A wargame is a game that simulates or represents a military operation. A game is a structured activity, usually undertaken for Enjoyment and sometimes also used as an Educational tool This article describes three distinct but related terms military operations Operations as military events and operational level of war Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations. A hobby is a spare-time Recreational pursuit Etymology A Hobby horse is a wooden or Wickerwork toy made to be The somewhat similar, professional study of war is generally known as a military exercise or "war game," (note that wargamers have traditionally run the two words together, but the military, has generally kept them separate, it is not a hard and fast rule, however). A military exercise (also called war game in American English) is the employment of military resources in training for Military operations either exploring Although there are occasional disagreements as to what qualifies as a wargame, the general consensus is that they are not only games about organized violent conflict or warfare, but that they must explore and illuminate or simulate some feature or aspect of human behaviour directly bearing on the conduct of war. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Simulation is the imitation of some real thing state of affairs or process ^[1]

Wargames are generally categorized as "historical", "hypothetical", "fantasy", or "science fiction". History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Historical games are by far the largest group and are based upon real events and attempt to represent a reasonable approximation of the actual forces, terrain, and other factors faced by the actual participants. Hypothetical games are games grounded in historical fact but concern battles or conflicts that did not actually happen. Fantasy and science fiction wargames draw their backgrounds from works of fiction, or occasionally an entirely new setting is proposed. Highly stylized conflict games such as chess are not generally considered wargames. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. Games involving conflict in other arenas than the battlefield, such as business, sports or natural environment are similarly usually excluded.

The wargaming hobby has its origins at the beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of miniatures games in which two or more players simulated a battle as a pastime. Miniature wargaming is a form of Wargaming that incorporates Miniature figures and modeled terrain as the main components of play During the 1950s the first large scale, mass produced board games depicting military conflicts were published. A board game is a Game in which counters or pieces that are placed on removed from or moved across a "board" (a premarked surface usually specific to that game These games were at the height of their popularity during the 1970s, and become quite complex and technical in that time. Wargaming has changed dramatically over the years, from its roots in miniatures and board wargaming, to contemporary computer and computer assisted wargames. Light wargames with accessible rules and high quality plastic components, such as Memoir '44, have also become popular in recent years. Memoir '44 is a light Wargame, or war-themed strategy Board game, created by Richard Borg, for two players

Contents 1 Overview 2 History of wargaming 3 Miniature wargaming 4 Board wargaming 5 Card wargaming 6 Computer wargaming 6.1 Computer wargames 6.1.1 Comparison with traditional wargames 6.2 Computers used in traditional wargaming 6.2.1 Play-by-Mail (PBM) 6.2.2 E-mail and traditional wargaming 6.2.3 Computer-assisted wargaming 7 Types of wargaming 7.1 Environment 7.2 Historical period 7.3 Unit or map scale 8 Notable wargamers 9 Notable wargames 9.1 Board wargames 9.2 Miniature wargames 9.3 Computer wargames 9.4 Unique Game Systems 10 Books About Wargaming 11 References 12 See also 13 External links

Overview

Like all games, wargames exist in a range of different complexities. Combinatorial game theory has several ways of measuring game complexity. Some are fundamentally simple—often called "beer-and-pretzel" games—whereas others attempt to simulate a high level of historical realism. These latter games may produce long rulebooks that encompass a large variety of actions and details. SpecialShortpages.-- These games often require a considerable study of the rules before they can be played. Wargames also feature a range of scales, from games that simulate individual soldiers, to ones that chart the course of an entire global or even galactic war. A world war is a War affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations

Wargames are generally a representational art form. Representation describes the signs that stand in for and take the place of something else Usually, this is of a fairly concrete historical subject (such as the Battle of Gettysburg, one of several popular topics in the genre), but it can also be extended to non-historical ones as well. Background and movement to battle See also [[Gettysburg Campaign]] [[Gettysburg Battlefield]] [[Gettysburg Confederate order of battle]] [[Confederate order of battle]] The Cold War provided fuel for many games that attempted to show what a non-nuclear (or, in a very few cases, nuclear) World War III would be like, moving from a re-creation to a predictive model in the process. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the World War III (also WWIII, or Third World War) denotes a successor to World War II (1939&ndash1945 that would be on a global scale with Fantasy and science fiction subjects are sometimes not considered wargames because there is nothing in the real world to model, however, conflict in a self-consistent fictional world lends itself to exactly the same types of games and game designs as does military history. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with unique background elements such as an imaginary history or geography and possibly fantasy or science

Because of these attitudes, there are many games and types of games that may appear to be a wargame at first glance, but are not accepted as such by members of the hobby, and many that would be considered debatable. Risk could be considered a wargame, it uses an area map of the Earth, and is unabashedly about sending out armies to conquer the world. Risk is a commercial strategic Board game, produced by Parker Brothers (now a division of Hasbro) However, it has no readily-discernible timeframe, and combat is extremely abstract, leading many to not consider it as an actual wargame, or only tangentially as one.

The highest percentage of war-themed games that are not wargames come from the video game industry. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Most markedly real-time strategy games (such as Starcraft) deal with combat nearly exclusively, but the gameplay enhancing conventions of the genre also destroy realism. A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. StarCraft is a Military science fiction Real-time strategy Video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment. For example, in actual combat, vehicle armor is generally a binary proposition. Either the round penetrates and the vehicle is knocked out, or it does not and the vehicle is unaffected. RTS games make a habit of giving a vehicle a "health bar" that generally allows it to survive even powerful single shots, but each hit reduces its health by some amount, allowing a high volume of rifle fire to knock out a well armored tank. Other notable genre conventions include the construction of buildings and vehicles within the timeframe of a battle (i. e. , hours, if not less) and a lack of any command and control, supply, or morale systems.

A major determinant of the complexity and size of a wargame is how realistic it is intended to be. Realism in the Visual arts and Literature is the depiction of subjects as they appear in Everyday life, without embellishment or interpretation Some games constitute a serious study of the subject at hand, whereas others are intended to be light entertainment. In general, a more serious study will have longer, more detailed rules, more complexity, and more record keeping. More casual games may only bear a passing resemblance to the subject, although many still try to encourage the same types of decision making as the player's historical counterparts, and thereby bring forth the "feel" of the conflict.

Wargames tend to have a few fundamental problems. Notably, both player knowledge, and player action are much less limited than what would be available to the player's real-life counterparts. Some games have rules for command and control and fog of war, using various methods. Command and control can be defined as the exercise of Authority and Direction by a properly designated Commander over assigned and attached Forces The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations While results vary, many of these mechanisms can be cumbersome and onerous in traditional games. The "edge of world problem" raises the issue of what to do at the artificial boundary of the physical edge of a board game, in contrast to real life where there is no "edge" and units off-board can have a tangible effect on a scenario. Computer wargames can more easily incorporate these features because the computer can conceal information from players and act as an impartial judge (even while playing one side). However, due to interface issues, these can still be found to be as frustrating to the player as traditional methods.

