All Ye Olde Grognards! (Full Version)

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Big B -> All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 5:29:30 AM)

The "How old are you" poll/thread has been interesting.

I was just curious how many of us "old timers" out there care to relate their all time favorite Avalon Hill/SPI/GDW..etc board games.
And - given your choice - do you prefer pc games or board games?

For me, I played (and still own) most all of the popular titles by Avalon Hill & SPI and a few others, but I met my nemisis in Squad Leader/ASL.

I spent the $ for lots of extra counter sheets and mapboards, and fondly remember playing 12 to 16 board map battles that were multi Battalion scale for each side (big enough to have made the history books!). I have never had so much fun and fond memories gaming in my life.

Any one else out there care to share?

B



John III -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 5:42:42 AM)

Hands down--Flattop was my game. I remember buying extra copies (which I still have) so we could have a central map as well as our own boards. MANY good days and spent playing that game.

Also liked Iron Bottom Sound, Royal Navy, and Destroyer Captain from Quarterdeck Games. Still have them as well.

Loved them then and waited for something like Uncommon Valor and WitP for 15 years...



jchastain -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 6:04:32 AM)

ASL/COI and 3rd Reich were my favorites wargames. Diplomacy is what I actually played the most because we had a group that would get together about weekly for a game.

Just for fun I did a search and look what I found... LINK



Greyshaft -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 6:17:22 AM)

I played AH "Victory in the Pacific" to death... but don't tell the others in the World in Flames forum [:D]



Big B -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 6:51:52 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: jchastain

ASL/COI and 3rd Reich were my favorites wargames. Diplomacy is what I actually played the most because we had a group that would get together about weekly for a game.

Just for fun I did a search and look what I found... LINK

ahh jchastain,

I followed your link...and I started the nervous twitch again! That may take a few beers to subdue! lol[:D]



Hertston -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 8:28:49 AM)

I played some boardgames, but mostly miniatures, ancients using WRG 6th and 7th edition rules, Napoleonic using Empire or assorted club rules, and ACW using Fire and Fury. Some WW2 as well, but I can't recall the ruleset now.

I prefer PC games to the extent that I no longer play board games. The Vassal thing for existing boardgames doesn't interest me much either, although I might look at some original games using the system. I know many, if not most, disagree, but for the modern games designed for computer are so superior they make boardgames redundant, other than for purposes of socialising (no bad thing, certainly) or nostalgia. When it comes to socialising, I prefer Mahjong.



Zakhal -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 8:46:10 AM)

War in the middle earth (boardgame). 5-6 player multiplayer. That was one of the most popular.



Sharkosaurus rex -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 9:10:57 AM)

My first board game was France 1940. I collected/played mostly WWII. I played World in Flames in the hobby shop window when it first came out against the shop owner. But my true love was ASL- Red Barricades in particular. I also had Third Reich- which I thought was great when I had it, but looking back at it now it was crap. I had Scorched Earth- but never got that one finished:(

Started to branch out into computer games for PC (286) and moved onto better computers and followed many SSI/GG games. The convenience of computer games (doesn't take up whole house and can play multiple games simultaneously) unfortuneately out weighed the accuracy and playability of the board games so I played more computer games.

Now it is virtually all computer games, though not all WWII.



sterckxe -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 9:44:45 AM)

ok, here goes

First boardgame must have been the old AH Gettysburg, but the following became favourites over the years :

AH's The Russian Campaign and 3rd Reich
WWW's Sturm nach Osten (=TRC done right) and Holy Roman Empire (30 years war)
Panzer Gruppe Guderian : very innovative design

I switched to computer wargames very early in the eighties so the #1 biggest time-waster of my entire life was probably Silent Service 1 - self-bootable 5" inch floppy - played it to death. Should have had WitP back then ...

I still buy the occasional boardgame and read a review magazine but computer wargaming is just more my thing.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx



Brady -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 10:15:41 AM)


My First was a game caled Toyko Express, came in a bag, required two maps to be set up behind a screan, I was like 10 I think, played my dad for a long time, lots of counters, and was hooked from then on.

I had/have several box games from AH, Panzer Leader, the Squad Leader series, and of course ASL was the big one for me, I had many partners for that game, 3 steady ones and two of them were quiet good, one Fellow worked for my folks, The other was a school chum of mine, we played HUGE games, we had a snooker table and we would cover the whole thing with boards, I do miss playing that game.

