A Day at Columbia Games
I certainly have. And I had the opportunity to find some answers.
While researching links for the wargames section of this site poker card chips, I discovered that there was a game company less than two hours north of me. Columbia Games is located in Blaine, Washington, about 100 miles down the old Interstate 5. I contacted them and they graciously invited me to visit. Here was my chance to find out how games really get made!
When I arrived, I have to admit I was a bit taken aback. Could this rural farmhouse out in the boonies really be the international headquarters for a successful game company?
Well, what did I expect? A penthouse office in a glass-walled high rise? Get real. These guys make war games, not Pokemon!
Upon entering the daylight-basement offices, I saw a sight that would make any historical gamer's heart leap (and our spouse's head explode): stacks upon stacks of books and videos. It seemed that every available surface was covered: bookshelves, desks, coffee tables, chairs, and even most of the floor were stacked with information about history and warfare. Now you know how Columbia Games is able to make their historical war games so accurate.
The operation center for Columbia Games is a few desks and file cabinets that, if it weren't for Macs and telephones, would be indistinguishable from the flotsam and jetsam. Rulebooks and catalogs cover the desks and the walls are plastered with uncut card sheets for Dixie and Eagles.
To me, chaos is the sign of a creative mind -- and I got a bit envious. Why can't my workspace look like this?
After walking in, I got a full shot of the realities of running a business. Tom Dalgliesh (General Manager, Lead Game Designer, and Patriarch) was in a heated discussion with son Grant (Marketing Contact, Web Guru, and Head Gopher) over acceptable shipping rates to Japan. Not only are these guys responsible for designing games, they handle most aspects of development, publication, distribution, and marketing. In Tom's words, "Any company that spends all its time designing games isn't making enough money to actually publish them."
Columbia Games is pretty much a family affair, with Tom and Grant handling most the daily grind. Even the wives get into the act -- while I was there, the two Mrs. Dalglieshes were packing games for shipment. Cal Stengel, the only non-Dalgliesh, helps out with daily operations, the warehouse, and the occasional cool scenario idea. And, let's not forget Canyon the Dog, who I guess is an honorary Dalgliesh.
Tom Dalgliesh published his first war game in 1972. Quebec 1759 was published by Tom's first game company, Gamma 2. It simulates British and French forces fighting for Quebec during the Seven Years War, 1756-1763. It was Tom's first design to use wooden blocks for the game pieces. Like all of his games, it is still available.
After Quebec 1759, Tom never looked back. Gamma 2 published other games like War of 1812 and Napoleon. These games also used hardwood blocks, and Tom continued to refine the block game structure with new games.
Napoleon was Tom's first big hit. In fact, it did so well that then-wargaming super power Avalon Hill licensed the rights to the game and released their own edition in 1975. For many war gamers, including myself, the Avalon Hill edition was our first introduction to Tom Dalgliesh and his wonderful blocks of war.
As we all know, war games cater to a very specialized (and relatively small) market, so in 1975 Gamma 2 started producing family board games. Tom didn't return to block games until after Gamma 2 folded in 1980 and Columbia Games was born.
Since it was the early 1980s, fantasy role-playing games were all the rage. To capitalize on this trend, Columbia published Harn, which became a moderate success. The money brought in by Harn allowed Tom to start creating more block war games.
From 1982 until the present, Columbia Games has not only continued with the world of Harn, but has released the old Gamma 2 games, two customizable card games, and created a virtual dynasty of historical and fantasy block games.
There are two series of historical block games: one focusing on The American Civil War (Bobby Lee and Sam Grant) and one focusing on World War II (Rommel in the Desert, EastFront, WestFront, MedFront, EuroFront, VolgaFront, Victory, and Pacific Victory), though not all of these are directly linked. The block games have been so successful that two more recent games, Wizard Kings and Pacific Victory, were nominated for Origins Awards.
