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The world's smallest historical wargames - 50 counters or less
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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I've seen too many lists for monster games - huge maps, 1000s of counters, endless hours of leaning over the table.

I prefer to play and play again.

These are the smallest wargames I can find. I'd like to find more!

Contributions appreciated.

LISTING RULES

1. Historical wargames only. I'm not interested in SF or fantasy. Hypothetical clashes okay.
2. Two to fifty counters all told. Well, okay, we'll fudge that a bit.
3. No expansions to games or modules.
4. Only counter games played on a map. No card games, flipbooks, etc. Blocks okay.
5. I'd like to know how many counters the game has.
6. Please put the time period of the game unless it's obvious.


Resorted by rank for your needs.

Trying to keep this up to date, but help always appreciated.
Your Tags: Add tags
Popular Tags: wargames [+] [View All]
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26. Board Game: Malaya: V-Mail Postcard Game #1 [Average Rating:6.13 Overall Rank:5568]
Greg Moore
United States
Lees Summit
Missouri
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Less talking about games and more playing games.
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Print-n-Play Wargames and Miniatures Rules www.wargamedownloads.com
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WWII - The Japanese invasion of Malaya was one of the most perfectly executed military plans in history.

18 counters

Free download too!
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27. Board Game: Desert Duel: First Alamein [Average Rating:5.75 Overall Rank:5760]
Jim Allard
United States
Dover
New Hampshire
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new bonus game in the last issue of Against the Odds #21 - haven't played yet, but it looks good.
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Oh yes, I saw this earlier. Thanks for adding it.
 
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  • Posted Fri Feb 29, 2008 5:09 am
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Michael Rinella
United States

New York
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I'm glad to see Desert Duel has appeared at BGG - had no idea it had, because it was a subscriber-only bonus game.

Michael Rinella
Designer, Desert Duel
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  • Posted Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:22 pm
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28. Board Game: The Jewish War [Average Rating:5.90 Overall Rank:5826]
June Hwang Wah
Singapore
Singapore
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The Jews revolt against the might of the Roman empire!
 
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June Hwang Wah
Singapore
Singapore
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42 counters, including the Turn Record.
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:28 am
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29. Board Game: Morgan's a Comin' [Average Rating:5.78 Overall Rank:5847]
Wendell
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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All the little chicks with crimson lips, go...
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Hey, get your stinking cursor off my face! I got nukes, you know.
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A postcard game - Confederate cavalry raids Ohio. A rare wargame with Dayton, Ohio on it! 17 counters total.
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30. Board Game: Revolt in the East [Average Rating:5.68 Overall Rank:6062]
David Dockter
United States

Minnesota
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86+a few info counters.
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31. Board Game: Panzer Pranks [Average Rating:5.48 Overall Rank:6308]
Raul Catalano
Italy
Pordenone
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Ok, I don't know if you can really consider this an "historical" wargame, but I am still searching for a copy of this really really little mad game
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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And it's got better lookin' counters than some games I've seen!
 
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  • Posted Thu Aug 3, 2006 1:55 am
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32. Board Game: Some Poles Apart: The Battle of the Westerplatte [Average Rating:5.48 Overall Rank:6385]
Marc Figueras

Barcelona
Catalonia
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The pocket game included in issue #19 of Against the odds depicts this small and really "against the odds" battle of WW2. Just 17 counters (although you need a standard card deck).
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33. Board Game: Showtime Hanoi [Average Rating:5.34 Overall Rank:6515]
Wendell
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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All the little chicks with crimson lips, go...
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Hey, get your stinking cursor off my face! I got nukes, you know.
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A postcard game - air combat over North Vietnam. 18 counters.
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34. Board Game: U-Boat [Average Rating:5.41 Overall Rank:6524]
Atomic wedgie
United States
Vancouver
Washington
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I think that we've got a winner here. The basic game is 2 counters, 1 submarine vs. 1 destroyer. I don't think that you can get a much lower count. The counter sheet is 6 counters for the multi-ship advanced game.



I found this in a thrift store and almost put it back because everything but the counters were there. Then I figured that I could probably make 6 counters myself.

