Wargame

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A wargame is a type of strategy game that simulates warfare to some degree of
realism, as opposed to abstract strategy games such as chess or backgammon. A
wargame does not involve the activities of actual military forces, which is better
called a field training exercise.[1] Likewise, the term "wargame" should not be
applied to sports such as paintball.

Contents
1 Overview
1.1 Setting and scenario
1.2 Level of war
1.3 Examples
2 Design issues
2.1 Realism
2.2 Complexity
2.3 Scale
2.4 Fog of war
3 Medium
3.1 Miniature
3.2 Board
3.3 Block
3.4 Card
3.5 Computer
3.6 Computer-assisted
3.7 Play-by-Mail (PBM)
3.8 E-mail and traditional
4 History
4.1 Early German wargames (1780-1806)
4.2 Prussian military wargaming
4.3 Wargaming spreads around the world
4.4 Miniature wargaming
4.5 Board wargaming (1954- )
4.6 Post-WW2 simulators
4.7 Fantasy wargames
4.8 A smaller but continuing presence
5 Notable people
6 Notable examples
6.1 Board
6.2 Miniature
6.3 Computer
6.4 Unique game systems
7 See also
8 Footnotes
9 Bibliogrpahy
10 Further reading
10.1 Books
10.2 Articles
Overview
A professional wargame is one that is employed by a military for the purposes of
training or research. A recreational wargame is played for pleasure, generally by
civilians.

While a wargame does not involve the activities of actual military forces (that is
what the military prefers to call a field training exercise), military command and
associated staff may operate in a physical command and control center and execute
their decision-making as if the simulation were real. A wargame must at least
involve one human player, otherwise it's a mere simulation.[1][2]

Although wargames are adversarial, a wargame need not have clear victory
conditions, nor does it have to give each player a fair chance of winning. This is
common in military wargames, which are primarily for research and training, not
competition. Real-world conflicts, after all, are rarely fair and do not always
have clear winners and losers. By contrast, recreational wargames are typically
designed for competitive play and are structured around fairness and clear victory
conditions.

Setting and scenario

A wargame must have a setting that is based on some historical era of warfare so as
to establish what armaments the combatants may wield and the environment they fight
in.[3] A historical setting accurately depicts a real historical era of warfare.
Among recreational wargamers, the most popular historical era is World War 2.
Professional military wargamers prefer the modern era. A fantasy setting depicts a
fictional world in which the combatants wield fictional or anachronistic armaments,
but it should be similar enough to some historical era of warfare such that the
combatants fight in a familiar and credible way. For instance, Warhammer Age of
Sigmar has wizards and dragons, but the combat is mostly based on medieval warfare
(spearmen, archers, knights, etc.).

A wargame's scenario describes the circumstances of the specific conflict being

simulated, from the layout of the terrain to the exact composition of the fighting
forces to the mission objectives of the players. Historical wargamers often re-
enact historical battles. Alternatively, players may construct a fictional
scenario. It is easier to design a balanced scenario where either player has a fair
chance of winning if it is fictionalized. Board wargames usually have a fixed
scenario.

Level of war
A wargame's level of war determines to the scope of the scenario, the basic unit of
command, and the degree to which lower level processes are abstracted.

At the tactical level, the scenario is a single battle. The basic unit of command
is an individual soldier or small group of soldiers.[4] The time span of the
scenario is in the order of minutes. At this level, the specific capabilities of
the soldiers and their armaments are described in detail. An example of a tactical-
level games is Flames of War, in which players use miniature figurines to represent
individual soldiers, and move them around on a scale model of the battlefield.

At the operational level, the scenario is a military campaign, and the basic unit
of command is a large group of soldiers. At this level, the outcomes of battles are
usually determined by a simple computation.

At the strategic level, the scenario is an entire war. The player addresses higher-
level concerns such as economics, research, and diplomacy. The time span of the
game is in the order of months or years.[5][6]
Examples
Flames of War is a tactical-level historical miniature wargame that simulates land
battles during World War 2.
TACSPIEL is an operational-level military wargame developed in the 1960s by the US
Army for research into guerilla warfare.[7]
Hearts of Iron IV is a strategic-level computer wargame set in the mid-20th
century.
Wings of War is tactical-level historical wargame that simulates World War 1 aerial
dogfights.
Star Wars: X-Wing is a fantasy wargame whose rules are based on Wings of War.
The following strategy games are typically NOT considered wargames (it depends on
how far one stretches the definition):

Battleship depicts a naval battle, but is too abstract.

Dungeons and Dragons is a role-playing game that adapts wargaming rules to simulate
combat, but combat is not the focus of the game.
Stellaris depicts strategic-level warfare between interstellar empires, but its
setting is too divorced from reality.
Design issues
Realism
No wargame can be perfectly realistic. A wargame's design must make trade-offs
between realism, simplicity, and fun; and function with the constraints of its
medium. Military wargames need to be highly realistic, because their purpose is to
prepare officers for real warfare. Recreational wargames only need to be realistic
to the degree that the players can suspend their disbelief�they need to be
credible, if not perfectly realistic.

Fantasy wargames arguably stretch the definition of wargaming by representing

fictional or anachronistic armaments, but they may still be called wargames if
they, for the most part, function like historical wargames.[8] For example,
Warhammer Age of Sigmar has wizards and dragons, but the bulk of the armaments are
taken from medieval warfare (spearmen, knights, archers, etc.).

Complexity
Whereas the rules of chess are relatively simple, wargames tend to have very
sophisticated rules. Generally speaking, the more realistic a wargame seeks to be,
the more complicated its rules must be.[9] This makes wargames difficult to learn.
Even experienced wargamers usually play with their rulebook on hand, because the
rules for most wargames are too complex to fully memorize. For many people, the
complexity also makes wargames difficult to enjoy, but some players enjoy high
realism, so finding a balance between realism and simplicity is tricky when it
comes to recreational wargames.

One way to solve the problem of complexity is to use an umpire who has the
discretion to arbitrate events, using whatever tools and knowledge he deems fit.
This solution is popular with military instructors because it allows them to apply
their own expertise when they use wargames to instruct students. The drawback of
this approach is that the umpire must be very knowledgeable in warfare and
impartial, else he may issue unrealistic or unfair rulings.[10]

Another way to address complexity is to use a computer to automate some or all of

the routine procedures. Video games can be both sophisticated and easy to learn,
which is why computer wargames are more popular than tabletop wargames.

Scale
Every wargame must have a sense of scale, so that it may realistically simulate how
topography, distance, and time affect warfare. Military wargames typically aim to
model time and space as realistically as is feasible. Recreational wargame
designers, by contrast, tend to use abstract scaling techniques to make their
wargames easier to learn and play.

Tabletop miniature wargames, for instance, cannot realistically model the range of
modern firearms, because miniature wargaming models are typically built to a scale
ratio between 1:64 and 1:120.[a] At those scales, riflemen should be able to shoot
each other from several meters away,[b] which is longer than most game tables. If
model soldiers could shoot each other from opposite ends of the table, without the
need to maneuver, the game would not be much fun. The miniature wargame Bolt Action
solves this problem by reducing a rifle's range to 24 inches, a sub-machine gun's
range to 12 inches, and a pistol's range to 6 inches. Even if these ranges are not
realistic, the proportions make intuitive sense and thus keep the game somewhat
credible, all the while compressing the battle to fit the confines of the table.
Also, the ranges are multiples of 6, which makes them easier to remember.[11]

Fog of war
In real warfare, commanders have incomplete information about their enemy and the
battlespace. A wargame that conceals some information from the player is called a
closed game. An open wargame has no secret information.[12] Most recreational
wargames are open wargames. A closed wargame can simulate the espionage and
reconnaissance aspects of war.

