Mark Simonitch (born December 30, 1957
[) is an American ]wargame
A normal wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for Recreational wargaming, recreation, to train military officers in the art of milit ...
designer and graphic artist. His game designs include ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' and ''Ardennes '44'', and he has made maps for ''Wilderness War'' and ''Empire of the Sun'' among others. He has worked at Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
and GMT Games. He was inducted into the Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame in 2002.
Biography
Simonitch was raised in Ross, California
Ross is a small List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located west-southwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at ...
.California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo or Cal Poly) is a public university in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, - Cites the location of the university and shows that the university ...
. He began wargaming in 1966, his first gaming experiences included ''Jutland
Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...
'' and '' Gettysburg'' by Avalon Hill.[ From 1991 to 1994 he was a freelance artist and created maps and counters for over 100 wargames with clients including '' Strategy & Tactics'', '' Command Magazine'', GMT Games, 3W, and Avalanche Games.][ During this period he also started Rhino Game Company (or Rhino Studios) and published three games. He moved to Baltimore, Maryland in spring 1995 where he was employed by ]Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
until 1997.[ He has worked at GMT Games from 1997 to the present as a Graphic Designer.
]
Awards
The below are all Charles S. Roberts Award
The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in manual, tabletop games, with a focus on "conflict simulations", which includes simulations of non-military as well as military conflicts. From its founding in 1975 ...
wins, the list does not include nominations. Of his 14 awards, 5 were won by him alone (), the rest shared awards where he designed the map.
*1990 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Kadesh'', map (XTR Corporation)
*1991 James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability & Design Winner, ''The Legend Begins'' (Rhino Games)
*1992 Best Wargame Graphics, ''SPQR
SPQR or S.P.Q.R., an initialism for (; ), is an emblematic phrase referring to the government of the Roman Republic. It appears on documents made public by an inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and on ...
'', map (GMT Games)
*1993 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Lion of the North'', map (GMT Games)
*1994 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Battles of Waterloo'', map (GMT Games)
*2000 James F. Dunnigan Award for Playability & Design Winner, ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games)
*2000 Best World War Two Game, ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games)
*2001 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Wilderness War'', map (GMT Games)
*2002 Charles Roberts Awards Hall of Fame
*2003 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Ardennes '44'', map (GMT Games)
*2005 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Empire of the Sun'', map (GMT Games)
*2007 Best Wargame Graphics, ''1914: Twilight in the East'', map (GMT Games)
*2010 Best Wargame Graphics, ''Normandy '44'', map (GMT Games)
*2010 Best World War Two Game, ''Normandy '44'' (GMT Games)
Other awards include:
*2004 '' The Wargamer'' magazine Award for Excellence, ''Ardennes '44'' (GMT Games)
*2008 Golden Geek Best Wargame Winner, ''Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage'', game (Valley Games)
*2008 Golden Geek Best 2-Player Board Game Winner, ''Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage'', game (Valley Games)
*2018 Golden Geek Best Wargame Winner, ''Hannibal & Hamilcar'', game (PHALANX) with Jaro Andruszkiewicz
Game designer
*1991 ''The Legend Begins'' (Rhino Studios)
*1992 ''Campaign to Stalingrad'' (Rhino Studios)
*1994 ''Decision in France'' (Rhino Studios)
*1996 ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' (Avalon Hill)
*1997 ''Successors'' (second edition) (Avalon Hill). With Richard H. Berg
*2000 ''Ukraine '43'' (GMT Games). With Tony Curtis
*2003 ''Ardennes '44'' (GMT Games)
*2008 ''Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage'' (Valley Games)
*2009 ''The Caucasus Campaign'' (GMT Games). With Joe Youst
*2010 ''Normandy '44'' (GMT Games)
*2013 ''France '40'' (GMT Games)
*2015 ''The U.S. Civil War'' (GMT Games)
*2017 ''Holland '44: Operation Market-Garden'' (GMT Games)
*2018 ''Hannibal & Hamilcar'' (PHALANX, Asyncron Games, Mas Que Oca, Feuerland, Cranio). With Jaro Andruszkiewicz
*2019 ''Stalingrad '42'' (GMT Games)
*2022 ''Salerno '43'' (GMT Games)
*2023 ''North Africa '41'' (GMT Games)
* 2024 ''France '40'' (second edition) (GMT Games)
Notable graphic art
Simonitch has designed maps, counters, box art, cards and other elements for hundreds of games,
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonitch, Mark
1957 births
Board game designers
Living people
People from Ross, California
Wargame designers