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I’m quite of a newbie in wargaming world. I still discover a lot of new things and terms. There is a lot of acronyms which wargame novice like myself is a bit confuse about. I figure out some of them (like CSW, S&T or SAR) but I still cannot find for example what is AAR or FtF...? I try to find those things in BGG wiki, but one - search engine for wiki doesn’t work (“Wiki search temporarily disabled “) and second - I doubt that I will find any acronym there. So my idea is to ask advanced wargamers to create some kind of wargame dictionary or an alphabet to help people who are new and fresh here in wargame forum. I don’t know if forum will be appropriate and comfortable place to do it - maybe geeklist or something completely different will be better? I’m open to any ideas.
So what do You think? Will You help new people to feel more comfortable in wargaming world?
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I got together all acronyms which could be found below in posts. Maybe some other newbie will found it helpful.
3W = World Wide Wargames - another OOP publisher that did the S&T magazines for awhile.
88s = a common name given to the German Flak gun of 88 mm calibre which was used with great effect in an Anti Tank (AT) role.
AAA = Anti-Aircraft Artillery
AAR = After Action Report... in BGG terms, a Session Report describing a completed play.
ADB = Amarillo Design Bureau (publisher)
AFV = Armoured Fighting Vehicle which includes tanks, mobile artillery, armoured cars etc
AH (also see TAHGC)= Avalon Hill... a game company once known for excellent wargames. One of the Legacy gaming companies. Was bought up by the Hasbro.
APC = Armoured Personel Carrier
ASL = Advanced Squad Leader series of games, produced by Multiman Publishing
ASLSK = Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kit
AT = Anti-Tank
AVP = Avalanche Press
BL = Battleline - another OOP company. Avalon Hill reprinted a lot of their games (Air Force/Dauntless, Submarine).
CDG = Card Driven Game
CDW = Card Driven Wargame
CoA = Clash of Arms games, known for games with beautiful components using hand-drawn style graphics. The current publisher of the La Bataille series of Napoleonic tactical games, the Harpoon series of modern naval battle games, and Command at Sea series of naval miniatures rules covering the first half of 20th Century.
COWTRA = Concentrate on what the rules allow.
CRT = Combat Results Table... used to resolve battles with at least one die roll.
CSW = ConsimWorld, alternative site for wargames fans www.consimworld.com
CWBS = Civil War Brigade Series
DG = Decision Games - active publisher with rights to some of the old SPI titles
DRM = Die-Roll Modifier
DVG = Dan Verssen Games, wargames publisher, mostly solitary www.dvg.com
DZ = Drop Zone
F2F (also FtF) = = Face to Face... a game enjoyed in person, not on the internet.
FLGS = Frienldy Local Game Store
FtF (also F2F) = Face to Face... a game enjoyed in person, not on the internet.
FUBAR = "Fouled" Up Beyond All Recognition (fouled has other common substitution words) .
GBACW = Great Battles of the American Civil War -- a series of regimental-scale wargames started by SPI of Civil War battles, not to be confused with
GBII = Guderian's Blitzkrieg II (Older Brother of Case Blue)
GCACW = Great Capaigns of the American Civil War -- a series of operational-scale wargames started by AH of Civil War campaigns.
GDW = Game Designer's Workshop (out of business)
GMT = GMT Games (GMT stands for the names of the three founders)
ICV = Infantry Combat Vehicle
LAV = Light Armoured Vehicle
LOS = Line of Sight. Is the view to the target obstructed or not. OR Line of supply (Yes, its the same as Line of Sight.)
L'nL = Lock and Load, wargames publisher www.locknloadgame.com
LZ = Landing Zone
M&P = Musket & Pike series from Ben Hull & GMT
MA = Movement Allowance
MBT = Main or Medium Battle Tank
MMP = Multiman Publishing, current publisher of all main ASL products, and all titles formerly published by The Gamers. Founded by retired professional baseball pitcher Curt Schilling.
MP = Movement Points
NBS = Napoleonic Battles Series
OCS = Operational Combat Series
OLGS = On-Line Game Store
OOB = Order of Battle. Who shows up when during the game and in what quantity.
OOP = Out of Print
OOS = Out of Supply
OSG = Operational Studies Group, known for specializing exclusively with wargames covering only the Napoleonic era.
OP = Operation Points
OPS =Operations said as "ops". A military slangy term used by many wargamers.
PbeM = Play by eMail, the opposite of FtF
PK = Probability of a Kill
PNP = Print 'n' Play - games that you print or build yourself from existing files
RSS = Regimental Sub Series
S&T = Strategy & Tactics, wargamers magazine www.strategyandtacticspress.com
SAM = Surface-to-Air Missile
SAR = Search And Rescue
SCS = Standard Combat Series
SITREP = Situation Report (kind of like an AAR)
SL = Squad Leader, series of games
SPA = Self-Propelled Artillery
SPI = Simulation Publications inc. Another of the legacy companies. Went under in 1982.
