"Wargaming “on the square” Regulation Wargame Board" Topic

In the January 1967 of Strategy and Tactics magazine ---then devoted to both board and miniature gaming (!) Henry Bodenstedt wrote a series of wonderful articles about miniature wargaming "on the square." His was a six foot by six foot table laid out in 4 inch squares. He called it a "Regulation Wargame Board." At the end of this entry are some links with diagrams of it in use.
Henry ran Continental Hobbies in New Jersey. He passed away in 1999 I believe. Clearly a leader in wargaming in its formative era. i suppose he desired for a uniform game board. Way ahead of his time. Here is selected copy of several entries about the Board and at the end some links to his games:

"The standard 6 X 6 foot table has seen many exciting and fascinating battles ….
Mapboard games can be transferred to the table top , and the 6 X 6 foot area is usually large enough for an entire campaign.
Landscaping is easier too, because an uncountable
number of excellent accessories, such as buildings,
trees, fences , etc., are readily available in HO scale.
There is really no comparison between a large scale
and small scale game. If correctly matched rules
are used, either scale will serve an enthusiastic
hobbyist with many hours of fascinating and exciting
wargaming. It is just this variety that prevents
table top wargaming from ever becoming a bore.
The terrain used for table top games is three dimensional, instead of just painted or printed
on to the playing surface as in mapboard games.
While certain wargame players are perfectly happy using
wooden blocks for mountains and buildings, sticks
for trees, and cardboard strips for rivers and roads,
the more particular prefer landscape props that are
extremely realistic in design and color. Nothing is
more pleasing to the eye than well prepared battle
terrain, loaded with authentically modeled and
painted armies. One does not mind if the opponent
takes a little longer to complete his move, because
that time can be used to really enjoy the setup ;
Perhaps to straighten or position a few trays, turm
the turret of a tank, or point a cannon in the
direction of the enemy. This is wargaming at its
best. The first step in that direction is the Regulation
Wargame Table described in the first issue of S&T.
It has found overwhelming acceptance by groups
and individual gamers. Many of S&T's readers have
reported the construction of the table for themselves.
The specific dimensions of that table were selected
after many experiments.
It is as large as possible while keeping all pieces on it within easy reach even those placed near the center of the board.
The 4" squares and the grid system are extremely useful.
They facilitate easy measuring and movement of
hidden units for which a small map replica of the
table-top is used. There are many other possibilities: mining of certain squares, ,. rolling" for the exact spot reserves are to arrive, etc, etc.
Several groups in Central New Jersey have been
using the 4" square sections for as long as ten years,
finding this system far superior to the measuring
stick. Arguments about firing and moving ranges
cannot occur, units are moved more quickly. and
clearances for line•of•sight firing are
easily and positively determined with the help of schematics. Considerable time savings are the pleasant
result making for peppier and less strenuous games."

NOW HERE are some links to the games including the one about the Franco Prussian War which got me into that period some 40 years ago.

link
link

I made a wargaming mat with 38 by 23 2.5" squares. The grid has made some otherwise tedious rules a breeze to implement. It's a technique that isn't for everyone, but I love it.

Great stuff! Thanks for posting that. I love grid-based wargaming.

Dale

WARNING – when I clicked onto the second link in the OP, I got a virus alert, allegedly from microsoft Windows…… my own virus protection (Kaspesky) did not detect anything even after a critical scan.

Yes – I really like squares as well.

Play Chess ferpetesakes and have done with the "regulation" abstraction, sheesh!…

The second link is interactive with Facebook (!) and occasionally this may generate a virus warning but I ran it trough 3 other browsers including Windows own interface ( Defender I think ) it was fine. You may have two protectors going at once and sometimes they conflict.
As for Daffy's "comment" , if Henry hadn't done his castle game then,,,,for better or worse ..,…there would have been no Dungeons and Dragons ! Apparently it was a big influence on Gygax to write Chainmail which became D and D.
See link
and
link

and,,,,from the man himself
link

That are square shaped, that are hexagon shaped or any other form, the "areas" approach is definitely way to the three-dimensional wargame without discussion ;-)

If you want to see our experience:

link

Surely this is a different period and with a different ahaped area (hexagon), but we have in common the basic idea.