Pearl Harbor plus six months

[Minniman]

That might be an interesting game to play. I'll have to look into it more carefully. Do you play it, Minniman?

I played the old version back in the day. It's really fun to try to search for the Japanese Fleet and hope they don't find you first. By the way, it's easy to lose the Midway scenario - especially if you lose the Yorktown at Coral Sea in the campaign game.

[TrenchGoon]

That is a fascinating use for video games. I think they could be a real historic lesson there for kids (and grown ups). Its so easy to think of history as a series of inevitable conclusions, which makes it "dead". But in reality there are so many variables in any situation, conflict, policy etc. and realizing that can bring history to life and help us understand how exciting it really is. To learn about the battle of Midway and then to play a simulation and see that the outcome is not forgone illustrates that beautifully.

Its an interesting notion to apply even to the current conflict, but for fear that responses will turn political I wont develop that thought further.

[axeldaddy]

That is a fascinating use for video games. I think they could be a real historic lesson there for kids (and grown ups). Its so easy to think of history as a series of inevitable conclusions, which makes it "dead". But in reality there are so many variables in any situation, conflict, policy etc. and realizing that can bring history to life and help us understand how exciting it really is. To learn about the battle of Midway and then to play a simulation and see that the outcome is not forgone illustrates that beautifully.

Its an interesting notion to apply even to the current conflict, but for fear that responses will turn political I wont develop that thought further.

Well said!

As a young teenager I played some WWII board games that were like a combination of Risk on steroids and Dungeons and Dragons. Very detailed, including weather, and after the odds were calculated, everything came down to a roll of the bones, which is appropriately realistic (re: the "luck"question so well answered). Also, you could tinker with questions like: What if the US stayed out of the European conflict? Or, what if Hitler focused on St. Petersburg instead of pushing to Moscow, and what if the Russian winter was just average that year (it wasn't)? It was a lot of fun.

Recent years I've played Battlefield 1942, by EA Games, on my computer. They address TrenchGoon's thoughts by releasing Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield 2, modern combat in the Middle East, whose politics are avoided by the generic storyline and the fact that playing from either side is all about trying to win. You don't care, you just want to beat the other team.

[TrenchGoon]

Well said!

As a young teenager I played some WWII board games that were like a combination of Risk on steroids and Dungeons and Dragons. Very detailed, including weather, and after the odds were calculated, everything came down to a roll of the bones, which is appropriately realistic (re: the "luck"question so well answered). Also, you could tinker with questions like: What if the US stayed out of the European conflict? Or, what if Hitler focused on St. Petersburg instead of pushing to Moscow, and what if the Russian winter was just average that year (it wasn't)? It was a lot of fun.

Recent years I've played Battlefield 1942, by EA Games, on my computer. They address TrenchGoon's thoughts by releasing Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield 2, modern combat in the Middle East, whose politics are avoided by the generic storyline and the fact that playing from either side is all about trying to win. You don't care, you just want to beat the other team.

I'll have to look into those games when I get a chance!