TAHGC (also see AH) = The Avalon Hill Game Company (a more elaborate acronym for Avalon Hill)
TCS = Tactical Combat Series
TDY = Temporary Duty
TEC = Terrain Effects Chart (or Card)
TFG = Task Force Games (out of business; see ADB)
TO&E = Table of Organization & Equipment (Similar to OOB but includes the equipment)
TSINAW = Twilight Struggle Is Not A Wargame.
TSR = Tactical Studies Rules - original publisher of Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) that first bailed out SPI and then sold them down the river.
TSS - Terrible Swift Sword
vFtF = virtual Face to Face: both gamers online playing a wargame, but maybe worlds apart. Worst case: communication through chat, best case: video conference.
VG = Victory Games - a subsidiary publisher of Avalon Hill staffed mainly by ex-SPI designers
VITP = Victory in the Pacific
VPG = Victory Point Games
VPs = Victory Points
WaS = War at Sea
WaW = World at War, it could refer to Lock' N Load series of games OR to one of Strategy & Tactics Press magazine.
WiF = World in Flames, game
WS&IM = Wooden Ships and Iron Men
ZOC = Zone of control, an area of influence exerted by a playing unit, typically into adjacent spaces, that affects the movement or combat ability of opposing units. Usually the six hexes adjacent to a unit.
ZOI = Zone of Influence aka Zone of Control
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Pete Belli
United States
Florida
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AAR = After Action Report... in BGG terms, a Session Report describing a completed play.
FtF = Face to Face... a game enjoyed in person, not on the internet,
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Pete Belli
United States
Florida
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ZOC = Zone of control... usually the six hexes adjacent to a unit.
CRT = Combat Results Table... used to resolve battles with at least one die roll.
AH = Avalon Hill... a game company once known for excellent wargames.
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Seth Owen
United States
Norwich
Connecticut
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Can't forget ZOC = Zone of Control, an area of influence exerted by a playing unit, typically into adjacent spaces, that affects the movement or combat ability of opposing units.
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Brett Christensen
United States
Dickinson
North Dakota
Bad touch!
Rub the wizard!
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LOS = Line of Sight. Is the view to the target obstructed or not.
OOB = Order of Battle. Who shows up when during the game and in what quantity.
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Warren Bruhn
United States
Portland
Oregon
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There are some acronyms in the BGG Glossary, which is under the Help tab:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Glossary
For example, in the O's we find:
OLGS - On-Line Game Store
OOP - Out of Print
OOS - Out of Supply
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Alfred Wallace
United States
State College
Pennsylvania
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Remember--this is what we're trying to simulate:
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/dod_dictionary/
(Got that sucker on the bookmarks toolbar for all the manuals I accumulate. My favorites are the ones that don't even work, like EAST: "expeditionary aeromedical evacuation staging team.")
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TSINAW = Twilight Struggle Is Not A Wargame
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M@tthijs
Netherlands
NOT
Holland
Earn tons of geekgold:...
...go to VGG and add videogames to the database
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MA = Movement Allowance
MP = Movement Points (how much of your MA you've used)
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Wendell
United States
Arlington
Virginia
All the little chicks with crimson lips, go...
Hey, get your stinking cursor off my face! I got nukes, you know.
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mrs_z wrote:
So what do You think? Will You help new people to feel more comfortable in wargaming world?
You did the right thing - you asked the question in this forum! None of us came into this hobby knowing what "ZOC" or "FtF" meant, but most of us are glad to help.
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M@tthijs
Netherlands
NOT
Holland
Earn tons of geekgold:...
...go to VGG and add videogames to the database
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PbeM = Play by eMail, the opposite of FtF
vFtF = virtual Face to Face: both gamers online playing a wargame, but maybe worlds apart. Worst case: communication through chat, best case: video conference (I suppose).
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Thomas Heaney
United States
Quincy
California
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Welcome to the fold . . .
LOS = Line of supply (Yes, its the same as Line of Sight.)
GBACW = Great Battles of the American Civil War -- a series of regimental-scale wargames started by SPI of Civil War battles, not to be confused with
GCACW = Great Capaigns of the American Civil War -- a series of operational-scale wargames started by AH of Civil War campaigns.
SPI - a defunct, totally awesome wargame company
VPG = Victory Point Games
GMT = GMT Games (GMT stands for the names of the three founders)
Two companies to whom you'll be giving a lot of your money in the near future.
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B. Marsh
United States
Georgia
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Blue Falcon = the guy who never helps put the counters back into their respective storage places.
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武士に二言無し
Italy
Caravaggio
Europe + Earth + Via Lactea
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Case Blue
... the "Answer" of all your questions!
F.
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Jim F
United Kingdom
Birmingham
West Midlands
HRC - His Royal Cheekiness, Rajah Babu
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Another one you may come across sometimes is gfy...
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Robert Wesley
Nepal
Aberdeen
Washington
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Ashiefan wrote: Another one you may come across sometimes is gfy...  isn't that actually? GFU = GROGnadsFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU 
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Morten Lund
Denmark
Århus
Denmark
Yes, Beware the Geek bringing gifts!