Military wargames often use umpires to manage secret information. The players may
be forced to sit in separate rooms, and communicate their orders with the umpire in
the game room, who in turn reports back only the information he judges the players
should know. Some recreational wargames use an umpire too, often referring to them
as "the GameMaster" (e.g. Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader).

The fog of war is easy to simulate in a computer wargame, as a virtual environment

is free of the constraints of a physical tabletop game.

Medium
Miniature
Main article: Miniature wargaming

A miniature wargame, set in Ancient Greece.

Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming where units on the battlefield are
represented by miniature models, as opposed to abstract pieces such as wooden
blocks or plastic counters. Likewise, the battlefield itself is represented by a
scale model, as opposed to a flat board or map.

Miniature wargaming tends to be more expensive and time-consuming than other forms
of wargaming.[13] The models tend to be expensive, particularly when they have a
distinctive copyrighted design, such as models made by Games Workshop. Furthermore,
most manufacturers do not sell ready-to-play models, they sell boxes of model
parts, which the players are expected to assemble and paint themselves. This is
requires skill, time, and more money, but many players actually prefer it this way
because it gives them a way to show off their artistic skill. Miniature wargaming
is as much about artistry as it is about play.

Board
Main article: Board wargame
A board wargame is played on a board that has a more-or-less fixed layout and is
supplied by the game's manufacturer. This is in contrast to customizable playing
fields made with modular components, such as in miniature wargaming.

Block
Main article: Block wargame
A game of Julius Caesar from Columbia Games shows how a player may only know the
strength and unit type of their own forces, creating a fog of war element that does
not exist in most wargames.
In block wargaming, the Fog of War is built into the game by representing units
with upright wooden blocks that are marked on only one face, which is oriented
towards the player who owns the block. The opponent cannot see the markings from
his position. The first such block wargame was Quebec 1759 by Columbia Games
(previously named Gamma Two Games), depicting the campaign surrounding the Battle
of the Plains of Abraham.

Card
Because of their nature, cards are well suited for abstract games, as opposed to
the simulation aspects of wargames. Traditional card games are not considered
wargames even when nominally about the same subject (such as the game War).

An early card wargame was Nuclear War, a 'tongue-in-cheek game of the end of the
world', first published in 1966 and still published today by Flying Buffalo. It
does not simulate how any actual nuclear exchange would happen, but it is still
structured unlike most card games because of the way it deals with its subject.

In the late 1970s Battleline Publications (a board wargame company) produced two
card games, Naval War and Armor Supremacy. The first was fairly popular in
wargaming circles, and is a light system of naval combat, though again not
depicting any 'real' situation (players may operate ships from opposing navies
side-by-side). Armor Supremacy was not as successful, but is a look at the constant
design and development of new types of tanks during World War II.

The most successful card wargame (as a card game and as a wargame) would almost
certainly be Up Front, a card game about tactical combat in World War II published
by Avalon Hill in 1983. The abstractness is harnessed in the game by having the
deck produce random terrain, and chances to fire, and the like, simulating
uncertainty as to the local conditions (nature of the terrain, etc.).

Dan Verssen Games is a specialist designer and publisher of card games for several
genres, including air combat and World War II and Modern land combat.

Also, card driven games (CDGs), first introduced in 1993, use a deck of (custom)
cards to drive most elements of the game, such as unit movement (activation) and
random events. These are, however, distinctly board games, the deck is merely one
of the most important elements of the game.

Computer
Main article: Wargame (video games)
The term "wargame" is rarely used in the video gaming hobby. Most strategy video
games depict realistic (or semi-realistic) scenarios of war anyway, so computer
wargames are usually just called "strategy games". If a strategy video game is
especially realistic, they are often called "simulations".

Computer wargames have many advantages over traditional wargames. In a computer

game, all the routine procedures and calculations are automated. The player needs
only to make strategic and tactical decisions. The learning curve for the player is
smaller, as he doesn't have to master all the mechanics of the game. The gameplay
is faster, as a computer can process calculations much faster than a human.
Computer wargames often have more sophisticated mechanics than traditional wargames
thanks to automation. Computer games tend to be cheaper than traditional wargames
because, being software, they can be copied and distributed very efficiently. It's
easier for a player to find opponents with a computer game: a computer game can use
artificial intelligence to provide a virtual opponent, or connect him to another
human player over the Internet. For these reasons, computers are now the dominant
medium for wargaming.

Computer-assisted
Main article: computer-assisted gaming
In the recent years, programs have been developed for computer-assisted gaming as
regards to wargaming. Two different categories can be distinguished: local computer
assisted wargames and remote computer assisted wargames.

Local computer assisted wargames are mostly not designed toward recreating the
battlefield inside computer memory, but employing the computer to play the role of
game master by storing game rules and unit characteristics, tracking unit status
and positions or distances, animating the game with sounds and voice and resolving
combat. Flow of play is simple: each turn, the units come up in a random order.
Therefore, the more units an opponent has, the more chance he will be selected for
the next turn. When a unit comes up, the commander specifies an order and if
offensive action is being taken, a target, along with details about distance. The
results of the order, base move distance and effect to target, are reported, and
the unit is moved on the tabletop. All distance relationships are tracked on the
tabletop. All record-keeping is tracked by the computer.

Remote computer assisted wargames can be considered as extensions to the concept of

play-by-email gaming, however the presentation and actual capabilities are
completely different. They have been designed to replicate the look and feel of
existing board or miniatures wargames on the computer. The map and counters are
presented to the user who can then manipulate these, more-or-less as if he were
playing the physical game, and send a saved file off to his opponent, who can
review what has been done without having to duplicate everything on his physical
set-up of the game, and respond. Some allow for both players to get on-line and see
each other's moves in real-time.

These systems are generally set up so that while one can play the game, the program
has no knowledge of the rules, and cannot enforce them. The human players must have
a knowledge of the rules themselves. The idea is to promote the playing of the
games (by making play against a remote opponent easier), while supporting the
industry (and reducing copyright issues) by ensuring that the players have access
to the actual physical game.

The four main programs that can be used to play a number of games each are Aide de
Camp, Cyberboard, Vassal and ZunTzu. Aide de Camp is available for purchase, while
the other three are offered free. Vassal is in turn an outgrowth of the VASL
(Virtual ASL) project, and uses Java, making it accessible to any computer that can
run a modern JVM, while the other three are Microsoft Windows programs.

Play-by-Mail (PBM)
Main article: Play-by-mail game
Wargames were played remotely through the mail, with players sending lists of
moves, or orders, to each other through the mail.

In some early PBM systems, six sided dice rolling was simulated by designating a
specific stock and a future date and once that date passed, the players would
determine an actions outcome using the sales in hundreds value for specific stocks
on a specific date and then dividing the NYSE published sales in hundreds by six,
using the remainder as the dice result.

Nuclear Destruction, by the Flying Buffalo, was an early PBM game in 1970. Origins
Award Hall-of-Fame member Middle-Earth Play-By-Mail is still active today.

