‘Tactics’: Wargaming Today Would Be Entirely Different Without the First Wargame Ever
Wargaming didn’t always look how like does today. It’s all thanks to Tactics, the wargame that moved us from checkmate to the Devastation of Baal.
Before we get started, I have an admission: I mostly lied to get you here. The game of today’s discussion, Tactics, is not the first wargame ever. I’m sorry. But I only mostly lied!
Prior to its release in 1954, there had been plenty of other wargames.
- Stratego was released in 1946
- Little Wars was released in 1918 by H.G. Wells
- Kriegspiel was created in 1824
Incidentally, Kriegspiel also introduced using the term “melee weapon” to refer to hand-to-hand combat weapons.
However, Tactics was unique for two main reasons:
- It was designed to be fully self-contained. Prior wargames required having your own miniatures, drawing your own maps, and building your own terrain. Tactics provided these to the players.
- It was designed for the public. Kriegspiel, for example, was originally designed as more of a Wargames-type wargame, meant for military simulation and training.
So it may not have been the first wargame, but it was undeniably the first board game wargame. So, with those layers of qualification out of the way, let’s learn about the first wargame, Tactics!
A Little Bit of History
Charles Swann Roberts designed Tactics in 1953 and self-published the game the following year. Charles Roberts also founded Avalon Hill Gaming Company, which went on to make The Campaign For North Africa, the biggest wargame ever.
When he originally released the game, Tactics could only be purchased via mail-order directly from Robert’s home near Baltimore, Maryland. Over the next six years, he sold around 2,000 copies and only barely broke even.
The sequel, creatively titled Tactics II, sold much better and had more refined rules. In 1982, a 25th-year anniversary edition was released to commemorate the game and its impact on the tabletop wargaming scene. Tactics II is mostly the same and much easier to find. However, even Tactics II is very simple compared to the massively complex games we have today.
Tactics Gameplay Overview
The Tactics wargame introduced many gameplay mechanics, which became standard for the industry. Just to list a few:
- Expanded upon the idea of different unit types, such as infantry versus armored units
- Pioneered the concept of terrain types and movement costs
- The first to offer a wargame in a box, as we already mentioned.
But there is one more thing—the thing on which all of the foundation of all wargaming now lies. Without this, wargaming would be in shambles. Players would be lost in a world of misty confusion. Dice results would go aimless in the void, and rulebooks would contain nothing but words.
I speak of, of course, the almighty Combat Results Table!
That’s right! Tactics was the first wargame to introduce the idea of a ratio-based combat results table. And we all know how much Avalon Hill loves its charts and tables.
Each token used numbers and symbols to denote its capabilities. The left number was the combat strength, and the right number was the movement capability. The symbol inside the square showed the unit type. X for infantry, the oval for armored, and I for headquarters.
Each player has supply lines, denoted by the colored lines on the map. So long as a unit is on a supply line unbroken by an enemy unit, they function at full capability. Otherwise, the unit may become weakened.
Beyond that, there aren’t a ton of other rules. Once a player has fully eliminated the other or controlled all their cities for a full turn, they win the game!
Final Thoughts
Tactics is a very bare-bones game. The rules for Tactics II are only 4 pages long, which has got to be an Avalon Hill record. Still, its impact on tabletop gaming and wargaming can not be understated. Beyond the obvious inclusion of the combat results table, it gave us the concept of a full wargame in a box, which hadn’t truly existed prior to its release.
It’s a wonder that the Tactics wargame isn’t discussed more often when it is really the grandfather of all wargaming. Tactics is so influential and core to the wargaming world, games like Warhammer would look entirely different without it.
