Your first cardboard wargame?

[J6A]

My 1st game was a choice between Afrika Korps and 1914 (those were the 2 in the store where I got a game). The map for 1914 looked pretty, but the storybook cover over AK won me over. I sometimes wonder if I would have found another hobby if 1914 had been game #1.

[broadsword]

Well, all I seem to remember of 1914 (besides the glossy historical book and pretty map) was dense crowds of multi-unit stacks that constantly fell over (I think I tried to make myself a casino croupier stick out of a coat hanger and tinfoil to push them around), and trying endlessly to bombard some fortress (Douai?) with the German RR guns (which seemed like the coolest counters in the game because they were super-powerful and long-ranged).

Tactical WWI, in 1914 and pre-trench era, might be interesting to play since it's that weird mix of modern artillery, horse cavalry MGs, and no armor yet. I guess that's what PG Infantry Attacks is about, right? Named after Rommel's book on his exploits as a junior infantry officer during that same period.

[Matt W]

There was a great game lurking in 1914 that never seemed to come out. I loved the planning pads and the opportunity to try out an east first strategy (handled completely abstractly of course) but the advanced game never jelled as the play was incredibly fussy. Still I got it out about 3 years ago and had a shot at it and it didn't seem too bad.

[broadsword]

One has to have lived in that era of the early AH boxed games like Jutland, Blitzkrieg, 1914, etc., to appreciate how mind-blowing Panzerblitz was when it hit the shelves circa 1970. Revolutionary in so many respects -- really changed the hobby in ways we still see today, and of course might be considered the spiritual ancestor of PG. After that, 1914 seemed especially stale and for me there was no going back...

[RNYE]

My first game was AH's Midway, followed by The Battle of the Bulge. I was 12 back in 1972. My older brother Carl had several, including Jutland and Luftwaffe and he taught me how to play them. From there, I was hooked. I still own all my AH games over 150.

[Fenrir]

Xmas '82...... Panzer Leader. I was in the 8th grade and deep in the thralls of AD&D and Dad wanted to have a game to play with me. It quickly became obvious that he was in way over his head. He's not an idiot, he just didn't expect there to be so many rules/procedures.... To me the rules were no more byzantine and strange than the AD&D books..... I pressed on and played the game solo for several years. I still have it. I've played a handful of FTF games over the years and my inbred tactics always led to stunning defeats. It always blew (and still blows) mind how opponents did and still do the most unexpected things...

The PLAN never survives first contact....

The same still applies with PG, ATS and all my other games....

[upintheattic]

SPI's Foxbat and Phantom, circa 1974. Played the hell out of it before Dad got me AH's Kingmaker and Richtofen's War. After that I was hooked.

[rerathbun]

My first two were Wooden Ships and Iron Men and Battle of the Bulge (both Avalon Hill) Christmas 1974. My brother has bulge now. I lost my original copy of WSIM some time in the '80s, but still have the copy I bought to replace it.

[tlangston28]

My intro into wargaming was AH PanzerBlitz around 1979. I remember walking into the toy and hobby store and looking at the games and originally wanted Panzer Leader as it had Americans in it, but went with PB when the guy behind the counter suggested the "easier" version first. I set it up with friends and played a few games and was hooked. not until a couple of years later was I able to find a consistent player and we ended up playing this and moved to other games and Microarmor. I played a lot less when starting a family and having kids and establishing a career. Just like many others, I returned when life became a little more comfortable and found my old games. Looking online for Panzer Blitz, I came across PG and found an even better game.

[JayTownsend]

Avalon Hill's Panzer Leader & Panzer Blitz back in the 1977 I believe. I was always trying to get my dad or friends to play but ended up playing Solo most of the time. Good memories on the few ftf plays I did have. Presently I don't own either of those games anymore.