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Encyclopedia > War gaming
Image:Split-arrows.gif It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. (Discuss)
This article is about the civilian hobby. For similar terms, see War Games.

Wargaming is the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as war games. It was invented by Prussian officers with the Kriegspiel, and is still used today in modern war games [1] but has since also became a civilian hobby which originated around the beginning of the 20th century, in which one or more players simulate battles or entire wars as a type of simulation game. The complexity and/or 'realisim' of the game can vary widely, as can the actual purpose of the game (from a study of the subject, to pure entertainment). At first, subjects were generally historical or contemporary in nature, but science-fiction and fantasy have also proven popular subects. Image File history File links Derived from public domain images featured at: http://commons. ... War Games may refer to: WarGames, a 1983 film by John Badham WarGames (game), a Colecovision video game War Game, Childrens book and animated short film The War Game, a 1965 BBC film for television Wargaming, games that simulate battle or conflict situations War Games (comics), Batman crossover dealing... Planning, calculating, or the giving or receiving of information. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... A war exercise is a type of military preparation that simulates combat situations and conditions. ... A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ...

Contents


History of wargaming

Modern wargaming grew out of the military need to study warfare and to 'reenact' old battles for learning purposes. Frederick the Great, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, was "obsessed" with automata [2] and played with miniature wargames. According to Manuel de Landa's War in the Age of Intelligent Machines, "he put together his armies as a well-oiled clockwork mechanism whose components were robot-like warriors. No individual initiative was allowed to Frederick's soldiers; their only role was to cooperate in the creation of walls of projectiles through synchronized firepower. Under the pressure of the increased accuracy and range of firearms, military commanders in the following centuries were forced to grant responsibility to the individual soldier, to let him run for cover or stalk the enemy, for instance. The human will returned to the battlefield." [3] The only atomic weapons ever used in war - the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan by the United States on August 9, 1945, effectively ending World War II. The bombs over Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki immediately killed over 120,000 people. ... Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740 to 1786. ... Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... 1786 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. ... Three Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures. ... Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ... War in the Age of Intelligent Machines (1991) is a book by Manuel de Landa which traces the history of warfare. ... Gear with escapment mechanism In mechanical engineering, a clockwork is either a lightweight mechanical linkage, especially one involving multiple axles, or a complete mechanical device whose functioning relies on internal clockwork (in the preceding sense), especially where muscular effort is the sole source of operating power. ... In philosophy, mechanism is a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. ... A humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... A firearm is a kinetic energy weapon that fires either a single or multiple projectiles propelled at high velocity by the gases produced by action of the rapid confined burning of a propellant. ...


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 Kriegspiel, which was invented in the beginning of the 19th century. The first wargames were played with die which represented the "irrational circumstances" during a real war (including morale, meteorology, the fog of war, etc). 21st century militaries still use wargames to simulate future wars and modelize their reaction. According to Manuel de Landa, after World War II the Command Control Communication (C3) was transfered from the military staff to the RAND Corporation, the first think tank. Von Neumann was employed by the RAND Corporation, and his game theory was used in wargames to modelize nuclear dissuasion during the Cold War. Thus, the US nuclear strategy was defined using wargames, SAM representing the US and IVAN the Soviet Union. Early game theory included only zero-sum games, which means that when one player won, the other automatically lost. The Prisoner's dilemma, which modelize the situation of two prisoners in which each one is given the choice to betray or not the other, gave three alternatives to the game: The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (Old Prussian: Prūsa, German: Preußen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Look up die in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Morale is a term for the capacity of people to maintain belief in an institution or a goal. ... Satellite image of Hurricane Hugo with a polar low visible at the top of the image. ... The fog of war is the lack of knowledge that occurs during a war. ... Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Alternate meanings: See RAND (disambiguation) The RAND Corporation is an American think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the U.S. military. ... This article is about the institution. ... John von Neumann (Neumann János) (December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian mathematician and polymath of Jewish ancestry who made important contributions in quantum physics, functional analysis, set theory, economics, computer science, numerical analysis, hydrodynamics (of explosions), statistics and many other mathematical fields. ... Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that studies strategic situations where players choose different actions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ... Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. ... The Cold War was the protracted geopolitical, ideological, and economic struggle that emerged after World War II between the global superpowers of the Soviet Union and the United States, supported by their alliance partners. ... Nuclear strategy involves the development of doctrines and strategies for the production and use of nuclear weapons. ... Zero-sum describes a situation in which a participants gain (or loss) is exactly balanced by the losses (or gains) of the other participant(s). ... Will the two prisoners cooperate to minimize total loss of liberty or will one of them, trusting the other to cooperate, betray him so as to go free? Many points in this article may be difficult to understand without a background in the elementary concepts of game theory. ...

