Pushing Cardboard's CSR picks 2025

I voted, but almost nothing I voted for won...here's my picks (to the best of my recollection)...

I'm all for awards as a way to celebrate the hobby as well as bring attention to it. But taking any ideas about winning seriously is just silly. The old sop about it being an honour to be nominated makes more sense. So I really don't care who wins. Congratulations to all the nominees, and to all those games that should have been nominated but were over-looked.

That said, I'm going to comment as if I did care.

PERIOD AWARDS

Awards for the best game released in calendar year 2024 within a specific historical period.

Best Ancients Game

• Winner: The Fate of All. Designed by Fabrizio Vianello, published by Thin Red Line Games
• Baetis Campaign, 211 BC. Designer Dan Fournie, published by RBM Studios.
• Beware the Ides of March. Designed by John Theissen, published by Hollandspiele.
• History of the Ancient Seas I: HELLAS. Designed by Karl Hausser, published by Sound of Drums.
• Rome, IInc.: From Diocletian to Heraclius. Designed by Philip Jelley, published in Against the Odds #61.

I had only dabbled with both Ides of March and Baetis Campaign, so I didnb't have strong feelings about this one.

Best Medieval Game

• Winner: Tanto Monta: The Rise of Ferdinand & Isabella. Designed by Carlos Diaz Navarez, published by GMT Games.
• A Gest of Robin Hood. Designed by Fred Serval, published by GMT Games.
• Norman Conquests: Men of Iron Volume V. Designed by Ralph Shelton, published by GMT Games.
• Sword of Orthodoxy: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium. Designed by Ben Madison, published by White Dog Games.
• Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India. Saverio Spagnolie, Mathieu Johnson, Cory Graham, and Aman Matthews, published by GMT Games.

I hadn't played any of the others, but really thought Gest of Robin Hood or VVijayanagara were going to win as they both seemed to have so much more good will and positive buzz about them than the others.

Best Gunpowder or Industrial Era

• Winner: Cowpens 1781. Designed by Pascal Toupy, published in Vae Victis issue #176.
• Banish All Their Fears. Designed by David Fox and Ben Hull, published by GMT Games.
• Battle of Sekigahara. Designed by Stephen L. Kling, Jr., published by The Historical Game Company.
• Europe in Turmoil II: The Interbellum Years. Designed by Kris van Beurden, published by Compass Games.
• Imperial Bayonets: For Liberty & Lombardy. Designed by Matthew Ward and Ray Weiss, published by CSL.

Hey! One of mine won!

Best Napoleonic Game

• Winner: I, Napoleon. Designed by Ted Raicer, published by GMT Games.
• 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March. Designed by Brian Asklev, published by VUCA Simulations.
• Alliance. Designed by Tom Dalgliesh, Grant Dalgliesh, and Bruce McFarlane, published by Columbia Games.
• Napoleon’s End. Designed by Kevin Zucker, published by Operational Studies Group.
• Winter’s Victory. Designed by Mark Hinkle, published by New England Simulations.

This one sort of pisses me off. I, Napoleon is a deserving winner for solo game I'm sure. But it's not the sort of thing I expect to see in this category. And 1812: Napoleon's Fateful March is in a coin toss for my favourite game of last year. It's fantastic.

Best American Civil War Game

• Winner: Rebel Fury. Designed by Mark Herman, published by GMT Games.
• Gettysburg 1863. Designed by Grant Wylie and Mike Wylie, published by Worthington Games.
• Shiloh: The First Day. Designed by Steve Carey, published by Revolution Games.
• Tattered Flags: Into the Whirlpool. Designed by Hermann Luttmann, published by Blue Panther.
• Thunder on the Mississippi. Designed by Joseph M. Balkoski and Chris Withers, published by Multi-Man Publishing.

I can't recall which one I voted for as they are both excellent. Rebel Fury is a deserving winner as it feels like the culmination of Herman's latest system.

Best World War I Game

• Winner: Schutztruppe: Heia Safari. Designed by Dennis Bishop, published by Compass Games.
• Caporetto 1917. Designed by Andrea Brusati, published by Europa Simulazioni.
• Italia 1917-1918: A Farewell to Arms. Designed by Stéphane Sénéchal, published by NUTS! Publishing.
• Mud & Blood. Designed by Stefan Ekström and Magnus Nordlöf, published by Three Crowns Games.