History of wargaming

Modern wargaming originated with the military need to study warfare and to 'reenact' old battles for instructional purposes. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Little Wars was written by the famous author H G Wells in 1913 and is a set of rules for playing with Toy soldiers Its full title is Little A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units The stunning Prussian victory over the Second French Empire in the Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871 is sometimes partly credited to the training of Prussian officers with the game Kriegspiel, which was invented around 1811 and gained popularity with many officers in the Prussian army. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The Second French Empire or Second Empire was the Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 1852 to 1870 between the Second The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 Year 1870 ( MDCCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Kriegsspiel, from the German word for wargame was a system used for training officers in the Prussian army Year 1811 ( MDCCCXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year These first wargames were played with dice which represented "friction", or the intrusion of less than ideal circumstances during a real war (including morale, weather, the fog of war, etc. For other uses see either Die or Dice (disambiguation. Dice (the Plural of Die, from Old French Morale, also known as esprit de corps when discussing the morale of a group is an intangible term used for the capacity of people to maintain Belief in The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations ), though this was usually replaced by an umpire who used his own combat experience to determine the results. ^[2]

The first specific non-military wargame club was started in Oxford, England, in the 19th century. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Naval enthusiast and analyst Fred T. Jane came up with a set of rules for depicting naval actions with the use of model ships, or miniatures around 1898. John Fredrick Thomas Jane ( August 6, 1865 – March 8, 1916) was the founding editor of reference books on warships ( All the World's This article is concerned primarily with static models For operating models see Model yachting or Radio-controlled boat, Ship models or Year 1898 ( MDCCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The 1905/6 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships includes a revised edition for "The Naval War Game". Jane's Fighting Ships is an annual reference Book (also published online on CD and Microfiche) of information on all the world's Warships ^[3]

H.G. Wells' books Floor Games (1911) and Little Wars (1913) were attempts to codify rules for fighting battles with toy soldiers (miniatures), and make them available to the general public. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Floor Games was written by science fiction author H G Wells in 1911 and is a lighthearted sometimes humorous discussion about the theory purpose and methodology Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Little Wars was written by the famous author H G Wells in 1913 and is a set of rules for playing with Toy soldiers Its full title is Little Year 1913 ( MCMXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common A toy soldier is a miniature Figurine that represents a Soldier. They were very simple games, and in some ways just provide a context for shooting spring-loaded toy cannons at toy soldiers, but "in his Appendix to Little Wars, Wells speaks of the changes required to convert his admittedly simplistic rules into a more rigorous Kriegspiel. "^[4] However, Wells also states in his rules that combat "should be by actual gun and rifle fire and not by computation. Things should happen and not be decided," in opposition to the general nature of Kriegspiel play.

In 1940 Fletcher Pratt's Naval War Game was published. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Murray Fletcher Pratt (1897–1956 was a Science fiction and Fantasy Writer; he was also well-known as a writer on Naval history and on the This was a more arbitrary system than Jane's (but generally gave more realistic results), and was played by many clubs at that time. ^[5] Jack Coggins was invited by Pratt to participate, and recalled that Pratt's game involved dozens of tiny wooden ships - built to a scale of about one inch to 50 feet - spread over the living room floor of his apartment. Jack Banham Coggins (July 10 1911 &ndash January 30 2006 was an illustrator author and artist who is best known in the United States for his Oil paintings of Their maneuvers and the results of their battles were calculated via a complex mathematical formula, with scale distances marked off with tape measures. Although many of the rules were arbitrary, they were based on such deep knowledge of the history of naval strategy that Pratt was able to reproduce the 1939 destruction of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee with incredibly accurate results. ^{[6] [7]}

All of these games were meant to be accessible to the general public, but actual play was made difficult owing to the expense of purchasing an army or navy's worth of miniatures. As leisure time and disposable income generally rose through the 20th Century, miniatures games slowly gained a following. Most gaming groups informally wrote and/or revised their own rules, which were never published. In 1955 Jack Scruby started producing miniatures using RTV rubber molds, which greatly reduced their expense, and he turned this into a business (Scruby Miniatures) in 1957 and started publishing War Game Digest. Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) John Edwin "Jack" Scruby (1916 - September 1988 was a manufacturer of military miniatures whose efforts led to a rebirth of the Miniature wargaming hobby in the late Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) ^[8] It, and its successors, put fellow miniatures enthusiasts in touch with each other, and provided a forum for ideas and locally-produced rules to be shared with the rest of the hobby.

Meanwhile, the first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and maps, was designed and published by Charles S. Roberts in 1952. Boardgame counters are usually small cardboard squares moved around on the map of a wargame to represent armies, Military units or individual A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, Regions, and Themes Charles Swann Roberts is a wargame designer, railroad historian and businessman Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. After nearly breaking even on Tactics, he decided to found the Avalon Hill Game Company as a publisher of intelligent games for adults, and is called "The father of board wargaming". Tactics is generally credited as being the first Board wargame. Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in Wargames and strategic Board games. The modern commercial board wargaming industry is considered to have begun with the publication of Tactics II in 1958, and the founding of The General Magazine by Avalon Hill in 1964. Tactics is generally credited as being the first Board wargame. Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The General Magazine (variously called "The Avalon Hill General" "Avalon Hill's General" or simply "The General" was Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. In 1961, AH published Roberts' Gettysburg, which is considered to be the first board wargame based entirely on a historical battle. Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gettysburg is a Board wargame produced by Avalon Hill which re-enacts the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. D-Day and Chancellorsville, the first commercial games to use a hexagonal mapboard, were also published that year.

Avalon Hill had a very conservative publishing schedule, typically about two titles a year, and wargames were only about half their line. By the end of the 1960s, a number of small magazines dedicated to the hobby were springing up, along with new game companies. see also 1950s in games, 1970 in games This page lists Board games Card games and Wargames published in the The most important of these were undoubtedly Strategy & Tactics, and the company founded to save it from failing: Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI). Strategy & Tactics ( S&T) is a Wargaming Magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for its groundbreaking move of publishing Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s Under SPI, S&T started including a new game in every issue of the magazine, which along with the regular games SPI was publishing vastly increased the number of wargames available.

