Times are approximate
Introduction (0:30)
Operation Market Garden overview (12:00)
Nils Johansson transcribed/read interview (16:30)
David Thompson & Michael Tiller interview (37:00)
Mark's travels, movies, books, games about Market Garden (1:29:00)
I'd been saving the famous battles of Operation Market Garden for when I expected to live nearby in the Netherlands. When those plans fell through, I was disappointed for some time, but eventually put that behind me and looked at the stack of Market Garden games I'd been saving. Then I lucked into a business trip into that corner of the world, and I determined to visit Hell's Highway and cover this topic. That was last December. I played a few games back then, and a few more over the subsequent months. Plus, of course, the usual books & movies. All to be discussed in this episode.
However, something surprising happened when I was just starting this effort. Designers Nils Johansson and David Thompson publicly released a postcard game about Market Garden. Now, I say I'm interested in smaller wargames (it's in my podcast intro), but postcard games are REALLY small. I was interested in this new entry as a game, but I was especially interested in it for what it says about Minimalist Wargame Design. Not only in component count and number of rules, but with Nils' as a co-designer it would have a fascinating graphic design behind it. That absolutely interested me. Then add in the fact that the two of them utilized Michael Tiller as a volunteer helper to do some mathematical modeling (coding) of the simulation...it all added up to a fascinating glimpse into wargame design in the fullest sense, even though it was about a minimalist wargame. Oh, and it just happened to be about Market Garden!
In the episode after my general intro, I launch into interviews of these creators. Nils contributed a written response, which I decided to simply read aloud on the podcast. Then I get David & Michael on the microphone to talk through their points of view about the design & development.
Films
• A Bridge too Far
• Band of Brothers (episode 4, "Replacements")
• Theirs Is The Glory
• The Forgotten Battle
Books
• Arnhem: The Battle for the Bridges, 1944, by Antony Beevor
• Brotherhood of the Flying Coffin: The Glider Pilots of World War II, by Scott McGaugh
• Strategy & Tactics no. 77, "Paratroop"
-Mark
P.S. I haven't been very reliable or accurate in my plans for upcoming episodes, but this time I think I'm pretty certain. I've got my first ever vacation to Scotland coming up, so I'd like to explore a few games featuring that famous country. Think Hammer of the Scots, Bannockburn, Culloden...
Wargames To Go 25.3 Wars of Scotland (Conclusion, part 1)
Wargames To Go 25.2 - SDHistCon 2023
Wargames To Go 25.1 - Wars of Scotland (Intro)
Wargames To Go 23.2 - Spanish-American War (part 2, with Jason Perez)
Wargames To Go 23.1 - Spanish American War (part 1, with Joe Schmidt)
Wargames To Go 22.2 - Summer 2021 Magazine Games (C3i and Panzerschreck)
Wargames To Go 22.1 - Summer 2021 Magazine Games (1914 Eastern Front)
Wargames To Go 21.2 - Vietnam Battle of Hue
Wargames To Go 21.1 - Vietnam War (part 1)
Wargames To Go 20 - Strategic Air Command
Wargames To Go 19.2 - Operation Barbarossa, part 2 (with Carl Paradis)
Wargames To Go 19.1 - Operation Barbarossa (part 1), with Bruce Geryk
Wargames To Go 18 - Doolittle, Pavlov, and Sledgehammer
Wargames To Go 17 - Long Range Desert Group (with David Thompson)
Wargames To Go 16.3 - D-Day (Conclusion)
Wargames To Go 16.2 D-Day (Continued)
Wargames To Go 16.1 - D-Day (Introduction)
Wargames To Go 15.3 - Korean War (Conclusion)
Wargames To Go 15.2 - The Korean War (Joe Balkoski interview)
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