Cannon Fodder

Lore & Background

Cannon Fodder was designed by Jon Hare, co-founder of Sensible Software, and released in 1993 on a variety of platforms. Stuart Cambridge was lead art director on the game and worked with a 16-color palette. Production began following the completion of Mega Lo Mania, with Sensible Software wanting to create another strategy game featuring mouse control and the notion of sending troops on missions, but with more action. The game lost its provisional publisher after owner Robert Maxwell's death, but found a new publisher in Virgin Interactive in May 1993, releasing in November of that year.

The gameplay puts the player in charge of a squad of between one and eight men that can be split into up to three groups (Snake, Eagle and Panther squads). All men have a machine gun with unlimited ammunition, as well as limited caches of grenades and rockets. Friendly fire from grenades and rockets is possible, and these are the only weapons capable of destroying buildings and vehicles. Men can die from debris, man-traps, quicksand, and enemy fire. The pre-mission screen shows a hill with a grave for each dead soldier, with recruits lining up; soldiers each have unique names, with the first few named after development staff. Cannon Fodder 2 introduced new settings including a Middle Eastern conflict, an alien planet, medieval and gangster-themed Chicago, but retained the same mechanics. Cannon Fodder 3, made by a Russian developer and released in English in 2012, featured a counter-terrorism theme with more advanced weather settings and an online cooperative mode.

Reader's Guide

The Cannon Fodder series is significant for its blend of strategy and action, with a distinctive dark comedic tone that drew both praise and criticism. Amiga magazines rated the original game positively, widely awarding scores of over 90%, while Amiga Action called it the best game of the year. Critics praised the fun, addictiveness, music and humour. However, the game also drew criticism in the Daily Star for its juxtaposition of war and humour and its use of iconography closely resembling the remembrance poppy. The theme tune 'War!' was written by Jon Hare with musician Richard Joseph, and a music video was shot for £500 featuring the team in military uniforms and masks. After Sensible Software was sold to Codemasters, a port to Game Boy Color required gameplay changes, described by Jon Hare as converting '11-a-side football to 5-a-side football'. A mobile phone version was released in 2005 by Tower Studios, requiring redesigned controls due to keypad limitations. A 3D remake was cancelled after the commercial failure of Prince Naseem Boxing led to the closure of the studio where it was being developed. The series' legacy includes a free minigame called Cannon Soccer and a demo mode in Sensible Soccer 92/93 Meets Bulldog Blighty that replaced players with soldiers and the ball with a hand grenade.

Did You Know?

• The first few recruits in Cannon Fodder—Jools, Jops, Stoo and Rj—were named directly after the development staff.
• The theme tune 'War!' was sung by lead game designer Jon Hare himself.
• A music video for the game was shot over one day on a budget of £500, featuring the team in military uniforms and masks including Mario and Donald Duck.

Development & Production

Cannon Fodder originated as a follow-up to Sensible Software's hit Mega Lo Mania. Co-founder Jon Hare envisioned another mouse-controlled strategy title, but one with a heavier emphasis on direct action. Production kicked off in 1991, yet progress stalled while the team handled Mega Drive conversions for other projects. Compounding the delays, the game's provisional publisher collapsed after the death of owner Robert Maxwell. When development resumed, the team deliberately stripped back the strategic complexity in favor of more immediate, hands-on combat. In May 1993, Virgin Interactive stepped in as the new publisher, and the title hit shelves that November. Stuart Cambridge served as lead art director, working within a 16-color palette to bring the game's visual identity to life. The result was a game that balanced the squad-commanding roots of its predecessor with a faster, more visceral action loop.

Squad Command & the Grave Hill

At its core, Cannon Fodder tasks the player with leading a squad of one to eight soldiers, which can be divided into up to three groups designated Snake, Eagle, and Panther. Every soldier wields a machine gun with unlimited ammo, while grenades and rockets—found on the map or issued at the start of later missions—serve as the only tools capable of destroying buildings and vehicles. Crucially, machine-gun fire cannot harm friendly troops, but grenades and rockets can, adding a layer of risk to close-quarters combat. Soldiers can also fall to debris from explosions, man-traps, quicksand, or enemy fire. Missions are broken into phases; dead soldiers are replaced at the start of each new phase, while survivors earn promotions that boost fire rate, accuracy, and range. The pre-mission screen displays a hill of graves, one tombstone per fallen recruit, with new soldiers lining up to take their place. Hundreds of individually named recruits populate the game, the first few—Jools, Jops, Stoo, and Rj—named after development staff.

Series Evolution Across Three Entries

Sensible Software produced only two entries before the franchise passed into other hands. Cannon Fodder 2, released in 1994 for Amiga and MS-DOS, retained the core mechanics but broadened the theatrical scope dramatically: players fought through a Middle Eastern conflict, an alien planet with spacecraft, a medieval setting, and a gangster-themed Chicago. In these new contexts, grenades and rockets were swapped for equivalents like alien units and wizards, while battering rams stood in for trucks. The sequel was notably harder, weaving in puzzle elements with multiple solutions of varying effectiveness, and it trimmed back water obstacles while keeping mines and booby traps. Cannon Fodder 3, developed by a Russian studio and released in English in 2012, shifted to a counter-terrorism theme with advanced weather effects, expanded vehicle options, sniper towers, additional power-ups, and an online cooperative mode.

Music, Reception & Controversy

The game's identity was inseparable from its soundtrack. Lead designer Jon Hare, alongside musician Richard Joseph, wrote the theme tune "War!", with Hare himself providing the vocals. To promote the original release, the team shot a music video in a single day on a budget of just £500, dressing in military uniforms, donning masks—including Mario and Donald Duck—and wielding toy guns. The video's track was a more complete, professionally recorded version than the one shipped on 16-bit cartridges; even the menu-screen music was a stripped-down cut of a proper studio song. Critics largely embraced the title, with Amiga magazines routinely scoring it above 90% and Amiga Action crowning it the best game of the year, praising its fun, addictiveness, music, and humour. However, the Daily Star raised objections, criticizing the game's juxtaposition of war with comedy and its use of iconography that closely resembled the remembrance poppy.