Coupled with an aggressive advertising campaign, this caused a tremendous rise in the popularity of wargaming in the early 1970s, with a large number of new companies starting up. Two of these would last for some years: Game Designers' Workshop (GDW), and Tactical Studies Rules (TSR). Game Designers' Workshop (GDW was a Wargame and Role-playing game publisher from 1973 to 1996. TSR Inc was an American game publishing company most famous for publishing the Dungeons & Dragons Role-playing game. TSR's fantasy miniatures game, Chainmail (1971) led to a new phenomenon that would become much bigger than its parent hobby, role-playing games. Chainmail is a Medieval miniatures wargame created by Jeff Perren and Gary Gygax. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. (For a better look at these developments see the history of role-playing games. The history of role-playing games begins with an earlier tradition of Role-playing, which combined with the rulesets of Fantasy wargames in the 1970s to give rise to )

The seventies can be considered the 'Golden Age of Wargaming', with a large number of new companies publishing an even larger number of games throughout the decade, powered by an explosive rise in the number of people playing wargames. This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz (1970), Panzer Leader (1974), and Squad Leader (1977) were particularly popular during this time, with their innovative geomorphic mapboard system. PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale Board wargame of Tank, Artillery, and Infantry combat set in the Eastern Front Panzer Leader is the sequel to Avalon Hill 's Panzerblitz game Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. A geomorphic mapboard is a Game board that can be configured in different ways and reused to create different playing surfaces Wargames also diversified in subject, with the first science-fiction wargame appearing in 1974; and in size with both microgames such as Steve Jackson's Ogre, and "monster games" appearing during the decade. see also 1973 in games, 1975 in games This page lists board and Card games Wargames miniatures games A microgame (sometimes written " MicroGame " is a Board game or Wargame packaged in a small set Ogre is a Board wargame first released in 1977 as the first Metagaming Concepts Microgame, designed by Steve Jackson.

Simulations Canada was another major company formed in 1977, out of a frustration born of the policies of SPI, GDW, and Avalon Hill at avoiding the publication of unsolicited game designs. ^[9]

The boom came to an end, and was followed by the usual bust in the early 1980s, most markedly with the acquisition of SPI by TSR in 1982. see also 1981 in games, 1983 in games This page lists board and Card games Wargames miniatures games The hobby never truly recovered from this, and is today much smaller than it was during the seventies. Numerous factors have been implicated in the decline, including the rise of gaming alternatives (such as RPGs), the ever increasing complexity of wargames, and changing demographics and lifestyles. ^[10]

During the 1980s, much of the market for wargames was dominated by roleplaying games. Then, when personal computers became available, gamers could simply "sit down and play" without learning masses of rules, clearing physical space, and finding and coordinating schedules with opponents. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated When collectible card games arrived in the 1990s, the gaming market became even more competitive. Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards By this time, many wargame publishers were already long gone.

Despite the decline, wargaming continues to survive in different forms. Advanced Squad Leader (1985) became a niche hobby in and of itself, and Axis and Allies (1984) was very popular with the mass market audience. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL is a tactical-level Board wargame that simulates actions of approximately company or Battalion Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy Board games with nearly two million copies printed In 1994 the first card-driven wargame, We the People, was published. We the People is a Board wargame about the American Revolution, published by Avalon Hill in 1994 and designed by Mark Herman Battle Cry (2000) and Memoir '44 (2004) proved that light wargames can still be commercially successful, as long as the rules are clear and accessible, and the components are high in quality. Battle Cry is a Board wargame based on the American Civil War, designed by Richard Borg and published by Avalon Hill in 2000 Memoir '44 is a light Wargame, or war-themed strategy Board game, created by Richard Borg, for two players Block wargames, such as those published by Columbia Games remain quite popular. Columbia Games is a maker of board and Role-playing games including Hârn and the "block" series ( Wizard Kings Finally, companies like GMT Games continue to survive and publish highly detailed, hex and counter wargames. GMT Games, probably the most prolific of the Wargame companies in the 1990s and 2000s was founded in 1990

Miniature wargaming

Main article: Miniature wargaming

Miniature wargaming typically involves the use of 6-30 mm painted metal or plastic miniatures for units, and model scenery placed on a tabletop or floor as a playing surface, although other open areas such as gardens and sandboxes are sometimes used. Miniature wargaming is a form of Wargaming that incorporates Miniature figures and modeled terrain as the main components of play Games with miniatures are sometimes called tabletop games, tabletop wargames, miniature wargames, or simply wargames. Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to Board games Card games Dice games Miniatures wargames Tile-based games and other Miniature wargaming is a form of Wargaming that incorporates Miniature figures and modeled terrain as the main components of play Miniatures games generally measure distance for movement and range with a string or tape measure.

Miniature wargamers generally prefer rule sets that can be used for any battle in a particular era or war, instead of a specific event, as is common in board wargames. Because armies and terrain can be combined in all possible ways, miniatures wargaming is generally more varied and flexible than other forms of wargaming. The preparation also tends to be more time consuming and expensive. Miniature wargamers typically enjoy painting miniatures and constructing terrain, and this is an important part of the hobby for them.

Because information cannot be displayed on a miniature figure as conveniently as on a cardboard counter, miniature wargames often lack the complexity and detail of some of the heavier board wargames.

The popularity of miniatures wargaming stayed relatively stable during the boom and bust of board wargames. Today, games such as Warhammer Fantasy Battle and the newer collectible miniatures games continue to recruit new interest into the oldest form of the wargaming hobby. Warhammer The Game of Fantasy Battles, formerly Warhammer Fantasy Battle and often abbreviated to Warhammer WFB or WHFB Collectible miniatures games or CMGs are a form of Miniature wargaming that is also similar to Collectible card games (CCGs — the primary difference being that while

Board wargaming

Main article: Board wargame

In the United States, board wargames are often equated with the entire hobby of wargaming. A board wargame is a Wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in Miniatures In Europe, and especially Britain, they are a relatively minor part of the hobby. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The genre is known for a number of common conventions that were developed early on, but these do not necessarily appear in all board wargames.

The early history of board wargaming was dominated by Avalon Hill, even though other companies, such as SPI, left their own permanent marks on the industry. Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s With the purchase of Avalon Hill by Hasbro, many wargamers long for 'the old Avalon Hill', and no one company is identified with the hobby as a whole. Hasbro ( is an American Toy company It is one of the largest toy makers in the world second only to the toy giant Mattel. GMT and Decision Games are two of the more influential board wargame companies in existence today.

Card wargaming

Card games were once believed as not generally well suited for wargames. A card game is any Game using Playing cards either traditional or game-specific Because of their nature, cards are well suited for abstract games, as opposed to the simulation aspects of wargames. Even when nominally about the same subject (such as the game War), traditional card games could not be considered a wargame in even the broadest sense. War is a Card game for two or more players It uses a standard Western fifty-two- Playing card deck This does not mean there are no card wargames however.

The first card wargame would probably be Nuclear War, a 'tongue-in-cheek game of the end of the world', first published in 1966 and still published today by Flying Buffalo. Nuclear War is a Card game designed by Douglas Malewicki, and originally published in 1965. Flying Buffalo Incorporated ( FBI) is a Scottsdale Arizona game company that publishes Role playing games, Card games, gaming materials and It does not simulate how any actual nuclear exchange would happen, but it is still structured unlike most card games because of the way it deals with its subject.

In the late 1970s Battleline Publications (a board wargame company) produced two card games, Naval War and Armor Supremacy. Battleline Publications was a board Wargame company founded by Steven Peek in 1973 The first was fairly popular in wargaming circles, and is a light system of naval combat, though again not depicting any 'real' situation (players may operate ships from opposing navies side-by-side). Armor Supremacy was not as successful, but is a look at the constant design and development of new types of tanks during World War II.

