The Gamers was a designer and publisher of board wargames that, over the course of 20 years, won over a dozen Charles S. Roberts Awards.
History The Gamers was founded in 1988 by game designer and artist Dean Essig in Homer, Illinois. Instead of designing a new game system for each game, Essig decided that The Gamers would produce a number of games, but categorized into different series. The games in each series would use a common set of rules. Each game within the series would also have a subset of rules to deal with situations unique to that battle.
The company's games received good critical reception, and won a total of 14 Charles S. Roberts Awards.
The Gamers was bought by Multi-Man Publishing in 2001. Multi-Man continued to use the services of Essig as game designer until his death in 2024. Multi-Man publishes new materials for the original Gamers series as well as new games and new game series.
Series The Gamers produced games in seven different series: Civil War Brigade (CWB): American Civil War battles at the brigade level. Regimental Sub-System Series / Line of Battle (RSS/LoB): American Civil War battles at the regimental level. Tactical Combat Series (TCS): 20th-century platoon level battles. Operational Combat Series (OCS): 20th-century battles at battalion and division levels. Standard Combat Series (SCS): General system that allows simulation of a wide range of battles. Napoleonic Brigade Series (NBS): Brigade-level battles during the Napoleonic Wars. Battalion Combat Series (BCS): 20th-century battles at the battalion level. (One game, Circus Minimus, was not categorized. A new category, Modern Tactical Combat, was announced but no games were ever published for it.)
Homercon Homercon, a convention for The Gamers games, was held each September in Homer from 1990 until 2012.
List of games Civil War Brigade Series Game Subject Year Designer Series Number AwardsIn Their Quiet Fields Antietam1988Dean EssigCWB 1In Their Quiet Fields IIAntietam1995Dean EssigCWB 1aThunder at the Crossroads Gettysburg1988Dave PowellCWB 2Thunder at the Crossroads II Gettysburg1992Dave PowellCWB 2aAugust Fury 2nd Battle of Bull Run1990Dave PowellCWB 3Barren Victory Chickamauga1991Dave PowellCWB 4Bloody Roads South The Wilderness1992James EppersonCWB 5PerryvillePerryville1992Dave PowellCWB 6Embrace an Angry WindSpring Hill & Franklin1992Dean EssigCWB 7No Better Place to Die Murfreesboro1994Dave PowellCWB 8CSR award nomineeApril's Harvest Shiloh1995Al WamboldCWB 9CSR award nomineeChampion Hill Champion Hill 1996Ken JacobsenCWB 10CSR award nomineeGaines MillSeven Days Battle I1997Dave PowellCWB 11CSR award nomineeSeven Pines Seven Pines & Seven Days Battle II1998Dean EssigCWB 12Malvern HillSeven Days Battle III1999Dean EssigCWB 13CSR award nomineeThree Battles of Manassas 1st & 2nd Bull Run, hypothetical 3rd Bull Run2004Thomas ProwellCWB 14CSR award nomineeStrike Them a BlowNorth Anna2006Bob MunnsCWB 15
