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What is Pub Battles?

“I LOVE Pub Battles. It’s the coolest thing ever.”

“More people should know about this game.”

On the Design Table

Pub Battles:  2nd Bull Run

Gruppenfuhrer:  Tactical WW2 Combat.

Supremacy SLBMs & Bombers

Fall of Berlin & Bulge:  Berlin is very close.  We are trying to rectify the system with Bulge and France 40.  If it works in all those places, it should be good for anything in WW2.

Pub Battles:  Borodino

Gettysburg Campaign:  Operational Scale.

A couple of days before Gettysburg. The HQs mark the locations of the wings. That is Stuart over there on the right.

Pub Battles:  Chancellorsville

Vampires!

Welcome to Command Post Games!

We believe that the best games are the ones that connect people.  Games that teach teamwork, leadership and communication.

Strategy board games and wargames are a great way to learn, practice and develop these skills, while having great fun in the process.

The military uses wargames to train.  Hobbyists use them to learn about history and have fun.  There are several types of combat simulations.  What is the difference between an exercise, wargame or a command post game?  Let’s take a closer look: 

Exercises do not involve opposing sides.  The players are usually an actual staff from a military unit.  The umpires control and run the opposition force (OpFor).   They put the players through a simulated maneuver or engagement to train, monitor and evaluate.

Wargames are similar but they involve opposing players or teams.  The controllers or umpires function as referees.  Either side can win.  There are 3 basic types of wargames:

Computer Wargames

Military computer wargames usually amount to the compilation, analysis and study of massive statistical databases:

“Mathematical models that attempt to compare the military power of otherwise incomparable military forces and predict outcomes of conflicts.  They do not involve opposing players or teams.” –Kerry Inman

Sometimes they are limited in scope to strictly compare the performance of tank on tank, aircraft vs aircraft, missile warhead vs armor plating, etc.  Most professional military wargames would be unrecognizable to hobbyists and don’t involve much fun. 

Field Maneuvers

As the name suggests, these involve actually deploying and maneuvering real military units in the field.  This can be great training on many levels for all personnel.  Real troops, consuming real supplies and fuel making real maneuvers in real time.  The troops these days can even use blank ammunition with lasers and sensors to records hits and casualties.  Great training but the big drawback to this is that it also costs lots of real money!

Command Post Games

A much cheaper option than a full Field Maneuver Wargame is the Command Post Game.  Instead of actually calling out the troops, this wargame simulates the same thing by tracking the units on maps.  The first great, codified version of this is credited to von Reiswitz’ “Kriegsspiel” in 1812.  The Prussians developed this as a way of preserving and passing on the vast experiential command knowledge gained by officers from the Napoleonic Wars. 

The new generation of officers growing up in the peace that followed, learned how to maneuver, plan and write orders by playing command post games.  How well can simple command post games on paper simulate the reality of war?  History lists Kriegsspiel as a huge contributing factor in the victories of the Franco-Prussian war that followed.

Good command post games allow us to learn real world lessons, directly applicable to the real world in at a highly accelerated rate.  Meaning:  you can learn things from a game in a few hours that would normally take you 10 years of working experience in the field to learn.  They can be incredibly powerful learning tools.

You get out what you put in.  Train hard.  Train for real.  

Hobby Games

Hobby wargames are usually more about fun and less about work or serious training.  Does that mean they are worthless for learning real leadership skills or real lessons from military history?  Surprisingly, no.  In fact, in most cases, hobby games are much better at doing all of these things than the ‘professional military’ games.  Go figure. 

In fact, if you are in the military, I urge you to play and learn more wargames.  They can be a great tool to advance your career and help train your staff.

Not all games are created equal.  We love our hobby and support all of our fellow ‘competitors’.  You will see differences in games just as you would in most other products.  How many books are written on the same battle?  You can look at the battle from many perspectives.  How did Gettysburg look from the soldiers perspective?  A Colonel’s perspective on a certain hill?  A Corps Commander?  The Army General?  What was Lincoln’s view? 

Just like books, wargames focus on different aspects of the conflict.  They can all be very interesting and worthwhile.

We like games that focus more on the aspects of command, leadership, teamwork and communication.  What were the decision points?  How do people work together, or not?

Kriegsspiel

We love Kriegsspiel!  It is still played to today.  You can get the rules from Too Fat Lardies.  We carry Kriegsspiel Maps, Scenarios, Pieces and Dice here.  You can also get laser cut pieces  and real metal blocks.

The only down side to Kriegsspiel is that it requires lots of people.  A nice alternative is our Pub Battles series.  It incorporates many of the same pressures and features, in an Umpireless 2 player format.  You can add more players or even work with it solitaire. 

Check out the Southern California Kriegsspiel Society!

Random Stuff We Love

Gettysburg Flag Works

Goulet Pen Company

Sword Buyers Guide

Historical Fencing

Fencing Gear

Lindybeige

Military History Visualized

The Strategy Page

Quatermaster Shop

Shave Nation

What are the best strategy board games / wargames?

These are our favorites that we highly recommend.  Some are out of print but you can usually find them used on ebay. 

Are we missing something?  Do you know a great game that should be on this list?  Send us a brief write up on it.  If we agree, we’ll add it to the list!    -Remember, we are looking for games that focus on the command perspective and good player interaction. 

Best Strategic Board Games / Wargames on the Civil War

Best Battle Board Games / Wargames  on the Civil War

Best Strategic Board Games / Wargames on the Napoleonic Wars

Best Battle Board Games / Wargames on the Napoleonic Wars 

Best Strategic Board Games / Wargames on WW2

Best Tactical Board Games / Wargames on WW2

Best Cooperative Board Games

Best Team Building Board Games

Best Strategy Board Games

Best Party Games

In Development

Other Games We Like:

East Front  -Columbia Games

Bobby Lee  -Columbia Games

The Resistance  -Indie Boards & Cards

Telestrations  –

Texas Holdem Poker  –

Tac Ops 4  -Battlefront

Command Ops  -Panther Games

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