The most successful card wargame (as a card game and as a wargame) would almost certainly be Up Front, a card game about tactical combat in World War II published by Avalon Hill in 1983. Up Front is a World War II card-based Wargame. It was designed by Courtney F The abstractness is harnessed in the game by having the deck produce random terrain, and chances to fire, and the like, simulating uncertainty as to the local conditions (nature of the terrain, etc).

Also, card driven games (CDGs), first introduced in 1993, use a deck of (custom) cards to drive most elements of the game, such as unit movement (activation) and random events. These are, however, distinctly board games, the deck is merely one of the most important elements of the game.

Computer wargaming

As in all aspects of modern life, personal computers have had a profound impact on wargaming. A personal computer ( PC) is any Computer whose original sales price size and capabilities make it useful for individuals and which is intended to be operated Computers allow gamers separated by many miles to play a game. They also handle many of the tedious aspects of wargaming, such as highly technical rules and record keeping. Finally, with the development of artificial intelligence, computers can actually serve as opponents, and thus provide opportunities for solitaire gaming.

Computer wargames

Main article: Wargame (video games)

In the video game industry, "wargames" are considered a subgenre of strategy game that emphasizes strategic or tactical warfare on a map. Wargames are a Subgenre of Strategy video games that emphasize strategic or tactical warfare on a map A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. A genre (ˈʒɑːnrə also /ˈdʒɑːnrə/ from French "kind" or "sort" from Latin: genus (stem gener-) is a loose set A strategy game is a Game (eg computer, video or Board game) in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance These wargames generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon military strategy or tactics.

Comparison with traditional wargames

Many contemporary computer strategy games can be considered wargames, in the sense that they are a simulation of warfare on some level. The mechanics and language have little in common with board and miniature games, but the general subject matter is popular. That said, most war-themed computer and video games are generally not considered wargames by the wargaming hobby. Considering that computer games regularly include much more detail than the most complex board or miniature games could ever have, this may seem counter-intuitive, but most computer 'wargames' are not nearly as realistic as their boardgame counterparts.

This generally occurs because mass-market video (most notably here, real-time strategy) games are meant to be easier to get into, and quick to play. A real-time strategy ( RTS) Video game is a strategic game that is distinctly not turn-based. This makes certain genre conventions popular, and there is a perception that slavish attention 'realism' will cause a game to be rejected as 'uninteresting' or boring.

On the other hand, many 'unrealistic' video games do include fog of war, in which a player cannot see what is going away from his units. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations This is a feature often talked about in traditional wargames, but traditionally impractical to implement outside of a computer. And not all games are equally 'unrealistic'. For example, the Total War games are a currently successful RTS series that is historically based.

Computers used in traditional wargaming

Play-by-Mail (PBM)

Main article: Play-by-mail game

Due to the scarcity of opponents for some people, wargaming has a tradition of people playing games by sending lists of moves, or orders, to each other through the mail. Play-by-mail games are Games of any type played through postal Mail or e-mail. This meant that it was not so strange for the first use of computers with wargaming to be a computer-moderated game where people mailed in orders, the computer determined the outcome, and the results were then mailed back to all the players.

The first of these was Nuclear Destruction, by the Flying Buffalo company in 1970. Flying Buffalo Incorporated ( FBI) is a Scottsdale Arizona game company that publishes Role playing games, Card games, gaming materials and The most popular game of this type would be their later game, Starweb from 1976. Starweb is a Play-by-mail game of strategy and diplomacy invented in 1976 by Rick Loomis. This type of game enjoyed a burst of popularity for a few years, with several competing companies and games springing up. Today, Flying Buffalo is the only one still offering computer-moderated games of this type.

E-mail and traditional wargaming

Since e-mail is faster than the standard postal service, the rise of the Internet saw a shift of people playing board wargames from play-by-mail (PBM) to play-by-email (PBEM) or play-by-web (PBW). The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks The mechanics were the same, merely the medium was faster.

At this time, turn-based strategy computer games still had a decent amount of popularity, and many started explicitly supporting the sending of saved-game files through email (instead of needing to find the file to send to the opponent by hand). A turn-based strategy ( TBS) game is a Strategy game (usually some type of wargame, especially a strategic-level wargame that is As with all types of video games, the rise in home networking solutions and Internet access has also meant that networked games are now common and easy to set up.

Computer-assisted wargaming

In recent years, programs have been developed for computer-assisted gaming as regards to wargaming. Computer-assisted gaming (or CAG refers to games which are at least partially computerized but which are actively regulated by a human referee Two different categories can be distinguished: local computer assisted wargames and remote computer assisted wargames.

Local computer assisted wargames are mostly not designed toward recreating the battlefield inside computer memory, but simply employing the computer to track unit status and to resolve combat. Flow of play is simple: each turn, the units come up in a random order. When a unit comes up, the commander specifies an order and if offensive action is being taken, a target, along with details about distance. The results of the order, base move distance and effect to target, are reported, and the unit is moved on the tabletop. All distance relationships are tracked on the tabletop. All record-keeping is tracked by the computer. Examples of these systems are 'Active Armor WWII' and more recently 'Panzer Combat II', which is a voice-enabled computer-assisted miniature wargame of World War II ground combat.

Remote computer assisted wargames can be considered as extensions to the concept of PBEM gaming, however the presentation and actual capabilities are completely different. They have been designed to replicate the look and feel of existing board or miniatures wargames on the computer. The map and counters are presented to the user who can then manipulate these, more-or-less as if he were playing the physical game, and send a saved file off to his opponent, who can review what has been done without having to duplicate everything on his physical set-up of the game, and respond. Some allow for both players to get on-line and see each other's moves in real-time.

These systems are generally set up so that while one can play the game, the program has no knowledge of the rules, and cannot enforce them. The human players must have a knowledge of the rules themselves. The idea is to promote the playing of the games (by making play against a remote opponent easier), while supporting the industry (and reducing copyright issues) by ensuring that the players have access to the actual physical game. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for

The three main programs that can be used to play a number of games each are Aide de Camp, Cyberboard, and Vassal. The VASSAL Engine is a game engine for building and playing online adaptations of Board games Tabletop and Card games. All of these date from the mid- to late-'90s and have their own followings. Aide de Camp is available for purchase, while the other two are offered free. Vassal is in turn an outgrowth of the VASL (Virtual ASL) project, and uses Java, making it accessible to any computer that can run a modern JVM, while the other two are Microsoft Windows programs. A Java Virtual Machine ( JVM) is a set of computer software programs and data structures which use a Virtual machine Microsoft Windows is a series of Software Operating systems and Graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft.

Types of wargaming

While wargaming is a genre itself, it can be categorized into a number of sub-genres. The most obvious division is by the categories given above. i. e. , miniatures, board, computer, etc. This is so obvious, in fact, that most people verbally (and mentally) skip over it. A person might discuss (depending on context) 'board games' or 'wargames' and assume the other element without feeling any need to state 'board wargames'.