  • Neither prisoners betray each other, and both are given short-term sentences
  • One prisoner betray the other, and is freed, while the other gets a long sentence
  • Both prisoners betray each other, and both are given mid-sized sentences

While the last is their best overall choice, neither of them can be sure that the other wouldn't betray him (and thus be freed while he would get a long sentence). Thus, betrayal was considered as the most rational thing to do, i.e. minimaxing the losses (getting the possible loss to be the minimal possible). This modelization gave the basis for the massive retaliation nuclear doctrine. The zero-sum fallacy and cooperative games would be theorized only later, while the evolution of nuclear technology and missiles made the massive relatiation nuclear strategy obsolete. [4]. Minimax (sometimes minmax) is a method in decision theory for minimizing the maximum possible loss. ... Possibility comprises that which one can achieve, or alternatively ones potential. ... Massive Retaliation is a military doctrine in which an entity commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack. ... This article or section should include material from Lump of labour fallacy A zero-sum fallacy is a logical error committed by assuming that some quantity is constant when it is not. ... A residential smoke detector is for most people the most familiar piece of nuclear technology Nuclear technology is technology that involves the reactions of atomic nuclei. ... A missile (British English: miss-isle; U.S. English: missl) is, in general, a projectile—that is, something thrown or otherwise propelled. ...


Military wargaming was thus progressively improved, although according to Manuel de Landa it still suffers today from a systemic bias on conflict against cooperative behavior. Die, which were a rational way to represent chaos, were replaced by the Prussians by artillery range tables, and then by evaluation of each weapon's lethality, etc., all modernization of military wargames which are used in modern civilian wargames (compare the evolution of old roleplaying games (RPG) such as Dungeons and Dragons with modern computer role-playing games). Systemic bias is a neologism used to describe a bias which is endemic in or inherent to a system, especially a human system. ... Conflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people or groups of people, which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply role-playing games (RPGs), are a type of video or computer game that traditionally use gameplay elements found in paper-and-pencil role-playing games. ...


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 cardboard counters and hex maps, was invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952 called Tactics; he went on to found the Avalon Hill game company, 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 the Avalon Hill Game Company in 1964. Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked... H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Time Machine. ... 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, written by the famous author H. G. Wells, was a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers. ... Teddy bear A toy is something to play with, for children, adults or both, or pets. ... This article is about the term counter used in electronics and computing. ... A Hex map, or hexagonal map is often used in tactical board games. ... Categories: Stub | Board game designers ... 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 General Magazine The General Magazine (variously called Avalon Hills General or simply The General) was first published in 1964, as a bi-monthly periodical devoted to supporting Avalon Hills line of wargames, with articles on game tactics, history, and industry news. ... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ...


This, of course, merely refers to the modern hobby refered 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. A simulation is an imitation of some real device or state of affairs. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players. ...


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)

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. Three Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures. ... Minis of Legolas and an orc of Isengard, manufactured by Mithril Miniatures A miniature figure—also known as a miniature or just a mini—is a small figurine commonly used in role playing games (RPGs) such as Dungeons & Dragons. ... A physical model is used in various contexts to mean a physical representation of some thing. ... Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to card games, board games, parlor games, role-playing games, miniature wargames, tile-based games and other games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface. ... Three Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures. ...


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 labor intensive than other forms of wargaming.


Board wargaming

'Board wargames' are the part of the hobby that popularized the term initially, and is what commonly comes to mind first when 'wargamming' is mentioned. 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. Simulations Publications, Inc. ...


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 Hasbro logo uses a smile to indicate the carefree nature of its products. ...


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 movment, 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 have 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 that cards have events outside the area of the map or events outside the general scope of the play of the game. 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.

