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Reply To: Why don’t we already have the perfect wargame?

February 13, 2021 at 9:49 pm #1610631

phaidknott

7023xp

Would not Chess be the perfect wargame (and it’s already created)?

It’s got all the variation of different troop types, no random modifiers, and is quick to set up and play……

I do remember seeing a variation of chess back in the 70’s where a “map” was drawn on the chess board with hills, rivers, and woods. Ofc the “map” was symmetrical across the mid board, and the terrain elements either blocked movement for certain pieces or stopped movement (such as trying to cross a river). I think there were a few maps meant to copy certain historical battles, but it was more of a novelty type thing (and it was a long time ago, and it’s all from memory, and it did have a “name” for this variation of chess). The “maps” weren’t dense on the chess board (like just a single river and maybe one or two hills or woods appearing), but players were using custom pieces to reflect historical units (I remember seeing an Middle Ages and an AWI set of chess pieces). It all appeared in a magazine somewhere and was supposed to be the next big thing as an “accessible” style of wargame (although very abstracted from the battle they were supposed to reflect).