No horse in this race.

Best World War II Game

• Winner: Panzer North Africa. Designed by James M. Day and Fernando Sola Ramos, published by GMT Games.
• Old School Tactical: Volume 4: The Italian Theater. Designed by Shayne Logan, published by Flying Pig Games.
• One Hour World War II. Designed by Clint Warren-Davey, published by Worthington Games.
• Stalingrad Roads: Battle on the Edge of the Abyss. Designed by Nicolas Rident, published by NUTS! Publishing.
• The Greatest Day: Utah Beach. Designed by Tom Holliday, published by Multi-Man Publishing.

Despite being a big WWII tactical fan, the Panzer series hasn't grabbed me. OST 4 is great, and I imagine TGD: Utah Beach is as good as its predecessors. Kind of weird that all the games in this category other than One Hour WWII are the latest installments of a series. Is the WWII space bereft of new ideas? I don't think so. But perhaps nominators or voters are. 

Best Modern Game

• Winner: Purple Haze. Designed by Bernard Grzybowski, published by PHALANX.
• ’85 Afghanistan: Graveyard of Empires. Designed by Mark H. Walker, published by Flying Pig Games.
• Operation Bøllebank. Designed by Nicola Saggini, published by SNAFU Design.
• Rifles in the ‘Nam. Designed by Gottardo Zancani, published by Tiny Battle Publishing

No horse in this race, either, though I was surprised that Red Strike wasn't there. Maybe it came out at the end of 2023.

MODE AWARDS

Awards for the best game released in calendar year 2023 using a specific mechanical or design mode.

Best Strategic Game

• Winner: Burning Banners. Designed by Christopher Moeller, published by Compass Games.
• One Hour World War II. Designed by Clint Warren-Davey, published by Worthington Games.
• Dune: War for Arrakis. Designed by Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello, published by CMON.
• Europe in Turmoil II: The Interbellum Years. Designed by Kris van Beurden, published by Compass Games.
• Red Dust Rebellion. Designed by Jarrod Carmichael, published by GMT Games.
• The Other Side of the Hill. Designed by Carlos Fco. Márquez Linares, published by NAC Wargames.

Another one where I didn't play enough to vote.

Best Operational Game

• Winner: Thunder on the Mississippi. Designed by Joseph M. Balkoski and Chris Withers, published by Multi-Man Publishing.
• Luzon: Race for Bataan. Designed by Matsuura Yutaka, published by Multi-Man Publishing.
• Baetis Campaign, 211 BC. Designer Dan Fournie, published by RBM Studios.
• Caporetto 1917. Designed by Andrea Brusati, published by Europa Simulazioni.
• Italia 1917-1918: A Farewell to Arms. Designed by Stéphane Sénéchal, published by NUTS! Publishing.
• Stalingrad Roads: Battle on the Edge of the Abyss. Designed by Nicolas Rident, published by NUTS! Publishing.

I'm sure Thunder on the Mississippi is great. It would be nice to see some smaller publishers win, though.

Best Tactical Game

• Winner: Panzer North Africa. Designed by James M. Day and Fernando Sola Ramos, published by GMT Games.
• Rebel Fury. Designed by Mark Herman, published by GMT Games.
• Cowpens 1781. Designed by Pascal Toupy, published in Vae Victis issue #176.
• Tattered Flags: Into the Whirlpool. Designed by Hermann Luttmann, published by Blue Panther.
• Old School Tactical: Volume 4: The Italian Theater. Designed by Shayne Logan, published by Flying Pig Games.

I really liked Cowpens, Rebel Fury, and OST 4. So this was a bummer.

Best New Edition of a Previously Published Game

• Winner: France ’40: Second Edition. Designed by Mark Simonitch, published by GMT Games.
• Port Arthur. Designed by Yasushi Nakaguro, published by NUTS! Publishing.
• Unhappy King Charles. Designed by Charles Vasey, published by PHALANX.
• Air & Armor: Wurzburg, Designer Signature Edition. Designed by Bruce Maxwell, published by Compass Games.
• Traces of Hubris. Designed by Tetsuya Nakamura, published by VUCA Simulations.

France 40 is excellent, Traces of Hubris is excellent, but Unhappy King Charles is superb, both as a game and the new edition is beautiful. Unhappy Cardboard Pusher.