MAP can refer to: MAP, the ISO 639 alpha-3 for Austronesian languages Maghreb Arab Press, a news agency Malawi Against Polio Manifold absolute pressure, an important sensor in automobiles maximum a posteriori, an estimator in statistics Missouri Assessment Program Mobile Application Part, a protocol used in GSM networks Monoammonium... A Hex map, or hexagonal map is often used in tactical board games. ... In plane geometry, a square is a polygon with four equal sides and equal angles. ... A regular hexagon A hexagon (also known as sexagon) is a polygon with six edges and six vertices. ... Risk is the potential impact (positive or negative) to an asset or some characteristic of value that may arise from some present process or from some future event. ... An example of a counter from the wargame Dunkerque by Last Stand Games. ... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ... A military unit is an organisation within an armed force. ... A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment (such as a uniform and weapon) to defend that country or its interests. ... An example of a block, from the block wargame Crusader Rex by Columbia Games. ... The fog of war is the lack of knowledge that occurs during a war. ... Chits are a type of boardgame counter that are generally not directly representational but used for the following purposes in wargaming: Tracking, being placed on a numeric runner to indicate turn status, as in some rule variants for Squad Leader. ... Typical role-playing dice, showing a variety of colors and styles. ... Chess is an abstract strategy board game for two players. ... Go, also known as Wéiqí in Mandarin Chinese (Traditional Chinese: 圍棋; Simplified Chinese: 围棋), is a strategic, deterministic Chinese board game played by alternately placing stones on a grid. ... A card is generally a small flat object, typically made from heavy paper or plastic. ... A rulebook is a book containing a list of rules. ...

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 (The computer does the simulation)
  • 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)
  • ability to view only a part of the battlefield in detail at a time (see Fog of war), adding realism
  • no need to paint miniatures
  • easy to find opponents on the Internet

Disadvantages of computerized wargames: The fog of war is the lack of knowledge that occurs during a war. ...

  • 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
  • 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
  • player(s) can't easily modify the rules or adapt them to similar situations
  • loss of the tactile satisfaction in moving finely painted figures about the tabletop
  • use of house rules and customization usually impossible

A multiplayer game is a video game in which multiple people can play the same game at the same time. ... A screenshot of computer software in action. ... House rules is a phrase referring to a unique set of rules applying only in a certain location or organization; may also be called rules of the house. ...

Computer-assisted wargaming

Computer-assisted wargaming attempts to combine the advantages of computerized wargaming with those of paper-and-pencil wargaming. Computers are used for recordkeeping and sometimes for the resolution of combat, but a human referee makes any decisions requiring judgement. Computer-assisted wargaming is sometimes abbreviated as "CAG," which stands for "computer-assisted gaming." Computer-assisted gaming (or CAG) refers to games which are at least partially computerized, but which are actively regulated by a human referee. ...


Computer wargaming genres

Traditional wargaming, which is generally turn-based, differs from computer games which are usually real-time (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. Games of the real-time strategy genre are fast-paced games of snap decisions, reflexes, coordination and base-building, and leverages the computer's higher ability to simulate and provide interface for economical simulation. Also, RTS games require less sophisticated artificial intelligence on the part of computer players. Real-time tactics games on the other hand focus on realistically simulating real battles without the resource acquistion or unit replacement, requiring equally fast thinking but of a more tactical form. AI requirements are also greater for RTT games. Non-real time computer wargaming genres include turn-based strategy and turn-based tactics. The Battle for Wesnoth turn-based strategy, released under the GPL. A turn-based game, also known as turn-based strategy, is a game where the game flow is partitioned in well-defined and visible parts, called turns or rounds. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Age of Empires (1997), Invasion of an enemy A real-time strategy (RTS) game is a type of computer game characterised by being in real-time being a wargame (strategic) featuring resource gathering featuring base building technology development using direct control over individual units Thus, RTS titles are strategy wargames... Hondas intelligent humanoid robot AI redirects here. ... A real-time tactic (RTT) game is a type of computer strategy game which does not have turns like conventional turn-based strategy video or board games. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... It has been suggested that Turn-based tactics be merged into this article or section. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards and make it easier to understand, this article or section may require cleanup. ...


E-mail and wargaming

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. A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. ... A modem (a portmanteau word constructed from modulator and demodulator) is a device that modulates a carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. ...


