December 7, 2023: Board Game Studying: War Games

[On December1, 1948, a Connecticut inventor named James Brunot copyrighted a newboard game called Scrabble. Like many great games Scrabblehas endured and grown ever since, so for the 75thanniversary of that pivotal moment I’ll AmericanStudy it and a handful of otherboard games. I’d love your thoughts on these, others, and board games over fora competitive yet collaborative crowd-sourced weekend post!]

On threeboard games through which I learned a lot about war histories and stories.

1)     Ambush!: Ambush!,which began with a focus on post-D-Day European campaigns and then expanded toinclude Italy and the Pacific as well, stands out as (by far) the bestsolitaire board game I ever played. But its style of gameplay also captures theuncertainty and constant danger of warfare as well as anything I’veencountered: as the player moves his eight squad members across the board inpursuit of each unique mission, anything and everything can suddenly transpire:sniper fire, the arrival of an enemy tank, an encounter with a civilian, a mineor other explosive device being triggered. Awaiting the results of each movewas, as board games go, as nerve-wrecking as it gets.

2)     Sink theBismarck!: Something about board games with exclamation points, I suppose.Inspired by one of the most uniquenaval histories in World War II, as well as the 1960 British film of thesame name, Sink the Bismarck! was an incredibly complicated board game, and I’mnot sure I ever played with every rule and feature (or even most of them). Tobe honest, I spent a good deal of time just examining the board, the pieces andcards, the rules and peripheral materials, learning not only about the game butalso about the histories and stories connected to this famous Germanbattleship, to the Axis and Allied naval armadas, and to all the complexitiesof naval warfare. I don’t think MichaelScott Smith would mind that outcome one bit.

3)     Gettysburg: Ah, thegenius of AvalonHill’s Gettysburg, a game that was at one and same time deeply groundedin the battle’s histories (the board alone taught me a great deal about thebattle’s locations and landscapes) and open to each player’s and game’s uniquechoices (I still remember the time I had J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry flank theUnion lines and capture General Meade, winning the battle in one fell swoop;luckily for all Americans it didn’treally work out that way!). The battle and war are history, but thegame made them come alive, made them new and meaningful for each player andexperience. I owe much of my enduring love of history to precisely sucheffects.

Last boardgames tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think? Other games you’d highlight for the weekend post?