Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles 1846-1905

Wargame Construction Set III: Age of Rifles 1846-1905 (or simply Age of Rifles) is a turn-based computer wargame for MS-DOS, written by Norm Koger.[1] It was published in 1996 by Strategic Simulations.[2] It is the third game in the Wargame Construction Set series, following Wargame Construction Set (1986) and Wargame Construction Set II: Tanks! (1994).

Wargame Construction Set III:
Age of Rifles 1846-1905
Developer(s)Strategic Simulations
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Producer(s)John Eberhardt
Designer(s)Norm Koger
Steve Burke
Programmer(s)Norm Koger
Artist(s)Gennady Krakovsky
Platform(s)MS-DOS
Release
  • WW: 1996
Genre(s)Computer wargame
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Scope

Age of Rifles simulates battles throughout the era of percussion rifles, roughly comprising the second half of the 19th century. To this end, several dozen battle scenarios are provided in the game. Most of them are set during the American Civil War, but scenarios from the Crimean War, the Anglo-Zulu War, Afghan Wars, the Prusso-Austrian and the Franco-Prussian War, and the Russo-Japanese War are also included.[3]

Scenarios can be played individually or within the framework of a campaign, where the outcome of earlier battles influences the course of later battles. In addition, random scenarios are available as well.

There is also a scenario editor with which users can develop and share their own battles, and thereby extend the scope of the game. Scenarios as early as the Battle of Hastings have been generated this way.[4]

Gameplay

The game can be played with two human players, or with the computer taking over one or both sides. An option for playing out battles via e-Mail is also provided.

Current Status

There is still a small community of players who develop and publish new scenarios for AoR.

Depending on the individual PC configuration, AoR may work as-is under Windows XP and Windows 7, or may require DOSBox to run.

Reception

The game was a finalist for Computer Gaming World's 1996 "Wargame of the Year" award,[7] which ultimately went to Battleground 4: Shiloh.[8]

References
  1. Norm Koger's website
  2. Entry at Moby Games
  3. Game review at Game Revolution
  4. Website with resources for AoR
  5. Bates, Jason (November 1996). "Age of Rifles". PC Gamer US . Archived from the original on November 18, 1999.
  6. Morris, Daniel (November 1996). "Age of Rifles". PC Games. Archived from the original on May 25, 1997.
  7. Staff (April 1997). "Best of the Bunch; Finalists Named for CGW Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (153): 28, 32.
  8. Staff (May 1997). "The Computer Gaming World 1997 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (154): 68–70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80.


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