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: Ancient history is the study of significant cultural and political events from the beginning of human history until the Early Middle Ages. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Smokeless powder Gunpowder, whether black powder or smokeless powder, is a substance that burns very rapidly, releasing gases that act as a propellant in firearms. ... The Napoleonic Era is a period in the History of France. ... Combatants Union (remaining U.S. states) Confederate States of America Commanders Abraham Lincoln† Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties KIA: 110,000 Total dead: 360,000 Wounded: 275,200 KIA: 94,000 Total dead: 258,000 Wounded: 137,000+  The... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead:5 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:8 million Military dead:4 million Civilian dead:3 million Total dead:7 million The First World... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) United States of America South Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand the Philippines Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) Strength ~1,200,000 (1968) ~420,000 (1968) Casualties South Vietnamese dead: 230,000 South Vietnamese wounded: 300,000 US dead... Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders George H. W. Bush, Norman Schwarzkopf, Colin Powell Saddam Hussein, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, Hussein Kamel Strength 660,000 ~545,000 Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 - 100,000 dead, 100,000 - 300,000 wounded The 1991 Gulf War (also Persian...

Nuclear arms may play a large role in the hypothetical war. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Space marines are fictional soldiers that operate in outer space. ... A spacecraft is designed to leave Earths atmosphere and operate beyond the surface of the Earth in space. ... A directed-energy weapon is a type of energy weapon that directs energy in a particular direction by a means other than a projectile. ... // For other meanings see Fantasy (disambiguation) Fantasy is a genre of art, literature, film, television, games and music that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of either plot, theme, setting, or all three. ...

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.

Grand strategy is military strategy considered at the level of the movement and use of an entire nation state or empires resources. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... A corps (a word that immigrated from the French language, pronounced IPA: , but originating in the Latin corpus, corporis meaning body; plural same as singular) is either a large military unit or formation, an administrative grouping of troops within an army with a common function (such as artillery or signals... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ... Buyers bargain for good prices while sellers put forth their best front in Chichicastenango Market, Guatemala. ... The United Nations, with its headquarters in New York City, is the largest international diplomatic organization. ... One of the most influential doctrines in history is that all humans are divided into groups called nations. ... Symbol of the Austrian 14th Armoured Battalion in NATO code In military terminology, a battalion consists of two to six companies typically commanded by a lieutenant colonel. ... Symbol of the Polish 1st Legions Infantry Division in NATO code A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... Find more information on Weather by searching Wikipedias sister projects: Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary Textbooks from Wikibooks Quotations from Wikiquote Source texts from Wikisource Images and media from Commons News stories from Wikinews Weather is an all-encompassing term used to describe all of the many and varied phenomena... Look up Logistics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In the military sciences, a military campaign encompass related military operations, usually conducted by a defense or fighting force, directed at gaining a particular desired state of affairs, usually within geographical and temporal limitations. ... Tactical wargames are wargames in which units range from individual vehicles and squads to platoons or companies, and are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... A squad is a small military unit subordinate to an infantry platoon. ... Platoon is a term from military science. ... // US Army In the United States military, infantry companies are usually made up of three rifle platoons and a heavy weapons platoon; tank companies are usually made up of three tank platoons and a command element. ... A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment (such as a uniform and weapon) to defend that country or its interests. ... A wound is type of physical trauma wherein the skin is torn, cut or punctured (an open wound), or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion (a closed wound). ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... Man-to-Man wargames are wargames in which units generally represent single individuals or weapons systems, and are rated not only on weaponry but may also be rated on such facets as morale, perception, skill-at-arms, etc. ... Patrol was a board wargame released in the early 1970s as a companion to Sniper! in 1974 by Simulations Publications, Inc. ... Sniper! (properly spelled with an exclamation mark at the end) was a board game originally released in 1973. ...

Endnotes

  1. ^ Manuel de Landa, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines
  2. ^ See Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, New York, Vintage Books, 1979, p.136: "The celebrated automata [of the 18th century] were not only a way of illustrating an organism, they were also political puppets, small-scale models of power: Frederick, the meticulous king of small machines, well-trained regiments and long exercises, was obsessed with them."
  3. ^ Manuel de Landa, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines, p.127, Swerve Editions, New York, 1991
  4. ^ Concerning the use of military wargames, see Manuel de Landa, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines

Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ... Michel Foucault Michel Foucault (October 15, 1926 – June 25, 1984) was a French philosopher who held a chair at the Collège de France, which he gave the title The History of Systems of Thought. ... Discipline and Punish (subtitled The Birth of the Prison) is a book written by the philosopher Michel Foucault. ... An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. ... Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ... War in the Age of Intelligent Machines (1991) is a book by Manuel de Landa which traces the history of warfare. ... Manuel DeLanda, (born 1952 in Mexico City), is a writer, artist and distinguished philosopher who has lived in New York since 1975. ...

