Just Out Of Curiosity (Sort of OT)

[2-81 Armor]

Does anyone know the reason why in most Tiller games German units are depicted in a blue or blue-gray shade (rather than gray or gray-green) for their counter and unit box colors? I've wondered about this off and on since Smolensk '41 was a new game sold by HPS back in (I think) 1999.

[Wyvern666]

......

[-72-]

It might be as a reflection of how the cardboard unit chits of the paper map gaming era were coloured? I had a whole closet full of these old games, long since lost to the depths of time. My memory is pretty poor, but I seem to recall that the colours used in the Tiller games are generally similar to what was used on the old cardboard counters. Generally, Wehrmacht some sort of grey or blue-grey, Soviets shades of red, US shades of green, etc.

Can’t recall some country colours at all, like Italy and Japan. I had the SPI mega-game Campaign for North Africa (don’t ask me why - hunter/gatherer syndrome?), so you would think I’d be able to recall the Italians at least.

It can't really be that, though, as GDW was using Feldgrau back in the early 70's for Drang nach Osten/Unentshieden...   Plus I think 'The Russian Campaign' also used something similar to GDW.

An quick check of some assorted boardgame titles on Board Game Geek - which usually comes with countersheet scans is really all that is required.

Personally I have gone with a combination of GDW's colour schemes, along with GMT's at times.  Mind you it is not limited to just Panzer Campaigns --- I am pretty sure that the ARVN in Squad Battles is a nice shade of aqua-marine...  

Actually I just wish they'd have added bank/shore hexsides that generate when a land hex borders a full water hex ---  not too keen on the hard hex shape where full water hexes meet land hexes.  The grant tactical series' are not like that -and it allows for a bit more flexibility in map graphics.

[2-81 Armor]

Lucky for us these things are easily modded (well, everything but the Panzer Battles series) with just a little work.

I also remember GDW using field gray for the Germans in DNO and other Europa series games. Most everyone else (like SPI) was using gray. But I do recall "pink" Germans in some really old titles like Avalon Hill's Bulge or D-Day.

I believe SPI might have been the originator of orange Italians also.

When I mod these games for my own use, the Germans are field gray, and the Italians are anything but orange (I usually reserve that for the Dutch).

Blue or blue-gray Germans appear to be a sort of JTS tradition now. I don't think they've ever been in another color, at least for PzC, MC, or WW 1 but I could be wrong.

[wildb]

I have CNA.

The British are white on red with armor units with a dark red band
The Indian are black on dark red
The Australian black on red
The New Zealand are on yellow on red
The Allies are black on light red (i.e. Czechs, French, Greeks, and Poles)
The South Africans are red on dark yellow
The Italians are black on yellow
The Germans are black on tan
The Italian blackshirt are yellow on black

[MikeC]

Bulge '81 from Avalon Hill had light blue Wehrmacht units, similar to PzC. Earlier AH titles had red (pink?) for Axis and blue for Allies. SPI titles had grey for Germans. On a smaller scale, Squad Leader had light blue Wehrmacht troops also. Still, light blue German units seems to go against the grain in most board gaming traditions.

[Strela]

Guys,

One thing to think about is that we can essentially only have a single colour for 'Nato' symbols etc. This is currently black. It could be any colour, but it can't say be light for dark counters and dark for light etc.

That essentially precluded the 'SS are Black' direction as the current black Nato symbols just wouldn't work.

Just something to be aware of...

David

[Outlaw Josey Wales]

This is just a guess, but, the early wargames when I started were Blue and Grey for ACW games, no brainer, D-Day, Midway, Afrika Korps and Tactics II were blue and red and Battle of the Bulge was a lighter red that sometimes looked pink depending on the lighting. Made it easier to see the numbers. Before the different colors, which I enjoy immensely with all the different nationalities, blue and red are standards in the U.S. Army for friendly and enemy/opposing forces that are still used today. It is evident in PzCs in the jump maps. Things change with the details on the different views. It is eye candy for our benefit. :)

[2-81 Armor]

All good information, but I don't believe we've answered the "why" German units are rendered in blue, rather than gray or field gray. Possibly only Tiller himself knows.

Chances are it's always going to be one of those minor and relatively unimportant mysteries.

[-72-]

All good information, but I don't believe we've answered the "why" German units are rendered in blue, rather than gray or field gray. Possibly only Tiller himself knows.

Chances are it's always going to be one of those minor and relatively unimportant mysteries.

You're assuming that Tiller chooses the artwork and not his art team. 

No one told me what combinations to use on Seven Years War - so in all likelihood it was either carried over from Bulge in Talonsoft, or whoever first was in charge of the graphics in Panzer Campaigns.

Also - old Avalon Hill material seemed to used always be using pink and baby blue - including in Alexander. It was probably the print limitations at the time.