Reality Simulations, Inc. still runs a number of PBM games, such as Duel2 (formerly
known as Duelmasters), Hyborian War, and Forgotten Realms: War of the Avatars.
E-mail and traditional
Since e-mail is faster than the standard postal service, the rise of the Internet
saw a shift of people playing board wargames from play-by-mail (PBM) to play-by-
email (PBEM) or play-by-web (PBW). The mechanics were the same, merely the medium
was faster.

At this time, turn-based strategy computer games still had a decent amount of
popularity, and many started explicitly supporting the sending of saved-game files
through email (instead of needing to find the file to send to the opponent by
hand). As with all types of video games, the rise in home networking solutions and
Internet access has also meant that networked games are now common and easy to set
up.

History
Early German wargames (1780-1806)

The playing field and pieces from Hellwig's wargame.

The first wargame was invented in Prussia by Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig in
1780, who sought to develop a chess-like game that more accurately reflected real
warfare. Hellwig published his first rulebook in 1780, and a second edition in
1803.

As in chess, Hellwig's game was played on a grid of squares, but it was a much
larger grid, and the squares were color-coded to represent different types of
terrain: mountains, swamp, water, trenches, etc. The layout of the terrain was not
fixed, which allowed players to create their own custom battlefields. The pieces in
the game represented real military units: cavalry, infantry, artillery, and various
support units. As in chess, only a single piece could occupy a square, and the
pieces moved square by square, either laterally or diagonally. Over normal terrain,
infantry could move a maximum distance of eight squares, dragoons could move twelve
squares, and light cavalry could move sixteen squares � intuitively mirroring the
speed at which these units move in the real world. But terrain could impede
movement: mountains were impassable, swamps slowed units down, rivers could only be
crossed with the help of a special pontoon unit, etc. A player could only move one
piece per turn, or one group of pieces if they were arranged in a rectangle. A
piece could capture an enemy piece by moving into its square, just like in chess,
but infantry and artillery pieces could also shoot enemy pieces, at a maximum
ranges of two to three squares. Unlike chess, the pieces had orientation: for
instance, an infantry piece could only shoot an enemy piece if they were facing it
and flanking it.[14][15]

In 1796, another Prussian named Johann Georg Julius Venturini invented his own
wargame, inspired by Hellwig's game. Venturini's game was played on an even larger
grid.[16] Venturini's game also added rules governing logistics, such as supply
convoys and mobile bakeries, and the effects of weather and seasons, making this
perhaps the first operational-level wargame.[17][18]

In 1806, an Austrian named Johann Ferdinand Opiz developed a wargame aimed at both
civilian and military markets. Like Hellwig's game, it used a modular grid-based
board. But unlike Hellwig's game, Opiz's game used dice rolls to simulate the
unpredictability of real warfare. This innovation was controversial at the time.
[19] Hellwig, who designed his wargame for both leisure as well as instruction,
felt that introducing chance would spoil the fun.[20]

Prussian military wargaming

Main article: Kriegsspiel
A criticism of the wargames of Hellwig, Venturini, and Opiz was that the pieces
moved across a grid in chess-like fashion: only a single piece could occupy a
square, even if that square represented a square mile, and the pieces had to move
square by square. This, of course, did not reflect how real troops in the field
actually moved. A Prussian nobleman named George Leopold von Reiswitz began
developing a more realistic wargame wherein the units could move about the
battlefield in a free-form manner.[21] The king of Prussia heard of Reiswitz's
project and invited him to demonstrate it at the palace. In early 1812,[22]
Reiswitz presented to the king an elaborate apparatus that came in the form of a
wooden table-cabinet, and shortly afterwards Reiswitz published a book describing
his game.[23]

The game's materials were stored in the cabinet's drawers. The battlefield was made
of porcelain tiles laid out on the cabinet's top. The tiles displayed painted bas-
relief images of various terrain types (rivers, roads, marshes, hills, etc.). They
were modular, and so they could be arranged to create a custom battlefield. The
game pieces were little porcelain blocks, each representing a troop formation. [24]
[25] The pieces could move about the battlefield in free-form manner. The players
used wooden dividers to measure the distances pieces could move.[26]

The royal family loved Reiswitz's game and played it frequently. However, it was
not adopted by army instructors nor sold commercially. Reiswitz never perfected his
wargame, largely because he was distracted by the upheavals caused by the
Napoleonic Wars. By 1816, Reiswitz seemed to have lost interest in wargaming
altogether. The development of the wargame was continued by his son, Georg Heinrich
Rudolf Johann von Reiswitz, who was a junior officer in the Prussian army.[27]
Reiswitz Jr. presented his own wargame to his superiors in 1824.

A reconstruction of the wargame developed in 1824 by Reiswitz Jr.

Unlike his father's game, Reiswitz Jr.'s game used dice to determine the damage
inflicted by enemy fire. Reiswitz Jr.'s game was also played on a paper map. The
Prussian army had recently begun using highly accurate topographical maps, which
were the product of new advances in cartography and printing. These maps may have
not been available to Reiswitz Sr., but they were available by the 1820s and
Reiswitz Jr. took advantage of them. The maps were made to a scale of 1:8000.
Likewise, the pieces were made to accurately represent the dimensions of the troop
formations, scaled to 1:8000 so that they would occupy the same relative space on
the map. This made Reiswitz Jr.'s wargame the first to have an absolute scale.

But Reiswitz Jr.'s most significant innovation was the introduction of an umpire.
The players did not directly control the pieces on the game map. Rather, they gave
written instructions to umpire as if they were generals in the field sending
written orders to their divisions. The umpire would then move the pieces across the
game map according to how he imagined the troops would interpret and carry out the
players' orders. When the troops engaged the enemy on the map, it was umpire who
rolled the dice, calculated the effects, and removed slain units from map.
Additionally, the players were not allowed to look at the main game map and thus
could not know the exact positions of the pieces. The players sat in an adjacent
room, and the umpire would periodically report to them the state of the battle,
much the same way a general in the field would receive reports from afar. Thus, the
wargame simulated the fog of war, and how a general in the field controlled his
army.[28]

The Prussian royal family and the General Staff officially endorsed Reiswitz Jr.'s
wargame, and Reiswitz Jr. established a workshop by which he could mass-produce and
distribute it.[29] It was widely played by the officer corps, and a number of
wargaming clubs formed. This was thus the first wargame to be widely adopted by a
military as a serious tool for training and research. Reiswitz Jr. died in 1827,
but Prussian officers continued to practice wargaming, and over the years they
developed new variations of Reiswitz's system to incorporate new military
technologies and tactics.

