Category Archives: Books

Gaming

Panzerfaust #62

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Don Lowry’s personal copy of Panzerfaust #62 has “Jun-Jul ’74” penciled on the cover, which would be about when this undated issue went out.

Contents:
The Swedish National Army of Gustavus Adolphus * Kent H. Clotfelter
Wargamer’s Guide To the American Civil War, Part VII * Don Lowry
Chaco: Game Review * Jack Greene, Jr
Bar Lev: The Use of the Israeli Air Force * John Hill
Delaying Action * Don Lowry
Winter War, Addendum * Patrick J. Allen
Strategy I Checklist * Harold Totten
Realistic D-Day * Carl Bennett
SS Cavalry – 1945 * Antonio Munoz
Diplomacy: A Fight to the Finnish * Tom Hubbard
Thumbnail Analysis * Editor
Passing in Review * Editor
Reconnaissance in Force * Editor
G2 Reports * Editor
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault.

Books, Gaming

Wargamer’s Guide to Afrika Korps

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In 1972, Guidon Games published the “Wargamer’s Guidebook Series”, reprinting the better articles from various magazines on a particular game. All were edited by Don Greenwood, and put together just before (or as) he was hired by Avalon Hill.

The first of these was Wargamer’s Guide to Afrika Korps, containing eleven articles about the design and play of Avalon Hill’s classic 1964 game on the North African campaign in WWII.

This volume is being republished very close to fifty years after its initial release, and contains an afterword from Don Greenwood himself, with his thoughts on five decades in wargaming, and on Afrika Korps itself.

Contents:
Foreword * Don Greenwood
Play Balance for Afrika Korps * Victor Madeja
Sink Some African Sands * Victor Madeja
Absurdity of Afrika Korps * John Perica
Tactics of Isolation * Carl Knabe II
Afrika Korps Replayed * AH Staff
Tactics & Strategy * David B. Whiskeyman
A New German Approach * Jared Johnson
Rommel Rides Again * Allan Wood
The Tobruch Dilemna * Harley Anton
Shortcomings of Afrika Korps * Chuck Lane
The Afrika Korps Thesis * Tom Hazlett

Available on Wargame Vault.

Gaming

Panzerfaust #61

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Issue #61 of of Panzerfaust moved to a new printing service, and a new digest-sized format. It did come out two months after #60, making it effectively (though unmarked) the April-May 1974 issue.

Contents:
Line of Communications * Editor
War at Sea: The High Seas Fleet, The Tragedy * Robert G. Dick
Aux Armes! * Pete Bennett
The Tactics of Panzerblitz * Roy Easton
Game Review: Conquest * Louis Pulsipher
USN Modifications * Darrell Stiffler
The Winter War * Harold Totten
Russian Victory in Origins * Anthony O’Brien
Panzerblitz Potpourri *Tom Oleson
What I Don’t Like About SPI * Tom Oleson
Star Trek Revisions * Kenneth W. Burke
Game Design: Rules Design, Historic Considerations, and the Designer * Gary Gygax
Book Review: Four Keys to Ancient Warfare * Gary Gygax
Thumbnail Analysis * Don Lowry
Miniature Warfare: Reality in Wargaming * Gary Gygax
Passing in Review * Don Lowry
G2 Reports * Don Lowry
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault

Books, Gaming

Lowrys Guidon #1

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At the start of 1972, Lowrys Hobbies was a successful mail-order store for wargamers. However, the catalog was going out of date faster than it could easily be revised, so a supplement with updates and corrections was provided.

It also contained a short editorial giving news about the business, and two articles. In the normal course of events, it would have started picking up more articles, and expanded until it became an actual magazine.

Instead, Panzerfaust was purchased from Don Greenwood just a few months later. Lowrys Guidon ran for nine issues, and did pick up more content, but was mostly a catalog supplement the entire time.

Contents:
Editorial
How Can War Be a Game? * Gary Gygax (reprinted in An Introduction to Wargaming, and the 1972 catalog)
Modeller’s Corner: Grizzly Bear * Editor

And five-plus pages of thoroughly out-of-date listings for Airfix, Tamiya, Monogram, and Nitto model kits; GHQ micro-armor, and 20mm Napoleonics; Old Guard, Cavalier, Bachman, and Bussler miniatures; Fast Rules, Zocchi’s Battle of Britain, and Presstype.

Available at Wargame Vault.

Books, Gaming

Panzerfaust #60

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Issue #60 of Panzerfaust was the first of a set of eight issues that did not bear a cover date. However, Don Lowry’s personal copy has “Feb-Mar ’74” penciled on the cover, implying it went out about five months late. Among the regular articles is a piece by Jack Scruby describing how the miniatures business works.

Contents:
Line of Communications * Editor
A Point Is a Point * Richard Hamblen
More Nuts and Bolts About Game Design * Thomas Nowak
The Cavalry Quandary * Richard Hamblen
SGC Waterloo Rules Clarification * The Simulations Games Committee
Much Ado About Nothing * Jack Scruby
Games For Three * Bill Gale
Game Review: Kasserine Pass * Norris L. Darrall
Game Review: NORAD * Tyrone Bomba
Tactical Analysis in Bulge * Paul D. Mills
The Tonkin War 1950–4 * Guy Hail
The Imperial Roman Legions * Thomas Coveney
Jets and Rockets and Other Fancy Stuff in Luftwaffe * Marvant Duhon
Fantasy Wargaming a’la Tolkien * Gary Gygax
Game Design: The Cohesion Factor * Bill Gale
Diplomacy: How to Play the Youngstown Variant * Rod Walker
Thumbnail Analysis * Editor
G2 Reports * Editor
Passing in Review * Editor
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault.

