Last month, I commented, in effect, that when presenting a miniatures game to the kiddies, that a game was a game was a game... the procedures were such that the kids wouldn't appreciate the difference between rolling a die for a battalion of Napoleonic Grenadiers or for an Assault Group from the planet Zgorblim. If a 1, 2, or 3 hits, who cares what color uniform is worn by the target? Bob Coggins says that there is, indeed, a difference... it's not so much in the simple mechanics of the die rolling procedure, but in the reasoning behind the adoption of that particular die throwing routine. He writes as follows: The question is not whether the Zgorbliminian Assault Group has a 30% chance to hit, but their relative quality vs the Grumbolian Defense Force. Therein lies the difference between historical and science fiction ... (gaming). Simply, in science fiction or fantasy, there is no discipline other than that imposed on himself by the designer. The Zgorbliminians and the Grumbolians can be exactly what the designer says, without any need f or justification or verification. Those who play the game must accept on blind faith the world and armies created by the designer. "The game's the thing." In historical miniatures, the designer must work within the available knowledge. He must first be grounded in historical knowledge of the era he is attempting to recreate in a game. Within those parameters, he may make certain judgements concerning the relative use of units, but he is disciplined to the extent that a Spanish Militia battalion is not the equal of a French Old Guard battalion. The growth of the popularity of fantasy and science fiction seems to correspond with the breakdown of discipline in the educational curriculim. There appears to be no value placed on basic knowledge or functioning within that knowledge. The educators have allowed the students to define their own education and, to a certain extent, the world as they perceive it, yet the students don't have enough knowledge to do either. Fantasy and science fiction conform with current educational values. They allow an individual with no basic knowledge to define and exist within his own world, regardless, or to the exclusion, of the facts in the existing world. It is easy to tell a child that the Grumbolians are not as good as the Zgorbliminians because I say so. To say the Old Guard is better than the Spanish Militia requires study and thought. It requires the child to ask why. It requires knowledge. It stimulates the imagination and leads to the study, if not the understanding, of history. To know about the Old Guard is to know about Napoleon and Wellington and the Revolution. What value does the knowledge of the qualities of the Grumbolians provide? Back to PW Review July 1990 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1990 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com