The Art of Wargaming

The Art of Wargaming
Author: Peter P. Perla
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1990
Genre: War Games
ISBN: 9780870210501

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

The Craft of Wargaming

The Craft of Wargaming
Author: Jeffrey Appleget
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 1682473775

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.

Zones of Control

Zones of Control
Author: Pat Harrigan
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 845
Release: 2016-04-15
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 026233495X

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.

On Wargaming

On Wargaming
Author: Matthew B. Caffrey
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2019
Genre: War games
ISBN: 9781935352655

"The History and Theory of War Games throughout the United States and Internationally"--Provided by publisher.

Successful Professional Wargames: A Practitioner's Handbook

Successful Professional Wargames: A Practitioner's Handbook
Author: John Curry
Publisher: Lulu.com
Total Pages: 518
Release: 2019-10-23
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9780244803643

You will benefit from this book if you are a practitioner of the art of serious wargaming. Done well, the simple act of putting players in an immersive environment, asking them to make decisions and then face the consequences of those in a dynamically evolving narrative generates astounding insights and internalises learning objectives. Yet, as Clausewitz said of war, everything in wargaming is simple, but doing the simplest thing is difficult. This book explains the seemingly simple. It is a detailed guide to designing and delivering successful wargames, whether you apply the technique to Defence, other government departments, business, the emergency services, academia or humanitarian operations. This is important because good wargames save money but, first and foremost, they save lives.

Simulation and Wargaming

Simulation and Wargaming
Author: Charles Turnitsa
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2022-02-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1119604788

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.

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook

Tabletop Wargames: A Designers’ and Writers’ Handbook
Author: Rick Priestley
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2016-11-30
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 147389008X

Unlike chess or backgammon, tabletop wargames have no single, accepted set of rules. Most wargamers at some point have had a go at writing their own rules and virtually all have modified commercially available sets to better suit their idea of the ideal game or to adapt favourite rules to a different historical period or setting. But many who try soon find that writing a coherent set of rules is harder than they thought, while tweaking one part of an existing set can often have unforeseen consequences for the game as a whole. Now, at last, help is at hand. Veteran gamer and rules writer John Lambshead has teamed up with the legendary Rick Priestley, creator of Games Workshop’s phenomenally successful Warhammer system, to create this essential guide for any would-be wargame designer or tinkerer. Rick and John give excellent advice on deciding what you want from a wargame and balancing ‘realism’ (be it in a historical or a fantasy/sci-fi context) with playability. They discuss the relative merits of various mechanisms (cards, dice, tables) then discuss how to select and combine these to handle the various essential game elements of turn sequences, combat resolution, morale etc to create a rewarding and playable game that suits your tastes and requirements

Painting Wargaming Figures

Painting Wargaming Figures
Author: Javier Gomez Valero
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 587
Release: 2015-03-30
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 1473852803

The artist known as “El Mercenario” “shares the secrets of his success in this useful guide to painting miniature figures”—includes photos (Stuart Asquith, author and editor of Practical Wargamer). In this accessible “how-to” guide, Javier Gomez, a highly talented figure painter of long experience and excellent reputation, takes the reader step-by-step through the whole process, from choice of materials (unlike other available guides it is not linked to any specific figure manufacturer) and preparation of the miniatures to basing and even advice on photographing the finished item. Techniques such as dry-brushing, ink-washing, shading and highlighting are all explained clearly with the help of step-by-step photographs and color charts. Specific case studies tackle a variety of useful subjects across all periods, such as mixing realistic flesh tones for different races; painting horses; guns and limbers; Medieval heraldry; Napoleonic uniforms; WW2 and modern camouflage patterns. Javier also clearly explains how these techniques and processes can be applied to all the major wargaming scales, from 40mm down to 6mm. Whatever historical period (or Sci-fi/Fantasy) and whatever scale the reader is interested in, this book is an invaluable source of practical advice and inspiration. “Very soon after we started up Perry Miniatures we managed to acquire Javier’s outstanding painting services for our figure collections. He is a true genius with a brush, with a great sense of color that turns figures into masterpieces. His military and uniform knowledge adds a great deal to his ability to produce little painted gems.”—Michael and Alan Perry, Perry Miniatures “I have used some of the suggestions here as well as the highlights for some of my own figures and they have produced improved results.”—Mataka.org

Peter Perla's the Art of Wargaming a Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists

Peter Perla's the Art of Wargaming a Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists
Author: Peter Perla
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2011-08-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781446731246

This book provides the most comprehensive and coherent discussion and analysis of wargaming ever written. It starts by looking at the history of wargaming from both the professional and hobby perspectives. It then goes on to discuss how wargaming can and should be used as part of decision making and training by the military. The first edition sold 15,000 copies.

Black Ops

Black Ops
Author: Guy Bowers
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1472807839

Black Ops is a skirmish wargame of tactical espionage combat that recreates the tension and excitement of modern action-thrillers such as the Bond and Bourne films. The fast-play rules keep all the players in the thick of the action, while the mission generator provides a wide range of options for scenarios – from stealthy extraction or surveillance missions to more overt raids and assaults. Stealth, combat, and technical expertise all have a role to play, and players may recruit a number of different operative types – spies, mercenaries, criminals, hackers, special forces, and many more – to recruit the best possible team for the job. Players may also choose to join a faction – powerful organizations, intelligence agencies, criminal syndicates, militaries, or rebel groups, each with a stake in international affairs. By doing so, their team may receive certain benefits, but may also find itself limited at a crucial time. With the variety offered by the characters, factions, and scenarios, no two games of Black Ops should ever be the same!