Kriegspiel (board wargame)

[1] In early 1970, Avalon Hill Vice-president Tom Shaw was expecting freelance game designer Jim Dunnigan to deliver a new introductory wargame in time for the American Toy Fair in March.

However, Dunnigan was busy starting up his new company Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) and was unable to deliver the expected game.

As the Avalon Hill Company History noted in 1980, "Kriegspiel was a dismal failure from the wargamer's point of view.

[7] In Issue 15 of Simulacrum, Joe Scoleri called Kriegspiel "close to being a great little introductory wargame [but] it left a lot to be desired."

He concluded that the small size of the game (only 45 counters) "made for limited gameplay value even though this was probably intended to make it more accessible to new gamers.

"[2] In A Player's Guide to Table Games, John Jackson noted "There are not enough units or movement factors in Kriegspiel to risk anything more daring or decisive than a cautious advance.