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Wargaming is the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as wargames.

In modern military planning the concept was introduced by Prussian officers with the Kriegspiel, and is still used in modern war exercises. However, it is also a civilian hobby which originated around the beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of miniatures games where two or more players simulate battles as a pasttime. The 1950s and '60s saw the creation of board games that took on the same subject. At first, wargames were generally historical or contemporary in nature, but science fiction and fantasy have also proven popular subjects.

Wargames, like all games, exist in a range of complexities: some are fundamentally simple (so-called "beer-and-pretzel" games), while others (generally in an attempt to increase the 'realism' of the situation) produce rule sets that may encompass a large variety of actions and/or minutae. They also exist in a range of sizes, from "pocket" games with a small map and a few counters, to "monster" games that have large maps (with a consequent problem of finding a large enough table) and hundreds, if not thousands, of counters. They also have 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 major determiner of the complexity and size of a wargame is how 'realistic' it is intended to be. Some can be considered a serious study of the subject at hand, while others are meant as pure entertainment. While there is no direct connection between the two, a more serious study will generally have longer, more complex and detailed rules, and more record keeping. Some less serious games may only bear a passing resembance to the subject, although many still try to encourage the same types of decision making as the player's counterparts, and therefore bring forth the "feel" of the conflict.

Unserious wargames tend to disclose the complete disposition of the enemy to the opposing player, whereas a marker of seriousness is the simulation of limited intelligence and the "fog of war" through various means beyond simple dice, some as simple as inverted counters that are flipped over when encountered by the enemy.

This, of course, merely refers to the modern hobby referred to as wargaming. 'A wargame' generally refers to a game that tries to simulate the actions or results of warfare on some level. In the broadest sense, wargames have existed for centuries — chess could be considered an ancient example. The Chinese philosopher Mencius (Meng Ji 孟子), in a legend which may or may not be true, demonstrated to two kings of ancient China the determinable outcome of a battle using, it appears, a wargame, thus avoiding the shedding of blood.

History of wargaming

Modern wargaming originated with the military need to study warfare and to 'reenact' old battles for instructional purposes. The stunning Prussian victory over the Second French Empire in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) 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. 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.), though this was usually replaced by an umpire who used his own combat experience to determine the results.

The first specific non-military wargame club was started in Oxford, England, in the 19th century. Naval enthusiast and annalyst Fred T. Jane came up with a set of rules for depicting naval actions with the use of model ships, or miniatures around 1898. The 1905/6 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships includes a revised edition for "The Naval War Game".

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. 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." 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. This was a more arbitrary system than Jane's (but generally gave more realistic results), and was played by many clubs at that time.

All of these games were meant to be accessible to the general public, but actual play was made difficult owing to the expense of purchacing 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. 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 which served as a vehicle to put members of the fledgling hobby in regular contact with each other.

Meanwhile, the first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and hex maps, was designed and published by Charles S. Roberts in 1952. 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". 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. In 1961, AH published Roberts' Gettysburg, considered to be the first board wargame based entirely on a historical battle.

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. The most important of these were undoubtedly Strategy & Tactics, and the company founded to save it from failing: Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI). Under SPI, S&T started including a new game in every issue of the magazine, which along with 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). The latter started a new phenomenon that would later grow much bigger than its parent hobby, role-playing games.

This period 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. Wargames also diversified in subject, with the first science-fiction wargame appearing in 1974; and in size with both microgames and monster games first appearing in this decade.

The boom came to an end, and was followed by the usual bust, at the beginning of the 1980s, most markedly with the acquisition of SPI by TSR in 1982. The hobby has never truly recovered from this bust, and is today much smaller than it was in 1980. There are a number of theories given for this extended slump, and all probably identify some of the actual causes.

The most likely cause was the appearance of the affordable personal computer, first as the Apple II in 1978 and then as the IBM PC in 1981. The early adopters of personal computers were drawn from the same demographical group as the wargames: middle class males between youth, and middle age. Certainly, the patience needed to set up a wargame transferred to the patience needed to assemble and program the first personal computers, and the discrete and digital way in which a wargame replicates reality appeals to the same need to make sense out of a continuous reality.

Furthermore, by the end of the 1980s, personal computers were beginning to be far more adequate gameplaying machines which automated the "dogwork" of game set-up and play.

Finally, the Baby Boom males in their twenties who constituted the core of support for wargaming of the 1970s were getting married and starting careers, both of which took time away from wargames, an hobby considered somewhat nerdlike, strange and louche by many, if by no means all, women.

Miniature wargaming

Miniature wargaming typically involves the use of miniature plastic or metal models for the units and model scenery placed on a tabletop or floor as a playing surface. Games with miniatures are sometimes called tabletop games, tabletop wargames, miniature wargames, or simply wargames.

Miniatures games are generally concerned with rule sets that can be used for any battle in a particular period or war, instead of a particular set situation, as is common in most games. This is directly attributable to the fact that miniatures games require the player to assemble their own terrain and armies, often going to quite a bit of expense and effort to produce both. This makes miniatures gaming much more flexible, but more labour intensive than other forms of wargaming.

Board wargaming

In America, board wargames are the part of the hobby that popularized the term initially, and is what often comes to mind first when 'wargaming' is mentioned. In Europe, especially Britain it is a minor part of the hobby. The genre is known for a number of common conventions that were developed in early on, but none of them appear in all 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.

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.