Regimental Sub-System Series / Line of Battle Game Subject Year Designer Series Number AwardsThis Hallowed Ground Gettysburg1998Dave PowellRSS 1CSR award nomineeThis Terrible Sound Chickamauga2000Dave PowellRSS 2CSR award nomineeA Fearful Slaughter Shiloh 2004Dave PowellRSS 3CSR award nomineeSouth MountainSouth Mountain2008Dave PowellRSS 4None But HeroesAntietam2011Dean EssigLoB 1CSR award WINNERLast Chance for VictoryGettysburg2014Dean EssigLoB 2To Take WashingtonMonocacy, Fort Stevens2019Dean EssigLoB 3No Turning BackBattle of the Wilderness2026Dean EssigLoB 4Inferno in the BluegrassBattle of Perryville2027Nick RoserLoB 5
Tactical Combat Series Game Subject Year Designer Series Number AwardsBloody 110thBattle of the Bulge1989Dean EssigTCS 1CSR award nomineeObjective: Schmidt Hürtgen Forest, Ardennes Campaign1990Dave PowellTCS 2CSR award nomineeOmaha Omaha 1991Dave PowellTCS 3Matanikau Matanikau River1993Sam SimonsTCS 4GD '40 Stonne, Battle of France1993Wig GravesTCS 5CSR award nomineeHunters from the SkyMaleme Airfield, Battle of Crete1994Wig GravesTCS 6CSR award nomineeBlack Wednesday Krasny Bor1995Dave FriedrichsTCS 7CSR award nomineeLeros: The Island Prize Leros1996Dave FriedrichsTCS 8GD '41 Tula Road, Battle of Moscow1996Wig GravesTCS 9CSR award WINNERSemper Fi!Korean War1997Lee ForesterTCS 10CSR award WINNERRaging Storm Anzio, Allied invasion of Italy1997Nigel Roberts & Bob RunniclesTCS 11A Frozen Hell Tolvajärvi, Winter War2000Al WamboldTCS 12CSR award nomineeScreaming Eagles in Holland Veghel, Operation Market Garden2002Nigel Roberts & Bob RunniclesTCS 13Bloody RidgeGuadalcanal, Bloody Ridge2005Michael SmithTCS 14GD'42Operation Mars2009Wig GravesTCS 15Canadian CrucibleNorrey-en-Bessin, Battle of Normandy2013Larry BrienTCS 16ArieteFirst Battle of Bir el Gubi2020Mauro De VitaTCS 17Goose GreenBattle of Goose Green2023Carl FungTCS 18Force Eagle's War (Hypothetical NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict)1990Dean EssigModern TCS
Operational Combat Series Game Subject Year Designer Series Number AwardsGuderian's BlitzkriegOperation Barbarossa1992Dean EssigOCS 1CSR award nomineeEnemy at the GatesStalingrad1994Dean EssigOCS 2CSR award WINNERTunisia Tunisia1995Dean EssigOCS 3CSR award WINNERHube's Pocket Western Ukraine1996Dave FriedrichsOCS 4CSR award nomineeDAKWestern Desert Campaign1997Dean EssigOCS 5CSR award WINNERBurmaBurma Campaign1999Dave FriedrichsOCS 6CSR award WINNERSicily Sicily2000Dean EssigOCS 7CSR award WINNER (tie)Guderian's Blitzkrieg IIOperation Barbarossa2001Dean EssigOCS 8CSR award nomineeKorea: The Forgotten WarKorean War2003Rod MillerOCS 9CSR award nomineeCase BlueCase Blue & Stalingrad2007Dean EssigOCS 10CSR award WINNERBaltic GapBaltic Offensive2009John Kisner & Hans MielantsOCS 11The Blitzkrieg LegendBattle of France2012Hans KishelOCS 12Reluctant EnemiesSyria–Lebanon Campaign2014Curtis BaerOCS 13Beyond the RhineNorthwestern Europe Campaign2015Roland LeBlancOCS 14Tunisia IITunisia2016Dean EssigOCS 15Operational Matters: OCS Guide (Sicily II insert)Sicily2016Dean Essig (game)OCS 16Smolensk:Barbarossa DerailedBattle of Smolensk (1941)2018Hans KishelOCS 17Hungarian RhapsodySiege of Budapest2020Stéphane AcquavivaOCS 18CSR award nomineeThe Third WinterBattle of the Dnieper2022Antony BirkettOCS 19CSR award nomineeCrimea: Conquest and LiberationCrimean campaign & Crimean offensive2023Guy Wilde & Antony BirkettOCS 20Luzon: Race for BataanPhilippines campaign (1941–1942)2024Matsuura YutakaOCS 21The Forgotten BattlesSmolensk operation2025Antony BirkettOCS 22
