HG Wells and Wargaming

[Caledonian]

so, this might be common knowledge but I just learnt it and it's absolutely blown my mind.
H.G. Wells, the well known victorian author I trust we all know, wrote the very first documented rules for a tabletop wargame.

He called it Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books
the title itself delights me for reasons I cannot quite articulate.
From what i can tell so far, until i go actually looking if i can get my hands on a copy of Little Wars (it might be on project guntenburg if i am lucky), it was meant to be played with the toy soldiers kids at the time tended to already have but gave rules for troupe movement and combat.

[Caledonian]

From wikipedia

[Sir Henry]

Little Wars by H. G. Wells : https://archive.org/details/little_wars

[Caledonian]

thank you sir henry! I will be reading that

[Caledonian]

hehe, I am amused by the way HG Wells starts introducing Little Wars.


"LITTLE WARS" is the game of kings-for players in an inferior social position. It can be played by boys of every age from twelve to one hundred and fifty-and even later if the limbs remain sufficiently supple-by girls of the better sort, and by a few rare and gifted women. This is to be a full History of Little Wars from its recorded and authenticated beginning until the present time, an account of how to make little warfare, and hints of the most priceless sort for the recumbent strategist....

like, you can tell that he's wanting to say this game can be enjoyed by all who want to play, but he's also still a victorian he has to point out it's "that special kind of woman" (as opposed to the average woman)

...still more progressive than some of todays wargame enjoyers

[Felscor]

Actually, not the worst game system for shot and pike style play. I wouldn't apply it to WWI or later, but otherwise its ok.
My one criticism is that its incomplete, half baked. He passes over most rulings as up to the players in the circumstances to make a ruling. Not that it's the worst approach, D&D1e had similar enough albeit not exactly; except they wrote down those house rules and developed 2e. Here, with W.G.Wells, we have a fun concept, but not a legitimate product.

That said, I love the captives rules, and the need of support or become isolated. Also its simplicity makes it easy to remember how the system works.

I would try it out.