Beyond this, there are a few other characteristics that are used to define wargames. Another element that tends to be assumed is the environment, or type of warfare (land, naval, air) depicted, at least if the subject matter is land warfare (a game on naval or air warfare will specify such if not immediately obvious). The most common genres that categories are explicitly based on is the period or era of the game, and then the scale of the game. The categorization of Time into discrete named blocks is called Periodization. See also Astronomical units of length Cosmic distance ladder Orders of magnitude (length Naturally, games concerned with a particular combination of period, scale and environment tend to emphasize similar features.

Environment

The bulk of wargames concentrate on land warfare, the oldest of all types of warfare, and generally the easiest to simulate. Land warfare, sometimes also called ground combat is the term used to describe military operations eventuating in Combat that take place predominantly on the land surface of Naval warfare and naval wargames are also popular, and go all the way back to the beginnings of the hobby. Naval warfare is Combat in and on Seas Oceans or any other major bodies of water such as large Lakes and wide Rivers History Air combat is relatively recent, and wargames on the subject are usually tactical games simulating dogfights, there are relatively few dealing with just the air war of a larger conflict. Air combat may refer to Aerial warfare, or aerial combat the use of military aircraft and other flying machines in warfare Dogfight Dealing with multiple elements complicates the model of the simulation side of a wargame, so games with a true combined arms approach tend to be strategic in nature, where all aspects are abstracted to a greater degree. Combined arms is an approach to Warfare which seeks to integrate different arms of a Military to achieve mutually complementary effects While there are some near-future possibilities for space warfare, there are very few 'serious' games on the subject, and wargames in set in space are almost purely in the genre of science fiction. Space warfare is combat that takes place in Outer space, ie outside the Atmosphere.

Historical period

As wargames are generally historical, games are generally grouped into periods. These divisions mirror the scholarly divisions of history to some extent, but as certain subjects are very popular, certain wars are a category all by themselves. World War II, the American Civil War, and the Napoleonic Wars are the most popular historical categories, with other subjects generally being broken down as Ancients, Middle Ages, Early Gunpowder, and Modern. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions Ancient warfare is War as conducted from the beginnings of recorded History to the end of the ancient period Medieval Warfare is the warfare of the Middle Ages. In Europe technological cultural and social developments had forced a dramatic transformation in the character Early Modern warfare is associated with the start of the widespread use of Gunpowder and the development of suitable weapons to use the explosive Modern warfare, although present in every Historical period of Military history, is generally used to refer to the concepts, methods and Note that much of history from 1800-1950 is often not reflected well in general parlance as they are overshadowed by the 'big three', games on other subjects in this era are often referred to by the actual war they deal with.

In the early days, wargames were either historical, or somewhat abstract. Tactics II, the first general commercial board wargame, featured a fictional landscape with two made up countries but whose armies had capabilities based on contemporary conventional forces. Analogous to those, are the 'contemporary' games, ones that simulate current forces and postulate what an actual war involving them would be like. These were popular during the Cold War, but have faded with the fall of Communism. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the During the 1970s, fantasy and science fiction made themselves felt as genres that could work inside of wargames. These tend to be more varied, as different assumptions can lead to vastly different types of warfare, but there has been no real concern with subdividing the genres more closely.

Finally, wargames do not necessarily have to involve traditional concepts of warfare and battles and games can enact typical film genres such as gang battles, crime and law enforcement. Similarly martial arts or even non-combat situations and adventures can be gamed where there are other objectives that require strategy combined with the elements of chance (dice/cards etc) to be achieved.

Unit or map scale

• Grand strategy — military strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire nation state or empire's resources. Grand strategy is military Strategy at the level of movement and use of an entire Nation state or Empire 's resources A Strategy is a long term plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal, most often "winning For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy An empire (from the Latin " Imperium " denoting military Command within the ancient Roman government) is a State that focus is on a war or series of wars, often over a long period of time. Individual units, even armies, may not be represented; instead, attention is given to theaters of operation. All of the resources of the nations involved may be mobilized as part of a long-term struggle. The simulation typically involves political and economic as well as military conflict. At the most extreme end of this is the branch of strategy games in which the player assumes the role of the government of an entire nation-state and in which not conducting war is a possibility. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy Risk (game) and Empires in Arms are both examples of this type of wargame. Risk is a commercial strategic Board game, produced by Parker Brothers (now a division of Hasbro) Empires in Arms is an out-of-print Board game by Harry Rowland, published by the Australian Design Group in 1983.

• Strategic — military units are typically division, corps, or army-sized, and they are rated based upon raw strength. A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers This article is about a military unit For alternative meanings see Corps (disambiguation. An army (from Latin Armata "act of arming" via Old French armée) in the broadest sense is the land-based Armed forces At this scale, economic production and diplomacy are significant. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting Negotiations between representatives of groups or states The simulation typically involves all branches, and often the entire forces of the nations involved, and covers entire wars or long campaigns

• Operational — units are typically battalion to divisional size, and are rated based on their average overall strengths and weaknesses. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered A battalion is a Military unit of around 500-1500 men usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel A division is a large Military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to thirty thousand soldiers Weather and logistics are significant. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. Logistics is the management of the flow of Goods, Information and other resources including Energy and people between the point of origin and the point The simulation typically focuses on one branch of the military forces, with others somewhat abstracted, and usually covers a single campaign. In the Military sciences a military campaign is a term applied to large scale, long duration significant Military strategy plan incorporating

• Tactical — units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies, and are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level i Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. In military terminology a squad is a small Military unit led by a Non-commissioned officer (NCO that is subordinate to an Infantry A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or Squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers A company is a Military unit, typically consisting of 75-200 Soldiers Most companies are formed of three to five Platoons although the exact number may vary The simulation almost always focuses on a single branch, occasionally with others abstracted, and usually covers a single battle or part of a large battle.

• Skirmish — units represent individual soldiers, with possible tracking of wounds and ammunition. Man-to-man wargames (also known as skirmish wargames) are wargames in which units generally represent single individuals or weapons systems and are rated not only A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. In Medicine, a wound is a type of Injury in which the Skin is torn cut or punctured (an open wound or where blunt force trauma Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which The simulation usually covers a small firefight. Also known as "man-to-man" scale, the first such games in the modern era of board wargames include Patrol and Sniper!. Patrol was a Board wargame released in the early 1970s as a companion to Sniper! in 1974 by Simulations Publications, Inc Sniper! was a Board wargame originally released in 1973 Some sources refer to "Sniper/Patrol" as a sort of series of games a similar game by Simulations Early role-playing games were derived from skirmish wargames, and many are still played as such. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters.

