Guidon Games
Type	Private (defunct)
Founded	Evansville, Indiana (1971)
Headquarters	Evansville, Indiana, and later in Belfast, Maine
Key people	Don Lowry, Gary Gygax
Industry	wargaming publisher
Products	Chainmail, Fight In The Skies, Tractics

Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR, Inc.), the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. The Guidon Games publishing imprint was the property of Lowry's Hobbies (later Lowry Enterprises), a mail-order business owned by Don and Julie Lowry. About 15 titles were released under the imprint from 1971 to 1973. Image File history File linksMetadata Guidon_games_logo. ... A privately-held corporation is one whose ownership shares are not publicly traded. ... Location in the state of Indiana Country United States State Indiana County Vanderburgh Mayor Area    - City 105. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Location in the state of Indiana Country United States State Indiana County Vanderburgh Mayor Area    - City 105. ... Seal of Belfast, ME Belfast is a city located in Waldo County, Maine. ... Don Lowry is a wargamer, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as wargames (sometimes also called conflict simulations). ... Cover for the third edition of Chainmail (1975). ... Fight In The Skies is a board wargame written by Mike Carr which models World War I style air combat. ... Tractics (1975) Tractics is a set of rules for conducting World War II style combat with miniatures. ... Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as wargames (sometimes also called conflict simulations). ... Bavarian Napoleonic Infantry, 1811, from the historical wargame Volley & Bayonet. ... TSR, Inc. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... Don Lowry is a wargamer, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine. ...

History

By the late 1960s the miniature wargaming hobby had grown large enough that there was a demand for rulebooks dedicated to a single historical period. Don Featherstone of the UK produced booklets for eight different periods in 1966.^[1] A few years later the Wargames Research Group began producing rulesets with an emphasis on historical accuracy.^[2] Donald Featherstone is a British author of books on wargaming and military history. ... The Wargames Research Group (WRG) publish wargaming rules. ...

With this trend in mind Lowry conceived the Wargaming with Miniatures series for which he recruited rulebook authors from the ranks of the International Federation of Wargamers. Through the IFW Lowry met Gary Gygax, who served as series editor. Gygax also co-authored the first title in the series, Chainmail, which became Guidon's best seller^[3]. Other notable titles in the series are Tractics, the first published game to make use of the 20-sided die, and Don't Give Up The Ship!, the first collaboration between Gygax and Dave Arneson, the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons. The International Federation of Wargamers (IFW) was founded by Gary Gygax, Bill Speer, and Scott Duncan in 1966. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Cover for the third edition of Chainmail (1975). ... Tractics (1975) Tractics is a set of rules for conducting World War II style combat with miniatures. ... Dont Give Up The Ship! (1971) is a set of rules published by Guidon Games for conducting Napoleonic era naval wargames. ... David L. Arneson is an American game designer born in 1955. ...

Guidon also produced Avalon Hill style board wargames, as well as supplements designed to be used with existing Avalon Hill board games. Avalon Hill later republished Alexander the Great, one of Guidon's stand-alone games, while TSR republished Fight In The Skies. Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... Alexander the Great is a board wargame published in 1971 by Guidon Games and again in 1974 by Avalon Hill. ... Fight In The Skies is a board wargame written by Mike Carr which models World War I style air combat. ...

Guidon was a small publisher, and print runs were never more than a few thousand. Lowry apparently failed to recognize the potential of Dungeons & Dragons, prompting Gygax to found TSR. Gygax made the following recollection about the company in 2004: For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... TSR, Inc. ...