I've spent the last two months wondering when I was going to run across this geeklist again so that I could add this game.
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35. Board Game: Strike Force One [Average Rating:4.25 Overall Rank:7795]
Was George Orwell an Optimist?
United States
Corvallis
Oregon
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10 Counters. Hypothetical combat between U.S. and Soviet forces in West Germany circa 1975.
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36. Board Game: Falkland Sound [Average Rating:4.75 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Falklands War, 25 counters.
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Robert Wesley
Nepal
Aberdeen
Washington
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which "War"? laugh
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:49 am
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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1982.

From the game's page:
Quote:
There are two scenarios, "HMS Sheffield" and "HMS Hermes", the first being an attack on the Sheffield by a single Argentine squadron (represented by one counter) and the latter utilizing all twenty-five counters.
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:52 am
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Rob Rob
United States
La Mesa
California
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Heck the map could be 1:1 scale and still pretty much fit on a postcard...
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  • Posted Sun Jul 30, 2006 8:16 pm
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Nick West
Scotland
Colinton
Edinburgh
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To paraphrase, "Those may be stinking god-foresaken useless rocky sons-of-bitches, but the OUR useless stinking rocky sons-of-bitches."

Who said the British Empire was dead.
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  • Posted Thu Aug 3, 2006 4:52 pm
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Matthew Barratt
United Kingdom
Royal Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
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Overheard at the game club

Modern naval enthusiast: 'I was thinking of doing a scenario that covers what would have happened if the Falklands had taken place in 1975.'

Dreadnaughtophile: 'But the Germans didn't have a Far East Squadron in 1975'
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  • Posted Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:16 pm
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37. Board Game: 1st Alamein [Average Rating:6.08 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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WW II, 27 counters.
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Lou Coatney, free to download.
 
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:12 pm
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Robert Wesley
Nepal
Aberdeen
Washington
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You may want to check out the others of his as many of them might be close for the 'criterion' of which you've given here upon the "contents" for these.
cool
 
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:28 am
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フィル
Australia
Newtown
NSW
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This is a good one, worth printing and playing.
 
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  • Posted Wed May 16, 2007 2:43 am
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38. Board Game: Assault on Belgium [Average Rating:6.04 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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WWII, 28 counters. A one-turn demo "game". Free to download. One BGG rating, a 2!
 
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Xander Fulton
United States
Portland
Oregon
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Amazing, I had this, too.

Think I got it with...errr....some miniatures I ordered once? Or maybe in a game box? ...magazine??

Who knows - and I doubt I still have it. Certainly never tried it.
 
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:34 am
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Peter Bogdasarian
United States
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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The 2 is from me. This is a pure demo of the combat system and short on decisions.
 
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 1:54 pm
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39. Board Game: La Bataille de York 1813 [Average Rating:4.00 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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20 counters. A "tactical mini-sim" from Minden Games' Panzerschreck Magazine.
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David Ells
United States
San Clemente
California
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So the Battle of Trafalgar really _was_ fought in the middle of Yorkshire ...
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  • Posted Tue Mar 31, 2009 1:34 pm
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40. Board Game: Battle of Marignano [Average Rating:6.10 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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One day in 1515. 29 counters. Square grid map. Free to download.
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Thanks! to the person who uploaded the photo of the counters.

Too colourful for my printer. I made my own.
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:14 pm
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41. Board Game: Kassala [Average Rating:4.86 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Battle between Christians and Muslims, 1541. 25 counters.
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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In The Complete Book of Wargames, 1980.

I wish someone would release a new version of that book!
 
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:17 pm
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Michael Lewis
United States
Unspecified
It is a wee bit out of date isn't it.
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:15 pm
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Not if it is updated, which is what I meant... :-P
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:43 pm
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42. Board Game: Fuller Offensive 1919 [Average Rating:6.00 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Hypothetical WWI (close enough). 30 counters.
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43. Board Game: Assault on Sevastapol [Average Rating:5.81 Unranked]
Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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WWII, 40 counters.

Reprinted and slightly modified by Victory Point Games
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Leo Zappa
United States
Aliquippa
Pennsylvania
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I actually quite like this little game. It's one of the few hex and counter games that my wife will play with me!
 
