The two games reviewed this issue posed quite a problem. Both are very good. Both were written by people who obviously care very much for the hobby of wargaming. One was written as a straight board-to-computer conversion (if such a thing is possible). The other tries to take advantage of the computer’s inherent visual qualities in terms of presentation — not to make it gimmicky, but simply to experiment with a new approach to wargame interaction. So I had to get my priorities in order.
Wargaming as a hobby has been suffering for some time. Many people say this is because the hobby appears inflexible to outsiders. Is producing a computer wargame that acts like a board wargame giving people what they want, or is it just preaching to the converted (for want of better terminology)? On the other hand, are new approaches to wargaming just fads which however pretty, are unlikely to attract new people to the hobby? Indeed, do they deter wary afficionados of the genre, despite the qualities such games may boast?
Or am I missing the point? Is computer wargaming becoming a new hobby in Its own right? Could be, could be...