Columbia Games
| 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 Dalgliesh.
History
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. Ron Gibson soon joined the company, but left the company in 1986. 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.
Block Games
Columbia's most well-known games are block wargames. Many of these games are designed for introducing new players to the hobby, but more detailed games have been produced, such as EuroFront, a wargame depicting the entirety of World War II in Europe, with various "what-if" situations. Among the best-known is Hammer of the Scots, based on the English wars in Scotland (1297-1315).
Other Wargames include:
- Athens & Sparta, a game based on the Peloponnesian War
- War of 1812, a game based on the War of 1812
- Quebec 1759, based on the French and Indian War also known as the 7 Years War.
- Liberty, based on the American Revolution
- Pacific Victory, based on the Pacific Theater of World War II
- Victory in Europe, based on the European Theater of World War II
- Texas Glory, based on the Texan War of Independence, including the Battle of the Alamo
- Richard III, based on the Wars of the Roses
- Julius Caesar, based on the Roman Civil War
- Shiloh: 1862, based on the Battle of Shiloh
- Shenandoah: Jackson's Valley Campaign, based on Jackson's Valley Campaign of 1862
Block games are not limited to war themes, Last Spike is a competitive strategy block games based on the Golden spike completing the First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA.
Card games
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).
Hârn
Columbia also publishes Hârn, a low-magic fantasy campaign setting 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 additional material produced by the game's fans.
Future games
Columbia Games also publishes a set of supplement materials called HârnQuest.[1] Each issue is approximately 32 pages and includes articles about Hârnic kingdoms, cities, castles, history, creatures, and other gaming topics. New Hârn Atlas maps are also sent under this subscription as they are released.
References
- ↑ The HârnQuest subscription page], Columbia Games Ltd (Retrieved 18 February 2010)