“France was widely considered to be the most powerful army in the world in the 19th century, so when they lost to Prussia, everyone was shocked.
Military experts began researching the Prussian army to try to figure out how they beat France.
One of the things they discover is a game the Prussian army created and played as a form of training called kriegsspiel (this literally translates to "war game.") Kriegsspiel consisted of army officers using maps and wooden blocks simulating troops to practice tactics, strategy, and issuing orders.
Thinking that this was possibly an explanation as to why the Prussians were so surprisingly good, many countries adopted kriegsspiel and introduced it to their officers (often changing rules to better suit their militaries' organization and strategies.)
Kriegsspiel became a big hit among military officers, and eventually found it's way into the civilian world. However, the game was very complicated, and focused more on training value than fun or balance. So people started making new "war games" better suited for the civilian market.
Eventually, a young war game enthusiast named Gary Gygax created a medieval war game called Chainmail. He also created an optional fantasy ruleset for the game, which made it the first ever fantasy war game.
Shortly after this, Gygax and a few friends started working on what they initially called "The Fantasy Game." This used Chainmail and other games the group had created as a basis, but focused on role playing a single, fleshed out character instead of commanding masses of nameless units.
By the time they finished the game, they had settled on the name Dungeons & Dragons.” - screenaholic
Military experts began researching the Prussian army to try to figure out how they beat France.
One of the things they discover is a game the Prussian army created and played as a form of training called kriegsspiel (this literally translates to "war game.") Kriegsspiel consisted of army officers using maps and wooden blocks simulating troops to practice tactics, strategy, and issuing orders.
Thinking that this was possibly an explanation as to why the Prussians were so surprisingly good, many countries adopted kriegsspiel and introduced it to their officers (often changing rules to better suit their militaries' organization and strategies.)
Kriegsspiel became a big hit among military officers, and eventually found it's way into the civilian world. However, the game was very complicated, and focused more on training value than fun or balance. So people started making new "war games" better suited for the civilian market.
Eventually, a young war game enthusiast named Gary Gygax created a medieval war game called Chainmail. He also created an optional fantasy ruleset for the game, which made it the first ever fantasy war game.
Shortly after this, Gygax and a few friends started working on what they initially called "The Fantasy Game." This used Chainmail and other games the group had created as a basis, but focused on role playing a single, fleshed out character instead of commanding masses of nameless units.
By the time they finished the game, they had settled on the name Dungeons & Dragons.” - screenaholic