WS&S - have your say!

Creating a theme for an issue of Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy is a careful balancing act. As an editor, you want a theme that will appeal to the majority of readers, while providing enough content so there is something for everybody.

The best themes come from listening to feedback from WS&S readers themselves, so I thought it might be a good idea to write a blog about how the magazine's theme is created. If you have any ideas, you can contact me here.

In the ancient past, over 16 years ago - before Karwansaray bought WS&S, the themes tended to be over 50% of the magazine. This was great if your reader liked that particular topic, but for others it meant the magazine was hit or miss. If you have an entire issue dedicated to the Spanish Civil War and nothing else, then that's going to limit reader interest. While it's a great topic for an article, it would struggle to carry an entire issue, based on general reader interest alone.

We aim to make every article a good read. It also helps if the theme does not dominate any issue. So, we have plenty of non-theme content covering a variety of periods outside of the theme. This keeps the interest of readers even if that particular theme is not for them. As a general rule, only 25% of an issue will be theme-related.

WS&S 109, 'The Graveyard of Empires' is a good example of a well-rounded issue, if I say so myself. While the main feature was the country of Afghanistan, it enabled us to cover ancient, colonial, interwar, and Cold War themes. The non-theme included medieval, World War 2 and even some fantasy. To be honest, the latter is an exception, but in this case, it nicely rounded out the issue. The only thing missing was something in the black powder era. Well, it is hard to cover absolutely everything in one issue, but that won't stop me trying!

The Great Wargaming Survey is a very useful tool (it starts again on August 1st!), as it helps us see what periods are popular in general. I thought this blog, in particular, was interesting, as it helps us think about how you, the readers, look at the different wargaming periods and how we can make sure all bases are covered.

Let's look ahead at future themes. We are just completing WS&S 142, which looks at Amphibious landings and river crossings in North West Europe after D-Day. Expect articles on the Walcheren landings and several river crossing assaults.

The issue will also have plenty of other content, remembering the 25% theme rule. Expect articles covering the ancient, medieval, and Renaissance periods, plus some Old West action. There will be the usual new releases, book reviews, game reviews, and opinion columns.

Let's look at the next planned issues:

WS&S 143 will have a War of the Third Coalition theme, covering the 1805-06 period when the French Republic became an Empire. Expect battles from the Ulm Campaign along with a few surprises, such as the Battle of Maida (1806). We're still finalising the content for this issue, but it will contain some ancient, medieval, Renaissance, and WWII content. For example, we'll have articles on the Roman dictator Sulla and on the Battle of Zutphen in 1586.

Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy 144 will explore the issue of the 'High Ground', looking at battles where height was used by one side (usually the defender) to their advantage. However, having the high ground does not always guarantee victory...

This is both a somewhat obvious theme (do you also hear Sam Elliott grumble about "the HIGH GROUND" in the Gettysburg movie?) but I thought it'd be interesting to explore the role of the high ground on our tabletop terrain. I'd be eager to hear from you if you've got an idea on how to tackle this problem, both from the modelling and scenarios points of view.

Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy 145 will return to the early 16th Century, touching on the Italian Wars and the Wars of the Habsburgs. We are still finalising the theme and non-theme content. 

One of the greatest strengths of Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy is its readers, who often become contributors to the magazine. Do you have an idea for a theme? Perhaps you would like to contribute to one of the themes outlined above?