The Wargame Paradigm Zine Vol 1 - Issue 1

Thank you for your support!

I am publishing this zine to spread the ideas of my RPG and Wargaming philosophy. This is the first in a series of quarterly zines addressing important issues in the Adventure Game Hobby.

UPDATE: Feb 2025 - Changes to the cover for branding purposes, and small  layout changes for the interior content.  

Like the majority of content on this publisher page, I have listed The Wargame Paradigm as PWYW.

I believe in sharing information & research with the community, and at the same time, I ask for your support during a personal crisis. My wife has recently been diagnosed with cancer and is no longer able to work. I hope you find this information valuable enough to make a contribution & supplement our household finances, suddenly cut in half.

This zine contains what I believe are the most important Substack essays on the results of my research into how the games known as Blackmoor and Greyhawk were played. This is the culmination of over three years of research into old wargaming rules, studying old newsletters and zines, and building on the research of historians like Jon Peterson and Dan Boggs.

Recently more information has been published by The Fellowship of the Thing, in the form of two essential resources, The Lost Dungeon of Tonisborg and Blackmoor Foundations. These two documents in particular confirm some of the suspicions I developed after studying Dave Arneson’s The First Fantasy Campaign booklet, published by Judge’s Guild.

These essays have been edited for clarity; the original essays can be found at stephensmith.substack.com.

A print version of this zine is available at https://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-smith/the-wargame-paradigm/paperback/product-d...