Wargaming spreads around the world

A French translation of Reiswitz Jr.'s wargaming manual appeared in 1829, and a
Dutch translation appeared in 1836. But overall, Prussian wargaming attracted
little attention outside Prussia until 1870, when Prussia defeated France in the
Franco-Prussian War. Many credited Prussia's victory to its wargaming tradition,
and this led to great worldwide interest.[30] Civilians and military forces around
the world now took a keen interest in the German military wargames, which
foreigners referred to as kriegsspiel (the German word for "wargame").[31] The
first kriegsspiel manual in English, based on the system of Wilhelm von
Tschischwitz, was published in 1872 for the British army and received a royal
endorsement.[32] The world's first recreational wargaming club was the University
Kriegspiel [sic] Club, founded in 1873 at Oxford University in England. In the
United States, Charles Adiel Lewis Totten published Strategos, the American War
Game in 1880, and William R. Livermore published The American Kriegsspiel in 1882,
both heavily inspired by Prussian wargames. In 1894, the US Naval War College made
wargaming a regular tool of instruction.[33]

Miniature wargaming
Main article: History of miniature wargaming
In 1881, the English writer Robert Louis Stevenson became the first documented
person to use toy soldiers in a wargame, and thus he might be the inventor of
miniature wargaming. However, in his game, each toy soldier was used to represent
an entire unit rather than an individual, and his playing field was just a chalk
map drawn on the floor. Stevenson never published his rules, but according to an
account by his stepson, they were very sophisticated and realistic, on par with
German military wargames.[34]

In 1898, the British writer Fred T. Jane published the first rulebook for a naval
wargame: Rules for the Jane Naval War Game. Jane's wargame was also the first
published wargame to use miniature models. It used scale models of warships made
out of cork and wires; the wires were used for guns and masts. Jane's rulebook
described in great detail the capabilities of the warships, such as the range and
armor-penetrating power of the guns. It also simulated localized damage, such as
what would happen to a warship if its boiler was damaged, or its gun battery.

H. G. Wells and his friends playing Little Wars.

The English writer H. G. Wells developed his own codified rules for playing with
toy soldiers, which he published in a book titled Little Wars (1913). This is
widely remembered as the first rulebook for miniature wargaming (for terrestrial
armies, at least). Little Wars had very simple rules to make it fun and accessible
to anyone. Little Wars did not use dice or computation to resolve fights. For
artillery attacks, players used spring-loaded toy cannons which fired little wooden
cylinders to physically knock over enemy models. As for infantry and cavalry, they
could only engage in hand-to-hand combat (even if the figurines exhibited
firearms). When two infantry units fought in close quarters, the units would suffer
non-random losses determined by their relative sizes. Little Wars was designed for
a large field of play, such as a lawn or the floor of a large room. An infantryman
could move up to one foot per turn, and a cavalryman could move up to two feet per
turn. To measure these distances, players used a two-foot long piece of string.
Wells was also the first wargamer to use scale models of buildings, trees, and
other terrain features to create a three-dimensional battlefield.[35]

Wells' rulebook was for a long time regarded as the standard system by which other
miniature wargames were judged. However, it failed to invigorate the miniature
wargaming community. A possible reason was the two World Wars, which de-glamorized
war and caused shortages of tin and lead that made model soldiers expensive.[36]
[37] Another reason may have been the lack of magazines or clubs dedicated to
miniature wargames. Miniature wargaming was seen as a niche within the larger hobby
of making and collecting model soldiers.

In 1955, a California man named Jack Scruby began making inexpensive miniature
models for miniature wargames out of type metal. Scruby's major contribution to the
miniature wargaming hobby was to network players across America and the UK. At the
time, the miniature wargaming community was miniscule, and players struggled to
find each other. In 1956, Scruby organized the first miniature wargaming convention
in America, which was attended by just fourteen people. From 1957 to 1962, he self-
published the world's first wargaming magazine, titled The War Game Digest, through
which wargamers could publish their rules and share game reports. It had less than
two hundred subscribers, but it did establish a community that kept growing.[38]

Around the same time in the United Kingdom, Donald Featherstone began writing an
influential series of books on wargaming, which represented the first mainstream
published contribution to wargaming since Little Wars. Titles included : War Games
(1962), Advanced Wargames, Solo Wargaming, Wargame Campaigns, Battles with Model
Tanks, Skirmish Wargaming. Such was the popularity of such titles that other
authors were able to have published wargaming titles. This output of published
wargaming titles from British authors coupled with the emergence at the same time
of several manufacturers providing suitable wargame miniatures (e.g. Miniature
Figurines, Hinchliffe, Peter Laing, Garrisson, Skytrex, Davco, Heroic & Ros) was
responsible for the huge upsurge of popularity of the hobby in the late 1960s and
into the 1970s.[39]

In 1956, Tony Bath published what was the first ruleset for a miniature wargame set
in the medieval period. These rules were a major inspiration for Gary Gygax's
Chainmail (1971).

Board wargaming (1954- )

Tactics (1954) was the first successful board wargame.

The first successful commercial board wargame was Tactics (1954) by an American
named Charles S. Roberts. What distinguished this wargame from previous ones is
that it was mass-produced and all the necessary materials for play were bundled
together in a box. Previous wargames were often just a rulebook and required
players to obtain the other materials themselves.[40] The game was played on a pre-
fabricated board with a fixed layout, which is why it was called a board game.

Roberts later founded the Avalon Hill Game Company, the first firm that specialized
in commercial wargames. In 1958, Avalon Hill released Gettysburg, which was a
retooling of the rules of Tactics, and was based on the historical Battle of
Gettysburg. Gettysburg became the most widely-played wargame yet.[41]

Board wargames were more popular than miniature wargames. One reason was that
assembling a playset for miniature wargaming was expensive, time-consuming, and
require artisanal skill. Another reason was that board wargames could be played by
correspondence. Board wargames were usually grid-based, or else designed in some
way that moves could be explained in writing in simple terms. This was not possible
with the free-form nature of miniature wargames.[42]

Post-WW2 simulators
The US military was the first to use electronic computers to assist in wargaming.
Computers in this era were very expensive, the purview of governments and large
corporations.

Beginning in the 1950s, the RAND Corporation developed a number of wargames for the
US military.

The advent of nuclear weapons and the Cold War created a need for wargames to
simulate the political and economic dimensions of war.

Fantasy wargames
In 1971, Gary Gygax developed a wargame system for medieval warfare called
Chainmail. Gygax later produced a supplement for Chainmail that added magic and
fantasy creatures, making this the first fantasy wargame. The supplement was
inspired by the success of the Lord of the Rings novels by J. R. R. Tolkien in the
mid-1960s.

Gygax later went on to invent the first role-playing game, Dungeons and Dragons.
Dungeons and Dragons was a story-driven game, but adapted wargaming rules to model
the fights players could get in.

In 1983, Games Workshop released Warhammer Fantasy Battle, a fantasy wargame. Games
Workshop at the time made miniature models for use in Dungeons and Dragons, and
Warhammer was meant to encourage players to buy more models. The success of
Warhammer led Games Workshop to create Warhammer 40,000, a science-fiction
counterpart. These two games went on to become the most popular miniature wargames
in the world.

A smaller but continuing presence

The wargaming hobby declined in the 1980s. One factor was competition from role-
playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons: the sort of person who would have gone
into wargaming instead went into RPGs. A second factor was the rise of affordable
and powerful personal computers and gaming consoles. Computer wargames were easier
to learn and faster to play because the routine procedures and arithmetic were
automated.

