Strategy & Tactics - 3W and Decision Games

3W and Decision Games

It was during this decline that 3W continued its publication of S&T (specifically issues 112 to 139), and James Dunnigan returned for a brief stint as editor of the magazine (Keith Poulter was the editor from issues #112 to #119, Ty Bomba from #120 to #129, James Dunnigan from #130 to #139). Although circulation began to increase again, subscriptions never recovered fully, and most sales were through game stores and not subscriptions, which meant third party retailers cut into profits. Sales were also no longer guaranteed.

In 1991, Keith Poulter, the head of 3W and founder of The Wargamer, sold Strategy & Tactics to Decision Games. They continued publication beginning with issue 140 (Fire & Movement was already being published concurrently by Decision Games.) Issue 176 saw S&T introduced on newsstands, minus the game, and according to the official website "by issue #216, more copies of the magazine edition were being produced than the game edition." In 2003, Decision Games spun off Strategy & Tactics Press as a sister company for magazine and media development. In 2008, World at War magazine was begun which covers World War II. In 2012, Modern War magazine began which covers post-WWII military history. Strategy & Tactics continues to cover all periods in history and so the periods covered may overlap.

As S&T reached its 40th year as a professionally produced magazine, as opposed to a fanzine, it laid claim to being the longest continually published wargame magazine. S&T also survived many of its competitors, including Command, which also came with a complete game in each issue, and which was created by Bomba when he left 3W. Bomba named his publishing company XTR (as in "Cross The River"), a reference to Julius Caesar's decision to cross the Rubicon which he used in this case regarding his future relationship with Dunnigan and 3W upon leaving S&T. However, Dunnigan is long-gone, S&T is no longer published by 3W, and the masthead of the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of S&T (Number 253) listed Bomba as assistant editor and as one of the magazine's four copy editors.