War is sometimes called the "game of kings," since rival kings often fought wars. A wargame is a game in which players acting as kings or generals control the movements of the opposing armies. Special pieces, representing the various military units, are maneuvered into combat situations. Unlike other games of strategy, like chess. and Go, in a wargame many of a player's units may move at the same time. In addition, the results of a battle are often determined by throwing a die or dice, since the outcome of battle is never certain . Another difference between a wargame and many other games is that in a wargame, many players can play on the same team. In this case one player is usually the commanding general and the other players act as his subordinate commanders. This interaction between players is one of the great joys of wargaming. Wargaming has its roots in the ancient world . Chess has its roots in a game called Chaturanga from ancient India, and Go is based on an ancient Chinese game, called Wei- Hai. There were many enhancements and elaborations to chess, known collectively as "War Chess," developed through the 17th Century. In the 1800's, wargaming began to achieve acceptance in military circles as a training tool and a method of testing proposed operations. Until very recently, military wargames were of two basic types: rigid and free kriegspiel (which is German for wargame). In free kriegspiel an umpire decides the results of combats based on his experience and knowledge. In rigid kriegspiel charts, mathematical equations, or other "scientific" means determine the results of combat. HG Wells Most people agree that wargaming as a hobby began with H.G. Wells' book Little Wars, first published in 1913. This book, an extension of the ideas first proposed in Floor Games in 1912, proposed a set of very simple rules for fighting battles with 54mm toy soldiers. The rules are quite naive by today's standards, but the book is delightful. It is interesting to note that Little Wars is neither free nor rigid kriegspiel. Wells believed that "Things should happen and not be decided." Combat results were determined by firing toy cannon at the arrayed troops or in close action (with bayonets). There is no doubt that it has had a profound influence on several generations of wargamers. From Little Wars to Charles Roberts' founding of the Avalon Hill Game Company, which produced board wargames, wargaming was almost exclusively conducted with model soldiers on terrain tables. What Are the Rules For? Wargaming rules are a set of rules that dictate what the various units can do during the game. The rules attempt to limit the actions of the units to those that as appropriate for the historical period. Using charts, dice, and other mechanics, the rules also help resolve the effects of fire, melee, morale, and movement during the game. What Wars Can I Recreate? We live in the Golden Age of historical miniatures wargaming. If two people ever cast so much as harsh words at each other, someone makes figures to recreate those battles -- usually in many scales. The most popular historical periods for wargaming are ancients (e.g., Romans, Greeks, etc.), the Napoleonic Wars, the American Civil War, and World War Two. You can also find figures for less popular periods like the War of 1812, the MexicanAmerican War, the French and Indian Wars, the Seminole Wars, the American Revolution, the English Civil War, World War One, Seven Years War, and Hundred Years War. What Kinds of Battles Can I Fight? Historical miniatures wargames are often classified by their level of abstraction. Skirmish games involve small units, such as individual soldiers, squads, and platoons. In skirmish games, each figure generally represents an individual soldier, and the game represents a very small action, such as two foraging parties bumping into each other. In a tactical game, each figure represents some number of real soldiers, like 20, 30, or 60. Tactical games are recreations of baffles, such as North Point, Cannae, Gettysburg, Saratoga, and Chapultapec. In a tactical game, each player might control a battalion, brigade, or division. Grand tactical or operational games are at a higher level of abstraction yet. in an operational game, players might command divisions or corps. These are often used to recreate those larger battles of the 20th Century or small campaigns. What is the Difference Between Actual and Hypothetical Games? Historical miniatures wargames can also be divided into two basic types: actual and hypothetical. When recreating an actual battle, attention is paid to setting up the battle just as it occurred. The game master sets out a faithful recreation of the actual terrain, paints up the figures representing the troops that were present, and sets the units where they began the actual battle. From that point, however, the opposing commanders are free to maneuver their troops as they wish. (The North Point game you have seen today is an example of an 'actual' game.) Hypothetical battles involve troops that were available during the particular period being