Notable wargamers

Founders

• H.G. Wells - Pioneer in miniature wargaming, author of Little Wars. Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 &ndash 13 August 1946 He was an outspoken socialist and a pacifist, his later works becoming increasingly political Little Wars was written by the famous author H G Wells in 1913 and is a set of rules for playing with Toy soldiers Its full title is Little
• Jack Scruby - After H. John Edwin "Jack" Scruby (1916 - September 1988 was a manufacturer of military miniatures whose efforts led to a rebirth of the Miniature wargaming hobby in the late G. Wells, he did the most to make miniature wargaming a respectable hobby. He also popularized miniatures wargaming with a cheaper production process for miniature figures, publishing the first miniature wargaming magazine, the War Game Digest, and community building. Jack Scruby, an American, is the true heir of H. G. Wells and thus is the father of the modern miniature wargaming hobby.
• Don Featherstone - Known in the UK as the "co-father" of modern miniature wargaming. Donald F Featherstone (born 20 March 1918) is a British author of books on Wargaming and military history
• Phil Dunn - founder of the Naval Wargames Society, the only international organisation of naval wargaming to date, and author of "Sea Battle Games"
• Charles S. Roberts - Known as the "Father of modern board wargaming", designed the first modern wargame, as well as the company most identified with modern wargames (Avalon Hill). The Naval Wargames Society (NWS is interested in all forms and scales of maritime wargaming, and has been so for more 30 years Charles Swann Roberts is a wargame designer, railroad historian and businessman Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in Wargames and strategic Board games.

Designers/Developers

• Richard Berg - Designer of Terrible Swift Sword, and worked at SPI. Richard Berg is a prolific Wargame designer and recipient of the Charles S Terrible Swift Sword The Three Days of Gettysburg (often abbreviated as TSS) is a classic grand tactical regimental level Board wargame Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s
• Larry Bond - Designer of Harpoon, and best selling author
• Frank Chadwick - Founder of Game Designers Workshop, one of the first major competitors to Avalon Hill, and himself a prolific wargame designer and innovator. Larry Bond (1952 -) is the designer of the Harpoon and Command at Sea gaming systems and several supplements for the games Harpoon is a realistic air and naval computer wargame based upon Larry Bond 's Miniatures game of the same name Frank Chadwick is a game designer He co-founded Game Designers' Workshop in 1973.
• Guy Debord, Parisian situationist and revolutionist, who devised Le Jeu de Guerre
• Jim Dunnigan - considered "The Dean of Modern Wargaming", founder of SPI and the most prolific print wargame designer in history. Guy Ernest Debord ( December 28, 1931 - November 30, 1994) was a Marxist theorist French writer Filmmaker, hypergraphist Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city A revolutionary when used as a noun is a person who either actively engages in some kind of Revolution, or advocates the revolution with recognition from some government or James F Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author and Wargame designer currently living in New York City, notable for his matter-of-fact approach Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s His designs included many firsts in wargaming, including the first tactical wargames. Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level i
• Charles Grant - Author of The Wargame. Charles Grant was a game industry author who helped popularize the hobby of tabletop wargaming.
• Gary Gygax - Designer of several miniatures and board wargames who went on to create and publish Dungeons & Dragons. Ernest Gary Gygax ( July 27, 1938 &ndash March 4, 2008) ( IPA:) was an American Writer and Game designer Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by
• Larry Harris - Designer of Axis and Allies, Conquest of the Empire, and other games in the Axis and Allies Series. Larry Harris, Jr is a Game designer most famous for creating the Board game Axis & Allies, as well as all of its sequels Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy Board games with nearly two million copies printed
• Mark Herman - Member of the "Hall of Fame" and Designer of We The People the first Card Driven Wargame, worked originally at SPI and was the CEO of VG. A hall of fame (sometimes HOF) is a type of Museum established for any a field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in Wargames and strategic Board games. Most recent designs are For The People and Empire of the Sun both of which won the Charles S. Roberts Award for best game in their category.
• John Hill - Designer of Squad Leader, Johnny Reb, and other well-received designs. John Hill is a prolific American designer of military wargames, as well as rules for Miniature wargaming such as Johnny Reb 3. Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977.
• David Manley - author of "Iron and Fire", "Fox Two" and other air and naval rules systems, editor of the Naval Wargames Society journal "Battlefleet"
• Curt Schilling - Founded Multi-Man Publishing to keep Advanced Squad Leader and other Avalon Hill titles alive after the company was dissolved. David Manley is a United Kingdom -based wargamer and one of the leading members of the Naval wargaming hobby having authored over 50 articles on naval wargaming and The Naval Wargames Society (NWS is interested in all forms and scales of maritime wargaming, and has been so for more 30 years Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14 1966 in) is an American Major League Baseball Pitcher. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL is a tactical-level Board wargame that simulates actions of approximately company or Battalion Funded ASL publications and conventions out of his own pocket.
• Redmond Simonsen - Co-founder of SPI and introduced many advanced graphics design elements to wargame designs. Redmond Askel Simonsen ( June 18 1942 – March 9 2005) was an American graphic artist and Game Simulations Publications Inc, often abbreviated to SPI, was an American publisher of board Wargames in the 1970s and early 1980s

Notable wargames

Board wargames

While a comprehensive list will show the variety of titles, the following games are notable for the reasons indicated:

