Alexander the Great’s Campaigns: A Guide to Ancient Political and Military Gaming

 Upon request I have just republished a classic book by the one and only Phil Barker.

  

The story of Alexander the Great is of a young titan who took control of what its neighbours thought of as a backward nation, used an army of radically new kind invented by his father to impose unity on the highly civilised but bitterly quarrelling states of Ancient Greece, then turned east as the champion of civilisation. His strategic and tactical genius quickly crushed the huge Persian Empire, the most feared military power of his day. Continuing east, he imposed his rule on nations beyond the boundaries of the then-known world, battling against armies relying upon huge and terrifying unknown beasts. Before his premature death at the age of 32, Alexander had conquered the Middle East, Asia Minor and large tracts of India, and was about to turn his attention on Rome and Carthage. Had he succeeded, known history would have been significantly different.

The chances he took in leading his troops personally into battle, exposing himself to end-less danger and being frequently wounded, give wargamers endless opportunities to alter history for themselves. The continuous intrigues, betrayals and jealousies between the various military and political leaders give tremendous scope for imaginative and Machiavellian players, while the individual battles - which are described in vivid detail - will certainly tax wargamers’ tactical skills.

This book includes a detailed and accurate account of Alexander as a military commander as well as all the information on march rates, logistics, pay, loot, sieges, armament, organisation and other related factors required by wargamers. It describes the troops of Alexander’s own armies and their opponents, their tactics and weapons and how these altered to meet changing circumstances, As well as being a tremendously exciting and imaginatively stimulating read, the book is thus an essential reference source, at once of immense value to Ancient wargamers and food for thought to serious historians.

The author is widely acknowledged as an authority on the period and. as well as being co-author of the famous Wargames Research Group ‘Ancient’ rules, has written widely on the ancient world.

MORS (Military Operations Research Society) courses are now running face to face in Europe

 

MORS runs a large number of professional wargaming courses virtually in America. They are now running face to face courses in the UK. The first one is in February and is in Salisbury, UK. 

 Link to MORS webstie

Overview:

This introductory wargaming course is designed to enhance analyst capability and knowledge in multiple aspects of professional games, including research, design, development, execution, analysis, and reporting. Through a combination of lectures, European and NATO examples, and practical exercises, participants will learn the theory behind wargames before diving into research design and execution. Building on Peter Perla’s theory of the “Architect, Artist, and Analyst” model for game designers, the course includes material that covers each style of wargame design. The course culminates in a practicum where participants will be given the opportunity to develop and execute their own game.

Objectives:

Our expert instructors will guide participants through the key aspects of wargaming and aid them in creating their own game on the final day of the course. Along the way, participants will learn about the following:

• Defining a wargame
• A brief history of wargames
• Building blocks of game design
• Adjudication
• Strategic gaming
• Wargame graphics
• Game analysis

Royal Navy Wargaming 1929 to 1945 and the Western Approaches Tactical Unit

 

John Curry and Alvaro Radigales

 

The technique of wargaming was just another item in the mental toolbox of Royal Navy officers of the early to mid-twentieth century. When they put their ship in harms way, a captain would have an idea of the probabilities of success and failure based on the operational analysis encapsulated in the wargaming rules. They would have practised the doctrine of the Royal Navy, summarised in the Fighting Instructions, in fleet exercises and on the wargames table.

In the period covered by this book, 1929-1945, the Royal Navy used a number of naval wargames for education, training and operational analysis. This meant when the demand for training escort commanders was drastically increased in the face of the U-Boat threat, wargames were inevitably seen as part of the answer. This book includes the rules for the Western Approaches Tactical Unit (WATU), and places the game in the wider context of a wargaming culture.

There is a wealth of material in the archives about the wargames of this period. This selection for this book includes:

The 1929 Royal Navy Rules.

The Atlantic Trade Defence Wargame run by the Admiralty in 1938.

The WATU rules and combat tables for 1944/45.

Find, Fix and Strike- a training game for operation officers on aircraft carriers.

Supporting this volume is an appendix with extracts of the doctrine for the Royal Navy, The Fighting Instructions (1939).

Also included is all the material found to date on naval weapon effectiveness in the national archives for this period.

This book is a source book for the Royal Navy’s understanding of ‘big gun’ naval warfare.

This book is published by the History of Wargaming Project as part of its research into the development of wargaming.  

 

TRAX 1 Tank Platoon leader (1985)

 

 

TRAX I was a wargame developed by the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences in the mid-1980s. It was designed to support the training of tank platoon leaders. The game modified the Dunn-Kempf terrain board and components to create a simplified, faster-paced training tool.

The game was set at platoon level, with models to represent individual tanks and sections. Any modern wargamer familiar with the work of WRG would have recognised a TRAX 1 game in progress.

TRAX I focused on low-cost methods of leader tactical training and aims. The game was a ‘multiplayer’ solo game with the players representing American forces against an umpire controlled Warsaw Pact enemy. It was targeted at maximising training and included four exercises with detailed lesson plans.

This book includes extensive notes about the game design and are still of relevance to any developer working on developing their own tactical wargame.

This book is published by the History of Wargaming Project as part of ongoing efforts to document the development of professional wargaming.