One-Hour Wargames
One-Hour Wargames

Author: Neil Thomas

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-09-03

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1473840937

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A fun and practical new approach to wargaming that lets you complete a game in about an hour—includes rule sets and scenarios for most popular periods. One of the biggest problems facing wargamers is finding the time to actually play. Most commercially available games require several hours to set up and see to a conclusion; some can even take a whole day or weekend to complete. Apart from time, lack of space can also keep wargamers from enjoying their favorite pastime. In One-hour Wargames, veteran gamer and rule-writer Neil Thomas has addressed both problems. Now it is practical to play a satisfying game in around an hour on a normal dining table or living room floor. The book contains 8 all-new sets of very simple rules for various periods—from Ancient to WW2—and thirty stimulating scenarios which can be played using any of them. All the rules and scenarios are intended to be played on a 3ft x 3ft battlefield. The rules only require a small number of miniatures, so this really is an ideal way for new gamers, or veterans trying a new period, to get started with minimal investment of time and money. Also ideal for a quick game in the evening with a friend. Also included are sections on campaigns and solo games.

The Craft of Wargaming
The Craft of Wargaming

Author: Jeffrey Appleget

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2020-09-01

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 1682473775

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The Craft of Wargaming is designed to support supervisors, planners, and analysts who use wargames to support their organizations' missions. The authors focus on providing analysts and planners with a clear methodology that allows them to initiate, design, develop, conduct, and analyze wargames. Built around the analytic wargaming construct, organizations or individuals can easily adapt this methodology to construct educational and experiential wargames. The book breaks the wargame creation process into five distinct phases: Initiate, Design, Develop, Conduct, and Analyze. For each phase, the authors identify key tasks a wargaming team must address to have a reasonable chance at designing, developing, conducting, and analyzing a successful wargame. While these five stages are critical to the process of constructing any wargame, it should be understood that the craft of wargaming is learned through active participation, not by reading or watching. This craft must be practiced as part of the learning process, and the included practical exercises provide an opportunity to experience the construction of an analytical wargame. The authors also discuss critical supervisory tasks that are essential to manage the wargaming team's efforts. While the creators are focused on the design and development of the game itself, supervisors must set conditions for the wargame to be a success (best practices) and beware of the pitfalls that may set the wargame up to fail (worst practices). The book demonstrates using the analytical wargaming framework to create relevant and useful planning wargames. It also reinforces using the analytical wargaming framework for seminar wargames that, without rigor, are useless. The book demonstrates the benefits of using the analytical wargaming process to design educational and experiential games.

Simulation and Wargaming
Simulation and Wargaming

Author: Charles Turnitsa

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2022-02-15

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 1119604788

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Understanding the potential synergies between computer simulation and wargaming Based on the insights of experts in both domains, Simulation and Wargaming comprehensively explores the intersection between computer simulation and wargaming. This book shows how the practice of wargaming can be augmented and provide more detail-oriented insights using computer simulation, particularly as the complexity of military operations and the need for computational decision aids increases. The distinguished authors have hit upon two practical areas that have tremendous applications to share with one another but do not seem to be aware of that fact. The book includes insights into: The application of the data-driven speed inherent to computer simulation to wargames The application of the insight and analysis gained from wargames to computer simulation The areas of concern raised by the combination of these two disparate yet related fields New research and application opportunities emerging from the intersection Addressing professionals in the wargaming, modeling, and simulation industries, as well as decision makers and organizational leaders involved with wargaming and simulation, Simulation and Wargaming offers a multifaceted and insightful read and provides the foundation for future interdisciplinary progress in both domains.

The Art of Wargaming
The Art of Wargaming

Author: Peter P. Perla

Publisher: US Naval Institute Press

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780870210501

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The author discusses fundamental principles and techniques governing the design and use of war games.

Zones of Control
Zones of Control

Author: Pat Harrigan

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 845

ISBN-13: 026233495X

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A look at wargaming’s past, present, and future—from digital games to tabletop games—and its use in entertainment, education, and military planning. With examples from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Harpoon, Warhammer 40,000, and more! Games with military themes date back to antiquity, and yet they are curiously neglected in much of the academic and trade literature on games and game history. This volume fills that gap, providing a diverse set of perspectives on wargaming’s past, present, and future. In Zones of Control, contributors consider wargames played for entertainment, education, and military planning, in terms of design, critical analysis, and historical contexts. They consider both digital and especially tabletop games, most of which cover specific historical conflicts or are grounded in recognizable real-world geopolitics. Game designers and players will find the historical and critical contexts often missing from design and hobby literature; military analysts will find connections to game design and the humanities; and academics will find documentation and critique of a sophisticated body of cultural work in which the complexity of military conflict is represented in ludic systems and procedures. Each section begins with a long anchoring chapter by an established authority, which is followed by a variety of shorter pieces both analytic and anecdotal. Topics include the history of playing at war; operations research and systems design; wargaming and military history; wargaming’s ethics and politics; gaming irregular and non-kinetic warfare; and wargames as artistic practice.

Battlefields in Miniature
Battlefields in Miniature

Author: Paul Davies

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2015-05-30

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1781592748

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Like a good general, a good wargamer should have an eye for the ground. Just as the nature of the battlefield plays a central role in real warfare, so miniature wargames are greatly enhanced by realistic terrain. Besides, when you've spent hundreds of hours collecting and painting your miniature armies, they surely deserve ground worth fighting for. Master terrain modeller Paul Davies takes the reader through the process of creating a visually appealing yet practical terrain system. First the techniques of making the basic landscape are explained, then a series of projects show how this can be adapted to suit different periods or geographic locations (eg European farmland or Sudanese desert). There are then detailed chapters on adding vegetation, buildings, roadways, trench systems etc. The clear, step-by-step instructions are clearly illustrated by numerous specially-taken photographs of the work in progress and Paul's inspirational finished pieces.

One-hour Wargames
One-hour Wargames

Author: Neil Thomas

Publisher: Pen and Sword

Published: 2014-09-03

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 1473822904

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One of the biggest problems facing wargamers is finding the time to actually play. Most commercially available sets of rules require several hours to set up and play to a conclusion; some can easily swallow up a whole day or weekend. For many gamers this means that their lavishly prepared miniature armies rarely get used at all. Apart from time, the other consideration is space, which further constrains the opportunities for a game. In One-hour Wargames, veteran gamer and rule-writer Neil Thomas has addressed both these problems. Now it is practical to play a game in around an hour on a normal dining table or living room floor. ??The book contains 8 (all-new) sets of very simple rules for various periods, from Ancient to WW2 and 30 scenarios which can be played using any of them, so you don't even have to take too much time thinking up a stimulating tactical situation and objectives. All the rules and scenarios are intended to be played on a 3ft x 3ft battlefield. The rules only require a small number of miniatures, so this really is an ideal way for new gamers, or veterans trying a new period, to get started with minimal investment of time and money. Also ideal for a quick game in the evening when a friend pops round. There are also sections on campaigns and solo games.