Decision Games

Decision Games is an American publisher focused on historical and hypothetical military conflict simulations. Founded in 1988 by Christopher Cummins, the company operates in the specialist wargaming market, producing both tabletop board wargames and computer games. Its catalog covers conflicts and campaigns ranging from ancient warfare and the Seven Years' War to the Second World War, the Cold War, and possible future conflicts. A central part of the company's business is its magazine-and-game publishing model. Decision Games publishes Strategy & Tactics, a long-running magazine devoted to military history and simulation gaming. Each issue includes a game covering a military event or campaign. The company also publishes World at War, which concentrates on the Second World War and likewise includes a game in every issue, and Modern War, which examines conflicts since the Second World War as well as hypothetical future wars and also incorporates a playable game. This format connects historical analysis, scenario design, and physical game components in a single product. Decision Games has also expanded its catalog by acquiring rights to games associated with Simulations Publications after that original publisher ceased operating. It has reprinted a number of those titles while also commissioning original designs. The resulting catalog includes licensed or revived classics such as Across Suez, Advanced European Theater of Operations, Battle for Germany, War in Europe, Wacht am Rhein, Atlantic Wall, and Hurtgen Forest. Alongside these reissues, the company has released original board games including The Seven Years War, published in 1993, and The '45: The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, published in 1995. The company's activities have included digital adaptations of board wargames. Listed computer conversions include D-Day at Omaha Beach, D-Day at Tarawa, War in Europe, and RAF: Lion. Decision Games has also published original computer titles such as Nuts! The Battle of the Bulge, Battles of the Ancient World, and Congo Merc. These products extend its simulation-oriented subject matter beyond physical board games, although the available reference material does not establish the current status of each title or the company's present digital distribution arrangements. In 1989, one year after its founding, Decision Games started Desert Fox Games. That operation specialized in selling new and used wargames from various companies, giving the broader business a retail and distribution function in addition to its publishing activities. Decision Games is therefore best characterized as a specialist tabletop-game and military-history publishing brand rather than a general video-game publisher. Its positioning rests on detailed historical subjects, simulation mechanics, recurring magazine releases, and the preservation or reissue of established wargame designs.

Decision Games was founded in the United States in 1988 by Christopher Cummins. From its beginning, the company operated in the specialist wargaming field, combining game publication with military-history subject matter. Its products have addressed a broad range of periods and theaters, including ancient warfare, eighteenth-century conflict, the Second World War, postwar military history, and hypothetical future wars. In 1989, the company established Desert Fox Games. This operation specialized in selling new and used wargames from different companies, adding a retail dimension to Decision Games' publishing activities. The available reference material does not provide details about the later corporate structure or current operating status of Desert Fox Games. Decision Games subsequently became associated with the preservation and continuation of games originally published by Simulations Publications. After that publisher went out of business, Decision Games acquired rights to many of its games and reprinted a selection of them. The catalog of licensed or revived board wargames includes Across Suez, Advanced European Theater of Operations, Battle for Germany, War in Europe, Wacht am Rhein, Atlantic Wall, and Hurtgen Forest. This activity placed the company in an important preservation role within the hobby, maintaining access to established simulation designs while also developing new material. The company has published original board games as well. The Seven Years War appeared in 1993, followed by The '45: The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 in 1995. These releases illustrate Decision Games' practice of using specific historical campaigns and conflicts as the basis for playable simulations rather than treating wargaming as a generic entertainment category. Magazines have been a major part of the company's identity. Strategy & Tactics includes a game in each issue covering a military event. World at War focuses on the Second World War and also includes a game with every issue. Modern War covers the period after the Second World War, together with hypothetical future conflicts, and likewise incorporates a game. Through these periodicals, Decision Games links editorial military history with recurring game releases and provides a continuing publication channel for both historical analysis and simulation design. Decision Games has also worked in computer gaming. Computer conversions listed in the company's catalog include D-Day at Omaha Beach, D-Day at Tarawa, War in Europe, and RAF: Lion. Its original computer games include Nuts! The Battle of the Bulge, Battles of the Ancient World, and Congo Merc. The reference material identifies these titles but does not establish their release dates, platforms, commercial performance, or current availability. The surviving information presents Decision Games as a niche publisher with several connected activities: original board-game design, reprints of acquired wargame properties, computer adaptations, original computer titles, military-history magazines, and specialist retail through Desert Fox Games. No reliable material supplied for this entry establishes its headquarters, ownership structure, current leadership beyond the founder, official website, public listing, or present operating status. Those details therefore remain unconfirmed.

