Make sure you also check out my 2022 #Wargames By the Numbers posting…
2022 Wargame Expansion of the Year
Nominees
- America’s Navy: US Military Aircraft 1955-2020 (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021)
- America’s Navy: US Naval Ship, 1955-2020 (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021)
- CDG Solo System – Expansion to Paths of Glory / C&C: Ancients / C&C: Samurai Battles / For the People (GMT Games, 2022)
- China’s Navy: Ships and Aircraft of the People’s Republic of China, 1955-2021 (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021)
- Dark Blue Defection (A Fan Expansion for Red Storm) ( Fan Made, 2021)
- Dark Blue Defection- The Four Horsemen (A Fan Made Expansion for Red Storm) (Fan Made, 2021)
- Red Storm: Baltic Approaches (GMT Games, 2022)
- Russia’s Aircraft: Soviet and Russian Military Aircraft, 1955-2020 (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021)
- Russia’s Navy: Soviet and Russian Naval Vessels, 1955-2020 (Admiralty Trilogy Group, 2021)
Winner
Dark Blue Defection – A Fan Expansion for Red Storm (Fan Made, 2021). Not only a solo campaign that teaches the rules, there is also an element of Adventure Wargaming in the design as the campaign tells a very personal story.
2022 Wargame of the Year
Plenty of new-to-me wargames published in previous years and more-than-a-few 2022 publications.
Nominees
- Angola (Multi-Man Publishing, 2012)
- Breakthrough: Cambrai (Multi-Man Publishing, 2011)
- Case Geld: The Axis Invasion of North America, 1945-46 (Compass Games, 2022)
- C.V.: A Game of the Battle of Midway (Yaquinto, 1979)
- Don’t Tread on Me: The American Revolution Solitaire Board Game (White Dog Games, 2014)
- Enemies of Rome (Worthington Games, 2017) **DISQUALIFIED AS REPURCHASE FOR GIFTING**
- FAB: Golan ’73 (GMT Games, 2016)
- Five Parsecs From Home: Solo Adventure Wargaming (Modiphius, 2021)
- Flashpoint: South China Sea (GMT Games, 2022)
- The Hill of Death: Champion Hill (Tiny Battle Publishing, 2022)
- Into the Pocket (Tiny Battle Publishing, 2015) – PnP
- Marine 2002: A Game of the First Lunar War (Yaquinto, 1979)
- Old School Tactical: Volume 2 – West Front 1942/45 (Flying Pig Games, 2017)
- Old School Tactical: Volume 3 – The Pacific 1942/45 (Flying Pig, 2019)
- Plains Indian Wars (GMT Games, 2022)
- The Siege of Mantua (Hollandspiele, 2022)
- Warriors of Japan: A Country Aflame 1335-1339 (Multi-Man Publishing, 2015)
- Wings of Glory – iOS Version (Ares/Dire Wolf, 2022)
- Wings of the Motherland (Clash of Arms, 2019)
- World at War ’85: Storming the Gap (Lock n’ Load Publishing, 2019)
Winner
Making an audible here and breaking this long list into two categories: 2022 Published Wargame of Year and New-to-Me Wargame of the Year (less 2022 publications). The distinction should be obvious.
2022 New-to-Me Wargame of the Year (less 2022 publications)
Winner – World at War ’85: Storming the Gap (Lock n’ Load Publishing, 2019) – Let’s just go ahead say the defining battle of Cold War wargaming is the Battle for the Fulda Gap. World at War is a very playable simulation.
2022 Wargame of the Year (2022 publications)
I acquired six (6) new-to-me wargames that were actually published in 2022. This is more games from the year under consideration than normal. That said, some titles stand out well above the others.
- Case Geld: The Axis Invasion of North America, 1945-46 (Compass Games, 2022) – I like alternate history and Ty Bomba is always reliable but in the end Case Geld is a magazine game that means the edges are just not as polished as other games
- Flashpoint: South China Sea (GMT Games, 2022) – Is this a wargame? Well, if it models (simulates?) any sort of “conflict” it certainly isn’t a military one; indeed, there is no military combat in the game. That doesn’t make it a bad wargame, just recognize that this is another “cubes as influence” game and in many ways a lighter version of Twilight Struggle
- The Hill of Death: Champion Hill (Tiny Battle Publishing, 2022) – Any ACW game that traces a legacy to the Blind Swords or Black Swan game systems is worthy of attention, and The Hill of Death strives to make this contribution to the genre one that is easy to learn for new players but offers a rich enough gaming expereince for veteran players too
- Plains Indian Wars (GMT Games, 2022) – The same question here as Flashpoint; is this really a wargame? Sure, military combat is a strategy that can help lead to victory (or defeat) but ultimately this is another “conflict” vice “military combat” game. Again, not a bad game and a worthy member of the extended Birth of American family of games from Academy Games (though arguably much fiddlier than other games in that series)
- The Siege of Mantua (Hollandspiele, 2022) – Amabel Holland at Hollandspiele can always be counted on to make “quirky” games and The Siege of Mantua can be fiddlesome but the hidden blocks make Fog of War a real factor in your strategy, combined with a combat system that is unpredictable (in a good way) makes this one very interesting
- Wings of Glory – iOS Version (Ares/Dire Wolf, 2022) – The iOS version of an already excellent 2-D World War I air combat game; while it is faithful to the rules I miss the colorful mini aircraft on the tabletop.
RockyMountainNavy’s 2022 Wargame of the Year
The Siege of Mantua (Hollandspiele, 2022)
It’s blocks. It’s Fog of War. It’s an interesting scenario. It’s an easy to use yet challenging combat system.
Feature image courtesy RMN
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