Wargaming
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This article is about the military exercise and civilian hobby. For the 1983 Matthew Broderick movie, see WarGames.
Wargaming can be one of number of ways of exploring the effects of warfare without actual combat. It can take the form of a hobby in which one or more players simulate battles or entire wars, or a model or computer simulation of possible scenarios in military planning, (this is also called warfare simulation, see also defense contractors); or the full-scale rehearsal of military maneuvers as practice for warfare. In this case, the two sides in the simulated battle are typically called "blue" and "red", to avoid naming a particular adversary.
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History of wargaming
Modern wargaming grew out of the military need to study warfare and to 'reenact' old battles for learning purposes. The stunning Prussian victory over the French in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) is sometimes partly credited to the training of Prussian officers with the Kriegspiel. The first specific non-military wargame club was started in Oxford, England in the 19th century.
H.G. Wells' book Little Wars was an attempt to codify rules for fighting battles with toy soldiers (miniatures), and make them available to the general public. The first modern mass-market wargame, based on carboard chits (counters) and hex-board maps, was invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952 called Tactics; he went on to found the Avalon Hill company, and is called "The father of board wargaming".
Wargames have existed for centuries — chess is an ancient example. In fact, one could make a case that all competitive zero-sum games may be considered wargames. 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 (so-called "monster" games).
Wargames vary in the level of complexity of rules and record keeping they require. Detailed wargame rulesets (some of which require hundreds of pages of small print and intensive recordkeeping) generally result in a slow (and for many, less enjoyable) game. Simpler "beer and pretzels" rulesets, on the other hand, produce "fun" games and encourage tournament or competitive play, but may not accurately depict events that historically took place in a conflict.
Tabletop wargaming (miniature wargaming)
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Main article: 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.
Board wargaming
A typical non-computerized wargame (Kriegspiel) consists of the following components:
- Map: The map shows the terrain over which the battle/war is fought, usually overlaid by hexagons to regulate movement. Other variations include the "point to point" map where areas are connected by lines to show possible movements, and the area map (similar to Risk).
- Counters: These are usually cardboard squares that represent armies, military units or individual military personnel, as well as markers to show current status that these units might be in.
- 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 abstract to represent real war.
Board wargames typically use cardboard counters to represent the units, and a printed mapboard as the playing surface.
Computerized wargaming
Computer wargames display the units and scenery on the monitor screen.
Computerized wargames have several distinct advantages over "paper and pencil" wargames:
- no need to roll dice over and over again
- no recordkeeping (the computer handles all the 'paperwork')
- ability to start, stop and save the game at any time (if there is no need to coordinate with a human opponent; note that this is also possible with board games, as long as no children or animals have access to the game area)
- no need to paint miniatures
- easy to find opponents on the Internet
Disadvantages of computerized wargames:
- computer may not be as competent as a human opponent (this problem can generally be avoided if there is a multiplayer mode)
- lack of human interaction (of course, the computer won't tip over the board if it is losing)
- computer arbitration allows more complex rules, which can be more difficult to understand and analyze; especially since these rules may be "hidden" from the player(s) in the software code
- ability to view only a part of the battlefield in detail at a time
- player(s) can't easily modify the rules or adapt them to similar situations
- the tactile satisfaction in moving finely painted figures about the tabletop
Traditional wargaming differs from so-called real-time strategy computer games in that traditional wargames are generally turn-based (an obvious exception being 'in-the-field' wargaming by military organizations). Traditional wargames focus on the ability to analyze in-depth, plan to achieve a goal, and adjust plans to changing circumstances. Real-time strategy games (which might better be called vastly-speeded-up-time strategy games) focus more on reflexes, coordination, and the ability to make snap decisions with limited information. Also, real-time strategy games require less sophisticated artificial intelligence on the part of computer players.
Computer wargames are often played against human opponents via e-mail (by exchanging save-game files) to provide the human interaction and a more interesting opponent than that of the program. This has the disadvantage of taking much longer to finish the game, depending upon how often the players check their e-mail. It is still much quicker (and easier) than the older method of playing board wargames by postal mail. A faster alternative (not available with all games) is playing over a direct connection, either LAN, modem or Internet.
Types of military 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:
- Ancient history (Greeks, Romans, etc.)
- Middle Ages (no gunpowder)
- Early gunpowder
- Napoleonic Era
- Early modern war (American Civil War)
- World War I
- World War II
- Modern war (Korean War, Vietnam War, etc.)
Wargames can also be used to simulate fictional situations:
- Hypothetical (World War III)
- Alternate history (fantasy or science-fiction "what if" worlds, such as SteamPunk, Gothic Horror, and fantasy Napoleonic)
- Futuristic / Science Fiction war (including space marines, spaceships and energy-weapons etc.)