ASL as a result of the time I spent playing it is likely the all time favorate for me, Howeaver WiTP is Now definatly my favorate. I have played many PC games,and I do realy like SPWAW, and the CC series was and is still fun, but the Matrix games Like WiTP, WPO, and the Panther games are the ones that will hold my atnetion for Now and a long time to come.



oi_you_nutter -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/5/2005 4:23:46 PM)

Sturm nach Osten by WWW, now that was an excellant magazine game

the biggests problem that we had plaing board wargames when we were kids was finding the space to setup and play, mum did not take too kindly to my brother and i hijacking the kitchen table for several days to play AH Gettysburg, so the smaller games that could be setup on a card table were preferred.

later on i discovered the Europa series, with the War in the Desert being my favourite, not too many counters and plenty of fun when playing either side. once again my old dear did not like me using my bed as a play area with me sleeping on the floor.




Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 1:27:50 AM)

There have been so many games played that it's hard to pick favorites. But, my all time favorite is Victory Games' (AH) Civil War. Probably the most elegant wargame design ever. About the only game that once I started I couldn't put it down till the game was over. Used to start playing early in the morning and play all night and into the next day.

Played all the classics but mostly liked Panzer Blitz/Panzer Leader, Russian Campaign, War & Peace, Alesia and 3rd Reich. Played SPI's Prestags series a lot, and really liked Napoleon's Last Battles Waterloo Mega game. Liked Yaquinto's Ironclads, Battlelines's Airforce/Dauntless and GDW's Imperium (one of the few SciFi games I played). Also played a lot of SPI's (Richard Berg's) Great Battles of the Civil War. That is why I like Talonsoft's/HPS's John Tiller games of the Civil War. They are the closest computer game to boardgame that I've played. Almost exactly like Great Battles of the Civil War. Also like Schwerpunkt's Russo/German War.

Can't understand why people make a distinction between board wargames and computer wargames. They are two completely different animals and really can't be compared. I like to play both because they uniquely handle the same topics in their own way. I guess it's because I truely believe that variety is the spice of life.

And then there is Advanced Squad Leader. I play it on a weekly basis face to face. Been playing it since it replaced Squad Leader which I also played. I can certainly understand why many people just can't stand it because it has the highest learning curve of any game, but it is just so much fun and no two games, even of the same scenario, play out the same way. Also, I have more scenarios and campaigns than I'll ever be able to play in two lifetimes. And there is something etheric about having nearly a complete TO and E of the entire World War II on a squad/individual vehicle level.

There are lot's more but this is getting to long winded and you know how old geezer's can go on and on. Probably lost most of you already.



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 1:31:45 AM)

[>:]



Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 1:38:24 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Terminus

[>:]

See, I was right. I even put Terminus to sleep.



oi_you_nutter -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 2:11:06 AM)

the main difference between board wargamers and computer wargamers is that boardgamers spend tens of hours setting up 10,000 counters only for the cat to wipe out the entire Red Army with the stroke of one paw



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 2:12:43 AM)

Always said cats were evil...



Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 2:25:20 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: oi_you_nutter

the main difference between board wargamers and computer wargamers is that boardgamers spend tens of hours setting up 10,000 counters only for the cat to wipe out the entire Red Army with the stroke of one paw

Or decides to take a nap on your keyboard when you get up to take a whiz. The cat will get you one way or another.



ilovestrategy -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:01:12 AM)

I'm working and also have the wife and kid in a small apartment. I enjoyed Car Wars, StarFleet battles, Dungeons and Dragons, and the old Squad leader back in the 80's but now i just have space for the old desktop(Thank god for LCD monitors LOL). But it is true comparing board games and PC games are like comparing apples and oranges.



Big B -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:41:17 AM)

There are differences between them in many ways.

For myself - on a practical level - pc games are great because you always have an opponent, there is the (physical) space to leave a game set up and play latter, and you can have (for you - not the pc) actual hidden movement...all nice.

What I don't like about Ppc games is - at least against the AI- they all cheat in some form as a way of making up for lack of human intelligence...I hate that.[:@]
Another thing I always prefered in a board game is the board...I like to see the whole board.
And last - I like nicely done counters or minis'...I like to see my boys[8D]...makes it a little more personal I guess.

Thinking of all those above who posted that they played AH/Battlines' Flatop I must share one fond move that I can never do in WitP:
Coral Sea Battle, US CVs staying under heavy cloud, discover IJN CVs two hexes away...in the sunshine. Those who played the game should remember you must tell your opponent which hexside the incomming strike comes in from and which it leaves from. I'm close enough to route my entire strike to attack and leave from 180 to where I really am - and it worked! Ahh nice cloud cover and no retaliation...ahhh.[:D]



TheHellPatrol -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:56:31 AM)

For me France 1940, PanzerBlitz/Panzerleader, Tobruk and ASL were my obsession until after college(no time). I would play them solo for hours at a time any day i could if i didn't have an opponent handy.
PC wargaming had it highs and lows in the beginning, i started about 10 years ago, but it was easier to play in chunks. Then when my wife bought me an Alienware Uber-rig for our 20th anniversary[X(], well...i just haven't looked back. I have seen some incredible things with that puppy but my heart still skips a beat when i see a "hex" in a game. You know what they say: "You can take the Man out of the mountain but..."[:D]
Once you have kids and/or "evil" pets your choices are limited unless you have a room just for wargaming[:(].



Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 7:04:13 AM)

Computer and board games give us the best of both worlds. Like Big B I do miss not seeing the entire board at one glance when playing computer games but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It just gives me a different perspective when playing.

I've finally gotten around to buying a 21st century computer (a Pent IV 3gig to replace my ancient Pent III 450meg) and can now buy some of the newer games. Unfortunately my beloved Great Battles of Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar don't run on Win XP. Looking forward to buying Tin Soldiers: Alexander and Caesar. Heard nothing but good news about them. I'm also pretty active in converting my older board games to Vassal. I made modules of the old SPI Blue and Grey I and II quads and have been having a lot of fun playing them email with a friend of mine in another state. Forgot how much fun a simple beer and pretzels game can be.



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 12:05:48 PM)

Well, there's always DOSBox, if you want to play your ye olde DOS-based wargames.



Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:18:15 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, there's always DOSBox, if you want to play your ye olde DOS-based wargames.

I appreciate the suggestion Terminus but I'm not sure DOSBox will help with Great Battles of Alexander. It's not a DOS based game but designed to run on Win95/98. I Did a search on DOSbox but it seems to only help with "ye old" DOS based games. Have you used DOSbox for any non DOS based games that won't run on Win XP? Anyone else know of anything that helps run Win95/98 games on XP?



Hertston -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:42:43 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dave Briggs

Unfortunately my beloved Great Battles of Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar don't run on Win XP.



Yes they do. You need to set the installer program on the CD to Windows 95 compatibility, as well as the game executable once the game is installed.




Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:50:52 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Hertston

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dave Briggs

Unfortunately my beloved Great Battles of Alexander, Hannibal and Caesar don't run on Win XP.



Yes they do. You need to set the installer program on the CD to Windows 95 compatibility, as well as the game executable once the game is installed.



Good news. I'll try that. I tried to install it several times but never noticed that. I used the compatability wizard in Windows Accessories and that didn't help. I can get the games to install and run the intro but then I get a missing .dll error notice.



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 6:57:49 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Dave Briggs


quote:

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Well, there's always DOSBox, if you want to play your ye olde DOS-based wargames.

I appreciate the suggestion Terminus but I'm not sure DOSBox will help with Great Battles of Alexander. It's not a DOS based game but designed to run on Win95/98. I Did a search on DOSbox but it seems to only help with "ye old" DOS based games. Have you used DOSbox for any non DOS based games that won't run on Win XP? Anyone else know of anything that helps run Win95/98 games on XP?


Sorry, my fault. I posted this before checking Great Battles of Alexander's OS. Follow the suggestion to change compatibility on the installer; sounds like that would be the ticket.



Hertston -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 7:10:53 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dave Briggs

I can get the games to install and run the intro but then I get a missing .dll error notice.


The missing .dll rings a bell. I seem to recall seeing someone else mention that when I was trawling assorted sites trying to find out how to get the games to run. As I recall, it was a normal system file rather than a game one, and you could hunt it down on the internet without too much trouble.



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 7:25:37 PM)

Yeah, that should be easily Googlable... (is that even a word?)



Brigz -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 7:44:52 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Hertston

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dave Briggs

I can get the games to install and run the intro but then I get a missing .dll error notice.


The missing .dll rings a bell. I seem to recall seeing someone else mention that when I was trawling assorted sites trying to find out how to get the games to run. As I recall, it was a normal system file rather than a game one, and you could hunt it down on the internet without too much trouble.

Success!!! Couldn't find any Win95 option for running the install program but I did get bold and manually copied two .dll files, Wing32.dll and BWCC32.dll, from the install disk. Had to make a few attempts but WinXP mercifully directed me where to place the files in my Windows directory. The game runs great. Now to see if I can install Hannibal and Caesar and the Editor program. No reason why they shouldn't run also. But then computers can be very fickle. Damn, I'm a happy sonofabitch!

Thanks Terminus and Hertston. Couldn't have done it without you.



Terminus -> RE: All Ye Olde Grognards! (8/6/2005 7:49:32 PM)

Hooray!



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