The first round of voting runs through June 30, 2022 and will determine the nominees list. During the first round, you can cast a vote for up to three nominees per category, then up to the top five vote recipients per category will become the CSR nominees list.
The second round voting starts right after the nominees are announced and runs through August 31, 2022. In the second round, voters may cast one vote per category. The top vote recipient in the second round of voting will be named the CSR Award winner.
Based on last year's feedback, there are fewer and more refined categories for the 2021 CSR Awards as noted below in the official press release provided by Tim Tow, the Director of the CSR board:
Eligible games and publications are those released or published in the calendar year 2021 and for the Clausewitz Hall of Fame award, any individual who has made significant contributions to the wargame industry who has not been previously awarded. Released for a game means received physically by a purchaser.
This year's categories are:
Milieu Awards
Ancients to Medieval Era (Before 1453)
Early Gunpowder Era (1453-1793)
Napoleonic
Late Gunpowder to pre- WW1 (Excluding Napoleonic and ACW) (1793-1913)
American Civil War
World War I to Pre-WW2 (1914-1935)
World War 2 Era (1936-1945)
Modern Era (post 1945)
Science-Fiction or Fantasy
Publication Awards
Wargame Magazine
Historical, Scenario Analysis or Book
Game Review or Analysis website, webcast or podcast
Format Awards
Solitaire/Cooperative Board Wargame
Magazine Board Wargame
Expansion or Supplement
Playing Components
Map Graphics
Rules
Cover Art
Computer Wargame
Overall Awards
Wargame of the Year
James F Dunnigan Award for Playability and Design
Charles S. Roberts Best New Designer
Clausewitz Award HALL OF FAME
• In the spirit of the CSR Awards, here's a quick peek at a few upcoming wargame releases to keep an eye out for, starting with Fire on the Mountain: Battle of South Mountain September 14, 1862 from designer John Poniske and Legion Wargames. Here's a brief overview of this American Civil War hex-and-counter game for 2 players, which is due out in June 2022:
Despite strong defensive features the numerically superior Federal forces should have overwhelmed the rebels but the inaction of Pleasonton and Burnside squandered their advantage. In the end Lee's defense of the South Mountain passes cost him 2800 casualties as opposed to the Federal losses of 2300 and led directly to the fearful slaughter at Antietam.
Fire on the Mountain concentrates on the action around Turner's Gap and Fox Gap, emphasizing the difficulty of mountainous terrain and the seesaw nature of the battle into which reinforcements continue to trickle and the effects of officer casualties. The game uses simple mechanics to simulate movement, artillery, cavalry, leaders, and difficult terrain, with a unique combat system that allows the game to move quickly while still simulating the tense nature of the battle.
While Road to Cheren and La Primogenita share the same historical topic, La Primogenita is its own beast with its own unique battle chit mechanic as described below by the publisher:
The game introduces a dynamic battle system where players through the use of battle chits give orders. A major battle zone not only includes the defending hex/units, and the attacking units. It also includes any defending units adjacent to the defending hex, plus any attacking units that are adjacent to them as well. You give orders to counterattack, move units, bring forward extra ammo etc., and so does your opponent. All battle chits have a priority value that decides in what order they are executed. After executing four orders each, another set of orders are chosen and played. You will have to chose wisely depending on what forces you have at hand, in what order you wish things to happen, and depending on what you suspect your opponent will choose.
Rebellion: Britannia is an Ancient Rome card-driven wargame from designers Daniel Burt and Maurice Suckling, which can be played by 1-4 players in 60-90 minutes. Suckling is no stranger to card-driven wargames based on his previous well-received releases Chancellorsville 1863, Freeman's Farm 1777, and Hidden Strike: American Revolution.
Here's a high-level description of what Burt, Suckling, and GMT Games are cooking up with Rebellion: Britannia:
In this game, 1-4 players take control of one of the powerful factions of the time: either Rome or one of the key British tribes—the Iceni, Silures, or Brigantes. Over the course of 12 game rounds (lasting 60-90 minutes), players attempt to gain the most victory points by controlling land, burning Roman infrastructure, and reducing enemy forces.
Rebellion: Britannia is a card-driven wargame. Each player’s available actions are largely dictated by the cards they currently have available to them, and, following a simple Sequence of Play, players use these cards to recruit and move pieces on the board, secure control of regions, engage in diplomacy, form alliances, and battle against their rivals.
Rebellion: Britannia is fast to learn—it’s a low complexity asymmetric game with few rules, a simple sequence of play, and a high quotient of strategic choices. The game depicts a dynamic military and political situation in first-century. Britain, distilled into 60-90 minutes of play time.
Your goal is to score as many Victory Points as possible before the political will to continue the voyages runs out. Victory Points are earned by visiting ports, gaining envoys, winning battles, and completing special goals. You also earn Minister Points during each voyage by trading and having good relations with ports, which determine whether the game continues with another voyage, and also allow you to upgrade and repair the fleet, and recruit and train officers.