The Complete Book of Wargames by Jon Freeman and the editors of Consumer Guide was published in 1980 by Simon & Schuster under the Fireside imprint.[1]
This book comes in both a 285-page hardcover edition and a paperback version. In both editions, it is divided into two parts:
In the October 1980 edition of The Space Gamer (Issue No. 32), Nick Schuessler questioned the ability of any book to keep up to the then-rapidly growing game industry, saying, "The mercurial aspects of wargaming will probably leave any new publication a bit obsolete the day it's published. Meanwhile, we have an excellent reference work available at (for a change) a reasonable price. Buy and enjoy."[3]
In the February 1981 edition of Dragon (Issue 46), Tony Watson thought the book, although well-written, would be of little value to experienced gamers, although new gamers might find it useful. Watson also felt the book was already out of date only a few months after publication, and commented, "The variety of games available and the rapidity with which they are published has already rendered the topical evaluations obsolete, though they do touch on some of the more important and readily available games in those categories."[2]