Notable people
Wargaming as a Hobby
Georg Leopold von Reisswitz and his son Georg Heinrich Rudolf von Reisswitz �
inventors of Kriegsspiel.
H.G. Wells � Pioneer in miniature wargaming, author of Little Wars. His usual
companion in wargames was Jerome K. Jerome (of Three Men in a Boat fame).
Jack Scruby � After H.G. Wells, he did the most to make miniature wargaming a
respectable hobby. He also popularized miniatures wargaming with a cheaper
production process for miniature figures, publishing the first miniature wargaming
magazine, the War Game Digest, and community building.
Don Featherstone � Known in the UK as the "co-father" of modern miniature
wargaming.
Phil Dunn � founder of the Naval Wargames Society, the only international
organisation of naval wargaming to date, and author of Sea Battle Games.
Charles S. Roberts � Known as the "Father of modern board wargaming", designed the
first modern wargame, as well as the company most identified with modern wargames
(Avalon Hill).
Phil Barker � Co-founder of (Wargames Research Group),[43] co writer of WRG
Ancients in 1969 and of DBA the innovative 1990 ruleset.
Designers/Developers
Richard Berg � Designer of Terrible Swift Sword, and worked at SPI.
Larry Bond � Designer of Harpoon, and best selling author
Frank Chadwick � A co-founder of Game Designers Workshop (along with Loren Wiseman,
Marc Miller, and Rich Banner), one of the first major competitors to Avalon Hill,
and himself a prolific wargame designer and innovator.
Jim Dunnigan � considered "The Dean of Modern Wargaming", founder of SPI and the
most prolific print wargame designer in history. His designs included many firsts
in wargaming, including the first tactical wargames.
Charles Grant � Author of The Wargame.
Laurence Groves � Founded Martial Enterprises and designed La Bataille de la
Moscowa (1974), recognized as the first "monster game." Died in the late 1970s in a
motorcycle accident.
E. Gary Gygax � Designer of several miniatures and board wargames who went on to
co-create (with Dave Arneson) and publish Dungeons & Dragons.
Larry Harris � Designer of Axis and Allies, Conquest of the Empire, and other games
in the Axis and Allies Series.
Bruce Quarrie � wrote rule sets for Napoleonic and World War II wargames and also
on military history.
Mark Herman � Member of the "Hall of Fame" and designer of We The People, the first
Card Driven Wargame; worked originally at SPI and was the CEO of VG. Most recent
designs are For The People and Empire of the Sun, each of which won the Charles S.
Roberts Award for best game in their category.
John Hill � Designer of Squad Leader, Johnny Reb, and other well-received designs.
David Manley � author of "Iron and Fire", "Fox Two" and other air and naval rules
systems, editor of the Naval Wargames Society journal "Battlefleet"
Redmond Simonsen � Co-founder of SPI and introduced many advanced graphics design
elements to wargame designs.
Richard Thomas Bailey - Designer and founder of www.Tinywargames.com and designer
of boardgames such as Bullet.
Notable players
Peter Cushing � Actor[44]
Notable examples

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Board
While a comprehensive list will show the variety of titles, the following games are
notable for the reasons indicated:

Diplomacy � (1954) a classic multi-player game from the "golden age" of wargames in
which strategy is exercised off the game board as well as on it.
Tactics II (Avalon Hill, 1958) � the wargame that launched Avalon Hill.
Risk (Parker Brothers, 1959) � Widely accepted as the first mainstream wargame.
Gettysburg (Avalon Hill, 1958) � the first modern era wargame intended to model an
actual historical event.
Tactical Game 3 (Strategy & Tactics Magazine game, 1969); re-released as
PanzerBlitz by Avalon Hill in 1970. The very first tactical wargame. The game
pioneered the use of "geomorphic mapboards" and PanzerBlitz was a game system
rather than just a game in that forces could be used to depict any number of actual
tactical situations rather than one specific scenario. Pioneered several ground-
breaking features, such as use of various types of weapons fire to reflect
battlefield conditions. Also created new level of realism in reflecting tactical
armored vehicles.
Sniper! (SPI, 1973) � along with Patrol, the first Man to Man wargames where game
pieces depicted a single soldier. An adaptation of Sniper! also became one of the
first multi-player computer wargames.
Wooden Ships and Iron Men (Battleline Publications, 1974 Avalon Hill, 1976) � the
definitive game of Age of Sail warfare for many years.
Rise and Decline of the Third Reich (Avalon Hill, 1974) � The first serious attempt
to model World War II in Europe in its entirety, including (in a limited way) the
economic and industrial production of the nations involved. It has seen numerous
versions and editions, and is currently available as John Prados' Third Reich from
Avalanche Press, and as a far more complex descendant game, A World At War,
published by GMT Games.
La Bataille de la Moskowa (Martial Enterprises, 1974) Later republished by Games
Designers Workshop and Clash of Arms. With 4 maps and 1000+ counters, it is
credited with being the first "monster" wargame (by famed designer Richard Berg.)
SPQR (GMT Games, 1992)
Squad Leader (Avalon Hill, 1977) and Advanced Squad Leader (1985) have become the
most prolific series of wargames, including 3 add-on modules for the former, and 12
for the latter, with additional Historical modules and Deluxe modules also having
been released. ASL also sets the record for sheer volume of playing components,
with thousands of official counters and 60+ "geomorphic mapboards" not counting
Deluxe and Historical maps.
Star Fleet Battles � (Task Force Games, 1978) one of the older still actively
played and published wargames today; based on Star Trek, it is arguably the most
successful tactical space combat system that does not rely on miniatures (published
by Amarillo Design Bureau).
Storm Over Arnhem (Avalon Hill, 1981) � pioneered the use of "point to point" or
"area movement" in tactical wargames.
Axis and Allies � (Nova Games, 1981) the most successful of Milton Bradley's (1984)
'GameMaster' line in an attempt to bring wargaming into the mainstream by appealing
to non-wargamers through simplicity and attractive components.
Ambush! � (Victory Games, 1983) the first solitaire board wargame depicting man to
man combat, in which each game piece represented a single person.
Blue Max � (GDW, 1983) is a multi-player game of World War I aerial combat over the
Western Front during 1917 and 1918 with an extremely easy to play mechanism but
allow the development of complex strategies.
We the People � (Avalon Hill, 1994) this game started the Card-Driven wargame
movement, which is very influential in current wargame design.
Miniature
Rules for the Jane Naval War Game (S. Low, Marston, 1898) � The first published
miniature wargame. A 26-page rule set limited to naval miniature battles. It came
in a crate measuring 4 ft. X 4 ft. X 2 ft. Written by Fred Jane. As only a handful
of these games survive, they are highly collectible.[45]
Little Wars (H.G. Wells, 1913) � The first popular published wargame rules.
Includes the common miniature wargaming mechanics of dice rolling, range, line of
sight, and moving in alternate turns. This game earned Wells the title "The Father
of Miniature Wargaming".[46]
Miniature Wargames du temps de Napoleon (John C. Candler, 1964) � First period-
specific historical miniature wargame.[citation needed] Also the first in a long
line of Napoleonic miniature wargames.
Chainmail (Guidon Games, 1971) � An extension and distillation of rules previously
published in various periodicals. While mostly about historical medieval combat, it
had an addendum that covered fantasy elements. Major elements of this game were
adopted by the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Unlike Dungeons & Dragons,
Chainmail used two six-sided dice to resolve combat. Previous fantasy miniature
wargames had been written, but this was the first one published. Drawing on the
popularity of The Lord of the Rings, this game featured the novelties of combat
magic and fantastic creatures as combatants.
Warhammer Fantasy Battle (Games Workshop, 1983) � An internationally successful
fantasy miniature wargame. The First Edition rules introduced innovative open unit
design rules, however later editions eliminated the option to build custom units
and make use of standard army lists mandatory. Warhammer was one of the first newly
developed miniature wargames to enjoy popularity after role-playing games came to
market in 1974. In fact, it is because of Roleplaying games becoming so popular,
and people having too many models that were rarely used, that this was first
published[citation needed].
Warhammer 40,000 (Games Workshop, 1987) � A futuristic wargame featuring rival
armies with different fighting styles. This wargame has very conceptual artwork
suggesting a post-apocalyptic neo-gothic universe with heavy dystopic themes. Un-
arguably the most profitable miniature wargame ever, it has popularized competitive
tournament gameplay in large, international events sanctioned by Games Workshop.
De Bellis Antiquitatis (Wargames Research Group, 1990) � Radically minimalist rules
differentiate this game from other notable miniature wargames. A number of systems
have been strongly influenced by DBA.
Mage Knight (WizKids Inc., 2001) � Innovative game popularizing the combat dial,
pre-painted plastic miniatures, and the collectible miniatures games. Mage Knight
has inspired numerous collectible, skirmish miniature wargames.
Warmachine (Privateer Press, 2003) � A steampunk-inspired miniatures game featuring
steam-powered robots fighting under the direction of powerful wizards. Also has a
sister game, Hordes, which features large monstrous creatures in the place of
robots.
Heroscape (Milton Bradley Company, 2004) � An inexpensive, simple wargame that has
been successfully mass marketed to both younger wargamers and adults. As miniature
wargaming is often an expensive hobby, Heroscape and the collectible miniatures
games have opened the miniature wargaming hobby to a new demographic.
Infinity (Corvus Belli, 2005) is a tabletop wargame in which sci-fi themed with
28mm scale metal miniatures are used to simulate futuristic skirmishes. Infinity is
a groundbreaking, dynamic system that allows you to make meaningful, fun choices
throughout the entire game sequence, and gives you the tools to implement any
number of strategies with realism and flexibility.
BrikWars is a wargame that uses Lego bricks as miniatures and scenery and is
steadily growing in popularity mostly due to the looseness of the rules.
Flames of War (Battlefront Miniatures, 2002) � Popular World War II wargame at 15mm
(1:100) scale, currently focusing on the European and Mediterean theatres. Splits
into three time periods (Early War 1939-41, Mid War 1942-43 and Late War 1944-45)
to bring some balance and historical matchups.
Malifaux
See also List of miniature wargames.

