Scenarios
Extras - (COUNTERS, MAPS, RULES HERE)
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Test
Series Games
___________
Joe Beard's SPI Analysis pages
Click
here
Welcome, SPI gamers!
This website exists to provide enjoyment and support for players of any of the original SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc.) series of war and strategy games! Here you will find copies of the Errata, new scenarios, articles profiling the games, and discussions of play!
There's a WEALTH of information about SPI games on this site.
I continue to add new resources all the time. (Go to
THIS LINK to see a list of additions before this month)
| Errata |
Looking for official errata SPI printed for various
games? |
| List |
For a complete list of all SPI games from the 1969-1982 era. |
|
Wish you had additional scenarios SPI published for
the game? |
|
| Profiles |
Need access to articles and notes on the game? |
| Variants |
Published variants for SPI games |
| Extras | Extras and other things of interest.
(Just check it, ok?) |
| Ads |
Old SPI advertisements were text-heavy reviews of their games! I have many of these delightful in depth mini-articles on tap here! |
| Formats |
Tracking the formats for SPI games! Lots of data
here, including lists of which games appeared in boxes and flat
packs! |
| S&T Supplements |
The S&T Supplements! Yes, a number of these hard to find 'fines from the early SPI days are here in PDF! |
| Game Design Newsletter |
The Game Design Newsletter -- not many linked, but will have almost all online soon! |
| Phoenix Magazines |
Listings and downloads of The Phoenix, the British SIMPUBs issues. |
| Catalogues |
Would you like to see an old SPI catalogue? |
| Redmond Simonsen |
RAS's Thoughts on Wargame Design
link |
|
Introductions and overviews to many classics SPI games on this list. Think of it as a curated list of videos worth watching to learn about these great games. (New ones added all the time.) |
|
| Pre-SPI S&T |
These are NOT on my site. The links will take you to Archive.org. But they are listing the original pre-SPI S&T books later re-released by SPI. |
| Replays | Pages of full
color replays of many SPI games! Great way to learn about the
game and how to play it! (Don't see your favorite? Send me the pictures and your notes!) |
| Learning Terrible Swift Sword / GBACW! | Learning TSS / GBACW version 1 - a series of slides on PDF and on VIDEO! |
| TSS/GBACW Free Downloads | Lots of free items for Terrible Swift Sword and other Great Battles of the American Civil War games known as GBACW! |
| TSS/GBACW Stories and Discussions | Stories from the Designers, Developers, and Playtesters of TSS/GBACW |
| TSS/GBACW Tactics Discussions | Some multi-person discussions of the rules for Terrible Swift Sword and Great Battles of the American Civil War |
| Victory Point Excel Sheets | Monmouth, Cedar Mountain, Pea Ridge, and more! Tracks VPs and calculates current victory standing, BCE levels, etc. |
I am trying to get to a set of pages for every SPI game - like these:
Terrible Swift Sword | Wellington's Victory |
I would enjoy discussions of the games, with tactics you've tried and results you achieved.
Here is an example of that with SPI's Terrible Swift Sword / GBACW series:
I also have an opponent's wanted, all SPI games.
Opponents Wanted (Sign Up Sheet) | Map of Opponents | 2022 SPI Napoleon Quads Fest! But there is much more to be done! However, this is my Christmas present to all of you. Explore the site, and let me know what you think.
And good gaming!
----Russ
By the way - I'd appreciate any feedback you'd like to offer. Click here
And - if you find links that don't work - or you are looking for something from SPI you can't find -- please send me a note -- here!
NEWS -
Gary N. Mengle pulled together a Zoom call with 5 SPI greats (Davis, Herman, Butterfield, Parker, and Eric Lee Smith) to discuss the SPI days! WONDERFUL!See the video on YouTube HERE!
3/25/23 Bannockburn scenario cards for ROI Link and Yeoman Link. Honoring the day Robert the Burce became King of the Scots - and the battle that marks the beginning of the end of the Feudal system. Need the ROI VASSAL module? Link
New 3/22/23
Two intriguing replays that also teach you the rules of
play. See the Agincourt scenario in Yeoman (played by Andrew Hobley,
and to explore the differences, I did the same scenario from the grandfather
of all the tactical games, Renaissance of Infantry. I
contributed additional info to teach the rules to both these great games!
Link -
ROI
Link -
Yeoman
And this link will allow you to hear Dr. Nofi talk about the design
and development of ROI!
Link
New 3/18/23
PRESTAGS Scenarios!!
