
Little Wars – a game by H.G. Wells - hackathonguy
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3691/3691-h/3691-h.htm
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zeveb
Published in 1913; one wonders how many of the boys who played wargames
perished in the civilisational catastrophe which was the Great War.

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walshemj
WW2 more likely given the time scale Keith Douglass Sums it up well I think

The noble horse with courage in his eye,

clean in the bone, looks up at a shellburst:

away fly the images of the shires

but he puts the pipe back in his mouth.

Peter was unfortunately killed by an 88;

it took his leg away, he died in the ambulance.

I saw him crawling on the sand, he said

It's most unfair, they've shot my foot off.

How can I live among this gentle

obsolescent breed of heroes, and not weep?

Unicorns, almost,

for they are fading into two legends

in which their stupidity and chivalry

are celebrated. Each, fool and hero, will be an immortal.

These plains were their cricket pitch

and in the mountains the tremendous drop fences

brought down some of the runners. Here then

under the stones and earth they dispose themselves,

I think with their famous unconcern.

It is not gunfire I hear, but a hunting horn.

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nacs
There's a simplified how-to with photos of what it would look like:

[http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-play-Little-Wars-
by-H...](http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-play-Little-Wars-by-HG-Wells/)

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megaman22
I remember reading this a long time ago. I want to think it was influenced by
the Prussian General Staff Kriegsspiel training exercises

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsspiel_(wargame)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsspiel_\(wargame\))

~~~
axus
The title page:

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)

With an Appendix on Kriegspiel

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cweiss
For some great context around this, I highly recommend "Playing at the world"
by Jon Peterson ([https://www.amazon.com/Playing-at-World-Jon-
Peterson/dp/0615...](https://www.amazon.com/Playing-at-World-Jon-
Peterson/dp/0615642047)). It's a fairly detailed history of paper and pencil
games with quite a bit of focus on Little Wars, Kreigspiel, and D&D. If you're
a gamer, I highly recommend it.

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JoeDaDude
A boardgamegeek [1] user named Pete Belli has been creating and playing
scenarios that use Little Wars rules. He has posted reports (with photos)
showing how the plays went. [2].

[1]. [https://www.boardgamegeek.com/](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/)

[2].
[https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/154344/1913-2013-cent...](https://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/154344/1913-2013-centennial-
little-wars-hg-wells)

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Zarathust
Is this a precursor to Warhammer?

~~~
morelikeborelax
Yeah, but there was a lot in the middle that more directly inspired the
creators and all sorts of stuff around at the time.

Warhammer was much more tied to RPGs with it's first editio and there was all
sortsd of overlaps from GW and D&D/Chainmail

Here is an interview with one of the creators that discusses the origins:

[https://juegosydados.com/2016/08/26/interview-with-rick-
prie...](https://juegosydados.com/2016/08/26/interview-with-rick-priestley/)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_(game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_\(game\))

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germinalphrase
Can anyone offer any recommendations on any accessible war games - other than
Risk. I've looked around previously and it seems that most are incredibly
complex and/or require a tremendous amount of time to play.

~~~
hotsauceror
How accessible? "I Ain't Been Shot, Mum" by Too Fat Lardies and "ColdWar
Commander" are fun, quickish, and just a step above beer & pretzel rules. The
TFL guys in general are big fans of the original Kriegspiel style. There's
also a whole series called "Two Hour Wargames".

~~~
germinalphrase
I don't mind some complexity, but I would like to learn the game well enough
in 30-60 minutes. I have definitely lost patience with new board games where
some friends and I spend our entire evening just learning to play rather than
playing.

~~~
hotsauceror
I hear you. We have a group that really likes Twilight Imperium but my God,
the amount of rules consultation...

I think the ColdWar Commander / Blitzkrieg Commander games can be picked up in
that time. Movement, command, and combat rules are quick and intuitive, and it
generally lends itself to a "resolve-problem-by-common-sense" approach. It's
great for casual gaming.

