Don Lowry
Encyclopedia
Don Lowry is a wargamer
, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail
and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine
.
Lowry was active in the International Federation of Wargaming in the late 1960s and ran a mail order business called "Lowry's Hobbies" with his wife Julie. In 1970 he produced a supplement to the Avalon Hill
game Battle of the Bulge
called Operation Greif
which was distributed via the IFW newsletter. In 1971 he started a publishing imprint called Guidon Games
which produced rulebooks for miniature wargaming and board wargames, and he tapped Gary Gygax
to serve as editor. Lowry designed two of the games, Ironclad
and Atlanta
, himself and provided the illustrations for some of the other games.
Lowry's mail order business was originally in Evansville, Indiana
, but he relocated to Belfast, Maine
in 1972. The same year he acquired Panzerfaust Magazine
from Don Greenwood
and took over as editor. Lowry declined to publish Dungeons & Dragons
, which motivated Gygax to found TSR, Inc.
. TSR would republish some of the Guidon titles, and the Guidon board game Alexander the Great
was picked up by Avalon Hill
.
By 1975 Lowry moved his company, now called "Lowry's Enterprises", to Fallbrook, California
. That year he designed a set of rules for Napoleonic miniatures called Grand Army and released it under his Panzerfaust Publications imprint. Panzerfaust magazine was renamed Campaign in 1976, and Lowry published it as late as 1982.
He holds, or has held, the copyright
s to Alexander the Great, Chainmail rules for medieval miniatures, and Dunkirk, the Battle of France, all with Gary Gygax.
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
, businessman, illustrator, and game designer who is best known as the publisher of Chainmail
Chainmail (game)
Chainmail is a medieval miniatures wargame created by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren. Gygax developed the game with fellow Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association member Perren, a hobby-shop owner with whom he had become friendly, and the game was first published in 1971...
and the editor of Panzerfaust Magazine
Panzerfaust Magazine
Panzerfaust was a wargaming magazine started by Don Greenwood in 1967 and named after the German panzerfaust, a recoilless anti-tank weapon...
.
Lowry was active in the International Federation of Wargaming in the late 1960s and ran a mail order business called "Lowry's Hobbies" with his wife Julie. In 1970 he produced a supplement to the Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
game Battle of the Bulge
Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge
Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge is a board game which depicts the Battle of the Bulge, the German's "last-ditch" offensive of World War II. It is similar to Axis & Allies: D-Day in that the game is played on a tactical rather than strategic level, although the gameplay is radically different...
called Operation Greif
Operation Greif (game)
Operation Greif was a supplement to the Avalon Hill board game Battle of the Bulge. It added new rules and provided a colorful set of unit counters, uncut and printed on thin cardstock, which were to be used with the original map. Don Lowry designed the supplement and sold it through his mail...
which was distributed via the IFW newsletter. In 1971 he started a publishing imprint called Guidon Games
Guidon Games
Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules , the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons. The Guidon Games publishing imprint was the property of Lowry's Hobbies , a mail-order business owned by Don and Julie Lowry...
which produced rulebooks for miniature wargaming and board wargames, and he tapped Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
to serve as editor. Lowry designed two of the games, Ironclad
Ironclad (game)
Ironclad is a miniatures wargame written by Tom Wham and Don Lowry and published by Guidon Games in 1973. The rules simulate American Civil War naval combat such as the 1862 battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia....
and Atlanta
Atlanta (board game)
Atlanta Civil War Campaign Game is an American Civil War board wargame which simulates the Battle of Atlanta. It was published by Guidon Games in 1973. The game came boxed with a hex grid map and 240 counters....
, himself and provided the illustrations for some of the other games.
Lowry's mail order business was originally in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, but he relocated to Belfast, Maine
Belfast, Maine
Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 6,668. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River on Penobscot Bay, Belfast is the county seat of Waldo County...
in 1972. The same year he acquired Panzerfaust Magazine
Panzerfaust Magazine
Panzerfaust was a wargaming magazine started by Don Greenwood in 1967 and named after the German panzerfaust, a recoilless anti-tank weapon...
from Don Greenwood
Don Greenwood
Don Greenwood is a board game designer. He worked for Avalon Hill from 1972 to 1998 and has done work for GMT Games. He was editor of Panzerfaust Magazine from 1967 until 1972 and of The General Magazine from 1972 until 1982. He is the founder of the Origins, Avaloncon, and WBC gaming conventions...
and took over as editor. Lowry declined to publish Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
, which motivated Gygax to found TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc.
Blume and Gygax, the remaining owners, incorporated a new company called TSR Hobbies, Inc., with Blume and his father, Melvin Blume, owning the larger share. The former assets of the partnership were transferred to TSR Hobbies, Inc....
. TSR would republish some of the Guidon titles, and the Guidon board game Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great (board game)
Alexander the Great is a board wargame first published in 1971 by Guidon Games.Printed when board wargaming was relatively new, this game was designed by Gary Gygax...
was picked up by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
.
By 1975 Lowry moved his company, now called "Lowry's Enterprises", to Fallbrook, California
Fallbrook, California
Fallbrook is an unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. The Fallbrook census-designated place population was 30,534 at the 2010 census, up from 29,100 at the 2000 census....
. That year he designed a set of rules for Napoleonic miniatures called Grand Army and released it under his Panzerfaust Publications imprint. Panzerfaust magazine was renamed Campaign in 1976, and Lowry published it as late as 1982.
He holds, or has held, the copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
s to Alexander the Great, Chainmail rules for medieval miniatures, and Dunkirk, the Battle of France, all with Gary Gygax.