and I was hooked but not yet a wargamer.

[image]local://upfiles/29130/85870A3D1AC04B279F7307FD879C39AA.jpg[/image]
I do not know how many times I went to the store and longingly looked at this game and wondered if, maybe, I could somehow manage to find it in my budget to buy it. Alas my budget was at that time was way to limited. [:(]

But in that store I encountered a couple of wargamers and they invited me to play World in Flames (3rd edition) and then I knew that I truly found what I longed for.




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