Books, History

An Introduction to Wargaming

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Fox Den will be publishing a few old Lowrys Hobbies/Panzerfaust Publications products other than the magazine for a while, hopefully around the 15th of each month.

When Don Lowry took over Panzerfaust in 1972, he offered a free booklet to all new and returning subscribers. This booklet was a guide to the essentials of board and miniatures wargaming, with listings of prominent publishers and clubs.

Gary Gygax wrote the lead piece for the booklet (reprinted from Lowrys Guidon #1 published a few months earlier), and (at my guess) the section on miniatures wargaming as well.

The information in here is decades out of date, and is presented purely as a snapshot of wargaming in the early ’70s. It is also a rare collector’s item for anyone interested in the period.

Available at Wargame Vault.

Books, History

Campaign #1

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After Don Lowry took over Panzerfaust he found he was receiving far more good history article submissions than he could justify publishing in a gaming magazine. So, Campaign was launched in 1973 as a military history magazine.

It was originally intended  to be bimonthly, publishing alternately to Panzerfaust. However, by the time it was published, this plan had been changed to quarterly, and the first issue had been delayed from April to Summer.

It was also destined to be the only issue of Campaign (in this incarnation), as Don Lowry found that producing two magazines at the same time was more effort than could be sustained (also at this point Lowry Enterprises—the company that held all the various specialized businesses, like Panzerfaust Publishing—was under increasing financial strain), so the magazine was cancelled and subscriptions rolled back into Panzerfaust.

But, Don Lowry also eventually decided to change the name of Panzerfaust, renaming it to Panzerfaust and Campaign in 1976, and then just Campaign about a year and a half later. So, this single issue of a military history magazine is a part of the history of Panzerfaust.

Contents:
Editorial * Don Lowry
Assault at Dawn: The Mexican Army at the Alamo * John B. Lundstrom
The Vietnam Campaign 1950-54 * Gregory H. Hail
War at Sea: The High Seas Fleet * Robert G. Dick
The Soviet Air Forces at the Start of the Great Patriotic War * Ron Mazurkiewicz
Book Review: The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands * Gary Gygax

Available at Wargame Vault.

Books, Gaming

Panzerfaust #59

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Issue #59 of Panzerfaust (July-August 1973), along with the normal game reviews, commentary, strategy articles, variants and other articles expected of a gaming magazine, also has commentary from five people in the wargame industry of 1972, representing Avalon Hill, Conflict Games, Simulations Design Corporation, Gamma Two Games, and Guidon Games (SPI was asked, but didn’t respond) about the future of wargaming.

Contents:
Line of Communications * Editor
Anzio’s Heirs * Chuck Holland
The Future of Wargaming: Comments From Five Wargame Publishers * Don Greenwood, John Hill, Dana Lombardy, T. T. Dagliesh, Don Lowry
The Austrian Army and Navy 1792-1815 * David L. Arneson
Design Analysis: Richthofen’s War, Fight in the Skies, Flying Circus, by Harold Totten
And Then There Were Three: Richthofen’s War * Mike Carr
Battle of Finger Ridge – 1808 * Jack Scruby
Dunkirk Openings * T. Nowak
The Fog of War * Leon L. Tucker
Strategy in Overlord * John Hill
Some Gripes With Operation Greif * Stephen List
Afterthoughts on Alexander * Gary Gygax
Airpower in France ’40 * Harold Totten
Diplomacy * Lewis Pulsipher
Game Design * Bill Gale
Miniature Warfare * Gary Gygax
Thumbnail Analysis * Tom Wham
Reconnaissance in Force * Pete Bennett
Passing in Review * Pete Bennett
G2 Reports * Editor
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault.

Gaming, History

Panzerfaust #58

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Issue #58 of Panzerfaust (May-June 1973) came out late (which is why it skips two months from the previous issue), but in much better editorial shape, and with sixteen more pages (68, including the covers).

The Fox Hole continues to give current perspectives on the issue (on the last page), including Don Lowry’s (non-)involvement with Dungeons & Dragons.

Contents:
Line of Communications * Editor
Prelude to Disaster, The Soviet Army June 1941 * John Lundstrom
Trouble in the Ardennes * Danny S. Parker
Verdun: Design Analysis * Harold Totten
Verdun: Designer’s Notes * John Hill
Waterloo, the Combined Arms Armies * John Hemry
DIPLOMACY: “A Whirlwind of Knives” * Edi Birsan
Game Design: The Invasion of Sicily * Harold Totten
Miniature Warfare * Gary Gygax
Thumbnail Analysis * Tom Wham
G2 Reports * Editor
Book Review * Pete Bennett
Reconnaissance in Force * Pete Bennett
Passing in Review * Pete Bennett
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault.

Gaming

Panzerfaust #57

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Issue #57 of Panzerfaust (January-February 1973) was the first done at a regular printing service, which meant the size changed (to 6″x9″), but the page count went up, the paper quality was much improved, and it was properly trimmed.

This was the first issue produced in Maine, in a more spacious area than the home in Evansville, but the change in venue and printing did cause it to come out in a rush, and be more error-prone.

Contents:
Line of Communications * Editor
The Atlanta Campaign * Don Lowry
Designing Atlanta * Don Lowry
The Ratio of Forces to Space * Jerry Pournelle
Wargamers Guide to the ACW, Part VI * Don Lowry
Gettysburg & Chancellorsville * Steven List
Game Design * Bill Gale
Thumbnail Analysis * Tom Wham
Miniature Warfare * Gary Gygax
Book Review * Editor
Passing in Review * Pete Bennett
Reconnaissance in Force * Editor
Wargamer’s Notebook * Editor
Mail Call

Available at Wargame Vault.