Computer
Panzer General � (Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1994) � probably the most widely
popular computer game that is recognizably a traditional wargame. It spawned
several sequels, some of which explored different subject matter.
Steel Panthers � (Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1995) � an early tactical wargame on
the same scale as Squad Leader, which led to two sequels, and a complete revision
of the title for free release.
Close Combat � (Microsoft, 1996) � not the first wargame to break out from hexes,
and still presented in a 2-dimensional format, Close Combat nonetheless uniquely
addressed factors such as individual morale and reluctance to carry out orders. The
original title led to 5 very successful sequels for the general public, as well as
being developed into a training tool for military use only. Close Combat stemmed
from an early attempt to translate the Squad Leader boardgame to the computer.
Combat Mission � (Big Time Software, 2000) � not the first 3D tactical wargame
(titles such as Muzzle Velocity preceded it), but a groundbreaking game series
featuring simultaneous order resolution, complete orders of battle for numerous
nationalities, with three titles based on the original game engine. As of 2006, a
campaign layer is in testing as well as a revised game engine to be released before
2007. CM's genesis was also as a failed attempt by Avalon Hill to translate Squad
Leader to the computer.
TacOps � (Major I.L. Holdridge, 2003 for v4) � commercial version of �TacOpsCav 4�,
an officially issued standard training device of the US Army. It is a simulation of
contemporary and near-future tactical, ground, combat between the modern armed
forces of the world.
Wargame: Red Dragon � (Eugen Systems, 2014) � a 3D regiment or brigade scale
simulation set as a "Cold War Gone Hot" themed game in both multiplayer and
singleplayer environments. Players construct customized armies through use of a
deck system comprising land vehicles, infantry, and helicopters from several NATO
and Warsaw Pact nations and manage logistics such as fuel and ammunition while on
the battlefield. There is no cohesive campaign, the game instead taking place in
several hypothetical conflicts.
Total war � a wargame set in different time periods, with a turn based map, and a
real time battle component, featured on the television series Time Commanders
Hearts of Iron IV � (Paradox Interactive, 2016) a grand strategy wargame focused on
World War 2. Player may act as any reasonably sized nation at the time, influencing
international politics, economic and military development, and can control
battlefields on both strategic and operational levels using combined arms.
Frequently used to entertain and simulate alternative history scenarios as well as
recreate historical events.
Unique game systems
Ace of Aces � (Nova Games, 1980) � this flip-book system has long been
considered[by whom?] one of the best simulations of aerial dogfighting.
BattleTech � (FASA, 1984) � initially conceived as a board game, it has created a
brand that now includes various different boardgames (tactical as well as
strategic), miniature game rules, a role-playing game, computer games, flip-book
games (by Nova Games) as well as novels and a TV series.
Car Wars � (Steve Jackson Games, 1982) � initially printed as a board game, it
quickly evolved to incorporate elements of miniatures games.
Up Front � (Avalon Hill, 1983) � the most popular[citation needed] of the very
small class of card wargames.
See also
Air wargaming
Naval wargaming
Miniature wargaming
Tactical wargame
Business war games
International Wargames Federation
List of wargame publishers
Footnotes
Approximate. Miniature wargames typically express their scales in terms of the
height of a human figurine in millimeters. 1:64 roughly corresponds to 28mm, and
1:120 to 15mm.
An M1 Garand has an effective range of 457m, which corresponds to 3.8m at a scale
of 1:120.
War Gamer's Handbook (US Naval College), p. 4:
"The [U.S. Naval War College�s War Gaming Department] uses the Perla (1990)
definition, which describes war gaming as �. . . a warfare model or simulation
whose operation does not involve the activities of actual military forces, and
whose sequence of events affects and is, in turn, affected by the decisions made by
players representing the opposing sides� (Perla, 1990, p. 164). By doing so, this
differentiates a war game from a training exercise, which uses real forces."
Perla (1990):
"A real wargame must have human players whose decision affect and are affected by
the flow of game events."
Peterson (2012): "Unlike abstract games of strategy, all wargames have a setting,
which determines the armaments of the combatants and the environment in which they
deploy."
Perla (1990):
"A player's decision level is strategic if his responsibility extends to allocating
resources, possibly including economic and political resources as well as military
forces, to fight and win an entire war. A player is making tactical-level decisions
if he is most concerned about positioning relatively small numbers of men and
weapons to apply violence directly to the enemy; that is, to fight battles."
Perla (1990):
"A player's decision level is strategic if his responsibility extends to allocating
resources, possibly including economic and political resources as well as military
forces, to fight and win an entire war. A player is making tactical-level decisions
if he is most concerned about positioning relatively small numbers of men and
weapons to apply violence directly to the enemy; that is, to fight battles. The
operational level game is less easily described; here the player is concerned with
maneuvering relatively large forces so that they can be positioned to win the
battles they fight, and so that those battles can help win the war. In the sense of
decision making, then, the level of the game reflects the scope of the players'
decisions."
James Johnson (30 June 2014). "The "Four Levels" of Wargaming: A New Scope on the
Hobby". www.beastsofwar.com.
Lawrence J. Dondero; et al. (1966). Tacspiel War-Game Procedures and Rules of Play
for Guerrilla/Counterguerrilla Operations [RAC-TP-223] (PDF). Research Analysis
Corporation.
Priestley & Lambshead (2016), p. 12
Schuurman (2017), p. 443
Peterson (2012):
"...the discretion of the umpire may be subject to all manner of conscious or
unconscious bias."
Priestley & Lambshead (2016), p. 29-31
Perla & Barrett (1985), p. 9
Peterson (2012):
"To the avid miniature wargamer, board gaming must have appeared crude,
aesthetically dull and confining in the rigidity of its rules; to the unrepentant
board wargamer, miniature gaming looked expensive, labor-intensive and contentious
in its latitude toward system."
Peterson (2012):
"Infantry and artillery units may discharge their firearms instead of advancing on
an enemy; if an infantry unit destroys an enemy with gunfire, that enemy is removed
from the board but the infantry unit does not advance to occupy the vacated
position. The efficacy of rifles rests largely on the orientation of the opposing
unit: infantry units facing one another enjoy effectively immunity to one another�s
gunfire, so only flanking fire had an effect."
Nohr & B�hme (2009), p. 50-58
Peterson (2012):
"Although Venturini replaced the wargame board with a map, he still imposed a one-
inch square grid over that map, and he imagined each square of the grid to be two
thousand paces (Schritte) across, which if we assume a German military pace of
rough thirty inches, means his game employs a scale around 1:60,000, or a bit shy
of one mile per square."
Peterson (2012): "Venturini increases the variety of terrain, takes into account
seasons and weather, vastly increases the sorts of entrenchments and fortifications
that combatants might construct, and adds significant, but not necessarily
exciting, detail to the feeding, equipping and support of forces in the field."
Creveld (2013), p. 146
Schuurman (2017)
Hellwig (1803), p. iii:
trans.:"A secondary intention was to give a pleasant entertainment to a person who
did not need such instruction through a game in which nothing depends on chance but
on the direction of the player."
Peterson (2012):
"...the grid imposed on the wargames of Hellwig and Venturini significantly limited
the capacity of these systems to represent the position of troops realistically.
Effectively, in a board wargame divided into squares of a scale mile across, there
