International Team (IT) was an Italian game company founded in the 1970s and active until the early 1980s. While the company started as a jigsaw puzzle producer, it is mostly remembered as a wargame company, a business that IT approached in 1979 after game designer Marco Donadoni joined in.

IT was the first Italian wargame company and its most successful games, such as Zargo's Lords, were instrumental in introducing the wargame culture in Italy.[1][2] IT games were translated in other languages (mostly French, German and English) and exported abroad.[3] At the peak of IT's popularity, foreign branches of the company were founded, such as International Team France (established in 1979).[4] Besides wargames, IT also published a few roleplaying games (such as Legio VII and Magikon) and ordinary board games.[5]

The company went bankrupt in 1988. Some of their assets were acquired by the French company Eurogames, that later published a few games based on designs and materials by IT, such as Colonizer based on IT's Kroll & Prumni[6] and Zargos based on Zargo's Lords.[7]

Published games

TitleYearAuthorLanguagesDescriptionDifficulty LvlCode
Attila1981 Ita, Eng, Fr, GerRecreating the Hun invasion of the Roman empire2W114
Austerlitz1981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerRecreating Napoleon's most famous victory at the Battle of three emperors5W116
Blue Stones1987Marco DonadoniIta, Fr, GerA Fantastic skirmish wargame set in the Zargo's Lords milieu. Wizards and Monks defend magic stones against three new evil races.3W123
Bonaparte1982Marco DonadoniIEFGA strategic Army Corps-level recreation of the Imperial Napoleonic saga. Possibly International Team's best effort6W119
East & West1981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerA World War III strategic wargame divided in three different theaters: central Europe, Middle East and Sino-Soviet border (with China on West's side)6W111
Idro1980Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerFantasy wargame pitting rebelling mermen and mermaids against the crustacean oppressors 'Krost'4W110
Iliad1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerBasic re-enactment of the siege of Troy as narrated in Homer's poem1W104
Jena1980Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerThe clash of the Napoleonic Grande Armée and the Prussian Army in 18064W107
Kroll & Prumni1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerInternational Team's first wargaming effort, futuristic exploration and combat between two rival star empires2W101
Landsknecht1987Marco DonadoniIta, Fr, GerTactical wargame in the European wars of religion2-5W124
Little Big Horn1981?Andrea MannucciIta, Eng, Fr, GerSitting Bull's day of glory against Custer3W115
Millennium1981Giovanni IngellisIta, Eng, Fr, GerA much-refined sci-fi wargame blending strategic and tactical aspects4W1117
Mockba1984Roberto BonsiIta, FrWehrmacht's do-or-die offensive against Moscow in December 19414W122
Norge1981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerRe-creating the fight for Norway in 19404W118
Odyssey1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerIn this game one player, acting as Athena tries to lead Ulysses back home in Ithaca while its adversary (playing Poseidon) must hinder and delay him1W106
Okinawa1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerDepicting the landing and conquest of Okinawa in World War II, complete with rules for bunkers, shore bombardments and kamikaze swarm attacks3W105
Rommel1981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerThe u.s. army first defeat during the Tunisian campaign5W113
Sicilia '431981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerOperation Husky, the invasion of Sicily in late 19435W109
Supermarina1984Umberto TosiIta, FrProbably's International Team's most complex game, it re-created the duel between Regia Marina and Royal Navy between July and October 1940, an oft-forgotten topic in World War II wargames8W121
Waterloo1980Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerRecreating Napoleon's last battle 1815 against the combined forces of Wellington and Blucher4W108
Wohrom1981Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerA fantasy game uniting aspects of wargaming and RPG-adventure, with two clans of knights fighting for the vacant throne of the kingdom4W112
Yom Kippur1984Andrea MannucciIta, FrSimulation of 1973 Ramadan War–Yom Kippur War2/5W120
York Town1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerRecreating one of the turning points of the u.s. rebellion in 17812W102
Zargo's Lords1979Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerItaly's first fantasy game. It had four races (Knights, Winged Men, Dragons and Monks) vying for supremacy in the world of Zargo3W103
Zargo's Lords II1983Marco DonadoniIta, Eng, Fr, GerFirst Zargo's Lords expansion: adding Amazons and Arachnids as new races and rules' updates and errata--

Historical importance

While some of International Team's games were quite "typical" of their era and generally not on par with U.S. and British offerings (which benefitted from a more developed hobby and gaming culture) they saturated the Italian market (where in early 1980s fluent English readers were by no means common) and also enjoyed commercial success in France and Germany. Some of their best games were highly innovative, such as the non-strategic Napoleonic ones (Austerlitz, Jena, Waterloo), presenting a unique Octagons and Squares board, better suited to the Napoleonic infantry formations (square, line, column...). Some other, like 'Norge' and 'Supermarina' tackled topics and campaigns which seldom enjoyed dedicated boardgames.

References

  1. ↑ Zargo's Lords review
  2. ↑ Review of Zargo's Lord at Boardgamegeek
  3. ↑ List of games by IT, with brief descriptions
  4. ↑ International Teams dans le magazine Jeux et Stratégie (in French)
  5. ↑ The International Team games simulation games serie
  6. ↑ "Review of "Kroll & Prumni"". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  7. ↑ International Team successors


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