ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how Run5 provides a record of the transition of fans from manual to computer wargames and how the magazine documents the user culture of Strategic Studies Group (SSG)'s fans of the era. The survival of Run5 is contrasted to SSG's shifting of community support online to Compuserve and Applelink forums, and later to the World Wide Web, as few traces of digital resources have survived. Yet Run5 endures as a fascinating record of the early history of computer wargames and the Australian developer's relationship to its international player community. Run5 played an important role in supporting SSG's games. The magazine provided players with material that helped shape their gaming skills. SSG addressed the cultural shift from the open system of the manual wargame by using Run5 to provide its readers with information about how their computer game systems worked. It is fascinating to witness how Run5 continues to be valued as a design resource by SSG's fans.
