Alfred Wallace The War In Cardboard And Ink Analysis

In Alfred Wallace’s article, The War in Cardboard and Ink: Fifty Years of Civil War Board Games, he provides insight and examples of how war games have advanced since they were first released. Details supporting the advancement include; video games, addressing conflicts, audience, popularity, materials, and art cover. Throughout the article, Wallace provides four ways war games are played; board games, miniature games, solitaire games, and video games. Although Wallace also claims that, video games and miniature games are not appropriate examples of war games, only old-fashion games played on the floor or on tables. The transition from board games to video games had a positive and negative impact on different perspectives. For board games,
it caused a negative impact due to it becoming less popular than video games. Although, on the positive side, board games continue to be made and sold in retail stores to this day. Video games popularity has had a positive impact for companies knowing that the demand for war games is higher than ever. It is important for companies to keep updated with new and improving technology to continue satisfying war gamers. A negative impact from video games is on a person’s physical well-being, in today’s time, staying inside and playing video games has become an issue because of people spending an excessive amount of time playing.
Involving race and slavery into war games broadened the audience by intriguing people of color to participate. The original audience was a majority of boys and men; it has been like this since the first game was release. In earlier war games; slavery, race, and the Emancipation Proclamation had a lack of acknowledgment, ignoring their importance to the Civil War. Stating the issues that started the Civil War will compose a more realistic game. Excluding such issues will make the war appear as if there is no purpose to the violence. The War between the States, for example, was released by SPI in 1978, and Emancipation Proclamation was only mentioned once throughout the rule book. The first war game that addressed the major issues is, For the People (1998), in the game, a player would draw a card from the deck and either collects points or accept the event and go to battle. At the end of the game, the player with the most points wins the game. The internet has increased the popularity of war games tremendously.
For example, the video game, Modern Warfare 3, received a total amount “far larger than the total domestic gross of Gettysburg (1993), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), Cold Mountain (2003), God and Generals (2003), Valkyrie (2008), and Inglorious Basterds (2009) combined.” According to Wallace, war gamers changed from board games to internet games in 1996 and continues to be the most popular way the play war games. Some small-scale companies that created playing cards for solitaire games, occasionally do not produce enough for consumer needs but, they are still accessible through the internet to be
printed.
Board games and miniature games require much more materials than the other game types. Board games include maps, most of the time multiple, and are divided into different sectors. Wallace claims that military forces and commanders serve as “counters” which is a piece of scrapped cardboard. The board game will provide game pieces to represent forts, naval forces, and informational stations. Dice or playing cards will be used to determine how you progress in the game such as; territory, units, or results for a battle. The miniature game, Little Wars, was put together to have permanent rules to follow. Miniature games use small figures to represent soldiers which are moved while measuring it with a ruler. Using a gridded map or a game board would replace the need for a ruler.
As for the rest of the types of games, solitaire games and video games, these do not need as many game pieces and materials. As for solitaire games, some companies prefer to print their playing cards on card stock and high-end companies print on glossy paper for a better appearance. At times, these cards can be easily found on the internet for gamers to print such as the game, The Lost Cause. For video games, all that is needed to play is a game console, controller, television, and a war game which can be purchased at video game stores and popular retail stores. Unfortunately, video games can total up to be more expensive than the other types of games.
The design on the front of box covers should represent the main idea of the game and be intriguing to customers.
It is important to reach out to all gender and age groups when coming up with an appropriate art design. Wallace claims that “Most games’ cover art is similarly evenhanded.” Meaning, there is a balance of Confederate and Union representations being used as the cover art. Usually, Confederate officers are paired with battle flags and the U.S. flag goes with the Union soldiers. For example, War for the Union displays both sides in fighting formation with an American flag as the background as it’s cover
art.
Following these main ideas will be helpful when creating a war game appealing to today’s audience. Make the game program accessible to the newest technology such as; game console or software. Involve major conflicts and issues to make it perceived as more realistic. Construct the game to appeal to different gender, age, and race groups to reach a greater audience. Use tips and examine faults from other games to increase the chances of creating a popular game from learning from their experiences. Nowadays, the fewer the materials and game pieces, it is more likely to sell at a higher rate. Finally, pick an alluring art cover is extremely important since it makes the first impression.