• Diplomacy - (1954) a classic multi-player game from the "golden age" of wargames in which strategy is exercised off the game board as well as on it. This is a list of board Wargames by Historical Genre (and some sub-genres showing their publication history Diplomacy is a strategic Board game created by Allan B Calhamer in 1954 and released commercially in 1959.
• Tactics II (Avalon Hill, 1958) - the wargame that launched Avalon Hill. Tactics is generally credited as being the first Board wargame.
• Risk (Parker Brothers, 1959) - Widely accepted as the first mainstream wargame. Risk is a commercial strategic Board game, produced by Parker Brothers (now a division of Hasbro)
• Gettysburg (Avalon Hill, 1961) - the first modern era wargame intended to model an actual historical event, published after the success of Tactics II, which was a non-representative strategic game. Gettysburg is a Board wargame produced by Avalon Hill which re-enacts the American Civil War Battle of Gettysburg. Tactics is generally credited as being the first Board wargame.
• Tactical Game 3 (Strategy & Tactics Magazine game, 1969); re-released as PanzerBlitz by Avalon Hill in 1970. Strategy & Tactics ( S&T) is a Wargaming Magazine now published by Decision Games, notable for its groundbreaking move of publishing PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale Board wargame of Tank, Artillery, and Infantry combat set in the Eastern Front The very first tactical wargame. Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level i The game pioneered the use of "geomorphic mapboards" and PanzerBlitz was a game system rather than just a game in that forces could be used to depict any number of actual tactical situations rather than one specific scenario. A geomorphic mapboard is a Game board that can be configured in different ways and reused to create different playing surfaces Pioneered several ground-breaking features, such as use of various types of weapons fire to reflect battlefield conditions. Also created new level of realism in reflecting tactical armored vehicles.
• Sniper! (SPI, 1973) - along with Patrol, the first Man to Man wargames where game pieces depicted a single soldier. Sniper! was a Board wargame originally released in 1973 Some sources refer to "Sniper/Patrol" as a sort of series of games a similar game by Simulations Patrol was a Board wargame released in the early 1970s as a companion to Sniper! in 1974 by Simulations Publications, Inc Man-to-man wargames (also known as skirmish wargames) are wargames in which units generally represent single individuals or weapons systems and are rated not only An adaptation of Sniper! also became one of the first multi-player computer wargames.
• Wooden Ships and Iron Men (Battleline Publications, 1974 Avalon Hill, 1976) - the definitive game of Age of Sail warfare for many years. Wooden Ships and Iron Men is a Naval Board wargame in which the players simulate combat by Sailing ships of the late 18th and early 19th centuries Battleline Publications was a board Wargame company founded by Steven Peek in 1973 Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in Wargames and strategic Board games.
• Rise and Decline of the Third Reich (Avalon Hill, 1974) - The first serious attempt to model WWII in Europe in its entirety, including (in a limited way) the economic and industrial production of the nations involved. Rise and Decline of the Third Reich or more commonly Third Reich is a Grand strategy wargame covering the European theater It has seen numerous versions and editions, and is currently available as John Prados' Third Reich from Avalanche Press, and as a far more complex descendant game, A World at War, published by GMT Games. Avalanche Press is an American company that publishes board wargames and has published some Role-playing game supplements GMT Games, probably the most prolific of the Wargame companies in the 1990s and 2000s was founded in 1990
• Squad Leader (Avalon Hill, 1977) and Advanced Squad Leader (1985) have become the most prolific series of wargames, including 3 add-on modules for the former, and 12 for the latter, with additional Historical modules and Deluxe modules also having been released. Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. Advanced Squad Leader (ASL is a tactical-level Board wargame that simulates actions of approximately company or Battalion ASL also sets the record for sheer volume of playing components, with thousands of official counters and 60+ "geomorphic mapboards" not counting Deluxe and Historical maps. A geomorphic mapboard is a Game board that can be configured in different ways and reused to create different playing surfaces
• Star Fleet Battles - (Task Force Games, 1978) one of the older still actively played wargames today, it is also one of the few successful tactical space combat systems that does not rely on miniatures. Star Fleet Battles (SFB is a tactical strategy Board wargame set in an offshoot of the Star Trek setting called the Star Task Force Games was a game company started in 1979 by Allen Eldridge and Stephen Cole.
• Storm Over Arnhem (Avalon Hill, 1981) - pioneered the use of "point to point" or "area movement" in tactical wargames. Storm Over Arnhem ( 1981) is a Board wargame designed by Courtney F Area movement is a Game mechanic for in a Board game. While most Parlor games and the like have 'areas' of the board to move in the term is used (particularly
• Axis and Allies - (Nova Games, 1981) the most successful of Milton Bradley's (1984) 'GameMaster' line in an attempt to bring wargaming into the mainstream by appealing to non-wargamers through simplicity and attractive components. Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy Board games with nearly two million copies printed
• Ambush! - (Victory Games, 1983) the first solitaire board wargame depicting man to man combat, in which each game piece represented a single person. Ambush! is a man-to-man Wargame developed by Avalon Hill. It was released under Avalon's Victory Games label and was developed by Board Wargames in the modern commercial sense have generally concentrated on gameplay designed for two or more participants Man-to-man wargames (also known as skirmish wargames) are wargames in which units generally represent single individuals or weapons systems and are rated not only
• Blue Max - (GDW, 1983) is a multi-player game of World War I aerial combat over the Western Front during 1917 and 1918 with an extremely easy to play mechanism but allow the development of complex strategies. Blue Max is a multi-player Board game of World War I aerial combat over the Western Front during 1917 and 1918
• We the People - (Avalon Hill, 1994) this game started the Card-Driven wargame movement, which is very influential in current wargame design. We the People is a Board wargame about the American Revolution, published by Avalon Hill in 1994 and designed by Mark Herman

Miniature wargames

• Rules for the Jane Naval War Game (S. Low, Marston, 1898) - The first published miniature wargame. A 26 page rule set limited to naval miniature battles. It came in a crate measuring 4 ft. X 4 ft. X 2 ft. Written by Fred Jane. As only a handful of these games survive, they are highly collectible. ^[11]
• Little Wars (H. Little Wars was written by the famous author H G Wells in 1913 and is a set of rules for playing with Toy soldiers Its full title is Little G. Wells, 1913) - The first popular published wargame rules. Includes the common miniature wargaming mechanics of dice rolling, range, line of sight, and moving in alternate turns. This game earned Wells the title "The Father of Miniature Wargaming". ^[12]
• Miniature Wargames du temps de Napoleon (John Chandler, 1964) - First period-specific historical miniature wargame. Also the first in a long line of Napoleonic miniature wargames.
• Chainmail (Guidon Games, 1971) - An extension and distillation of rules previously published in various periodicals. Chainmail is a Medieval miniatures wargame created by Jeff Perren and Gary Gygax. Guidon Games produced board games and rulebooks for Wargaming with miniatures, and in doing so influenced Tactical Studies Rules (later TSR Inc Major elements of this game were adopted by the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a Fantasy Role-playing game (RPG originally designed by Unlike Dungeons & Dragons, Chainmail used two six-sided dice to resolve combat. Previous fantasy miniature wargames had been written, but this was the first one published. Drawing on the popularity of Lord of the Rings, this game featured the novelties of combat magic and fantastic creatures as combatants. The Lord of the Rings is an epic
• Warhammer Fantasy Battle (Games Workshop, 1983) - An internationally successful fantasy miniature wargame. Warhammer The Game of Fantasy Battles, formerly Warhammer Fantasy Battle and often abbreviated to Warhammer WFB or WHFB The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game or Lord of the Rings SBG rather than Lord of the Rings when The First Edition rules introduced innovative open unit design rules, however later editions eliminated the option to build custom units and make use of standard army lists mandatory. Warhammer was one of the first newly-developed miniature wargames to enjoy popularity after role-playing games came to market in 1974.
• Warhammer 40,000 (Games Workshop, 1987) - A futuristic wargame featuring rival armies with different fighting styles. Warhammer 40000 (informally known as Warhammer 40K or just 40K) is a tabletop miniature wargame in a Science This wargame has very conceptual artwork suggesting a post-apocalyptic neo-gothic universe gone awry. Arguably the most profitable miniature wargame ever, it has popularized competitive tournament gameplay in large, international events sanctioned by Games Workshop.
• De Bellis Antiquitatis (Wargames Research Group, 1990) - Radically minimalist rules differentiate this game from other notable miniature wargames. De Bellis Antiquitatis or DBA is a fast play set of rules for the hobby of historical Miniature wargaming, particularly ancient and medieval The Wargames Research Group (WRG is a British publisher of rules and reference material for Miniature wargaming. A number of systems have been strongly influenced by DBA.
• Mage Knight (WizKids Inc., 2001) - Innovative game popularizing the combat dial, pre-painted plastic miniatures, and the collectible miniatures games. Mage Knight is a miniatures wargame using collectible figures created by WizKids, Inc WizKids Inc is an American Seattle -based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. Collectible miniatures games or CMGs are a form of Miniature wargaming that is also similar to Collectible card games (CCGs — the primary difference being that while Mage Knight has inspired numerous collectible, skirmish miniature wargames.
• Warmachine (Privateer Press, 2003) - A steampunk-inspired miniatures game featuring steam-powered robots fighting under the direction of powerful wizards. Warmachine is a tabletop wargame produced by Privateer Press. Privateer Press is a Role-playing game and miniature Wargame production and publishing studio Steampunk is a subgenre of fantasy and Speculative fiction that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s Also has a sister game, Hordes, which features trolls and dinosaurs instead of robots. HORDES is the name of a 30mm tabletop Miniature wargame produced by Privateer Press, announced at Gen Con 2005 and released on April 22
• Heroscape (Milton Bradley Company, 2004) - An inexpensive, simple wargame that has been successfully mass marketed to both younger wargamers and adults. Heroscape sometimes incorrectly spelt as HeroScape, is an expandable turn-based Miniature wargaming system originally manufactured by Milton Bradley The Milton Bradley Company is an American Game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield Massachusetts, in 1860 As miniature wargaming is often an expensive hobby, Heroscape and the collectible miniatures games have opened the miniature wargaming hobby to a new demographic. Collectible miniatures games or CMGs are a form of Miniature wargaming that is also similar to Collectible card games (CCGs — the primary difference being that while
• BrikWars is a wargame that uses Lego bricks as miniatures and scenery and is steadily growing in popularity mostly due to how loose the rules are, anything could happen. BrikWars is a Miniatures wargaming system created for use with plastic building blocks and figurines Lego, officially trademarked LEGO, is a line of construction Toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately

