I am sure that I was asked to write a Kriegspieler submission only because I am that rarity, a female historical wargamer, but the request did start me thinking about the hobby from a female perspective. As a girl, when I ran out of novels centred around horses, I tried Rosemary Sutcliff and Henry Treece - and found history was a series of great stories. As an adult I found myself interested enough in the military to join the Army Reserve, which is where I met my husband, Paul. When we started dating, I was introduced to his circle of friends, including wargamers, and started playing WRG Horse & Musket, which is still the main rule set I use. So why do I play? Firstly, well, I love the sheer colour of miniature soldiers. My first army was Bavarian - and when I added to it, Paul was unimpressed about painting the 5th and 11th Regiments simply because I thought pink and grass-green facings would look pretty against the cornflower-blue jackets. When I built my current Russian Army of 1812 I had a lot of fun choosing the most colourful cavalry I could find. I will never be interested in any wargame with monochrome armies - which rules out anything after 1914 - because they look so boring. And, with my typical girlhood horsy background, I’m not attracted to cavalry which is mechanised. Secondly, handsome though they be, I’ll have no sluggards on my shelves - I like the fact that the soldiers are much more than just dust-collectors. And I enjoy the strategic challenge of fighting a battle - but at quite a low level. I prefer a wargame where individual figures die, rather than one where units are destroyed. I suspect most women see history in terms of people, rather than events, which is why mere strategy has little interest for us. I certainly will never be able to discuss artillery ranges or battle honours as well as most wargamers, but I do know something of the personality of my generals. Thirdly, there is definitely an element of “let’s pretend” in all this. Aren’t we really just playing with toy soldiers? Does it REALLY matter which side wins? Most gamers seem to treat the hobby with the light-hearted humour it deserves, and these are the people with whom I enjoy sharing a few hours fighting it out on a tiny battlefield. Mind you, everyone always knows my name and I struggle to remember everyone else’s ... So why are there so few female wargamers? Obviously, a combined interest in both military history and military strategy is not necessarily common in women, but surely there must be more of us around? Look how popular television costume dramas are - and men in gorgeous uniforms going off to war is a staple ingredient. In addition, most people find miniatures in general quite fascinating (or perhaps our visitors only make polite noises when shown the model soldiers stored in every cupboard with any extra space?) I suspect that the initial barrier the hobby places before women is the preconception that war is a male pursuit. This is bolstered by the truly encyclopedic knowledge many wargamers have: the outsider may believe that to be a Horse & Musket player you need prior research. Women who might be interested are more likely to enter Fantasy Role-playing (Dungeons & Dragons, etc) where the fighting and tactics are on a very personal level or Ancients which covers so many historical periods that there is bound to be one that appeals. I myself would like to try wargaming Ancients, but I don’t like any of the rules I’ve tried: none of them guarantee that Boudicea and my Ancient British Army will win. I can’t really comment about Fantasy wargaming, of which I have little knowledge, but the idea appeals to me because of the chance to use unusual and colourful mythical armies. On the other hand Warhammer 40,000, full of ugly figures (however beautifully moulded) and strange techno-science concepts holds no attraction whatever. I don’t pretend to know how to involve more women in historical wargaming, although more men could introduce their wives and girlfriends (but not at the same event). I rather suspect that we need to appeal to the younger generation of both boys and girls. Can we push the history angle to do demonstrations in schools? Are clubs and competitions publicised at youth groups or through community services such as libraries? Do all hobby shops have details of clubs and a competition calendar? Should “fast play” rules be written to allow novices to get the feel of the game? Do we welcome and cater for first-time gamers? Is the media being used for publicity? There was a very well-written article in the Illawarra Mercury about the last Duke of Wollongong -- but there were no contact details for interested readers to follow up. And we could always introduce a trophy for the Best Female Wargamer... Thank you if you have read this far - if you have any questions, comments or (constructive) criticism please feel free to write to me care of the magazine. Back to Table of Contents -- Kriegspieler #10 To Kriegspieler List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Kriegspieler Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com