Standard Combat System Game Subject Year Designer Series Number AwardsStalingrad Pocket Stalingrad1992Masahiro YamazakiSCS 1CSR award WINNERStalingrad Pocket II Stalingrad1996Dean EssigSCS 1AfrikaWestern Desert Campaign1993Dean EssigSCS 2CSR award WINNERAfrika IIWestern Desert Campaign2006Dean EssigSCS 12CSR award nomineeArdennes Battle of the Bulge1994Dean EssigSCS 3CSR award nomineeYom KippurSinai Front, Yom Kippur War1995Al SandrickSCS 4CSR award WINNERCrusader Operation Crusader1997Dean EssigSCS 5CSR award nomineeGazala Gazala1999Dean EssigSCS 6CSR award nomineeDrive on ParisWestern Front 19142000Al WamboldSCS 7CSR award WINNERFallschirmjägerAirborne assault against Holland 19402001, 2026Al WamboldSCS 8CSR award nomineeOperation MichaelOperation Michael2002John BestSCS 9The Mighty Endeavor Operation Overlord to V-E Day2005Steve Newhouse & Tim ArmstrongSCS 10CSR award nomineeGuadalajara The Battle of Guadalajara in 19362006Ernesto SassotSCS 11Rock of the Marne The last German offensive in WW12008John BestSCS 12Bastogne Siege of Bastogne, Battle of the Bulge2009Dean EssigSCS 13Karelia '44 Karelian Offensive, Continuation War2011Ken JacobsenSCS 14It Never Snows Operation Market-Garden2012Dean EssigSCS 15CSR award nomineeHeights of Courage Golan Heights, Yom Kippur War2012Steve NewhouseSCS 16The Mighty Endeavor: 2nd Edition Operation Overlord to V-E Day2013Dean Essig (expansion)SCS 17Day of Days Normandy Landings from D-Day to D+92015Lee ForesterSCS 18Panzer Battles The Battle for the Chir River, 19422016Dean EssigSCS 19Autumn for Barbarossa (Spec OPS #7) Battle of Smolensk (1941)2017Dean EssigSCS 20Rostov '41 Battle of Rostov2020Ray WeissSCS 21North AfricaWestern Desert Campaign2021Dean EssigSCS 22Iron Curtain Hypothetical NATO-Warsaw Pact offensives, 1945-19892020Carl FungSCS 23CSR award nomineeArdennes IIBattle of the Bulge2023Dean EssigSCS 25
Napoleonic Brigade Series Austerlitz Austerlitz1993Dave PowellNBS 1CSR award nomineeMarengo Marengo1995Dave PowellNBS 2CSR award nomineeAspern-EsslingAspern-Essling1999Jerry MaloneNBS 3Espinosa Espinosa2002Anders FagerNBS freebieMontebelloMontebello2006François Vander MeulenNBS freebieTalavera Talavera & Vimeiro 2007Jerry Malone & Anders FagerNBS 4CSR award nominee
Battalion Combat Series Last Blitzkrieg Battle of the Bulge2016Dean EssigBCS 1Baptism by Fire Battle of Kasserine Pass2017Dean EssigBCS 2Brazen ChariotsOperation Crusader, Siege of Tobruk, Operation Brevity, Operation Battleaxe, Operation Skorpion2019Jim DanielsBCS 3CSR award nomineePanzers Last StandOperation Konrad, Siege of Budapest, Operation Southwind, Operation Spring Awakening2021Carl FungBCS 4CSR award nomineeArracourtBattle of Arracourt2022Carl FungBCS 5CSR award nomineeValley of TearsYom Kippur War2023Carl FungBCS 6CSR award WINNERInflection PointBattle of Kalach and Battle of Chir River2025Dean Essig and Carl FungBCS 7Danger ForwardBattle of Gela2026Dean Essig and Carl FungBCS 8The Breaking PointBattle of France2027Carl FungBCS 9
Uncategorized Circus Minimus Chariot racing2000Dean Essig —
References
External links The Gamers Archive Rules, errata, etc. for all of The Gamers games MMP Producers of current The Gamers products and brand owner of older games