Columbia Games


Columbia Games is a maker of board and role-playing games including Hârn and a variety of games, mostly wargames using blocks instead of the more conventional chits. The company is based in Blaine, Washington; it is run by founder Tom Dalgliesh and his son Grant Dalgliesh.

History

Columbia is one of the hobby's oldest wargame companies. Tom Dalgliesh, Lance Gutteridge, and Steve Brewster founded Gamma Two Games in Vancouver, BC in the early 1970s, and published their first game in 1972. Brewster left the company soon after its formation. Ron Gibson soon joined the company, but left the company in 1986. Gamma Two Games became Columbia Games in 1982. In the mid-1980s, Gutteridge left the company, leaving Dalgliesh as its sole owner, although the two still associate frequently and Gutteridge still makes some contributions. Columbia Games moved from Vancouver, BC to Washington State in 1994 for a variety of personal and economic reasons.

Block games

Columbia's most well-known games are block wargames. Many of these games are designed for introducing new players to the hobby, but more detailed games have been produced, such as EuroFront, a wargame depicting the entirety of World War II in Europe, with various "what-if" situations. Among them is Hammer of the Scots, based on the English wars in Scotland.
Other Wargames include:
Block games are not limited to war themes, The Last Spike is a competitive strategy block games based on the Golden spike completing the First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA.

Card games

In the late 1990s, the company began producing collectible card games based upon military themes for the American Civil War and the Napoleonic Wars.
Slapshot is a card game that focuses on managing a hockey teams. Players trade, take, a draw new team members and attempt to challenge opponents when they feel their opponents are weak. It is not necessary to know much about hockey to play.

Hârn

Columbia publishes Hârn, a low-magic fantasy campaign setting created by N. Robin Crossby, for use in role-playing games and for collaborative fiction. The Hârn product line is compatible with Hârn products produced by Kelestia Productions and is supported by additional material produced by the game's fans.
It publishes a set of supplemental materials called HârnQuest. Each issue is approximately 32 pages and includes articles about Hârnic kingdoms, cities, castles, history, creatures, and other gaming topics. New Hârn Atlas maps are also sent under this subscription as they are released.