Strategy Wargames Online Quiz | Games & Toys

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which of the following Avalon Hill games is considered to mark the beginning of the modern wargame hobby?

Answer: Tactics II

While all of the choices are Avalon Hill classics, "Tactics II" is the the earliest and probably the most influential. The original "Tactics" was published by Avalon Hill in 1958, the year of the company's inception. The sequel was published three years later and was an improvement in game mechanics and a commercial success.

It is quite simple as war games go, so much so that the game is chiefly of historical interest and nostalgic value for players today.

2. While not a boardgame, Avalon Hill produced a "Squad Leader card game" of World War II strategy in which the terrian cards effectively served as the playing board. Which one of the following is it?

Answer: Up Front

Up Front is my favorite memory from my wargaming days. The rules were complex but the game was fast and easy to teach. It had two expansions, "Banzai" and "Desert War". Sadly, all are out of print. It's possible to find opponents for UpFront online with a computer program serving as the deck. "Ambush!" was a solitare game with a programmed paragraph set-up somewhat similar to those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books.

3. Which Steve Jackson designed 1977 minigame had a sequel called "GEV"?

Answer: Ogre

All four games in the question were Steve Jackson games, but Illuminati wasn't a minigame. "Ogre" involved one player taking an enormous robot tank called an Ogre against the other player's numerically superior but individually far inferior (in terms of durability and firepower) units.

The Ogre won by wiping out the other player's command post and lost by becoming immobilized or destroyed. G.E.V. stands for Ground Effect Vehicle. "Ogre/GEV", "Deluxe Illuminati", and "Car Wars" are all in print.

4. While previous generations of wargamers were typically introduced to the hobby by "Tactics II", today's future grognards are likely to begin with an 2000 Avalon Hill game based on the American Civil War that uses a card system. Which one of the following is it?

Answer: Battle Cry

Part of the appeal of "Battle Cry" is that for a war game it's easy to teach to one's friends and short enough to hold their attention. Hasbro bought Avalon Hill in 1998.

5. Which of the following games from GMT Games is part of their Card-Driven Games series?

Answer: Wilderness War

The card-driven game engine reflects the wide variety of events and opportunities of the game's historical period. Card-driven strategy games tend to be less complex than traditional wargames. Even so, they usually offer enough strategic challenge and balance to appeal to confirmed wargamers.

Other popular card-driven wargames are "Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage" by Avalon Hill and "Paths of Glory", a World War I game by GMT.

6. What company is the largest publisher of military information in the world?

Answer: Jane's

This may not seem like a game question, but Jane's Information Group was founded by an avid minitures wargamer, Fred T. Jane. Its publications, "Jane's Defence Weekly", "Jane's Fighting Ships" and "Jane's All the World's Aircraft" are useful reference guides for designers and players alike. "Jane's Fighting Ships" was a direct outgrowth of Fred T. Jane's hobby.

7. Canadian customs officials seized sample copies of what company's "Canadian Civil War" game at the American border as "seditious material"? They also published "Napoleon at Waterloo" and "The Creature That Ate Sheboygan".

Answer: SPI

Check out James F. Dunnigan's "The Complete Wargames Handbook" at http://www.hyw.com/Books/WargamesHandbook/Contents.htm for information on the history of the hobby in general and SPI in particular. It was helpful reference for writing this quiz. SPI stood for Strategic Publications, Inc. SPI wound up being bought by TSR, the publishers of the "Dungeons and Dragons" line.

8. H.G. Wells is credited with writing the first system of miniature wargame rules for civilians in 1912. What was the title?

Answer: Little Wars

The "Kriegspiel" is also of historic interest to wargamers. It was developed by a Prussian officer in the early 19th century and became a training tool with each regiment issued a set. Prussian military success prompted interest in the game in other nations' armies.

9. "Eastfront", a World War II game published by Columbia Games and designed by Craig Besinque and Tom Dalgliesh, uses what system to help track changing unit strength and simulate the fog of war?

Answer: block

Columbia Games uses wooden blocks for units. Blocks grant, obviously, more flexibility than the traditional counters by having more dimensions to contain information. "Quebec 1759" was the beginning of the block revolution. Other well-regarded titles in the system are "Hammer of the Scots" and "Rommel in the Desert".

10. Which game company publishes "Panzer Grenadier", "Grenada: The Fall of Moslem Spain", and "Great War at Sea"?

Answer: Avalanche

Avalanche Games apparently takes pride in being a socially responsible company-- i.e., its games and game pieces are manufactured in countries that have decent worker protection laws.

11. Which company is the current publisher of the "Advanced Squad Leader" system and has includes Curt Schilling, a starting pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, as a member of its five-person staff?

Answer: Multi-Man (The Gamers)

According to MMP's web site, Schilling does historical research. Other employees (all are moonlighting but one) include a naval officer and a policy analyst for the US Social Security Administration. "Advanced Squad Leader" was formerly an Avalon Hill game.

12. What board game released in 2002 was based on a highly-successful computer game that was partly based on a game originally published by Hartland Trefoil LTD?

Answer: Sid Meier's Civilization

The relationship between "Sid Meier's Civilization" and Avalon Hill's "Advanced Civilization" is too complex to describe here, but Meier's game was only partially based on the Avalon Hill version. In 2002 Eagle Games released a board version of Meier's computer game with over 800 plastic pieces.

13. Which of these "Risk"-like or -based games came out first?

Answer: Axis and Allies

Followed by their year of first publication: "War! Age of Imperialism" 2001, "Axis and Allies" 1984, "Risk 2210" 2001, "Castle Risk" 1986. Hardcore wargamers might laugh at "Risk" and games like it due to their simplicity and reliance on luck, but these are the only wargames, if any, many people will ever play.

14. Which of the following Avalon Hill games did not involve a randomizer? That is, no dice, no spinners, or anything of the sort.

Answer: Diplomacy

Diplomacy is still quite successful, as these things go. Games are played by mail or online via forums or email. Personally, I preferred "Kremlin" for a social type strategy game. It seemed to reward deviousness more than "Diplomacy" did.

15. Which of the following games was highly successful, selling over 300,000 copies and spawning the follow-up games "Panzer Leader" and "Arab-Israeli Wars"?

Answer: PanzerBlitz

"PanzerBlitz" was an Avalon Hill game and came out in 1970. Thank you for playing my quiz. Please take some time to give me your suggestions or share wargame trivia. If you notice any problems, such as errors or out of date questions, please contact me.

Source: Author ironikinit

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Strategy Wargames Trivia Quiz

Are you a grognard or the beer-and-pretzels type? This admittedly esotoric quiz mainly includes questions on strategy board games from the 1960s to the present, focusing on historically-based war games.

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