Hex-and-counter wargamers, your wallet is about to get lighter. Old School Tactical: The Pacific and West, Mark H. Walker's compilation of four WW2 tactical games using the long-running OST system, ends its Kickstarter campaign today (5 May), already comfortably funded at the $110-plus pledge tier. If you've been eyeing the series but didn't fancy hunting down four out-of-print volumes individually, this is the route in.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeOST is a squad-level tactical wargame Walker first launched in 2014, built around chunky cardboard counters, hex grids, and tense activation rolls that replicate the hesitation and confusion of small-unit combat. The series has built a steady following in the wargaming community for landing in the sweet spot between Advanced Squad Leader's notorious complexity and lighter beer-and-pretzels skirmish games. The four-pack covers the Eastern Front, Western Front 1944-45, the Pacific Theatre, and the original Volume 1 second edition, all using the unified OST ruleset.
Walker's Flying Pig Games has built much of its catalogue around tactical wargames with strong solo support, a meaningful detail when most wargamers know the agony of finding a willing opponent locally. Each volume in the series has its own scenario book, drawing on real engagements rather than fictional set-pieces, with the Pacific volume bringing US Marines, Imperial Japanese Army, and the brutal jungle terrain that turned the war into a different kind of fight altogether.
Run game nights? Backseat Gamer handles RSVPs, waitlists, date polling, and game voting so you can focus on playing.
Start organising for freeThe compilation pricing is the headline. Picking up these games separately at retail would run you well into three figures per box, and several of the volumes are currently scarce on the secondhand market. The Kickstarter exclusive bundle puts them all in one fulfilment.
For UK wargamers, this is also a chance to catch the series before international shipping costs get worse. If you're after a tactical WW2 system that respects your time and gives you something meatier than Memoir '44 without demanding a six-month rules apprenticeship, OST is worth a look. Then find a wargames group willing to push counters with you.
Sources: Kickstarter | Board Game Quest | BoardGameGeek
