|
Year |
Event |
Significance |
|
1958 |
Tactics II published, The Avalon Hill Game Company founded |
The first commercial board wargaming company kicks off the modern
era. Despite the name, Tactics II is not a tactical game but
an operational level one. |
| 1964 |
The General founded by
Avalon Hill |
The first
house organ of the industry
established. |
| 1967 |
Strategy &Tactics founded by Chris Wagner |
Would become a major player in the commercial wargaming industry. |
| 1969 |
Strategy &Tactics purchased by
Jim Dunnigan, Simulations
Publications, Inc. founded. |
Beginning with Issue No. 18, a new wargame was released to the
community every 8 weeks; a huge change from Avalon Hill's previous
schedule of two wargame titles every three years. |
| 1969 |
Tac Game 3 published |
The first commercial board wargame to feature modern ground tactical
combat. |
| 1970 |
PanzerBlitz published by
Avalon Hill |
Isomorphic map boards introduced in
this open-ended wargame, originally conceived as Tac Game 3. |
| 1971 |
Grunt published in
Strategy &Tactics |
First squad-based tactical wargame ever published. |
| 1972 |
Combat
Command and
Red
Star/White Star published by SPI. |
The first "series"
of tactical wargames, both later developments of PanzerBlitz,
though with a change in scale. Was not successful, and ultimately
replaced. Avalon Hill also later developed a more successful series
of games based on PB with Panzer Leader and Arab-Israeli
Wars. |
| 1973 |
Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) founded |
An early company devoted to miniatures, and later a force in
wargaming and RPGs. |
| 1974 |
Dungeons & Dragons first published by TSR |
The start of the role playing game phenomenon. |
| 1976 |
Tobruk debuts, published by
Avalon Hill |
Hal Hock's game of tank battles would be overshadowed the next year
by Squad Leader, but become a serious competitor when
reshaped into the Advanced Tobruk System much later. |
| 1977 |
Squad Leader debuts, published by
Avalon Hill |
Squad Leader/ASL went on to become the best selling tactical
wargame series ever. Despite the name, Squad Leader is not a
man-to-man game, but a squad-based company-level game. |
| 1977 |
Cross of Iron
debuts, published by
Avalon Hill |
Described at the time as "one of the
best combined arms representations available from either a boardgame
or miniatures approach", COI also introduced the concept of
multiple-module games previously proven successful in such fare as
Dungeons & Dragons to tactical wargaming. |
| 1982 |
SPI folds, Victory Games created |
TSR Hobbies, Inc. picked up some of the SPI properties while some
staffers formed Victory Games, a subsidiary of Avalon Hill.
Innovative tactical games such as the Ambush! series
resulted. |
| 1983 |
TSR Hobbies, Inc. splits |
Four successors result, the main being TSR, Inc. Changes in fortune
lead to decline and sale in 1997. |
| 1985 |
Advanced Squad Leader debuts |
A
reboot of the basic Squad Leader system into a module
series, issued with a unique loose-leaf rulebook format. |
| 1989 |
Bloody 110 debuts |
The first of an eventual series by The Gamers of
platoon-based games in its Tactical Combat Series. |
| 1989 |
M-1 Tank Platoon debuts for the PC |
Microprose offers a glimpse of the future with a hybrid 2-D tactical
game and 3-D vehicle simulation. |
| 1991 |
Decision Games acquires
Strategy &
Tactics |
Major realignment of ownership of
the leading wargaming magazines, putting S&T, F&M and
Moves under the same publisher. S&T and SPI had pioneered
tactical level games; not one tactical title in either boxed or
magazine form would be released by Decision Games. |
| 1995 |
Steel Panthers debuts for the PC |
The first of a series of successful turn-based tactical games on the
computer. |
| 1996 |
Close Combat debuts for the PC |
Real Time infantry simulations take a step forward and the first
title of a successful series; original plans to be an official
ASL translation fall through however. |
| 1997 |
TSR sold to Wizards of the Coast |
TSR had produced a handful of tactical wargames during its decline. |
| 1997 |
Critical Hit/Avalon Hill lawsuit
settled |
The legal question
of whether you can use someone else's artwork verbatim in your own
products received a definitive answer (you can't) but the rights of
Third Party Publishers (TPP) were also established. |
| 1998 |
Avalon Hill folds |
The General stopped publication; Hasbro bought the rights to
the line of games. Multi-Man Publishing obtained a license to
produce ASL products. |
| 2000 |
Boardgamegeek
debuts |
In 2010, the site
received a Diana Jones award for being "a resource without peer for
board and card gamers." The site has also spawned sister sites for
gamers to catalog and discuss RPG and video games. |
| 2000 |
Combat Mission debuts |
Combat Mission became a contender for the best selling PC
tactical wargame series, original plans to be an official ASL
translation fall through however. |
| 2000 |
Steel Beasts released |
Set the bar for
military ground hardware simulations |
| 2000 |
Avalon Hill's Squad Leader debuts for the PC |
Perhaps the most cynical and egregious abuse of a brand name ever. |
| 2007 |
Release of Combat Mission: Shock
Force |
Debut of the second
generation Combat Mission game engine ("CMX2"). |
| 2009 |
Fire & Movement ceases
publication |
One of the oldest
wargaming magazines to survive into the 21st Century folds. |
