Wargames Research Group started during 1967/68 with a new concept in rules, our Ancient (1,000 BC - 1,000 AD) set. Since then it has revised and amplified this set, now in its 4th edition, and, as a result of playing experience and new facts coming to light from research, has gone into other periods, reference books, and games. WRG has two members, Phil Barker full time, Bob O'Brien, part time. WRG has recently gained a third member, Susan Barker, who amongst other accomplishments, can translate from the Greek.

WRG has a steadily accumulating and increasing corps of writers, critics, testers, and part time helpers on making up and packaging, etc. We can draw upon many more people as trouble shooters as required. All get paid one way or another-doing things for Love is all right, but it's not businesslike. We now produce six sets of rules, six reference books on Ancient Armies, two boxed games, and a complete book on Chinese Chess with small board and game pieces inset. We sell by direct mail order, trade, to clubs, i.e. to anyone, anywhere (provided their money is good). So far we have customers in the USA and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and all over Europe, as well as the occasional ones in Japan, and a number in South Africa.

Miniature wargaming in the UK? You name it, someone's doing it-from individual action Western Gunfight and skirmishes with 54mm figures to great Napoleonic battles with hosts of 54mm figures. In between, conflict in all periods and all scales, using Rules from the crudest to the most complex. There is no central organizing body, nor likely to be, wargamers here are probably the most individualistic people one can imagine. There is -a very strong club movement, most of the ones we know of do not go on any great formality, and as an individual, one is judged on one's ability as a wargamer, modeller, painter, historian, or what have you.

Age, size of bank roll or social standing or occupation account for very little. One exception- judged in some circles on ability to consume beer or the hard stuff and still play a coherent game.

There is a very strong figure-making industry in England, continually expanding into new lines and improving models. There is a vast and growing array of books on wargaming, military history, model making, and allied subjects, and a large selection of published rules, as well as many "private circulation" sets.

Conventions, meetings, etc., proliferate- each sizeable club in the larger cities (and some of the smaller cities) hold at least one open convention or similar event every year. It would be possible to spend every weekend at such a meeting if one had the time and stamina.

Our products? We have concentrated on Ancients first, backed up by an increasing range of reference books on Ancient armies, and on Moderns (I mean really Modern as well-1939-45 is no longer "Modern"). We have two sets for armour/inf. action, 1925/50 and 1950/75. We recommend 1/3000 scale models for this type of wargaming--the usual scale plastic AFVs, etc., tend to look ridiculous in any reasonable ground scale. We also have a set for infantry platoon action, for use with either 1/72 or 54mm figures, another for 1750/1850, covering Napoleonics, and a set for Ancient Naval warfare. Particular emphasis is laid on command, orders and reaction of individuals to stress.

If you want to organize heroes to order, Hollywood style, or believe that all SS troops were superman, our rules are not for you. Neither do we believe in strictly calculated "mechanistic" rules-these are for theorists. In general, we try to make it possible for a good battle plan and clear sensible orders to prevail over complication and muddle. We have also tried to cut too much detail and complexity in combat methods within the rules-so, our rules are not for the bloke who cries if he loses a tank! We do stress the adaptability of our sets of rules.

Anyone who wants to reproduce a particular action or the qualities he thinks should be given to particular troops at a particular time or period only has to feed in and/or amend factors to fit-and rules will still be as playable as before. As for acceptance, the Ancient rules have been adopted as standard for many years now by the Society of Ancients, which now has an International following of over 1,000, and we believe these rules, with or without local amendments are played by the majority of Ancient wargamers over here, and have also been adopted as standard by the largest organized clubs and associations in Australia.

There is evidence also of a strong following in the "States"-we would like to know more about this, and this may be one means of finding out.

Board wargaming in the UK is growing. I doubt if there are as many people boardgaming here as there are miniaturists, but that still could mean a lot. Many do both. My own opinion is that there is a big, largely untapped market of non-wargamers (general public, for want of a better name) who could be attracted to some types of games: but these games would have to be:

(a) completely, professionally and commercially presented.

(b) be complete, no later explanations, clarifications, etc.

(c) be adaptable and variable, capable of play by people who have never seen a wargame in their lives.

(d) not be too "fussy" or detailed, and free from "spurious accuracy".

(e) preferably with some player interaction, e.g. multi-player.

(f) above all, VARIETY in approach.

We cannot see anything replacing Albion (a defunct amateur magazine) yet. There are a number of wierdo mags about, but nothing to approach Albion. A new 'zine "Europa" started by a Swiss enthusiast, Walter Luc Haas, is good. In English, on Albion lines-it is good so far, and I hope he gets the support he well deserves.

The reception of our games in North America: steadily growing interest. And so far the comments we have had have been very complimentary, especially for Seastrike. The Australians are very keen, and we have probably sold more to them than we have in the USA so far, as we have good trade connections in Australia. We hope to remedy this before long.

What are the weak points of Decline and Fall?

1) Needs four players.

2) Packaging not as we would now prefer it-we have a new box design ready for a reprint in due course.

3) We could have put in a sequence of play, e.g. where we say an option or some special play can be made at the start of a turn we should say in what order these "specials" should be taken.

We have heard of no others, and those people who have written to us seem very happy, including the chap who is scaling everything up by about four times and using 1/1200 scale model ships! Seastrike weak points-no one has yet mentioned any to us, though we do mention the approximations we have made in the Rules themselves.

As to the games strong points, it needs no board and players can adapt to whatever flat surface they wish. The game has many variables, plus it has much pre-play planning and decision making. One weak point comes to mind, probably as far as USA players are concerned. It is not possible to easily convert the principles into a Big Ocean type naval game. This would need a very different approach, and for all I know the designer may be working on this right now!

As to our own approach to wargames I would say we have six points to make:

1. Variety in both approach and method.

2. Detail is sacrificed where it would only hold up play and would not materially affect the overall strategy, e.g., in Seastrike we assume all ships have roughly the same speed except subs and missile patrol boats. As the game takes place in nearly "real time" speed differentials have little meaning.

3. We favor multi-player games, where players not only have to visualize the situation as it is, but as it might be if one of the others takes a different line to what he has in the previous moves. Also this allows scope for diplomacy, wheeling and dealing, and allied pursuits.

4. Aiming at a wider market than the "pure" wargaming circle, As an example, my own personal circle of Diplomacy and Decline and Fall players has less than half who are wargamers. These people would not consider taking up wargaming, but they do enjoy playing these two.

5. As mentioned before, we stress, in our rules, command, orders, and reaction. This leaves the players to produce their own battle plan and probably the confusion that normally characterises the real thing. War is after all, the "chanciest" business that man can engage in, so any simulation in miniature should not be a clockwork, precision, and predictable operation.

6. Our rules normally favour the bloke who (on tactical terms) observes the basic tenets of reconnaissance, deception, surprise, concentration at vital points, etc. all taking into the account the capabilities of the "troops" under his control. We don't tell people how to do this--it has all been written, and we leave the player to do his own reading and formulate his own plans.

Wargaming in Britain

Small Companies
An Interview with WRG: Bob O'Brien
Some Short Comments