Mod
1
2
3
4
5
Five modules of PRESTAGS scenarios by the best in the business! Look under Scenarios and
then PRESTAGS to find them all! From Joe Miranda, Steven B. Guy, and
Kim Meints!
Musket & Pike Scenarios!!
Musket & Pike
The Gold Rush of scenarios for
this old favorite, by "the usual suspects?" MANY THANKS to Steven B. Guy,
Kim Meints, Arthur Hendrick, Lawrence P. Duffield, John Lee, and Rob Gibson.
There are 23 scenarios here. Enjoy!
New 3/16/23
New Replays!
Mike Dyer and a short sharp battle introducing you to Rifle & Saber!
Link A rules
recount that could have you playing ASAP!
And don't miss the replay of Naseby in Musket & Pike by Joseph
Bruce Redenour!
Link
And Andrew Hobley contributed this Yeoman replay!
Link
New 3/12/23
New Replays!
Clayton Martin provided a short replay of a Viking scenario featuring - no
Vikings! It is the Byzantines vs those pesky Bulgars at Balthusta, 1014.
Keep an eye out for this one. (Oh, did I go there? 'Eye' guess 'eye' did.)
PRESTAGS Quick Ref
Chart
A handy quick rules reference Chart for PRESTAGS - and should help anyone
play the earlier versions of the game using the new rules, too.
New 3/8/23
Adjourned Game Sheets
Lee Enderlin sent these Excel worksheets to record unit positions for the
eight GBACW Games!
New 3/7/23
New Replays!
I have added six new replays in the past few days. The list:
Battle of the Wilderness, and
Hooker &
Lee out of the Blue & Gray Quad;
Bloody Ridge, from the Island War Quad,
Sedan,
from the Battles for the Ardennes Quad, and
Outreach,
the SF Classic!
New 3/2/23
Have you noticed the new menu item, Tactics? I have recently added some nice articles, including a look at reinforcement choices in Arnhem, and other articles to follow!
New 12/18/22
Cedar Mountain Tactics If Tactics is all about how you move the units, this 11 page booklet looks at making your maneuvers on the board 'all about menace' that forces your opponent to prevent disaster! The booklet focuses on the power and proper use of Artillery and Cavalry. Don't overlook the little realized points of a cavalry charge. Quizzes review your understanding of elevation and line of sight, and the later review of calculations for fire and melee combat!
New 12/13/22
King Arthur
Replay!
Jeff Parker serves up a short, sharp replay of the final battle between
Arthur and Mordred from the Great Medieval Battles Quad!
Cedar Mountain Strategy Russ Gifford walks through the first two turns of Cedar Mountain, and discusses the development of a winning strategy for the Union!
New - 6/20/22
JFD
interview by Pat Flory
With Pat Flory's recent passing, I thought we should remember him with
this look back at his interview of Jim Dunnigan. RIP, Patrick.
New - 6/12/22
Chinese
Farm
Mark Saha provide player's aids and insights on this great little game
from the Modern Battles Quad!
New - 4/17/22
Invasion America
One page PDF Addenda for Invasion America, from 1980!
GBACW 4 to 1
Four pages of rules to use the NEW GBACW games as GBACW v1 games!!
And a three page look at separate rules to add more chrome from the new
games!
Plus a few examples to drive home the points.
SPI Videos
Added a set of videos from Hex 2 Hex featuring Pleasant Hill. Four parts but
each are about 6 to 7 minutes. Nice to hear his strategy and the results!
2/8/22
'Your
Move' Newsletter!
A 12 page newsletter with SPI articles, event notices, and a game
challenge - it is 'Your Move!'
Writer's
Guidelines for 'Your Move'
Lots of requests for these.
New - 1/23/22
Looking for
Opponents?
New information on using the SPI Opponent's Finder to reach players!
SPI Napoleon Quad Tournament / Fest!
Details and Downloads!
Great way to find new opponents!
Quick Start VASSAL
Guide!
See how to jump start using VASSAL as a way to exchange moves!
New - 1/8/22
TAC GAME #3 !!!Stephen
Oliver has gifted us all with a beautifully restored copy of TAC Game #3!!
Many, many thanks for the game and the effort to restore it! Enjoy!!
Event-Year Cards Added
the cards for Empire of the Middle Ages - thank you John Edwards. Much nicer
than my originals!
Foxbat Phantom Map Not
perfect, but you should be able to see the setups and speeds info now!
Creature Video
Added Centurion Gamers Video play through of Creature that Ate
Sheboygan. Watch this short video, and you can start playing the
game!