The following components are common to many wargames:

  • Map: The map shows the terrain over which the battle/war is fought, and generally comprises the bulk of the board for the game (with charts or admisistrative 'holding boxes' sometimes included on the board). Movement is regulated by the type of map that is used:
    • Hex maps are by far the most common in wargames, and allow reasonably realistic movement (some games, generally earlier ones, use squares instead of hexagons on the board).
    • Area maps would be the next most common, taking a more abstract approach that can show more 'natural' (or perhaps political) divisons easily, and is also often seen in simpler, mass-market games such as Risk.
    • Point to point is effectively a type of area movement, but typically defines the available routes by which movement is done in more detail.
  • Counters: These are typically cardboard squares marked to represent armies, military units or individual military personnel, they generally include information on nationality (by color scheme), unit type (by symbol), and statistics such as movement or attack strength as a number or symbol, as well as a particular unit designation in historical games. Some variations on this theme are:
    • Double-sided counters are used in some games to show a unit in a disordered state, or in a weakened/damaged one in a step-reduction system.
    • Wooden blocks are used in block wargames. By standing the blocks on one side, these counters limit the enemy knowledge of friendly units (simulating fog of war) and can be rotated to a different side to show changes in strength in a more complex step-reduction system.
    • Plastic miniatures are used by some mass-market games. They generally display no information other than side and type (by color and shape).
    • Chits: These are a sub-class of counters used for random draws, or as informational markers.
  • Dice: These are generally used to add the element of chance. Given that many military actions have been influenced or even decided by odd events, straight-forward strategy games such as chess and go may be considered too deterministic to represent real warfare.
  • Cards: A (relatively) recent trend is card-driven games. These use cards that have events outside the area of the map or events outside the straightforward scope of the game play. Cards are also sometimes used to generate random number draws instead of or in combination with die rolls.
  • Rulebook: Rules vary in complexity and depth from 1 page for some games to over 200 pages for others.
  • Scenarios: Most wargames depict a single conflict, with only one starting state. More flexible systems use a separate scenario book, or cards, that define separate scenarios for the game.

Card wargaming

Card games are not generally well suited for wargames. 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. 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. It does not simulate how any actual nuclear exchange would happen, but it is still structured unlike most card games because of how it deals with its subject, and does touch on a few relevant subjects.

In the late 1970s Battleline Publications (a board wargame company) produced two card games, Naval War and Armor Supremacy. 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 an interesting look at the constant design and development of new types of tanks during World War II.

The most successful card wargame (as a game and as wargame) would almost certainly be Up Front, a card game about tactical combat in World War II published by Avalon Hill in 1983. 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).

Computer wargaming

Computers have changed wargaming, just as they have many other aspects of modern life.

Play-by-Mail (PBM)

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. 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. The most popular game of this type would be their later game, Starweb from 1976. 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.

Computer wargames

The computer gaming industry generally evolved with minimal reference to board games, or board game genres, so the term 'wargame' is generally not heard in discussions of general computer game genres. However, the wargaming community saw the possibilities of computer gaming early and made attempts to break into the market, notably Avalon Hill's Microcomputer Games line, which lasted from about 1980 to 1987 and covered a variety of topics, including simple adaptations of some of their wargames.

Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) and Strategic Studies Group (SSG) were computer game companies that specialized in games that obviously borrowed from board- and miniature wargames. They enjoyed a certain popularity throughout much of the 1980s and into the 1990s. TalonSoft started in 1995 with a similar focus, until bought and later shut down by Take-Two Interactive in 2002.

Still, most computer strategy games today 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.

The most popular computer strategy game sub-genre, real-time strategy, generally consists of fast-paced games of snap decisions, reflexes, and coordination. While a few that concentrate on realistically simulating real battles without any real unit replacement system are known as real-time tactical games, most use a common formula of building structures (or a base), which can then build additional units. This is generally done in a way so that the game has a brief period of build-up followed by an extended period of fast-moving conflict with each side trying to gather resources, deny them from the enemy, maintain an armed force in the field, and expand its capabilities, both in production, and the quality of units produced.

E-mail and 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 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). 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. These can be considered as extensions to the concept of PBEM gaming, however the presentation and actual capabilities are completely different.

These are generally designed replicate the look and feel of existing board wargames (and some success has also been had with miniatures) 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 staying away from copyright issues) by ensuring that the players have access to the actual physical game. The three main programs that can be used to play a number of games each are Vassal, Aide de Camp, and Cyberboard.

Types of wargaming

Wargame simulations can usually be categorized according to the type of technology available to the 'armies' involved, the branch(es) of the military, the period of military history, and the unit size or map scale.

Environment

  • land battles
  • sea battles
  • air battles
  • combinations of land, sea, and/or air battles
  • space battles

Historical period

All periods of history have their wargaming enthusiasts. Historical games are generally by these periods:

Wargames can also be used to simulate fictional situations:

Unit or map scale

  • Grand strategy — 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.

  • Strategic — military units are typically division, corps, or army-sized, and they are rated based upon raw strength. At this scale, economic production and diplomacy are significant. 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. Weather and logistics are significant. The simulation typically focuses on one branch of the military forces, with others somewhat abstracted, and usually covers a single campaign.

  • Tactical wargames — units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies, and are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. 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. 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!. Early role-playing game were derived from skirmish wargames, and many are still played as such.

Notable wargamers

Notable wargames

Board wargames

Miniature wargames

Oddities

References

See also

External links

Computer and video game genres | Wargames | Military historiography | War

Konfliktsimulation | Juego de guerra | رزمایش | Jeu de guerre | Wargame | Vojnová hra | 战争游戏

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Wargaming".

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