Sniper! (board game)

Sniper! is a two-player board wargame about man-to-man combat in urban environments during WWII, originally released in 1973 by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI). After TSR purchased SPI in 1982, TSR released an expanded edition of Sniper! in 1986, and followed up that up with releases of various "companion games" and a videogame.

Description

Original edition (SPI)

Sniper! was released by SPI in 1973 as a two-person combat boardgame designed by James Dunnigan, with additional material provided by developers Hank Zucker, John Young, Ed Curran, Bob Felice, Bill Sullivan, Angel Gomez, and Hal Vaughn, and artwork and cartography by Robert B MacGowan and Redmond A. Simonsen.[1] Subtitled House to House Fighting in World War Two, the game simulates man-to-man urban combat in the Second World War.

Game components include:

  • 34" x 22" map
  • 2 Sniper charts and tables
  • Game Rules
  • 1 Pad of Simultaneous Movement Sheets
  • 1 tray to hold game pieces
  • two sets of 2 tanks, 2 armoured personnel carriers and 2 trucks, all printed on cardstock that required vehicles to be cut apart
  • 400 die-cut counters in olive green for Allies and grey for Germans

Second Edition (TSR)

Following TSR's purchase of SPI in 1982, TSR released a new version of Sniper! in 1986 titled Sniper! Second Edition: Game of Man-to-Man Combat, 1941-90 that expanded the timeframe of the game to include modern-day warfare. The expanded game, which combined SPI's original Sniper! and sister game Patrol, was designed by Steve Winter, with artwork and cartography by Linda Bakk, Doug Chaffee, Tom Darden, Kim Lindau, Rodger B. MacGowan, and Colleen O'Malley.[2]

Game components included:

  • two large 22" x 34" paper maps (double sided, with urban terrain on one side and rural terrain on the other, to allow for "double-blind" play with an umpire)
    Rural mapsheet (VASSAL version)
  • 32-page rulebook divided into Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Optional rules
  • cardstock sheet of vehicles
  • two six-sided dice
  • plastic counter tray
  • 600 diecut counters.

In an article in The Wargamer (May–June 1988) about the development of the game, designer Steve Winter commented, "When I first started revising the Sniper! and Patrol games in 1985, there were only two other wargames (that I am aware of) that covered modern combat at man-to-man scale. Since then, at least three more have been published (two of which, like the Sniper! game, were based heavily on previously published games). Yet, despite this surge of man-to-man games, very few articles have been published about any of them."[3]

Companion Game #1: Hetzer

In 1987, TSR released the first "Sniper Companion Game" titled Hetzer (named for the German Jagdpanzer 38 light tank destroyer). As indicated by its subtitle, "Game of Man-to-Man Combat in Europe, 1940-45", Hetzer returned to the Second World War setting of SPI's original Sniper!. The game was again designed by Steve Winter, with artwork and cartography by Dennis Kauth, David S. LaForce, and David C. Sutherland III. Components included

  • two 22" x 34" maps (similar to those in Sniper! but including Normandy-style hedgerows)
  • 24-page rulebook
  • 16-page rulebook
  • 8-page Scenario book
  • three cardstock sheets of vehicles
  • two six-sided dice
  • counter tray
  • 400 die-cut counters

Companion Game #2: Special Forces

In 1988, TSR released the second "Sniper Companion Game", Special Forces, designed by Rick Swan, with artwork by and cartography by Doug Chaffee, Dennis Kauth, David LaForce, Sue Myers, Stephen Sullivan, and David C. Sutherland III. Unlike the previous editions of the game, which had been published as boxed sets, Special Forces was sold as a cardstock folder holding loose contents, which included

  • two 21" x 32" maps
  • 24-page rulebook
  • 16-page rule book
  • 8-page scenario booklet
  • reference card
  • a ziplock bag
  • 400 die-cut counters.

In the May–June 1988 edition of The Wargamer, designer Rick Swan commented on his transnational approach to the game, saying, "I was more or less given a free hand to set the scope of the game, so the first design decision was to establish parameters. It seemed it could go one of two ways - it could either focus on a few select forces in specifically chosen conflicts, or it could take a broader view and allow for forces from around the world to participate in a variety of situations. The first option would demand a more detailed and complicated system than I wanted, not to mention requiring the answers to questions I wasn't comfortable answering (Which nationalities should be included? What's a "typical" terrorist operation?). The second option was more attractive - not only would it give players a lot to pick from, it sounded like it'd be more fun to design and more like a game I'd like to play.[4]