• 1995

  The '45 released

  [1]Decision Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Decision Games published The '45: The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.

• 1993

  The Seven Years War released

  [1]Decision Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  The company published The Seven Years War as an original board wargame.

• 1989

  Desert Fox Games established

  [1]Decision Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Decision Games started Desert Fox Games to sell new and used wargames from various companies.

• 1988

  Company founded

  [1]Decision Gamesen.wikipedia.org

  Christopher Cummins founded Decision Games as an American wargaming company.

A specialist military-history and simulation publisher serving hobbyist wargamers through historically focused board games, computer games, and periodical issues that commonly include a playable game.

• Military-history magazine with included board game

  Strategy & Tactics

  A Decision Games magazine focused on military history and wargaming. Each issue includes a game covering a military event, combining editorial content with a complete playable simulation.

• Military-history magazine with included board game

  World at War

  A periodical centered on the Second World War. Each issue includes a game, making the magazine both a historical publication and a recurring wargame product.

• Military-history magazine with included board game

  Modern War

  A magazine covering conflicts after the Second World War and hypothetical future wars. Its issues also include playable games based on the publication's modern-conflict focus.

• Board wargame and computer conversion

  War in Europe

  A European-theater wargame included among titles whose rights were acquired and reprinted by Decision Games, and also among the company's computer conversions from board wargames.

• Original board wargame · 1993

  The Seven Years War

  An original Decision Games board wargame focused on the eighteenth-century Seven Years' War. It was published in 1993.

• Original board wargame · 1995

  The '45: The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745

  An original board wargame about the Jacobite rising of 1745 in Britain. Decision Games published it in 1995.

• Computer conversion

  D-Day at Omaha Beach

  A computer adaptation of a board wargame centered on the Omaha Beach operation during the Normandy landings.

• Computer conversion

  D-Day at Tarawa

  A computer adaptation of a board wargame concerning the Tarawa operation in the Pacific theater.

• Computer conversion

  RAF: Lion

  A computer conversion of a board wargame associated with the Royal Air Force and a major air-conflict scenario.

• Original computer wargame

  Nuts! The Battle of the Bulge

  An original computer wargame focused on the Battle of the Bulge during the Second World War.

• Original computer wargame

  Battles of the Ancient World

  An original computer wargame dealing with military engagements from the ancient world.

• Original computer game

  Congo Merc

  An original computer game listed among Decision Games' digital titles. The supplied reference does not provide further information about its setting or mechanics.

• 1989

  Expand into specialist wargame retailStrategy

  Background

  After establishing the publishing company, Decision Games entered retail and distribution through a separate operation focused on new and used wargames.

  Action taken

  The company started Desert Fox Games to sell games from various publishers, not only Decision Games titles.

  Aftermath

  The move broadened the business beyond publishing, although the available material does not document the operation's later scale or status.

  Source

• Preserve and reprint Simulations Publications gamesStrategy

  Background

  After Simulations Publications went out of business, rights to many of its games became available for acquisition and reissue.

  Action taken

  Decision Games acquired rights to numerous Simulations Publications titles and reprinted many of them while continuing to create original games.

  Aftermath

  The catalog combined revived historical wargame properties with new designs, reinforcing the company's specialist publishing position.

  Source

1. 1Decision Gamesen.wikipedia.org