is only one position that troops within a mile�s range could hold. [...] Reiswitz
began to experiment with games played on model spaces without grids."
The foreward of Reiswtiz's 1812 rulebook was dated 19 March 1812. The rulebook was
published after he presented his game to the king.
Peterson (2012):
"Reiswitz subsequently published two hundred copies of a formal account of his
wargame in Berlin under the title Taktisches Kriegs-Spiel oder Anleitung zu einer
mechanischen Vorrichtung um taktische Manoeuvres sinnlich darzustellen (1812,
�Tactical Wargame, or instructions for a mechanical device to show realistic
tactical maneuvers�)."
From an anonymous article appearing in the military magazine Milit�r-Wochenblatt
#73 (1874), translated by W.E. Leeson, quoted in Peterson (2012):
"It was in the shape of a large table open at the top for the terrain pieces to fit
into. The terrain pieces were 3 to 4 inches square, and the overall area was at
least six feet square. The small squares could be re-arranged so that a
multiplicity of landscape was possible. The terrain was made in plaster and was
colored to show roads, villages, swamps, rivers, etc. In addition there were
dividers for measuring distances, rulers, small boxes for placing over areas so
that troops who were unobserved might make surprise attacks, and written rules
which were at this stage not yet in their fuller form. The pieces to represent the
troops were made of porcelain. The whole thing was extremely well painted."
Reiswitz Sr. (1812), p. 11:
trans.:These types are quadrilateral and represent either a square whose side is
500 feet long, or a rectangle whose longer side is 500, whose shorter is 250 feet
long, or a square whose sides are 250 feet long. By this measure they are divided
into whole, half and quarter types. A board comprising in length 20 types and in
width 15 types, thus containing in aggregate 300 types, is equal to 18,750,000
square-paces or 1/7 square-miles. By determining the scale of the terrain, at the
same time, a means of suspension has been given more to measure the movements of
the figures; a movement of the length of a whole type is equal to 500 feet or 250
paces. A movement on the diagonal of the whole type is equal to 350 paces or 700
feet."
Reiswitz Sr. (1812), p. 27-28:
trans.:"�3 To represent these various lines of movement quickly and surely, after
several attempts it seemed most convenient to make use of a wooden divider with a
light brass thread, which on one foot has a movable arm on which the measure is
drawn, and which mediate of a row of teeth separated by fifty-fifty steps, is
placed in a pin situated at the other foot, and then determines the width of the
opening of the divider, and fixed so that it is very easy to indicate the point
from whence emanating from the stone, and to where he can move.
�4 If you use this divider, you put a point on the front of the cube on which the
playing figure is drawn, close, and determine with the other point the point where
this movement is to be directed."
Peterson (2012):
"The elder Reiswitz�s interests seem to have drifted away from kriegsspiel after
the standalone publication of his history of wargaming (Liter�risch-kritische
Nachrichten �ber die Kriegsspiele der Alten und Neuern, 1816), so his son assumed
charge over the ongoing development of the game."
Peterson (2012):
"In addition to establishing the general idea and the composition of the opposing
forces, the umpire serves as an intermediary for virtually all actions in the game:
all movements, all communications and all attacks channel through the umpire, in
writing. The players transmit written orders, authored to their units in the
persona of a commander, and for the most part the umpire enjoys significant leeway
in deciding how these orders will be interpreted."
Peterson (2012):
"To convert this to a mass-market venture, the younger Reiswitz organized a
workshop to manufacture the game, which included a tin foundry, painters and
carpenters, as well as the support of the Royal Lithographic Institute to
manufacture maps of the appropriate scale."
Perla (1990):
"In the aftermath of the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, European and world military
opinion suddenly became enamored of things German, including Kriegsspiel, to the
use of which many experts attributed the German victories."
Tresca (2011)
Peterson (2012)
Perla (1990):
"It seems that neither the British nor the Americans ever quite accepted the full
range of wargaming's potential value prior to the end of World War II. [...] The
single, and stellar, exception to this assessment is the development and
application of wargaming at the U.S. Naval War College. [...] In 1894, under newly
appointed President Captain Henry Taylor, gaming became an integral and permanent
part of the course of study for all students."
Robert Louis Stevenson; Lloyd Osbourne (Dec 1898). "Stevenson at Play (With an
Introduction by Lloyd Osbourne)". Scribner's Magazine. Vol. 24 no. 6. pp. 709�719.
H. G. Wells (1913). Little Wars
"Make It Do � Metal Shortages During World War II". www.sarahsundin.com. 11 July
2011.
"History of the British Model Soldier Society". www.bmssonline.com.
Jon Peterson, in Harrigan & Kirschenbaum (2016), p. 19
See James Dunnigan's Foreword to Donald Featherstone's Lost Tales, published 2009.
Dunnigan clearly places Featherstone in his role as a key propagator of wargaming
as a hobby and tool for professionals.
Donovan (2017), p. 101:
"Unlike many earlier war games for the home, which amounted to little more than a
set of rules and the occasional map, Tactics came with all the miniature tanks,
infantry, and planes need to play in its box."
Jon Peterson, in Harrigan & Kirschenbaum (2016), p. 15
Peterson (2012)
Phil, Barker. "Wargames Research Group". WRG. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGag8Qllgnw
A reprint is available from the History of Wargaming Project at wargaming.co
A reprint is available from history of Wargaming Project at wargaming.co
Bibliogrpahy
Phillip von Hilgers (2000). "Eine Anleitung zur Anleitung. Das Takstische
Kriegsspiel 1812-1824" (PDF). Board Games Studies: International Journal For the
Study of Board Games (in German) (3): 59�78.
Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reiswitz (1824). Anleitung zur Darstellung
militairische Manover mit dem Apparat des Kriegsspiel [Instructions for the
Representation of Military Maneuvres with the Kriegsspiel Apparatus] (in German).
(translation by Bill Leeson, 1989)
George Leopold von Reiswitz (1812). Taktisches Kriegs-Spiel oder Anleitung zu einer
mechanischen Vorrichtung um taktische Manoeuvres sinnlich darzustellen [Tactical
War Game - or, instruction to a mechanical device to simulate tactical maneuvers].
G�dicke.
Peter P. Perla (2012) [1st pub. 1990]. John Curry, ed. Peter Perla's The Art of
Wargaming: A Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists. The History of Wargaming
Project. ISBN 978-1-4716-2242-7.
H. G. Wells (1913). Little Wars.
Paul Schuurman (2017). "Models of war 1770�1830: the birth of wargames and the
trade-off between realism and simplicity". History of European Ideas. 43 (5):
442�455. doi:10.1080/01916599.2017.1366928. Retrieved 2018-10-27.
Michael J. Tresca (2011). The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games. McFarland.
ISBN 9780786460090.
Pat Harrigan; Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, eds. (2016). Zones of Control: Perspectives
on Wargaming. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262033992.
Johann Christian Ludwig Hellwig (1803). Das Kriegsspiel [The Wargame].
Tristan Donovan (2017). It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly
to Settlers of Catan. Macmillan. ISBN 9781250082732.
Martin van Creveld (2013). Wargames: From Gladiators to Gigabytes. Cambridge
University Press. ISBN 9781107036956.
Rolf F. Nohr; Stefan B�hme (2009). Die Auftritte des Krieges sinnlich machen.
Appelhans-Verlag Braunschweig. ISBN 978-3-941737-02-0.
Rick Priestley; John Lambshead (2016). Tabletop Wargames: A Designers' and Writers'
Handbook. Pen & Sword Books Limited. ISBN 9781783831487.
Peter P. Perla; Raymond T. Barrett (1985). An Introduction to Wargaming and its
Uses (PDF).
Shawn Burns, ed. (2013). War Gamers' Handbook: A Guide for Professional War Gamers
(PDF). US Naval War College.
Jon Peterson (2012). Playing at the World: A History of Simulating Wars, People and
Fantastic Adventures, from Chess to Role-playing Games. Unreason Press. ISBN
9780615642048.
The tactical gears www.pts-steelshop.com