Replay: Golan George Nap
finishes his replay / analysis of the original Modern Battles Quad with this
replay of Golan! Can the Syrians change the outcome? Can the IDF repeat
their stunning vistory? Special thanks, George!
Replay: Yugoslavia Breaking into the Mod Battles II quad, George Nap adds this Yugo/NATO effort to eject the invading Soviets from Zagreb!
Replay: Mukden Mr. Nap
provides yet another great replay from The Modern Battles Quad. This time it
is Mukden, a hypothetical battle that occurs when the Soviets invade China!
Replay:
Wurzburg
An EXCELLENT new play by play AAR from George Nap! This
time it is Modern Battles, and the name of the place is the Wurzburg.
New - 1/3/22
Campaign for North Africa
In Progress notes for the game that changed how we look
at wargames - Campaign for North Africa. There is some amazing insights
here, and well worth the read. Especially for those who don't think it
was playtested.
RAS on Large Games
Redmond Simonsen discusses "The Large Game Syndrome."
RAS on Game Graphics
Redmond Simonsen considers "What Have I Been Doing??"
when Tom Oleson questions his graphics qualities!
New - 12/31/21
The Next War Intro
A couple of turns of The Next War in a play by play.
Enjoy!
Operation
Typhoon
TC Bradley takes you through the first 6 turns of
Operation Typhoon!
New - 12/23/21
Normandy Rules
With special thanks to David Barkey, the rules for the
TSG game Normandy are now on the site. Special Note - these are not
complete. But I am happy to have this much!
New - 12/21/21
Leipzig Rules
With special thanks to David Barkey, the rules for the
TSG game Leipzig are now on the site!!
Wreck of the Pandora
Excellent Review / Overview of the game by Jeffery Bass!
New - 12/12/21
Special Issues
In 1977, 1979, and 1981, SPI created a special
"Introduction to Wargaming" magazine. See them under 'Special Issues' on the
menu for Advertisements
S&T Books
I - IV Link
New - 12/8/21
Barbarossa Rules
With special thanks to David Barkey, the rules for the
TSG game Barbarossa are now on the site!!
Tannenberg Rules
With special thanks to David Barkey, the rules for the
TSG game Tannenberg are now on the site!!
New - 12/4/21
Some Universe stuff added - like
errata, other things.
Hey... check it out where it wasn't at last time you
looked.
New - 11/26/21
Deployment Rules!
With special thanks to David Barkey, the rules for the
TSG game Deployment are now on the site!!
New - 11/26/21
Game Design Newsletter #5
The Last issue of the Game Design Newsletters!! Lots of great articles
including the upcoming 'Dark Ages (TAC 16) addition to the Renaissance of
Infantry and Centurion series of TAC games!
Game Design Newsletter
#4
The fourth issue of the Game Design Newsletters!!
Designer's Notes discusses the new big game, WAR IN THE EAST. And the
Reviews include a detailed look at TSG Deployment, and why it is re-imagined
into GRENADIER.
Tactical Tips
Many articles on tactical play of these great games. Some
are general, using the standard sticky ZOC games, and a number are specific
to GBACW.
- 11/17/21
The Never Quads
Brian Train looks deep into the Feedback questions and
brings us a DETAILED look at all the Quads that never were - AND what
happened going forward!
Game Design Newsletter #3
The third issue of the Game Design Newsletters!! A
new format made the scanning far nicer! Lots of great articles!
Game Design Newsletter
#2
The second of the Game Design Newsletters!! This
one needs more work - but wanted to make what I had available.
New - 11/14/21
Against Four Worlds
In Progress notes for the game that never was - what
would have been the last of the Quads!
Game Design
Newsletter #1
The first of the Game Design Newsletters!!
Great articles reviewing the Test Series Games with lots of behind the
scenes info; a nice article from Dr. Al Nofi on designing TAC 14 (Renaissance
of Infantry.) And much more!
S&T Supplement 8
The final missing copy of S&T Supplement newsletters! (All links
here.)
Below: I'm excited about these Designer / Developer Notes compilations. It was a goal when I started this web site to do ALL of these.
Compiled
Development Notes for SPI Games:
Against Four Worlds
Battle of Monmouth
Berlin 85
Central Front Series
If you
want the original versions I did for the GBACW Development Notes, here
is the link to the first page of them. Follow the links on that first
page for the rest. (GBACW
Link)
I
recently added links to new videos - there are over EIGHTY videos at SPI
Videos!
See previous Months additions here
