Winds of War (2008)

Bonus game in Against the Odds magazine #22, along with Paukenschlag.

Winds of War (WoW) is a game on the efforts of the Japanese during World War II to create chaos, confusion and consternation in the United States by bombing the western portion of the states by means of explosives carried in wind-born, hydrogen-filled balloons. Sounds nutty, but it’s true. Anyway, WoW is a game; any hints of simulation are just that, hints, although everything in the game is based on what actually happened. It’s a bit of a hoot, but it doesn’t take long to play – about 90 minutes - and is much in the spirit of what the game industry calls “Euros”.

The game may be played by one or two players.

CAVEAT… and a Word on WoW’s Genesis

No game designer in his right mind would ever think of doing a game on this subject. I, to be sure, am not of the Right-Minded tribe. The origins of this game arise from a statement I made on Consimworld that there is no subject about which one cannot design a game. Consimworld being what it is, it took about 38 seconds before a half dozen “Oh yeah?” Prove it!” statements followed. The result was a folder entitled “The Richard Berg Game Design Challenge”, wherein dozens of titles were suggested. These were narrowed down to a half dozen Prime Time Possibilities by a panel of judges who, from that half dozen, chose this subject as “ungameable”. Me? I would have thought The Children’s Crusade would be a lot more difficult. But I have accepted that challenge, and this is what comes from such public foolishness.