Common questions about The Complete Book of Wargames

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When was The Complete Book of Wargames published?

Jon Freeman's The Complete Book of Wargames hit the shelves on the 1st of January 1980. The book arrived at a moment when the wargaming industry was expanding so rapidly that it was already becoming obsolete before its first copy was sold.

What publisher released The Complete Book of Wargames?

The Complete Book of Wargames was published by Simon & Schuster under the Fireside imprint. This 285-page volume attempted to capture a hobby that was changing faster than the authors could write.

Why did critics say The Complete Book of Wargames was misleading?

Critics like Jamie Adams of Games magazine pointed out that the title was misleading because the book reviewed and described only board wargames. The text failed to cover the important part of the hobby devoted to miniatures or fantasy role-playing games.

What is the Combat Resolution Table in The Complete Book of Wargames?

The Combat Resolution Table or CRT served as the mathematical heart of most strategy games in Jon Freeman's The Complete Book of Wargames. The book detailed how players could read a CRT to maximize odds and use terrain to execute defensive tactics on a hexgrid.

Which companies were absent from The Complete Book of Wargames?

Major companies like Yaquinto Publications were entirely absent from the pages of The Complete Book of Wargames because they formed after the book was written. Many of the games reviewed were no longer available by the time the book reached bookstores.