Miniatures, War Games

Wargaming is the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as war games. In modern military planning the concept was introduced by Prussian officers with the Kriegspiel, and is still used in modern war games. more...

However, it is also a civilian hobby which originated around the beginning of the 20th century, with the invention of miniatures games where two or more players simulate battles as a pasttime. The 1950s and '60s saw the creation of board games that took on the same subject. At first, wargames were generally historical or contemporary in nature, but science fiction and fantasy have also proven popular subjects.

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 and/or minutae. They also exist in a range of sizes, from "pocket" games with a small map and a few counters, to "monster" games that have large maps (with a consequent problem of finding a large enough table) and hundreds, if not thousands, of counters. They also have a range of scales, from games that simulate individual soldiers, to ones that chart the course of an entire global (or even galactic) war.

A major determiner of the complexity and size of a wargame is how 'realistic' it is intended to be. Some can be considered a serious study of the subject at hand, while others are meant as pure entertainment. While there is no direct connection between the two, a more serious study will generally have longer, more complex and detailed rules, and more record keeping. Some less serious games may only bear a passing resembance to the subject, although many still try to encourage the same types of decision making as the player's counterparts, and therefore bring forth the "feel" of the conflict.

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