Companion game #3: Bug Hunter
Main article: Bug Hunter

In 1988, TSR also released a science fiction version of Sniper! called Bug Hunter, designed by Steve Winter, with artwork and cartography by Kim Janke, Dennis Kauth, and David C. Sutherland III, and cover art by Keith Parkinson.[5] Using the Sniper! rules set, the game focuses on "the popular science fiction theme of embattled humans threatened by vicious alien creatures in space and on the ground."[6]

Components include:

  • four double-sided maps
  • three rulebooks (original Sniper! rules, science fiction rules adaptations, scenarios)
  • 400 die-cut counters
  • fifty random event cards
  • cardstock sheet of vehicle cutouts
  • track/roster sheet
  • cover folder, which included reference tables[5]

Sniper! videogame

In 1989, TSR released Sniper! as a multiplayer, online computer game on Compuserve. Designed by Steve Estvanik, the game started each player as a recruit in the Sniper Saloon & Salad Bar, where a drill instructor waited to show new players how the game was played. Once trained, players could challenge other players to a Sniper! game, or play a computerized opponent. Several subgames were featured, including:

  • Patrol: two opposing squads, Alpha and Bravo, met between their front lines in no-man's land
  • Infiltrate: Alpha force tried to cross from one side of the map to the other, exiting the map at Bravo’s Victory Point area before Bravo could stop Alpha.[7]

Reception

In the May 1989 edition of Games International, James Wallis reviewed Bug Hunter as the magazine's "Game of the Month", and found the amount of material included made for "a great deal of game by any standards." He found the hand-to-hand combat rules "simple and direct", and the rules overall "written in a clear style that explains everything while not being patronising or dull." He concluded by giving the game a perfect score of 5 out of 5, saying, "Bug Hunter is not without a few rough spots but [...] it is fast, fun and contains enough variables to keep players interested for some time.".[5]

In the July 1989 edition of Computer Gaming World, Johnny Wilson gave the Sniper! videogame a generally positive review, admiring it both as a social experience as well as a competitive game.[8]

In the May–June 1991 edition of Fire and Movement (Issue 73), Terry Rooker reviewed Special Forces, and was not overly impressed, saying, "it fails to capture some of the most important aspects of [modern] LIC (Light Infantry combat)." Rooker's issue was that "The original [Sniper! game] system was designed for WWII infantry engagements. In that type of warfare, everyone obeys the rules of land warfare and wears a uniform of the appropriate color. In LIC situations, the situation is not so clear. The combatants often wear clothing indistinguishable from the non-combatants. Target identification is much more difficult." Nevertheless, Rooker concluded, "For the direct action part of a mission, Sniper! Special Forces is the best game available."[9]

In the January 1993 issue of Compute! (Issue 148), Paul C. Schuytema reviewed the Sniper! computer game, and suggested players pay for the graphical version rather than try to decipher images composed of ASCII characters, which he found "far too cryptic for my tastes." He noted that although "the game's control logistics seem a little obtuse at first, you can enter a modified boot camp where you explore all of the various commands."[10]

In the December 1998 edition of The Wargamer, James C. Gordon reviewed Hetzer, and found that it "fills a [niche] in the hobby with a challenging view of ground level combat situations in World War II. [...] Managing forces of sometimes questionable reliability, weapons systems with various strengths and weaknesses, and reacting to the opposition requires the skills of a chess player." Gordon liked the "professionally done map and counters", and found the rules to be "well organized." Although he found the game complex, with "lots to remember and lots to do", he didn't find the system cumbersome. He concluded by noting that the historical accuracy of the game was derived from "typical situations and objectives. Good marks for all."[11]

References
  1. "Sniper! (1973)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  2. "Sniper! (Second Edition)(1986)". boardgamegeek.com. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  3. Winter, Steve (May–June 1988). "Review of Sniper! Second Edition". The Wargamer. 2 (6).
  4. Swan, Rick (May–June 1988). "Special Forces". The Wargamer.
  5. Wallis, James (May 1989). "Wargames". Games International. No. 5. pp. 33–34.
  6. "Bug Hunter". The Wargamer. Vol. 2 no. 6. May–June 1988.
  7. Estvanik, Steve (August 1989). "The Game Wizards". Dragon. No. 148. pp. 54–58.
  8. Wilson, Johnny (July 1989). "Sniper!". Computer Gaming World.Wilson, Johnny (July 1989), "Sniper! Telecommuting to War", Computer Gaming World, p. 27
  9. Rooker, Terry (May–June 1991). "Special Forces". Fire and Movement. No. 73.
  10. Schuytema, Paul C. (January 1993). "Review of Sniper!". Compute!. No. 148.
  11. Gordon, James C. (December 1988). "Hetzer". The Wargamer. Vol. 2 no. 5.
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