LITTLE WARS

INTRODUCTION

Yes, my young friends, there was a time back in the Dark Ages (pre-1990 by your definition) when we old folks didn’t play games on computers. You may not believe this, but we didn’t have computers—-well, we did, but the smallest one filled an entire room, meaning it was not portable by anyone’s definition…

Because of this lack of computers, the games we played involved playing cards and/or board games. That might seem quaint to you young people, but we actually had a lot of fun playing such games. Why, I remember a game of Risk in grad school where we had to chug a beer each time we lost a country—-err, but I digress…

The mention of Risk brings us around to today’s subject: wargames-— preferably, such games played on boards using miniature soldiers and other game pieces. There are people (mostly old guys my age, I’ll admit) who put a lot of time and effort into playing/creating such games. The books in the following list can provide you with more information about the fascinating world of wargames and wargamers, one of whom was H.G. Wells—yes, that H.G. Wells, the Time Machine/War of the Worlds guy. Wells and his club buddies played a war game using miniature artillery pieces that actually fired (see his book, Little Wars, below).

Notes: I’ve included a few books on “little wars,” that is, smaller-scale conflicts like the Spanish-American War or the Zulu War of 1879 in this list. They can be less daunting starting points for prospective wargamers.

If you would like to search the SLPL Catalog for additional books on this subject, use the Subject term war games. Doing an All Fields search using the following terms can reveal additional items of interest to the wargames player/creator:

• battles strategy
• battles tactics
• battles maps
• little war

I haven’t played war games in a long time, but creating this blog post has certainly whetted my appetite…

LIBRARY LOCATIONS

Library Branches:

BU: Buder Branch
CO: Carondelet Branch
CP: Carpenter Branch
DA: Julia Davis Branch
DI: Divoll Branch
KI: Kingshighway Branch
MA: Machacek Branch
SC: Schlafly Branch
WA: Walnut Park Branch

Central Library:

BT: Business & Technology Room
BGL: Business, Government & Law
HG: History & Geography Room
J: Children’s Library
ST: Stacks
STL: St. Louis Room

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Title: The ancient war game.
Author/Compiler: Grant, Charles.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1974
Format: Books

Title: Beginners' guide to wargaming.
Author/Compiler: Quarrie, Bruce.
Local Call Number: BGL--793.9
Publication Date: 1987
Format: Books

Title: The best of board wargaming.
Author/Compiler: Palmer, Nicholas.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1980
Format: Books

Title: The complete wargames handbook: how to play, design, and find them.
Author/Compiler: Dunnigan, James F.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1980
Format: Books

Title: The comprehensive guide to board wargaming.
Author/Compiler: Palmer, Nicholas.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1977
Format: Books

Title: Featherstone's complete wargaming.
Author/Compiler: Featherstone, Donald F.
Local Call Number: BGL--793.92
Publication Date: 1988
Format: Books

Title: Fundamentals of war gaming.
Author/Compiler: McHugh, Francis J. Naval War College (U.S.)
Local Call Number: SS--355.48
Publication Date: 2011
Format:: Books

Title: How to play war games in miniature.
Author/Compiler: Morschauser, Joseph.
Local Call Number: ST--794
Publication Date: 1962
Format: Books

Title: Little-known wars of great and lasting impact: the turning points in our history we should know more about.
Author/Compiler: Axelrod, Alan.
Local Call Number: SC--355.009
Publication Date: 2009
Format: Books

Title: The little wars of the United States. Maps by Jean A. Brown.
Author/Compiler: Dupuy, R. Ernest & William Henry Baumer,
Local Call Number: ST--973
Publication Date: 1968
Format: Books

Title: Little wars; a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girls who like boys' games and books.
Author/Compiler: Wells, H. G.
Local Call Number: J 793
Publication Date: 1913
Format: Books

Title: Making and collecting military miniatures.
Author/Compiler: Bard, Bob.
Local Call Number: ST--355
Publication Date: 1957
Format: Books

Title: Queen Victoria's little wars.
Author/Compiler: Farwell, Byron.
Local Call Number: ST--942.081
Publication Date: 1972
Format: Books

Title: The Second Anglo-Boer War.
Series Title: Wargaming in history.
Author/Compiler: Herbert, Edwin.
Local Call Number: ST--793.92
Publication Date: 1990
Format: Books

Title: Skirmish wargaming.
Author/Compiler: Featherstone, Donald F.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1979 1975 Format: Books

Title: U.S. Navy fundamentals of war gaming.
Author/Compiler: McHugh, Francis J.
Local Call Number: BGL--355.48
Format: Books

Title: The war game; ten great battles recreated from history. War games photographed by Philip O. Stearns.
Author/Compiler: Young, Peter.
Local Call Number: ST--Oversize 904.7
Publication Date: 1972
Format: Books

Title: War games: the secret world of the creators, players, and policy makers rehearsing World War III today.
Author/Compiler: Allen, Thomas B.
Local Call Number: ST--355.48
Publication Date: 1987
Format: Books

Title: A wargamers' guide to the Arab-Israeli wars since 1948.
Series Title: Tank battles in miniature.
Author/Compiler: Quarrie, Bruce.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1978
Format: Books

Title: Wargaming airborne operations.
Author/Compiler: Featherstone, Donald F.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1979 1977
Format: Books

Title: Wargaming, ancient and medieval.
Author/Compiler: Featherstone, Donald F.
Local Call Number: ST--793.9
Publication Date: 1975
Format: Books

Title: Yours to reason why: decision in battle; maps and battle-plans by W.F.N. Watson.
Author/Compiler: Seymour, William.
Local Call Number: ST--904.7
Publication Date: 1982
Format: Books