See also List of miniature wargames. Miniature wargames are a form of Wargaming designed to incorporate miniatures or Figurines into play which was invented at the beginning

Computer wargames

• Panzer General - (Strategic Simulations, Inc., 1994) - probably the most widely popular computer game that is recognizably a traditional wargame. Panzer General is a Computer wargame published by Strategic Simulations in 1994 and set in World War II. Strategic Simulations Inc (SSI was a Computer game developer and publisher with over 100 titles to its credit since its founding in 1979 It spawned several sequels, some of which explored different subject matter.
• Steel Panthers - (Strategic Simulations, Inc. Steel Panthers is a complex tactical-level turn-based computerized wargame series for the PC with World War II and modern warfare , 1995) - an early tactical wargame on the same scale as Squad Leader, which led to two sequels, and a complete revision of the title for free release. Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977.
• Close Combat - (Microsoft, 1996) - not the first wargame to break out from hexes, and still presented in a 2-dimensional format, Close Combat nonetheless uniquely addressed factors such as individual morale and reluctance to carry out orders. Close Combat is the name of a series of real-time tactical (RTT Computer games by Atomic Games Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer The original title led to 5 very successful sequels for the general public, as well as being developed into a training tool for military use only. Close Combat stemmed from an early attempt to translate the Squad Leader boardgame to the computer. Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977.
• Combat Mission - (Big Time Software, 2000) - not the first 3D tactical wargame (titles such as Muzzle Velocity preceded it), but a groundbreaking game series featuring simultaneous order resolution, complete orders of battle for numerous nationalities, with three titles based on the original game engine. Combat Mission is the name of two series of Computer games simulating tactical battles. Muzzle Velocity was a computer tactical wargame released by Digi4fun in 1997 As of 2006, a campaign layer is in testing as well as a revised game engine to be released before 2007. CM's genesis was also as a failed attempt by Avalon Hill to translate Squad Leader to the computer. Squad Leader is a tactical level Board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977.

Unique Game Systems

• Ace of Aces - (Nova Games, 1980) - this flip-book system has long been considered one of the best simulations of aerial dogfighting. Ace of Aces is a two-player combat picture book game designed by Alfred Leonardi and first published in 1980 by Nova
• BattleTech - (FASA, 1984) - initially printed as a board game, it primarily exists as a set miniatures rules today. BattleTech is a Wargaming and Science fiction franchise launched by FASA Corporation and currently owned by WizKids. This article is about a city in Iran. See FASA for the roleplaying game company or the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association, a trade group representing
• Car Wars - (Steve Jackson Games, 1982) - initially printed as a board game, it quickly evolved to work as a mix of both. Car Wars is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. Steve Jackson Games (SJG is a Game company founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board
• Up Front - (Avalon Hill, 1983) - the most popular of the very small class of card wargames. Up Front is a World War II card-based Wargame. It was designed by Courtney F

Books About Wargaming

Jim Dunnigan, The Complete Wargames Handbook: How to Play, Design, and Find Them, Quill 1992. James F Dunnigan (born 8 August 1943) is an author and Wargame designer currently living in New York City, notable for his matter-of-fact approach ISBN 0-688-10368-5 This is available online at http://www.hyw.com/Books/WargamesHandbook/Contents.htm (verified August 2007).

Jon Freeman, The Complete Book of Wargames, Simon and Schuster 1980. Jon Freeman was an influential computer game industry figure of the 1980s and early 1990s ISBN 0-671-25374-3

Nicholas Palmer, The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming, Arthur Baker Limited London 1977. Dr Nicholas Douglas Palmer is a British politician and Labour Member of Parliament (MP for Broxtowe since 1997 ISBN 0-213-16646-1

Nicholas Palmer, The Best of Board Wargaming, Hippocrene Books, Inc. Dr Nicholas Douglas Palmer is a British politician and Labour Member of Parliament (MP for Broxtowe since 1997 New York, NY 1980. ISBN 0-882-54525-6

Phil Dunn, Sea Battle Games, MAP 1980, ISBN 0-853-44042-5

References

See also

• Naval wargaming
• Air wargaming
• List of wargame publishers
• Nation-simulation game
• Simulation game
• Tabletop game
• Tactical wargame
• Role-playing game
• Video games
• International Wargames Federation
• Game Manufacturers Association
• Origins Game Fair

External links

• ConsimWorld.com, wargame news and discussion site. Naval wargaming is a branch of the wider hobby of Miniature wargaming. Air wargaming, like Naval wargaming, is a niche specialism within the wider Miniatures wargaming hobby List of wargame publishers is an index of commercial companies that publish wargames. A government simulation or political simulation is a game that attempts to simulate the government and politics of all or part of a nation A simulation game is a Game that contains a mixture of skill, chance, and strategy to simulate an aspect of reality such as a Stock Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to Board games Card games Dice games Miniatures wargames Tile-based games and other Tactical wargames are a type of wargame that models military conflict at a tactical level i A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The International Wargames Federation, which was founded by the Derby Wargames Club and Mind Sports South Africa in 1991. The Game Manufacturers Association ( GAMA) is a Non-profit Trade association based in Columbus Ohio, dedicated to the advancement of the non-electronic Origins Game Fair is one of North America 's most prominent annual gaming conventions second in size only to Gen Con.
• The Wargamer War & strategy games website, tabletop, miniature, and computer.
• Web-Grognards has a listing of most every game and publisher, usually with reviews, extra scenarios, after action reports, etc.
• Board Game Players Association, noncommercial group manages the Avaloncon convention and other board wargame events
• Tom's Spaceship Miniature/Game List, an attempt to list all games and miniatures used in games that deal with spaceships.
• Point2Point - Wargaming podcast

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