Further reading
Books
Stuart Asquith Wargaming World War Two , Special Interest Model Books; New edition
(31 December 1998) ISBN 978-1-85486-000-2
Stuart Asquith Military Modelling Guide to War Gaming , Special Interest Model
Books 1987
Stuart Asquith Military Modelling Guide to Siege War Gaming , Special Interest
Model Books 1990
Stuart Asquith Military Modelling Guide to Solo War Gaming , Special Interest Model
Books 1989
Phil Barker Know The Game: War Gaming, EP Publishing 1978.
Phil Barker Airfix magazine Guides : Ancient Wargaming, P.Stephens Ltd 1975.
Jim Dunnigan, The Complete Wargames Handbook: How to Play, Design, and Find Them,
Quill 1992. ISBN 0-688-10368-5 This is available online at hyw.com (verified
December 2011).
Jon Freeman, The Complete Book of Wargames, Simon and Schuster 1980. ISBN 0-671-
25374-3
Nicholas Palmer, The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Arthur Baker Limited
London 1977. ISBN 0-213-16646-1
Nicholas Palmer, The Best of Board Wargaming, Hippocrene Books, Inc. New York, NY
1980. ISBN 0-88254-525-6
Donald Featherstone Featherstone's Complete Wargaming, David & Charles UK 1989.
ISBN 0-7153-9262-X
Donald Featherstone War Games, Lulu 2008, ISBN 978-1-4092-1676-6
Donald Featherstone Advanced War Games, Sportshelf & Soccer Assoc 1969. ISBN 0-392-
00441-0
Donald Featherstone Tank Battles in Miniature: Wargamers' Guide to the Western
Desert Campaign, 1940-42, P.Stephens Ltd 1973
Donald Featherstone War Game Campaigns, S. Paul 1970
Donald Featherstone War Games Through the Ages Vol. 2 1420�1783 , S. Paul 1974
Donald Featherstone War Games Through the Ages Vol. 3 1792�1859, S. Paul 1975
Dorca Bis Alejo, "El Hobby de los soldados en miniatura, el wargame, el rol, el
modelismo y el coleccionismo." primera edici�n: 23 de agosto de 2008, ISBN 99920-1-
701-5, 212 p.
Dorca Alejo, "My Toy Soldiers & Me" Second edition.
Charles Grant Battle! Practical Wargaming, Model and Allied Publishing (MAP) 1970.
ISBN 0-85344-034-4
Paddy Griffith Napoleonic Wargaming For Fun, Ward Lock Ltd, London, 1980, reprinted
2008 by the History of Wargaming Project link
Paddy Griffith Sprawling Wargames multiplayer Wargaming, Ward Lock Ltd, London,
1980, reprinted 2009 by the History of Wargaming Project link
Peter Perla The Art of Wargaming, Naval Institute Press 1990. ISBN 0-87021-050-5
Mark Herman, Mark Frost, Robert Kurz Wargaming for Leaders, McGraw-Hill 2009. ISBN
978-0-07-159688-6
Bruce Quarrie Airfix magazine Guides : Napoleonic Wargaming, P.Stephens Ltd 1974.
Bruce Quarrie Airfix magazine Guides : World War 2 Wargaming, P.Stephens Ltd 1976
Philip Sabin: Simulating War. Studying Conflict Simulation through Games, London
2012.
C.F. Wesencraft Practical wargaming, Hippocrene Books, 1974 ISBN 978-0-88254-271-3
reprinted by the History of Wargaming Project link
C.F. Wesencraft With Pike and Musket, reprinted by the History of Wargaming Project
link
Andrew Wilson War Gaming, Penguin 1970.
Terence Wise Airfix magazine Guides : American Civil War Wargaming, P.Stephens Ltd
1977.
Terence Wise Introduction to Battle Gaming, Model and Allied Publishing (MAP) 1972.
ISBN 0-85344-014-X
Terence Wise Terry Wise's Introduction to Battlegaming including his unpublished
wargaming rules Printed by the History of Wargaming Project link
Articles
Sport: Little Wars, Time Magazine, December 14, 1942.
War games, by Dr. Brett Holman, PhD in History, 5 August 2007.
Dice against the Nazis: Propaganda aimed to reduce fear, By Clive Gilbert and Kevin
Allen, BBC News Magazine, 24 August 2007.
"Return of the hex-crazed wargamers; Is the Net breathing new life into an
endangered hobby--or just postponing the inevitable?," by Andrew Leonard, Salon
Magazine, May 29, 1998.
Gray, Bill (21 September 2016). "Impedimenta: Cardboard Logistics". Wargamer.
LaFleur, Col. Thomas. "Wargaming: Training, Educational Tool for the Future" (PDF).
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