| Type | Role-playing, block and card game publisher |
|---|---|
| Industry | Role-playing games, board games |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Blaine, Washington, U.S.A |
| Key people | Tom Dalgliesh, Grant Dalgliesh |
| Products | block wargames, card games, Harn, HarnMaster |
| Website | http://www.columbiagames.com/ |
Columbia Games is a maker of board and role-playing games including Hârn and a variety of games, mostly wargames (Wizard Kings and various historical and quasi-historical games) using blocks instead of the more conventional chits. The company is based in Blaine, Washington; it is run by founder Tom Dalgliesh and his son Grant.
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Columbia is one of the hobby's oldest wargame companies. Tom Dalgliesh, Lance Gutteridge, and Steve Brewster founded Gamma Two Games in Vancouver, BC in the early 1970s, and published their first game in 1972. Brewster left the company soon after its formation. Gamma Two Games became Columbia Games in 1982. In the mid 1980s, Gutteridge left the company, leaving Dalgliesh as its sole owner, although the two still associate frequently and Gutteridge still makes some contributions. Columbia Games moved from Vancouver, BC to Washington State in 1994 for a variety of personal and economic reasons.
Columbia's most well-known games are block wargames, designed for two players. Many of these games are suitable to introducing new players to the hobby, but there are also some very detailed games that have been produced, such as MasterFront, a monster wargame depicting the entirety of World War II in Europe, complete with various what-if situations. Among the best-known is Hammer of the Scots, based on King Edward I and King Edward II's campaigns in Scotland in the early 14th century.
Other Wargames include:
Columbia Games also made a variety of wargames based on battles of the American Civil War
In the late 1990s, the company began producing collectible card games based upon military themes for the American Civil War (such as Dixie) and the Napoleonic Wars (Eagles).
Columbia also publishes Hârn, a high-realism/magic-rare fantasy world created by N. Robin Crossby, for use in role-playing games and for collaborative fiction. The Hârn product line is compatible with Hârn products produced by Kelestia Productions (Robin Crossby's own company) and is supported by a large body of additional material produced by strong and dedicated community of fans.
Columbia Games is planning to publish the following new Wargames[1]:
Columbia Games also have a card game called Slapshot in the works.
For role-playing, Columbia Games publishes a supplement called HarnQuest.[2] Each issue is approximately 48 pages and includes articles about Hârnic kingdoms, cities, castles, history, creatures, and more. New Hârn Atlas maps are also sent under this subscription as they are released.