Guidon Games had a game shop, sold gaming via the mail, published a magazine and likewise printed and sold military miniatures rulebooks and boxed board wargames. They were small but certainly a legitimate company.... I was paid for the work I did for them, yes. Unfortunately, sales volume did not make the income received thus sufficient to do more than supplement income from other work. I was asked to go to work for them full time. That would have required me to move to the state of Maine. Tom Wham did so, but I thought their new location was a poor choice. Furthermore, the company was not run in an aggressive and responsive manner. In my opinion there was no chance for growth and success as things stood and I said so to Guidon. Sadly, I was correct in my judgement. ^[4]

Despite its brief existence, Guidon had a large influence on TSR and the nascent RPG industry. In addition to Gygax and Arneson, Lowry worked with Lou Zocchi, Tom Wham, and Mike Carr. TSR initially patterned itself on Guidon, publishing sets of wargaming rules such as Cavaliers and Roundheads in the same pamphlet format used by Guidon. TSR took over some of Guidon's titles in 1975. This article is about traditional role-playing games. ... Louis Zocchi, Sergeant, USAF (Retired), is a gaming hobbyist. ... Tom Wham is a designer of board games. ... Mike Carr is a game designer known for writing Fight In The Skies (1968). ... Cavaliers and Roundheads (1973) Cavaliers and Roundheads is a set of rules for English Civil War miniature wargaming. ...

In 1972 Lowry acquired Panzerfaust Magazine, and by 1973 he discontinued the Guidon Games label, publishing instead under the name Panzerfaust Publications. Panzerfaust Magazine #62 Panzerfaust was a wargaming magazine started by Don Greenwood in 1967 and named after the WWII German recoilless gun. ...

Products

Wargaming with Miniatures Series

Board Games Cover for the third edition of Chainmail (1975). ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Tractics (1975) Tractics is a set of rules for conducting World War II style combat with miniatures. ... Hardtack (1971) Hardtack is a set of rules for American Civil War miniature wargaming by Lou Zocchi. ... Louis Zocchi, Sergeant, USAF (Retired), is a gaming hobbyist. ... Fast Rules (1972) Fast Rules is a set rules for conducting table top wargames with HO scale WWII miniatures. ... Dont Give Up The Ship! (1971) is a set of rules published by Guidon Games for conducting Napoleonic era naval wargames. ... David L. Arneson is an American game designer born in 1955. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Mike Carr is a game designer known for writing Fight In The Skies (1968). ... Ironclad (1973) Ironclad is a miniatures wargame written by Tom Wham and Don Lowry and published by Guidon Games in 1973. ... Tom Wham is a designer of board games. ... Don Lowry is a wargamer, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine. ... Grosstaktik (1972) is a set of war game rules written by Leon Tucker for conducting eighteenth century battles. ... Tricolor (1975) Tricolor is a rulebook for wargaming with Napoleonic miniatures. ...

Board Game Supplements Alexander the Great is a board wargame published in 1971 by Guidon Games and again in 1974 by Avalon Hill. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Atlanta is an American Civil War board wargame which simulates the Battle of Atlanta. ... Don Lowry is a wargamer, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine. ... Dunkirk is a World War II board wargame simulating Operation Dynamo. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published with Don Kaye in 1974 under the company Tactical Studies... Fight In The Skies is a board wargame written by Mike Carr which models World War I style air combat. ... Mike Carr is a game designer known for writing Fight In The Skies (1968). ...

Alexander the Great is a board wargame published in 1971 by Guidon Games and again in 1974 by Avalon Hill. ... Alexander the Great is a board wargame published in 1971 by Guidon Games and again in 1974 by Avalon Hill. ... Afrika Korps game Afika Korps is a wargame published by the Avalon Hill game company in 1964 and then re-released in 1965 and 1977. ... Several games have been published under the title Battle of the Bulge. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ *http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline2.html Courier Magazine History of Wargaming
2. ^ http://www.phil-barker.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/WRG/wrg.html History of the Wargames Research Group
3. ^ http://www.rpg.net/news+reviews/columns/lynch01may01.html RPGnet: Interview with Gary Gygax
4. ^ http://www.enworld.org/article.php?a=39 EnWorld: The Ultimate Gary Gygax Interview (Free Registration Required)
5. ^ This pamphlet does not have a Guidon Games imprint. However, the back page has a product list entitled Other Booklets from Guidon Games.
6. ^ Listed as part of the Wargaming in Miniatures series in the back of the 2nd ed. Chainmail. Unclear if Guidon ever published this title. TSR published the title in 1975.

External links

• Acaeum Website Chainmail Page
• Guidon Games at BoardGameGeek