An Introduction to Block Wargames

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Strangely, the thing I really like from my first block wargame was the limit on how many units can cross a border (instead of the simple but brilliant fog of war). This made me organize attacks from multiple regions and this somewhat reminds me of epic movies in which a battle have armies coming from multiple regions.

Also, I like the dynamic on the cards. The going first with few OP or later with more OP thingy is definitely a choice (instead of random, since you have to read your opponent) and makes for interesting decisions.

Similar to Sevej, the thing I like about block wargames is incidental to the fog of war. Since the pieces are so large for each unit, these games tend to fall into a scale that I really like. You can't do an OCS size game with hundreds of units in block form... or you can but it would be cramped and difficult.

Oh, also, to add to but not overlap with this excellent introduction---people often think of a certain style of game, the Columbia block style, when they think about these games. But this style is *very* flexible. You can do 3 player games (Triumph and Tragedy), blocks are great for naval games (Seas of Glory and PQ17), block *and* traditional hex and counter games that combine the two (Fast Action Battle series from GMT), loads of other stuff... a frequent feature of more unusual types of block games is that they'll often have phantom or fake blocks to enhance the fog of war.

I am by no means a block wargamer, or even a wargamer by the Avalon hill standard.

But I've played a few like wizard Kings and sekigahara. I wish sekigahara was around during my beginning, because not only is it a truly great game, but a maybe one of the best beginner games for blocks. Just magnificent.

Some thoughts:

A) Block games in the traditional sense (that include Fog Of War) can be something of a non-starter if you plan on gaming solo. Meaning so much of the meaningful decisions in the game are wrapped up in Fog Of War effects that omitting them basically leaves you with an unsatisfying gimped version of a hex-and-counter wargame. Just a fair warning to anyone expecting a rewarding "play both sides" experience. YMMV.

With the rise of GMT's Commands & Colors games, it's funny to talk to people who say "I love block games!" but they actually love C&C Ancients, or C&C Napoleonics, or the recent C&C Tricorne. It's interesting to note how times change, and how the hobby language changes with it. That being said...

C) I feel like Columbia's block games library is too stale for modern tastes. Realizing that grognards are typically very attached to games they've played since childhood (or for simply a long time) I wonder if the latest generation of Kickstarter minis gamers would ever give a game like Hammer Of The Scots a second look. Or to put it another way: I have no idea how Columbia sells Wizard Kings to anyone under the age of 30. I guess this also gets to a more fundamental question of how some of these "legacy" publishers (no, not Pandemic Legacy, I mean old publishers!) plan to compete with the more modern throw-buckets-of-plastic-minis-at-them approach.

I wish there were more block games that interested me. I really like the idea of them, and I’ve even enjoyed playing a couple, but I need that level of immersion and escapism, and historical stuff doesn’t do it for me in the least. I’m aware of Wizard Kings but it seems little too old fashioned for my tastes. If I’m wrong or if there are other block games without historical (alt history doesn’t do much for me either) themes, please let me know.