Practical Wargaming

Book Review

by Don Featherstone

PRACTICAL WARGAMING by C.F.Wesencraft. (8 1/2" x 5 1/2"; 187 pages; 9 pages of photographs; numerous black-and white line drawings and diagrams. The Elmfield Press - £ 3.80p).

My old friend Charlie Wesencraft is a very smart, bright and original wargamer and the very lively style of this book is in complete accordance with his character and temperament. As its title suggests, it is slanted towards the practical aspects of the hobby as were my earlier books and as such adds lustre to existing literature of the hobby. Covering military periods from the Romans up to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, each section consists of brief although comprehensive notes on the historical/tactical aspects of the period. Then there are sections on various types of troops, evaluating them under headings - protections; Movements; Weapons Formations; Tactics; Morale and a general summary. This is very good and of great value to the wargamer as ere the numerous formation diagrams illustrating the tactical disposition of bodies of troops throughout the ages. Among the innovations and original thoughts that are plentifully present, I particularly like the "Weather barometer" and the "Funk Board" - both ideas that practically improve our table-top battles. Black-and-white drawings and formation diagrams are very good but the photographs are below the standard of the rest of the book, being very much "model soldiers" backed by no terrain of any notable style. I will be interested to hear (and probably will) why Charlie only saw fit, in his bibliography, to list five authors out of the dozen or so who have written books on our hobby and why out of the thirteen wargames books I have written, only "Wargames" and "Advanced Wargames" are mentioned?

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© Copyright 1974 by Donald Featherstone.
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