So apparently this was a thing:
A Harlequin Romance inspired ... wargame? That's Avalon Hill, the company I've praised many times over the years for its catalogue of wargaming fun and sound historical scholarship to boot.
But this? I just can't imagine how this works. I'd like to think it was a put-on, or meant for the humor. But it goes to show you something when it comes to remembering the past. We sometimes remember the best of the past, while looking at and lamenting so much goofy or junk today. Sometimes it's worth remembering that the goofy junk has always been around. It's just that good taste and common sense have a way of filtering it out as the years droll on. You're only in trouble when we begin actively lifting up the junk, and working to eliminate the best of the past.
Their game on Doctor Ruth was their best seller. Grognards like me didn't like it but their bottom line did. Their parent company, Monarch, published a girl's magazine.
ReplyDeleteGo to the link below for digitized copies of Avalon Hill's General magazine, lots of great boardgame reading:
https://www.ahgeneral.org/sale/forsale.htm
It was published in 1987. Avalon Hill throughout its history published non wargames. In 63 they published The Wedding Game. Girls generally weren't interested in war games but they would play non war games, and this was part of Avalon Hill's almost always futile attempt to break open that market, something that didn't happen until D & D came on the scene, and took off with Magic the Gathering. More info about the game:
ReplyDeletehttps://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/4996/quest-ideal-mate
Interesting. I knew AH didn't just publish wargames. I read somewhere that the creators of D&D tried to sell their idea to AH, and later AH produced it's own version. Personally I've only seen their wargames. That's all I own. But this threw me. I can see why they had trouble breaking into the girl market though!
DeleteHey, Tubbs! I just lost my Jengajam.
ReplyDelete