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Draft:Mark Herman (game designer)

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  • Comment: Not commenting on possible notability of the subject, but the use of "groundbreaking" and "foundational ideas" is veering on WP:PROMO. SamHolt6 (talk) 13:30, 17 November 2024 (UTC)
  • Comment: Fails WP:ANYBIO - BoardGameGeek.com; and meeplemountain.com are not reliable or acceptable sources. Almost all the information is original research as it lacks any reliable secondary sources. Dan arndt (talk) 04:08, 15 November 2024 (UTC)
Mark Herman
Born1954
Brooklyn, New York, United States
NationalityAmerican
OccupationGame designer
Notable workWe the People, For the People, Empire of the Sun, Churchill

Mark Herman (born 1954) is an American game designer known for his contributions to wargames and historical strategy games. With a career spanning more than five decades, Herman is regarded as a pioneer in the genre, particularly for his innovations in "card-driven games" (CDGs), which blend narrative and strategy through card-based mechanics.

Early Career

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Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1954, he was the first child of businessman Nathaniel Herman and homemaker Joan Herman. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1976.

Mark Herman started apprenticing for Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 under James F. Dunnigan and Redmond A. Simonsen. In 1977, he published his first game for SPI, called October War. He went on to design several more games and, after a brief departure, returned to SPI in 1978, during which time SPI was being taken over by TSR, Inc.[1]

In 1982, Eric Dott, owner of Monarch Avalon and Avalon Hill, founded Victory Games, where Herman served as Executive Vice President of publishing as well as a game designer. During his time at Victory Games, he designed notable titles such as Gulf Strike[2][3], AMBUSH!, NATO: The Next War in Europe, and, most notably, Pacific War.

Since 1987, Herman has worked as an independent game designer, publishing his games through Monarch Avalon and GMT Games. During this period, he has created some of his most popular games, including We the People, For the People, Fire in the Lake[4], The Great Battles of Alexander, Washington’s War, Empire of the Sun, and Churchill.[5]

Breakthrough: "We the People" and the Card-Driven Game Mechanic

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In 1993, Mark Herman and Avalon Hill released We the People[6][7], a groundbreaking historical wargame that pioneered the card-driven mechanic. This innovation reshaped the genre, inspiring other designers to build upon Herman's foundational ideas, adding layers of complexity and engagement to wargaming.

Before We the People, most wargames relied on the traditional hex-and-counter format, where a hexagonal grid[8] structured movement across the map, and cardboard counters represented specific unit types, such as infantry or armor. Herman’s design introduced a fresh approach by replacing the hex grid with a point-to-point system, where spaces are linked by lines, creating a more streamlined representation of the battlefield. Counters were retained, but they symbolized general strength points rather than specific unit types. Additionally, the game featured stand-up pieces for key generals, bringing figures like Hannibal and Scipio Africanus to life on the board.[9][10]

The most transformative feature of We the People, however, was the introduction of cards to drive gameplay. The game includes Battle Cards and Strategy Cards, which replaced traditional dice-rolling with a more interactive combat system. During battles, players alternate playing Battle Cards, with each player’s hand size determined by their General's rating, the number of strength points, and other factors. The attacker plays a Battle Card, and the defender must respond with a matching card to continue the fight or attempt a counterattack by rolling within their General's battle rating. This back-and-forth continues until one player cannot match the opponent’s Battle Card, resulting in a decisive outcome. This novel card-based system introduced dynamic decision-making, setting the stage for a new era in wargame design.

Awards

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  • Charles S. Roberts Award for Best Pre-World War II Boardgame for For the People
  • Charles S. Roberts Award for Best World War II Boardgame for Empire of the Sun: The Pacific War 1941-1945 with Stephen Newberg
  • 1991 Charles S. Roberts Hall of Fame Award
  • 1998 James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability and Design at Origins '99

Selected Works

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  • We the People (1994)
  • Empire of the Sun (2005)
  • Washington’s War (2010)
  • For the People (1998)
  • Pericles: The Peloponnesian Wars (2017)
  • Churchill (2015)
  • Fire in the Lake (2014) - co-designed with Volko Ruhnke
  • Pacific War (1985)
  • The Peloponnesian War (1991)
  • Gulf Strike (1983)
  • Vietnam 1965-1975 (1984)
  • France 1944 (1986)
  • Plan Orange (2008)

References

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  1. ^ Dunnigan, James F. (1997). "Into the 1980s". Chapter 5: History of Wargames. The Complete Wargames Handbook (2nd ed.). Archived from the original on 2006-10-31.
  2. ^ "BOARD SEX SPICES SEX FOR THE BORED". Sun Sentinel. 19 July 1985.
  3. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (August 17, 1985). "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ Jason Albert (January 10, 2014). "In the world of war games, Volko Ruhnke has become a hero". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  5. ^ Harrigan, Pat; Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. (2016). Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming. The MIT Press.
  6. ^ BoardGameGeek
  7. ^ "Casus Belli #080". 1994.
  8. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-01-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ A Brief History of Card-driven Wargames
  10. ^ Engelstein, Geoffrey; Shalev, Issac (2019). Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design. CRC Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0429773778.
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