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  • Posted Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:06 am
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44. Board Game: Zulu War [Average Rating:5.80 Unranked]
Robert Wesley
Nepal
Aberdeen
Washington
designer
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robot the "Colonial" or 'Victorian' age for this. ninja
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John Nebauer
Australia
Clarence Park
SA
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If one were to count the dice needed to play, then it would count as a mini-monster.....
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  • Posted Sun Aug 17, 2008 8:55 am
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45. Board Game: 1914: Opening Moves [Average Rating:6.17 Unranked]
Pelle Nilsson
Sweden
Linköping
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WW1. Solitaire (also rules for two players iirc). 48 counters (approx 20 units). Minden Games.
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46. Board Game: Graf Spee [Average Rating:6.25 Unranked]
Paul Denhup
United States
Stratford
Connecticut
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I think I counted 10 counters? Or was it 12?
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Chris R.
United States
Unspecified
Missouri
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Isn't that the line from the movie where Dirty Harry is making an inventory of his double-holstered game collection?

"I think I counted 10 counters? Or was it 12?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. ... But you've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?"
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 12:28 am
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47. Board Game: Brandy Station [Average Rating:7.50 Unranked]
Peter Bogdasarian
United States
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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Slightly cheating - only 20 combat units (10 Union, 10 Confederate), but there are 34 chits & markers.

A nice, quick game with some interesting twists in the victory conditions (chosen randomly at the start of play) and the mechanics.
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48. Board Game: 'Nam Diary [Average Rating:5.44 Unranked]
Peter Bogdasarian
United States
Washington
Dist of Columbia
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The original game features 10 American counters (7 soldiers, 3 fakes) against 15 NVA (11 soldiers, 4 fakes). Plays in about 20 minutes and the hidden victory conditions & initiative system provide quite a bit of replayability.

The ziplock edition takes the total counter count to 63 or so and adds a second scenario, but I figured it was worth squeezing the game in here regardless.
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Michael B.
Canada
Stratford
Ontario
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Thank you!
 
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  • Posted Sat Jul 29, 2006 3:07 am
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49. Board Game: Operation Jihad [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
Paul Denhup
United States
Stratford
Connecticut
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This game uses about 40-50 counters at once but they are tiny counters too!
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50. Board Game: Chè: Failed Revolution, Bolivia 1967 [Average Rating:4.93 Unranked]
Thomas Granvold
United States
Santa Clara
California
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28 counters. A game of the Communist Revolution
in Bolivia 1967.
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Prev «  1 , 2 , 3 , 4  Next »   | 
23 comments [Hide]
Post Comment
Jesse Smit
Australia
Sydney
NSW
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Are you counting status markers here or not? I can think of several if were only counting combat units..
 
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  • Posted Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:50 pm
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Patrick Carroll
United States
Carver
Minnesota
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"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly." (GK Chesterton)
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"That's how the light gets in." (Leonard Cohen)
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This may become my favorite GeekList of all. Sometimes I think wargames have to be either big or complicated in order to be good--but I love it when a small wargame proves me wrong!

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  • Posted Mon Oct 27, 2008 2:32 pm
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Wendell
United States
Arlington
Virginia
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Hey, get your stinking cursor off my face! I got nukes, you know.
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Just stumbled across this list, and added a couple. Agree there is definitely a place in the hobby for these very little wargames.
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  • Posted Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:17 pm
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ken ellis
United States
east bend
North Carolina
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martyrs and tartars has few units

but I just sold an occupation of the rhineland on eblow

it was in La Vivandiere mag

it has four hexes and one unit!!!!

a two player game, it is listed here on the geek as is the other game too!

btw, I have the first still for sale, it was in space gamer maybe #20?
 
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  • Posted Fri Jul 1, 2011 9:10 pm
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David Dockter
United States

Minnesota
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Great idea for a list. I love BIG wargame beasts, but, a great, small wargame is a thing of beauty.
 
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  • Edited Wed Jan 4, 2012 4:24 am
  • Posted Wed Jan 4, 2012 4:23 am
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