Notable wargamers

  • Frederick II of Prussia, who played with miniature wargames and automatons
  • H.G. Wells - Known as the "Father of miniature wargaming", author of Little Wars
  • Charles S. Roberts - Known as the "Father of modern board wargaming", founder of Avalon Hill.
  • Tony Bath - founder of The Society of Ancients
  • Phil Barker - one of the founders of the UK's Wargames Research Group
  • Larry Bond - designer of "Harpoon" most respected contempory naval wargame and best selling author
  • Frank Chadwick - Founder of Game Designers Workshop, prolific wargame designer and inovator
  • Walter Cronkite - Noted war correspondent and CBS News anchorman
  • Joe Dever - computer and video games designer, author of Lone Wolf
  • Jim Dunnigan - The Dean of Modern Wargaming, founder of SPI most prolific print wargame designer, many firsts in wargame design.
  • Don Featherstone - known in the UK as the father of modern wargaming
  • Donald Greenwood - Original publisher of Panzerfaust magazine. Took over as editor of the Avalon Hill General. Eventually rising to Vice President. Currently runs the Boardgame Players Association (BPA).
  • Charles Grant, author of The Wargame.
  • Paddy Griffith
  • Alessandro Barbero - teacher of Medieval History in North Piemonte University of Italy, prized writer of historical essays and fictional books
  • George Gush
  • Gary Gygax - Creator and publisher of Dungeons and Dragons;
  • Joseph Miranda - editor of Strategy & Tactics, prolific wargame designer, inovator in depicting human factors
  • Curt Schilling - Founded Multi-Man Publishing to keep Advanced Squad Leader alive.
  • Lionel Tarr
  • C.F. Wesencraft - author of "Practical Wargaming" and "With Pike and Shot"
  • Brigadier Peter Young
  • Phil Dunn - Founder of the Naval Wargames Society
  • Thomas N. Shaw - The Man In The Middle (Avalon Hill Game Designer).
  • Christopher R. Wagner - The Man and the Hobby (founder of Strategy and Tactics).
  • Redmond A. Simonsen - Graphics Gamespeak (Pioneer of game graphics as a system, also rule standarization and game designer at SPI).
  • John Hill - (Wargame designer at both Avalon Hill and SPI).
  • Irad "Terry" Hardy - (Head of R&D at SPI and wargame designer - War Between The States).
  • Frank Davis - Mr. Meticulous (Wargame designer at SPI - Wellington's Victory).
  • Richard Berg - (Wargame designer, worked at SPI - Terrible Swift Sword).
  • David Isby - (Wargame designer at SPI - Soldiers).
  • John Prados - (Wargame designer, Avalon Hill Third Reich).
  • Ty Bomba - (Wargame designer, Decision Games and founder of XRT's Command Magazine).

Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740 to 1786. ... A drummer automaton An automaton (plural: automata) is a self-operating machine. ... H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946) was a British writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man, The Island of Doctor Moreau and The Time Machine. ... 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, written by the famous author H. G. Wells, was a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers. ... Categories: Stub | Board game designers ... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... The Society of Ancients or SOA is a UK based, International society that promotes interest in Ancient & Medieval history and wargaming. ... The Wargames Research Group (WRG) publish wargaming rules. ... Larry Bond (1952 - ) lives with his wife Jeanne and daughters Katie and Julia in Virginia outside Washington DC. He 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 combat simulation computer game based upon Larry Bonds miniatures game of the same name. ... Frank Chadwick is a games designer. ... Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ... Joe Dever Joe Dever (b. ... Lone Wolf is the protagonist in a collection of 28 gamebooks, created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated by Gary Chalk. ... James F. Dunnigan (born 1943) is an author and wargame designer currently living in New York City, notable for his matter-of-fact approach to military analysis. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... The Boardgame Players Association is a non-profit corporation established to support the shared interests of board game players. ... Charles Grant was a game industry author who helped popularize the hobby of tabletop wargaming. ... George Gush (as of 1980) was the head of the history section of West Kent Colleges Social and Academic Studies Department. He is most notable for his work on wargaming. ... Ernest Gary Gygax, 2004 Ernest Gary Gygax (born July 27, 1938 in Chicago, Illinois, son of a Swiss immigrant father and an American mother ) is best known as the author of the well known fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), co-created with Dave Arneson and co-published... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966 in Anchorage, Alaska) is a right-handed starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks following the 2003 season. ... Advanced Squad Leader 2nd Edition Rulebook Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a tactical level board wargame that simulates small unit actions of approximately company or battalion size in World War II. It is not simply a game, but rather a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitaire... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... John Hill (c. ... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... Wellingtons Victory, Op. ... Prolific wargame designer and winner of the Charles S. Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... SPI may mean: SCSI Parallel Interface Security Parameter Index (networking) Serial Peripheral Interface (electronics) Service Provider Interface Simulations Publications Inc. ... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... Decision Games is a wargaming company that appears to have bought most of the rights to many Simulations Publications games, and is reprinting many as well as creating new games. ...

