| Simulations Publications |
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Information AboutSimulations Publications |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT SIMULATIONS PUBLICATIONS | |
| defunct companies of the united states | |
| game manufacturers | |
| role-playing game publishing companies | |
| board game publishing companies | |
| simulations publications, inc. spi | |
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HISTORY The company was founded in 1969 by James F. Dunnigan . SPI produced a bimonthly conflict and history magazine called '' Strategy & Tactics '', each issue including a complete Wargame , comprising a map, rulebook and a sheet of die-cut counters. In its first two or three years, it embarked upon an expensive advertising campaign, including - but not limited to - full page advertisements in Scientific American magazine. New subscribers received free copies of its most successful game, ''Napoleon At Waterloo'' - an "easy to play" pocketsized game with a foldout map and 78 pieces punched from cardstock. This advertising campaign led to a much larger subscriber base and SPI came to be seen as a serious competitor to Avalon Hill . Although starting with small to medium size wargames, SPI found an insatiable market, with subscribers clamoring for an ever wider range of wargames, including the monstergames ''War in the East'', ''War in the Pacific'', '' Terrible Swift Sword '' and '' Campaign For North Africa '', each with several maps, thousands of counters and multiple rulebooks. ''Campaign for North Africa'' was an ultra-detailed and virtually unplayable game covering the entire North African Campaign down to the level of individual fighter pilot ratings. Two of the more popular games were the tactical level Firefight and Air War , both of which were later reprinted by TSR. SPI went bankrupt in 1982 . Its assets were acquired by TSR , but not its debts and liabilities, after SPI defaulted on a loan from the Lake Geneva company (said to be $ 300,000), guaranteed by SPI's assets. TSR refused to honor subscriptions and to repay debts quoting the 'assets, not liabilities' agreement. Avalon Hill hired the majority of ex-SPI staffers to set up Victory Games Incorporated, a wholly owned New York based Avalon Hill subsidiary. Due to the quick collapse of the wargame market, TSR published fewer and fewer simulation games and eventually all the magazines (except for Strategy & Tactics) were discontinued. SEE ALSO BIBLIOGRAPHY
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