Best Political, Social, or Economic Game

• Winner: Red Dust Rebellion. Designed by Jarrod Carmichael, published by GMT Games.
• Arabian Struggle. Designed by Nick Porter and Tim Uren, published by Catastrophe Games.
• Crisis: 1914. Designed by Maurice Suckling, published by Worthington Games.
• Europe in Turmoil II: The Interbellum Years. Designed by Kris van Beurden, published by Compass Games.
• The Republic’s Struggle. Designed by Teo Álvarez, published by NAC Wargames.

Along with 1812: Napoleon's Fateful March, Arabian Struggle was my favourite game from last year. It probably didn't have a chance in this race as not enough people have played it to vote for it. Which is the big problem with these sorts of awards: the bigger companies get their games in front of more people. It's not a level playing field by any stretch of the imaginnation.

Best Solitaire or Cooperative Game

• Winner: I, Napoleon. Designed by Ted Raicer, published by GMT Games.
• Atlantic Sentinels. Designed by Gregory M. Smith, publ;ished by Compass Games.
• Manila: The Savage Streets. Designed by Michael Rinella, published by Revolution Games
• Rome, IInc.: From Diocletian to Heraclius. Designed by Philip Jelley, published in Against the Odds #61.
• Viva Mexico: The Mexican Revolution 1910-1920. Designed by David Kershaw, published by White Dog Games.
• Wolfpack: The North Atlantic Convoy Struggles. Designed by Mike Bertucelli, published by GMT Games.

No horse.

Best Hypothetical Game

• Winner: Next War: Iran. Designed by Mitchell Land, published by GMT Games.
• Close The Atlantic: World War Three. Designed by Michael Raymond, published by Blue Panther.
• The Enemy is at the Gates. Designed by Adam Starkweather, published by Compass Games.
• Invasion: Malta. Designed by Vance von Borries, published by Legion Wargames.

No horse.

Best Wargaming Magazine

• Winner: C3i
• Strategy & Tactics
• War Diary
• Against the Odds
• Vae Victis

I like all these magazines. I voted for VV as an underdog.

CAPSTONE AWARDS

Singular Awards for individual or achievement granted annually by the Charles S. Roberts Awards.

The Redmond A. Simonsen Memorial Award for Outstanding Presentation

• Winner: Burning Banners, published by Compass Games. Graphics by Christopher Moeller.
• A Gest of Robin Hood, published by GMT Games. Graphics by Robert Altbauer, Terry Leeds, and Chechu Nieto.
• I, Napoleon, published by GMT Games. Graphics by Jacques Onfroy de Bréville and Domhnall Hegarty.
• Winter’s Victory, published by New England Simulations. Graphics by Antoine-Jean Gros and Mark Hinkle.
• Undaunted 2200: Callisto, published by Osprey Games. Graphics by Roland MacDonald.

I hadn't seen inside the box on two of them, so didn't vote.

The James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability and Design

• Winner: Mark Herman
• Joseph Balkoski
• Hermann Luttmann
• Ted Raicer
• Pascal Toupy

I can't recall who I voted for, but Mark Herman is an excellent choice just thinking of Rebel Fury.

The Chad Jensen Memorial Breakthrough Designer Award

• Winner: Carlos Diaz Narvaez, for Tanto Monta.
• Valentin Crespel, Andy Loakes, and Yves Roig, for Gettysburg: A Time for Heroes.
• Saverio Spagnolie, Mathieu Johnson, Cory Graham, and Aman Matthews, for Vijayanagara: The Deccan Empires of Medieval India.
• Clint Warren-Davey (for One Hour World War II)

I'm happy for all of them. 

The Charles S. Roberts Game of the Year

• Winner: Panzer North Africa. Designed by James M. Day and Fernando Sola Ramos, published by GMT Games.
• I, Napoleon. Designed by Ted Raicer, published by GMT Games.
• Rebel Fury. Designed by Mark Herman, published by GMT Games.
• Tattered Flags: Into the Whirlpool. Designed by Hermann Luttmann, published by Blue Panther.
• Thunder on the Mississippi. Designed by Joseph M. Balkoski and Chris Withers, published by Multi-Man Publishing.

The latest iteration of an old warhorse wins over a fresh idea.