Title: Contributing Editor
Hobbies: Boardgames, Card Games, Computers & Video Games, Cooking, Running, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Tennis, Wargames
Favorite Movies: Ben Hur, Casablanca, Goldfinger, Jaws, North by Northwest, Pirates of the Caribbean, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Seven Samurai
Favorite Television: Doctor Who, History Channel, Law & Order, Sherlock Holmes, Sports (especially NCAA basketball, NFL football, and Wimbledon)
Favorite Books: A Distant Mirror (Tuchman), Civil War series (Foote), The Dark Knight Returns (Miller), The Essential Ellison (Harlan Ellison), The Face of Battle (Keegan), Fahrenheit 451 (Bradbury), Foundation series (Asimov), Hyperion series (Simmons), Neuromancer (Gibson), The Nine Tailors (Sayers), The Peloponnesian War (Thucydides), Sandman series (Gaiman), Washington Goes to War (Brinkley)
Now Playing: C&C: Ancients (Boardgame), Civilization IV (PC) , Down in Flames (Card Game), Empires of the Ancient World (Boardgame), Fortress America (Boardgame), Four Lost Battles (Boardgame), Goa (Boardgame), Madden 2006 (Xbox), Sid Meier’s Pirates! (PC), Tomb Raider: Legend (Xbox 360), Twilight Struggle (Boardgame), We the People (Boardgame)
Background: Terry grew up in west Tennessee. When he wasn’t much bigger than a Minie ball, he started visiting Shiloh, a Civil War battleground site which, unlike Gettysburg, can be reasonably toured in a day. With history practically in the back yard, it came as no surprise that Terry, like many young Southern lads, would dream of bronze cannon and bayonet charges near Pittsburg Landing – the beginning of a lifelong fascination with the War Between the States. As Terry grew older, his interests branched out to include both World Wars, Napoleon, and greats of the past, from Alexander to Charlemagne, all of which Terry absorbed like a sponge – not always to the thrill of his teachers, or his relatives.
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One day, on vacation in Ohio, Terry went to the local mall, not knowing it would change his life forever. On a shelf in the local hobby store, wedged in between dusty copies of Clue and Monopoly, were the Avalon Hill classic wargames Afrika Corps, Midway, and Stalingrad. Terry spent the bulk of his vacation money on the spot and bought all three games, ignoring the odd looks of the other customers in the hobby store. That weekend, he cajoled two of his Buckeye cousins into re-fighting World War II on several fronts, including a fight for the Pacific which went down to nearly the last torpedo bomber (and consumed vast quantities of iced tea and pretzels in the hot summer campaigning).
Soon afterwards, Terry subscribed to Strategy & Tactics, which had the novel concept of publishing a wargame in each issue. Fueled by new wargames every couple of months, Terry became more involved in the hobby. He still remembers fondly his first trip to Origins in Baltimore, where dedicated miniatures gamers used Coke crates to shield their tank battalions from the elements, as they recreated the Battle of the Bulge in the balmy outdoors.
Eventually, Terry’s avid interest in gaming and love of writing led him to contribute to a variety of gaming publications, including Fire & Movement, BROG, Undefeated, and of course, Armchair General. Terry was also Strategy/Wargame Editor and Senior Editor of Computer Gaming World for a number of years. Finally, Terry has written or edited a half-dozen books, of which his favorite title is still Why Won’t This $#@! Game Work (with Denny Atkin).
Terry believes that a good game is where you find it – card, boardgame, PC, whatever. Having said that, it’s hard to beat a good board wargame vs. a friend – provided you have enough iced tea and pretzels on hand… Â