- Fantasy war (including Elves, Dwarves, Goblins etc.)
Unit or map scale
- 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 — 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.
Notable wargamers
- H.G. Wells - Known as the "Father of miniature wargaming"
- Charles S. Roberts - Known as the "Father of modern board wargaming", founder of Avalon Hill.
- Don Featherstone - known in the UK as the father of modern wargaming
- Charles Grant
- George Gush
- Paddy Griffith
- Brigadier Peter Young
- Lionel Tarr
- Phil Barker - one of the founders of the UK's Wargames Research Group
- John Thull - Gamer Extraordinaire
Notable wargames
- Board-based wargames (uses a board to regulate movement). (See also: List of board wargames.)
- A House Divided
- Advanced Squad Leader
- Ancients
- Axis and Allies
- Blood Bowl
- Civilization
- Cosmic Encounter
- Diplomacy
- Empires in Arms
- Europa series of games
- Kingmaker
- Mayday
- Magic Realm
- Napoleon
- Ogre/G.E.V
- PanzerBlitz
- Samurai Swords
- Squad Leader
- Star Fleet Battles
- Tactics II
- Terrible Swift Sword
- Rise and Decline of the Third Reich
- Titan
- Victory in the Pacific
- Wooden Ships and Iron Men
- World in Flames
- Miniature wargaming (terrain is laid out on a table, and movement regulated by rulers and the like)
- Ætherverse
- BlitzkriegCommander
- Contemptible Little Armies
- Crossfire
- De Bellis Antiquitatis
- De Bellis Multitudinis
- D&D Miniatures
- Fire and Fury
- Flames of War
- Flintloque
- G.A.S.L.I.G.H.T
- Heroclix
- I Ain't Been Shot Mum
- Mage Knight
- Principles of War
- Starship Marine
- Star Wars Miniature Battles / Star War Miniatures
- Striker
- The Sword and the Flame
- Wargames Rules 3000 BC to 1485 AD (Wargames Research Group)
- Warhammer 40,000
- Warhammer Ancient Battles
- Warhammer Fantasy Battle
- Warhammer Epic 40,000 a larger "operational" game set in the Warhammer 40K universe.
- Warmachine
- Warmaster a larger "operational" game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe.
- Oddities
- Ace of Aces (flip-book system)
- Battletech (readily plays as board or miniatures)
- Car Wars (readily plays as board or miniatures)
Wargames and wargaming as computer terms
Another common use of the term "Wargame" is among the Hacker community (specifically White-hats), referring to a server that is set up specifically for the purpose of being hacked into. This allows the hacker to have a server to hack into, without the need to worry about the legal issues, as the owner is knowingly allowing this to happen.
See also
- Aggressor squadron (aircraft in military wargames)
- List of board wargames
- List of wargame publishers
External links
- Free Computer Wargames (http://www.dhq.nu/freewargames/) A directory of free computer wargames.
- Modern Wargame (http://www.thewargame.tk)A forum-based wargame, with Modern, World War II and World War I formats. Created by Glenn Botto
- ConsimWorld.com (http://www.consimworld.com): forum for companies and wargamers both, and a great source
- Web-Grognards (http://www.grognard.com) has a listing of most every game and publisher, usually with reviews, extra scenarios, after action reports, etc
- The Complete Wargames Handbook (http://www.hyw.com/Books/WargamesHandbook/Contents.htm) on-line, by James F. Dunnigan
- The Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (http://www.aagad.org/)
- The Game Manufacturers' Association (http://www.gama.org)
- Board Game Players Association (http://www.boardgamers.org), noncommercial group manages the Avaloncon convention and other board wargame events
- Free Wargames Rules (http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk), A site that hosts and links to hundreds of free rules for miniature gaming
- Boardgame Geek (http://www.boardgamegeek.com), A site with resources, ratings, commentary, and much more on all great variety of boardgames
- E-Mail Games Website (http://members.shaw.ca/emg.pbm/emg.htm)
- Tom's Spaceship Miniature/Game List (http://zappa.brainiac.com/spaceship), an attempt to list all games and miniatures used in games that deal with spaceships
- The Miniatures Page (http://theminiaturespage.com), a tabletop wargaming site providing daily hobby news, manufacturers and other directories, forums, etc.
- Mastering Simulation: Online Course (http://www.modelbenders.com/mastersim.html)
- Personalized Game Recommendations (http://www.ratingzone.com/) Patended video game recommendation system. Claims to be right 90% of the time.
- traumhaendler.de (http://www.traumhaendler.de), a miniature fansite showing models of various wargames
- PullThePlug (http://www.pulltheplug.org/), Information Security Wargames
- jimwallman.org/wargame (http://www.jimwallman.org.uk/wargame/index.htm), Free wargame rulesde:Konfliktsimulation