Notable wargames

A board game is any game played on a board (that is, a premarked surface) with counters or pieces that are placed on, removed from, or moved across the board. ... This is a list of board wargames by genre. ... A House Divided is an American Civil War board wargame, designed by Frank Chadwick and released in 1981 by Game Designers Workshop. ... Advanced Squad Leader 2nd Edition Rulebook Advanced Squad Leader (ASL) is a tactical level board wargame that simulates small unit actions of approximately company or battalion size in World War II. It is not simply a game, but rather a detailed game system for two or more players (with solitaire... Ancients is a board-based wargame designed by Bill Banks. ... Box art for the Milton Bradley edition Axis and Allies is a strategy board game by the Milton Bradley Company set during World War II. Milton Bradley released it as part of their Gamemaster series in 1984 and it was the most successful of the five; in April 2004, Hasbro... 20 Year Anniversary of BattleTech logo. ... Blood Bowl is a tabletop board game created by Jervis Johnson for the British games company Games Workshop as a parody of American Football. ... The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max, was Germanys highest military order awarded during World War I. The award was first founded in 1740, named in French, the language of the royal court, for merit. ... Box art for US edition Civilization is a board game designed by Francis Tresham, published in Britain in 1980 by Hartland Trefoil (later by Gibson Games), and in the US in 1981 by Avalon Hill. ... Online version of Cosmic Encounter Cosmic Encounter is a board game that has the capacity for nearly infinite variety, each player taking the role of a particular alien species attempting to establish control over the universe. ... Diplomacy game board, showing regions and boundaries. ... Empires in Arms is an out-of-print board game by Harry Rowland, published by the Australian Design Group in 1983. ... Europa is a series of board wargames planned to cover combat over the entire European Theater of World War II at a scale that represents units as divisions and game turns that represent two weeks of time. ... Fortress America is a strategic board game published in 1986 by Milton Bradley. ... Kingmaker can refer to the following: Kingmaker is a term referred to during the middle ages whereby nobles would conspire to interfere in the sucession to the thrones of kingdoms, either by political or religious means, or by more overt tactics sometimes amounting to undeclared war. ... Magic Realm boardgame Magic Realm is a fantasy board game designed by Richard Hamblen and manufactured by Avalon Hill in 1979. ... Napoleon is a strategic-level wargame covering the Waterloo Campaign of the Hundred Days after Napoleons return from Elba starting with the French invasion of Belgium on June 15th 1815. ... Ogre is a board wargame first released in 1977, as the first Metagaming Microgame by Steve Jackson. ... Box art Panzerblitz is a tactical-scale board wargame of tank, artillery, and infantry combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. ... Shogun (later renamed Samurai Swords in 1995) was a board game released in 1986 by game maker Milton Bradley as part of their Gamemaster series. ... Squad Leader game // Introduction Original purple topped SL box Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. ... Star Fleet Battles is a tactical strategy board game set in the Star Fleet Universe originally created in 1979 by Stephen V. Cole; it has since been updated many times. ... Stratego is a strategic board game featuring a 10 × 10 square board and two players with 40 pieces each. ... Tactics II Tactics II is a wargame designed by Charles S. Roberts and published by the Avalon Hill game company in 1958 and then re-released again in 1961 and 1972. ... Avalon Hill 3rd Edition cover Rise and Decline of the Third Reich or more commonly Third Reich is a classic grand strategy wargame covering the European theater of World War II designed by Don Greenwood and John Prados, and released in 1974 by Avalon Hill. ... Titan is an Avalon Hill fantasy board game for two to six players. ... Victory in the Pacific Victory in the Pacific is a wargame published by the Avalon Hill game company in 1977. ... WAR IN EUROPE. Board game created by SPI ( STRATEGIC PUBLICATIONS INC )in the seventies, it was a combination of two previously published games WAR IN THE WEST and WAR IN THE EAST.It became a monster game needing several square feet of room for the maps and days to play. ... 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. ... World in Flames is a board wargame designed by Harry Rowland and released in 1985 by the Australian Design Group. ... Three Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures. ... Ætherverse is a table top miniature wargame designed by Jason Lauborough of Triskele Game Design Studios. ... Image:Bkc. ... Crossfire is a board game created by the Milton Bradley Company in 1971. ... 20 Year Anniversary of BattleTech logo. ... De Bellis Antiquitatis or DBA is a fast play set of rules for the hobby of historical miniature wargaming, particularly medieval and ancient wargaming in the period 3000 BC to 1485 AD. These rules allow entire armies to be represented by less than 50 figures. ... The original Dungeons & Dragons set Dungeons & Dragons (abbreviated as D&D or DnD) is a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) published by Gary Gygax and David Arneson in January 1974. ... Empire is a classic Napoleonics wargame first published by Scott Bowden and Jim Getz in 1977. ... A table top wargame using metal miniatures at a scale of 1/100. ... HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game produced by WizKids, Inc. ... Mage Knight is a miniatures wargame using collectible figures, created by WizKids, Inc. ... // Introduction Megablitz is an operational-level wargame that was developed by Tim Gow (with the assistance of Bob Cordery) to fill a niche in the range of wargames that were currently available. ... Principles of War is a book published in 1969 for the Japanese selfdefense force. ... Starship Marine is a set of science fiction wargaming minatures rules about boarding and capturing starships, developed and written in the UK by Jim Wallman. ... West End Games is a company that makes role playing games. ... Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is a publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes. ... This is about the board game Striker. ... These colonial wargames rules were first drafted by Larry Brom over 20 years ago. ... The Wargames Research Group (WRG) publish wargaming rules. ... Cover of the Warhammer 40,000 4th edition rulebook This article is about the tabletop miniature wargame and the fictional universe in which it is set. ... Warhammer Ancient Battles (often referred to as WAB) is a tabletop wargame produced by Games Workshops Warhammer Historical imprint. ... Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th edition rulebook Warhammer Fantasy Battles (often abbreviated as Warhammer or WHFB) is a tabletop wargame created by Games Workshop and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. ... Warmachine is a tabletop wargame produced by Privateer Press. ... Warmaster is a tabletop wargame created by Rick Priestly, published by Games Workshop, and set in the Warhammer Fantasy setting. ... Ace of Aces Handy Rotary Series Ace of Aces is also the title of a 1987 flight-simulation game. ... Car Wars is a combat board game developed by Steve Jackson Games. ... RINGOLEVIO Is a game which may be played anywhere but which originates in the teeming streets of Depression era New York City. ...