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AH: Avalon Hill one of the Legacy gaming companies. Was bought up by the evil Hasbro
SPI: Simulation Publications inc. Another of the legacy companies. went under in 1982, and its licences were bought by TSR
CRT: Combat Results Table
DRM: Die-Roll Modifier
PK: Probability of a Kill
Some equipment-related ones:
AT: Anti-Tank
AAA: Anti-Aircraft Artillery
MBT: Main or Medium Battle Tank
APC: Armoured Personel Carrier
ICV: Infantry Combat Vehicle
LAV: Light Armoured Vehicle
SAM: Surface-to-Air Missile
SPA: Self-Propelled Artillery
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Víctor Pérez
Other-Africa
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We could easily make a summary of acronyms and ask our lovely Moderator/Primus Pilus to make it sticky/announcement.
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Courage Under Fire
United Kingdom
Warrington
Cheshire
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It isn't just acronyms and only after reading this thread do I realise how much jargon we talk. I wonder how many of the public would understand the following sentence?
"The squadron of 5 AFVs were travelling towards the LZ when they were hit by a battery of 88s"
AFV Armoured Fighting vehicle which includes tanks, mobile artillery, armoured cars etc
LZ landing zone also DZ for drop zone
88s is a common name given to the German Flak gun of 88 mm calibre which was used with great effect in an Anti Tank (AT) role.
I think a database of military terminology, unit sizes, ranks etc. would also be helpful to someone starting out in the hobby.
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Alfred Wallace
United States
State College
Pennsylvania
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sgtstinky wrote: Blue Falcon = the guy who never helps put the counters back into their respective storage places.
(We use this same term--with a different meaning--in graduate school. It's a very versatile little phrase.)
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Thank you very much for your time spent creating that list and for your support.
Warren Bruhn wrote:
Warren, thanks for link to Glossary. It will be very helpful in the future.
alfredhw wrote:
Alfred, wow! That's an amazing site. What a shame, I didn’t know about it, when I translated D-Day Dice rules to Polish...
Filippo Chiari wrote: Case Blue... the "Answer" of all your questions! F.
Yeah, next wargamers joke, which I don’t get it. But game looks amazing, indeed! 
Ashiefan wrote: Another one you may come across sometimes is gfy...
???
sgtstinky wrote: Blue Falcon = the guy who never helps put the counters back into their respective storage places.
You’re pulling my leg, do You?
HeinzGuderian wrote: We could easily make a summary of acronyms and ask our lovely Moderator/Primus Pilus to make it sticky/announcement.
whatambush wrote:
I think a database of military terminology, unit sizes, ranks etc. would also be helpful to someone starting out in the hobby.
I think, it would be great to have something like that, where new wargamers could easily refer to. I completely understand that those acronyms are quite useful in writhing and communicating through forum or chat and I don’t expect from advanced wargamers to explain in brackets its meaning but some kind of wargaming glossary would be of great use for newbies like myself.
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David McKenna
I can't see a thing in this helmet! Especially the top of doorways ...
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I would also add:
ZOI = Zone of Influence. A lesser cousin of Zones of Control, in that where a ZOC might stop you doing something, a ZOI won't but will cost you a penalty (for example)
TEC = Terrain Effects Chart. How much it costs to enter certian terrain, and (usually) the effects of doing so in combat.
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Warren Bruhn
United States
Portland
Oregon
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BOD or BoD = Buckets of Dice, one of a variety of systems for resolving combat in which each unit gets a die "to hit" or "to kill" vs the enemy in lieu of using a CRT (combat results table). Best example Axis & Allies, but used in more recent games like The Napoleonic Wars (TNW), Here I Stand (HIS), and No Peace Without Spain (NPWS), and in earlier games such as War at Sea and Victory in the Pacific. Feels "light" but speeds up play because players don't have to look at a CRT.
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Skip Franklin
United States
Oklahoma City
OK
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VPs = Victory Points
SITREP = Situation Report (kind of like an AAR)
TDY = Temporary Duty (I've been TDY a few times)
TO&E = Table of Organization & Equipment (Similar to OOB but includes the equipment)
Some other terms you may have seen.
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
BTW = By The Way
DIY = Do It Yourself
FWIW = For What It's Worth
HAND = Have A Nice Day
IIRC = If I Remember [or Recall] Correctly
IMO = In My Opinion
IMHO = In My Humble [or Honest] Opinion
IMNSHO = In My Not So Humble Opinion
ISTM = It Seems To Me
JMO = Just My Opinion
LOL = Laughing Out Loud
OTOH = On The Other Hand
PITA = Pain In The Ass
POV = Point Of View
ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing
ROTFLMAO = Rolling On The Floor Laughing My Ass Off
ROTFLOL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing Out Loud
RTF = Read the FAQ
RTFM = Read The F***ing Manual
SOP = Standard Operating Procedure
TIA = Thanks In Advance
TTFN = Ta Ta For Now
WRT = With Regard To
YMMV = Your Mileage May Vary
All of these are taken from a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) file on a Yahoo Group of mine.
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Lowell Drake
United States
Reno
Nevada
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And another we oftne see: FLGS = Frienldy Local Game Store
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Posted Fri Feb 3, 2012 11:12 pm
