Tag Archives: Schwerpunkt
GrogHeads Interviews Ron Dockal of Schwerpunkt Games
An Interview with Boggit, 2 May 2015
Click images to enlarge
Ron, thank you for agreeing to talk to Grogheads about World War 2 in Europe, and Middle East War. World War 2 in Europe is your latest game and has a lot of new features not found in earlier Schwerpunkt games like Anglo-German War, or Russo-German War.
The opening screen surrounded by key leaders of the war.
GrogHeads: Ron, tell us about yourself. What started your interest in gaming, and why did you decide to become a wargame developer?
Ron Dockal: I grew up in Houston, Texas in an area called the Heights. I had a group of friends who played Avalon Hill Wargames together. Spent many a lazy summer day doing this. Our group still gets together and our wives have become friends. I started building boardgames using white poster board at ten years old. I still have my first “attempt” at a boardgame called World War II Europe from 1963! During high school and college, I played these games once in a while and read history books about WWII. I became an electrical engineer, getting an MSEE in 1976 with a minor in programming. I met my wife on the job in 1987 and we married in 1991. She was a graphics expert in the aerospace business. Joining these things together set me on a path to start Schwerpunkt in 1995 with my wife.
GrogHeads Reviews Schwerpunkt’s WWII in Europe
Review by Vance Strickland, 17 January 2015
World War II – Europe, hereafter WWII-E, is Schwerpunkt’s latest offering in the operational level of computer wargaming. Literally a “Mom and Pop” operation, Ron Dockal and his wife KC have released three other games at this level. First there was Russo-German War 41-44 featuring combat on the East Front of WWII. Then came Anglo-German War 39-45 featuring the Western and desert campaigns of WWII. Third was Middle East War 1948-2010 which included the Israeli Wars, Iran-Iraq Wars, the US Iraq Wars, and what-if’s. All have involved operational level combat and all have been well received.
Returning to WWII, Schwerpunkt has combined their first two titles into one new game with a reworked user interface, higher quality map, and well researched OOB’s that has been their signature through their games.
It’s been a long time coming…here’s what it’s all about.
What’s Inside
For the $50 dollar download currently available you get 52 scenarios, 2 of which have been available since release day. There are a total of 102 scenarios planned. That’s about 50 cents a scenario when they are all released by August 2015. They range from small short actions with a few units and about 4 turns, to longer, beefier scenarios that have hundreds of units per side and last up to 34 turns. When the campaign scenarios are released they will be true monsters, including an entire War in Europe scenario played out at 1 week per turn.
The scenario listing is laid out in chronological order with the campaign for that period listed first followed by smaller scenarios in that period. The 3 largest campaigns are listed last in the selection panel.
Great list of scenarios
Both historical battles and some hypothetical ones are included in the mix. Some of the What-If’s include the invasion of Malta, Gibraltar and England, variations on the fighting in North Africa and a promised 1943 D-Day scenario.