gamed, but the battle might be a 'what-if' (e.g., 'What if these two forces had fought a battle over hereT or 'What if Grouchy had beaten the Prussians to Waterloo?') or representative. In a representative game the forces are representative of the units participating in a given campaign and the correct tactics are used, but the scenario is fictitious. The battle conceivably could have occurred, Often these representative games are based on typical archetypes, such as river crossing, meeting engagements, rear guard actions, etc. Hypothetical games are different from fantasy games because in fantasy games everything is fictitious. In a hypothetical game, players are still restricted to the tactics, weapons, and units that were present during the period of history being recreated, What is the Difference Between the Various Sizes of Figures? Wargaming figures come in a variety of sizes. The scale of a figure depends on how the height of a man is measured. (Some manufacturers measure to eye- level, others to the top of the head, and still others to the top of the headgear.) Scales are usually described as a ratio, such as 1:72. This means that one inch on the model soldier or vehicle represents 72 inches on a real man. These days, the convention seems to be to measure from toes to eyes. It is important to keep in mind that the scale of the figures rarely matches the scale of the terrain. For instance, with 25mm figures, each inch on the figure represents approximately 58 inches on a real man. Often, however, in miniatures wargames, an inch on the table represents 50 yards. That is why a single building model on a wargame table usually represents a small village, and a cluster of building models represents a larger village or city. Is Wargaming is a Positive Activity for Your Child? Wargaming rules are simpler these days than when we were kids, but in the seventies, many rules used percentages to resolve combat. There was a time as children when we could easily multiply multiple two-digit numbers in our heads. Most kids these days cannot do it with a calculator. If your child decides that he likes wargaming it will not be long before he wants to know more about various periods of history. Just about anything your child reads will improve his or her language skills. Unless your child is lucky enough to have a parent with a large library, his or her interest in history will get him to your local library. Wargaming will help teach your child problem solving skills and rational planning. Wargaming is essentially a long problem solving exercise, complicated by uncertainty and ambiguity. Your child will learn to cope with these situations in such a way that he will not even realize he is learning. Losing No one likes to lose, The facts of life are that sometimes you lose, and sometimes things do not go your way. Wargaming is a good vehicle for teaching these life lessons in a fun way. One of the reasons that we enjoy historical miniatures over computer or board games is the social aspect of the hobby. Often miniatures games involve four to ten players, divided into teams, who must collaborate on a team plan, and then execute that plan in concert with their partners and in opposition to their opponents. Society tends to reward extroverted behavior, and wargaming will help your introverted child learn to act like an extrovert. Since most wargamers are adults, your child will soon find himself playing wargames with adults. Over the years we have had several children come to play games with us. Those that have come regularly have done well in school, and they have learned to have intelligent conversations, grow out of potty humor, and express themselves rationally. Peer Values A consensus seems to be forming among child psychologists that your child's friends are more important than you in terms of forming your child's values. While this is disturbing, and hopefully untrue, the choice of your child's friends is very important. Among those kids Buck gamed with as a child, two are electrical engineers, one owns his own athletic club, one is a surgeon, one is a chemist for a major university, and Buck (as a career Army officer with a Ph.D. in computer science) is the black sheep. Since your child will likely be gaming in your basement (Buck's group used to play in one of the classrooms at his church), you will have a good opportunity to screen your child's friends. We can't think of anything more important than keeping a dialog open with your child. A hobby that you can share with your child is an excellent way to do this. This hobby might be woodworking, soccer, scouting, hunting, or wargaming. Find a hobby that you can share and foster it. Napoleon once said, "Battle should only be offered when there is no other turn of fortune to be hoped for, as from its nature the fate of battle is always dubious." For a detailed history of military and hobby wargaming, see The Art of Wargaming, by Peter Perla. Back to Dispatch September 2002 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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