Named after the founder of
Avalon Hill (i.e.,
Charles S. Roberts), the Charles S. Roberts Awards honor achievements in historical wargaming. The first CSR Awards were given out in 1975 at the first
Origins gaming convention (held in
Baltimore, Maryland). Although named after the founder of Avalon Hill, the awards were conceived as (and remain) wholly independent. Nominations and subsequent awards are based on votes sent in by war gamers all over the world. The CSR Awards were cooked up by John Mansfield, editor of a gaming
zine called
Signal.
In 1987, the Game Manufacturers Association (
GAMA) took over the CSR awards and renamed them the
Origins Awards. However, under the new administration, rank-and-file gamers were no longer allowed to select nominees. Nominees were selected by members of GAMA and then gamers were allowed to vote on the nominees. This didn't sit right with many gamers and they quickly resurrected the independent CSR Awards under the same name. The CSR Awards continued to be handed out at Origins until 2000 when they switched to handing them out at the
World Boardgaming Championships.
A random look at awards:
1974 (Inaugural)
Best Professional Game: Third Reich (Avalon Hill)
Best Amateur Game: Manassas (Historical Simulations)
Best Professional Magazine: Strategy & Tactics (
SPI)
Best Amateur Magazine: Albion (
Don Turnbull)
1980
Best Pre-Twentieth Century Game: Empires of the Middle Ages (SPI)
Best Twentieth Century Game: Crescendo of Doom (AH)
Best Fantasy or Science-Fiction Game: Azhanti High Lightning (
GDW)
Best Initial Release: Streets of Stalingrad (Phoenix)
Best Computer Game: Temple of Apshai (
Automated Simulations)
Best Professional Magazine: Fire & Movement (Rodger MacGowan, Baron Publishing)
Best Amateur Magazine: HMS Review
Gamers Choice Award: Ace of Aces (Nova)
1990
Best Pre-World War II Board Game: Kadesh (XTR)
Best World War II Board Game: Operation Shoestring (GMT)
Best Post-World War II Board Game: Silver Bayonet (GMT)
Best Wargaming Graphics: Kadesh (XTR)
Best Professional Game Magazine: Command
Best Amateur Game Magazine: Canadian Wargamers Journal
2000
Best Pre-World War II Boardgame: Drive on Paris (The Gamers)
Best World War II Boardgame: Sicily (The Gamers)/Ukraine '43 (GMT)
Best Wargame Graphics: Brandywine Creek (GMT Games)
Best DTP-Produced Boardgame: Solomon Sea (Simulations Workshop)
Best Magazine-Published Boardgame: Xenophon: March of the 10,000, S&T #203 (Decision Games)
Best Pre-20th Century Era Computer Wargame: Horse and Musket (Shrapnel Games)
Best 20th Century Era Computer Wargame: Steel Panthers World At War series (Matrix Games)
Best Professional Wargame Magazine: Strategy & Tactics (Decision Games)
Best Amateur Wargame Magazine: The Boardgamer, Bruce Monnin