Introduction

Oscars, Grammys, Golden Globes – ‘tis the season for awards presentations. Of them all, surely none are more coveted than The Wargamer Best of the Year award.

We polled The Wargamer staff for their favorite War, Strategy, Simulation, Action and Role-playing games released in 2001 (sorry, sports fans, we didn’t have enough interest in this category to call for votes). In addition, we also selected our favorite developers, publishers, and finally, the very best games of the year 2001.

Since we just concluded Olympic season, we have decided to issue a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award for the top three vote-getters in each category (although in some categories there were ties for gold or silver, so we dropped a lower medal in those categories). We designed our award also to fit the theme of a military commander's coin, a practice where customized "commander's coins" are handed out by unit commanders when a soldier did something particularly well, but where an official military citation or medal was not appropriate or warranted.

In our survey, staff members were asked to vote for three titles in the genre categories. Votes were then weighted 5-3-1 points for 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd choice, respectively. Five votes were cast in the Developer, Publisher, and Game of the Year categories, and were weighted in inverse position. (5 points for a first place vote, 4 for second, etc.) The point totals as well as first-place ballots are given for each game which received votes to help you see how the runners-up stacked up against each other.

Your Choice? Let us Know and You Too Could be a Winner!

Hey, we know our opinion is no more or less valid than anyone else's. What was your favorite in 2001? Visit our forum or send an email to bestofyear@wargamer.com and let us know what you think about your favorite 2001 titles, developers, and publishers, compared to our staff picks. A copy of the ballot used by The Wargamer staff is available if assistance is needed.

To sweeten the deal, we will give away ten copies of games from our 2000 Publisher of the Year, Shrapnel Games.

In addition, Crucial Technology, purveyors of some of the finest computer and peripheral memory on the planet, will provide one FREE stick of 256 MB of RAM (winner's choice as to specific RAM type to ensure compatibility with their system).

You must cast a vote to enter, and you will be entered once for each of the categories you cast a ballot in (i.e., if you provide your winner for all eight categories, you'll have up to eight chances to win. Entries are also limited to eight choices per email address, the method we'll use to contact you if you win).

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