Re: (North) American games...(perhaps I should rephrase this :-) )

On Sat, 14 Dec 1996 08:42:24 GMT, I foolishly wrote
>
>It's hard to get a lot of ?US folks to look at things from a
>non-american perspective.

Oh dear.

It's a pity I can't take my own advice sometimes, but as somebody
who's had a foot in both camps it's an interesting exercise to see how
wargaming has developed and how it is conducted in the different
countries. 

Personally I regard the UK as the historical and spiritual home of
miniature wargaming, but the US has to come out ahead as far as RPG's
go (ceratinly in quantity, but there have been a few gems).

The US has lead for a long time in boardgaming, with fine companies
like AH, SPI and GDW and  our Canadian cousins have straddled the
divide with consistently high quality productions like the Wargamers
Journal. 
Some smaller English and European Companies are beginning to produce
games which can no longer be considered to be boutique. Those of you
who have visited the Essen show will  know what I mean.
I shouldn't also have to say where World in flames and Empires in Arms
came from.

What I'm trying to say is that to better appreciate the game and what
it's makers intended, take some time to appreciate where it was made
and when, where, why and with whom  it has been a success.

At our club FT is especially a hit with those of us used to chanting
over an Empire V or WRG chart like a buddhist monk.

I beleive FT and GZG should capitalize on it's strengths and
complexity and rules catholicism and the school of integration and
play-balance-or-death are things the game deliberately set out to
avoid.

By all means play FMA if you want, I think they have some good ideas
(some very good)  and that's  as it should be,	"Tuffley's house has
many mansions"	to coin a verse. 

An American may not have written FT, but it took an Amercian to write
SFB and I'm sure Jon Tuffley would be the first to doff his hat at the
effort,  the game and maybe the inspiration....
--
Bob Blanchett
bobblanchett@iname.com
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