I don't have any stories of contact with the great man myself, but wargame buddy Pat did tell me how in pre-internet days he and a friend had once rung him from Canada at a tense moment to resolve a critical rules issue. Apparently Mr. Berg was very gracious about being woken up in the middle of the night. Whether he was able to provide a satisfactory answer to Pat's rules query is harder to say!
I tell you what though, being the guy who designed Pax Romana, Rise of the Roman Republic, Terrible Swift Sword, Successors, Great Battles of Alexander and many more is a pretty decent legacy.
Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!
* IMHO, obviously.
I hadn't heard the news of Berg's passing. Another sad milestone for the hobby.
ReplyDeleteI had not heard the news of Richard’s passing either. He had a huge influence on the hobby.
ReplyDeleteHe has been a constant throughout my entire wargaming life, even most recently with the newly released 3rd Edition SPQR, which he co-designed with Mark Herman and as a series has stood the test of time. Thank you Richard Berg for the many hours I have spent on your designs.
ReplyDeleteThe greats of our early days in this hobby are departing one by one. I was and still am a huge fan of his games both from the SPI era and afterwards. He leaves a huge legacy behind.
ReplyDeleteVery nice tribute, Aaron, and I couldn't agree more. I've played more of Richard's games than any other designer. (And yes, we was very gracious when I called him to resolve that rules question - in my favour!)
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