Top 10 Wargame Cover Designs

[@RobertO-ly5tb]

Thanks for the video. I always enjoy these types of conversations. For fun, I offer the following (chosen from my collection): 1776 (AH) Old school. Luftwaffe (AH) My first wargame; purchased, at least in part, because of the box art. Submarine (AH) Your choice of U-Boot reminded me of this classic. A Las Barricadas (Compass) So simple. Paths to Hell (Compass) I know this cover is derived from a photograph, but I believe it is stylized enough to make it “original.” It is a perfect match between artwork and game title. Looking at the horizon, and with historical hindsight, we know these men are literally (in some sense) marching to hell. Labyrinth (GMT) A life or death game of chess. Panzer (GMT) So iconic. Finally, I would be remiss if didn’t list a few works from the late George Parrish who did stellar work for Avalon Hill back in the day. All are great: Raid on St Nazaire Paratrooper Tac Air Thunder at Cassino Turning Point: Stalingrad Thanks again for the video. I hope I’ve been able to add to the conversation. Cheers.

[@Pericalypsis]

Tenkatoitsu is my favourite wargame box cover design.

[@rollobaker2031]

Very nice Nathan interesting topic

[@Justegarde]

I’m playing Mollwitz right now! It’s a great cover. Hopefully one day we see Seljuk in a video like this ;)

[@billdurrant9085]

I really like Thin Red Line box covers - they evoke a perception of the conflict and scale they are covering. Under An Iron Sky is my phone screensaver 🙂

[@djflippy5]

Great video, Wise Guy. Really enjoyed it. Definitely agree with your Victory Lost and Triumph of Chaos picks. Here are 10 more, only from my collection, most if not all original artwork for the game: - Panzerblitz (Avalon Hill) - clean graphic design, negative space - Patton’s Best (Avalon Hill) - color treatment, primarily imagery, makes it personal - Jaws of Victory (New England Simulations NES) - graphic design, layout, visuals, color choice - Tobruk (Avalon Hill, my version is the limited edition, first run issue 1975, for Origins I convention, not the default cover that shipped, dig for it on BGG) - Stark, incredibly immersive, you feel you are there in that heat, dust, and smoke and you may fear for you life - Titan (Avalon Hill, second edition, lavender) - Definitely picked partially due to nostalgia, but I do like that they actually used color and illuded to what the game is about, great logo - Navajo Wars (GMT) - evocative of the subject, layout and color - Fields of Fire 2 (GMT) - In this game, this is you; you are this lone soldier, perfectly aligns with the game design - Napoleon (OG 1974 version from Gamma, with the teal silhouette) - We all know how this is, they didn't need to say much more, minimalism, not afraid of color - Ligny 1815 Last Eagles (Hexasim)- Not sure if it is an original artwork for the game, but it makes one realize that these are just normal people, that we just happen to call soldiers, who may be moving across your farmland, bleeding, and dying - Panzer (GMT version) - a different take on the PanzerBlitz cover, by the same artist, years later, which I thought was interesting Were you like me, afterwards, thinking you left out something very important to you? lol Keep up the great work, mate!

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@djflippy5 yeah I was really trying to separate my love of the game apart from respect for the cover art!

[@johnmadison479]

I'll add my list: The Wars of Marcus Aurelius by Hollandspiele, Squad Leader, Atlantic Chase, Black Orchestra, Storm of Steel, Fate of All, Panzer Leader, DNO or Unentschieden by GDW. Probably a few more I could add but I've not looked near long enough and this isn't my end all be all top 10. Would take me a lot of time to scour the internets looking.

[@richardzajic172]

Very interested and great choices! Thanks for the video. My TOP10: 1. PanzerBlitz 2. Ardennes '44 3. We the People 4. Terrible Swift Sword (by Larry Elmore) 5. Bitter Woords 6. Rise and Decline of the Third Reich 7. Operation Mercury: The German Airborne Assault on Crete 8. La Bataille de Dresde (I know ii should be excluded...) 9. Red Storm 10.Fire in the Lake

[@Bahrainmark]

Bitter Woods!

[@bradenatkinson4784]

I do want to let you know that the Huey on fire in the lake’s cover are taken from a real photograph

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@bradenatkinson4784 yeah a few of these are, but McGowan has done more with it than just post the photo.

[@bradenatkinson4784]

@@WiseGuyHistory I just thought it was weird to mention the uboot cover and not mention this one

[@WiseGuyHistory]

yeah good point! it was really hard to refine, most of these are drawn, to some extent, from existing art, but then I was somewhat arbitrarily cutting out a lot of games that 'don't do enough' with that art. It doesn't seem fair in the end...

[@1CounterTerrorist]

Case Blue, and it's not even close.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Yeah good one!

[@Bahrainmark]

Yes... LBA Espagnol is also good,.

[@flaviusbelisarius3240]

My favorite remains the original AH Hannibal cover, but maybe I'm biased in favor of the game. Perhaps we should choose the best cover for a game you don't like to remove potential bias?

[@WiseGuyHistory]

@flaviusbelisarius3240 all 3 Hannibal covers made my short list!

[@Muzzlepaint]

Where is the SL box art? That is a classic

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Yeah it's a classic, it's never really struck me personally though.

[@lastburning]

You think *that* is the best box cover art of all time? Even the star looks badly cropped at a glance.

[@WiseGuyHistory]

Yep, and I appreciate your thoughts. What's your favourite?