Block wargame

is emulated by preserving the secrecy of the type and quality of the troops.

Often, block pieces display the main information in the center with a series of numbers (or pips) around the edge, so that the current strength of the unit can be shown in a step-reduction system. When the unit is wounded (representing a single person) or diminished in number (representing more than one person), the player turns it counterclockwise, with the number of pips at the top of block indicating its current strength. While the example block has four steps (strengths of 4, 3, 2 and 1 respectively), blocks can have fewer steps.

Alternatively, some block wargames require the player to remove the block representing the wounded unit from the board and replace it with a block with a lower strength.

History

The initial idea of pieces that are visible to only one of two players traces back to the 1908 introduction of the game L'attaque, the first version of "Stratego". Early "Stratego" pieces were cardboard but were replaced by wood after World War II. These wooden pieces may have been the direct inspiration for block wargames.Fact|date=March 2008 (Today "Stratego" pieces are plastic.)

Published in 1974 by Gamma Two Games, "Napoleon" was one of the first block wargames.

With the shift in usage from board wargaming to computer wargaming in the 1990s, Columbia Games was virtually the only wargame company producing block wargames. Releases include "EastFront", detailing the campaigns of the Great Patriotic War, and "Rommel in the Desert", covering the North African war, from the Italian invasion all the way to the Afrika Korps's defeat at El Alamein.

Today

Block wargames are enjoying a minor resurgence. Columbia Games' "Hammer of the Scots" by designed by Jerry Talylor has been well received, although his subsequent title, Crusader Rex, a bit less so. Jerry Taylor is currently working on another block game for the Wars of the Roses. GMT Games entered the block wargame market in 2003 with the release of "Europe Engulfed", a simulation of the entire ETO. A sister game, "Asia Engulfed", was released in 2007, using blocks to represent fleets as well as ground forces. GMT also released a block wargame series called "Commands and Colors: Ancients" which met with wide approval. Simmons Games has published the innovative "Bonaparte at Marengo", which was nominated for a 2005 award for Best Historical Simulation by "Games Magazine" [http://www.simmonsgames.com/] ; the game features unique long blocks, reminiscent of the symbols used on battle maps.

External links

*bgg par|geeklist|7756|List of block wargames
* [http://www.columbiagames.com/cgi-bin/query/cfg/allblockgameitems.cfg Block wargames from Columbia Games]