I have fond memories of popping into what might be the premiere location in Chicago to buy magazines, the Six Corners City News Stand located on Cicero near Irving Park Road. I’m pretty sure the place is still kicking although I’m sure that they don’t carry the same number of table top gaming related mags as they once did. Honestly, I don’t think there’s a single U.S. based mass market magazine still being sold so I wouldn’t be shocked if they didn’t carry any.
Ah, but there were those good old days when I would swing in and pick up a copy of Shaddis or Command. Sometimes the urge to pick up the latest Dragon or Dungeon would strike me even though I didn’t play D&D. Then I would head a little further down Irving Park Road to the long defunct Emperor’s Headquarters and snag a few more titles including the beloved MWAN. But, lest we think that all gaming magazines have gone the way of the rotary phone, there are still a variety of titles being published. You just have to look a little harder for them or order online. Recently I had an opportunity to read three very different magazines and I thought I’d provide a bit of a rundown.
Against the Odds– 2010 Annual: I really enjoyed this magazine as it includes four complete games all focusing on the WWII Operation Barbarosa. Also included is a fifteen page article about Operation Barbarrosa, an interesting piece about the 1868 Abyssinian battle of Magdala (something I was completely unaware of), a short editorial about using meaningless statistics when discussing why the Axis forces lost WWII.
Not only is the issue packed with four completely unique game designs – granted, on the same subject – but it is extremely well produced and edited. I’ll say that this is certainly a great magazine for the serious wargamer.
Line of Fire Issue #9 – LoF is the house magazine for Lock ‘n Load Games and, if you’re a fan of their games, it is a must have. The editorial style and content is a good reflection of LnL owner Mark H. Walker as the magazine has a bit of a breezy feel to it. Those of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Mark in person know that he’s a lot of fun to talk to and isn’t one to take himself too seriously. You’ll find that the main focus is obviously on Lock ‘n Load titles, but there’s discussion of releases from outside companies as well. The issue is chock full of scenarios, with additional counters, and a map for the jumbo sized two day World at War scenario. An excellent magazine but mainly for those who enjoy LnL games (like we do!)
C3iIssue #25 – This came as a complete surprise as our friends at GMT sent this along without my knowing. I have to point out that this is the house magazine for all things GMT but there’s also lots of content that will appeal to historical gamers everywhere. I especially enjoyed the tributes to Avalon Hill founder Charles S. Roberts – including an article penned by our good friend Alan Emrich from Victory Point Games – and the piece written by designer Mark Herman regarding scripting in card driven games. Of course there are also scenarios and variants for quite a few GMT titles as well as the counters needed for them. One thing I thought was especially nice was the scenarios and variants were mainly stand alone and not bound within the magazine itself. They’re also printed on that same heavy stock as many of the GMT player handouts so you can easily pop them into their appropriate game box and they’ll stand up to a lot of use.
This issue also comes with a complete game, Frank Chadwick’s Battle for Moscow!
All in all, three excellent magazines which I enjoyed tremendously and which certainly deserve a spot on your very own magazine rack!
Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...