See also

A simulation game, or sim game, (also known as a game of status or mixed game) is a game that contains a mixture of skill, a chance and strategy to simulate an aspect of reality, such as a stock exchange. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... Three Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures. ... Grand strategy is military strategy considered at the level of the movement and use of an entire nation state or empires resources. ... A nation-simulation game is a type of simulation game which simulates all or part of one or more nations. ... Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to card games, board games, parlor games, role-playing games, miniature wargames, tile-based games and other games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface. ... This article is about computer and video games. ... Computer-assisted gaming (or CAG) refers to games which are at least partially computerized, but which are actively regulated by a human referee. ... This is a list of board wargames by genre. ... List of wargame publishers is an index of commercial companies that publish wargames. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
The War Game (326 words)
The War Game is a 1965 television film on nuclear war.
The film's war is started following the Chinese invasion of South Vietnam the tensions escalate until NATO pre-emptively strikes at the USSR, who return fire.
The rest of the film 'documents' the collapse of society and then civilization in the radiation sick and psychologically damaged population of the aftermath.
The War Game - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (929 words)
In the 1980s The War Game was followed by such films as The Day After (US TV film, 1983) and Threads (BBC, 1984), the latter of which particularly evoked Peter Watkins' style and delivery.
The War Game itself finally saw television transmission in the United Kingdom on BBC2 on July 31, 1985, as part of a special season of programming entitled After the Bomb (which was also Watkins's original working title for The W