Tuesday 25 June 2019

Stuart Asquith and Terry Wise’s Wargaming 17th Century Battles


Stuart Asquith is a key contributor to the development of modern hobby of wargaming. His extensive work included editing Practical Wargamer for 12 years, authoring over twenty books and editing many more. This book focuses on one of the Stuart Asquith’s key interests, 17th century warfare.
This book aims to bring together some of Stuart Asquith’s work, focussed on this era. Other books in the series cover his writing on other wars. The book has 20 scenarios for wargamers including:

Edgehill (1642)   The Storming of Brentford (1642)             
The Battle of Lansdowne (1643)
Roundway Down (1643)
The First Battle of Newbury (1643)          
The Relief of Newark (1644)
Cropredy Bridge (1644)
Marston Moor (1644)    
The Battle of Nasby (1645)
Dunkirk (1658)
Medway (1667)
Drumclog (1679)7
The Battle of Sedgemoor (1685)

Of course, the book would not be complete without a set of classic ‘Old School’ wargaming rules. The obvious choice was Terry Wise’s popular wargaming rules for the English Civil War and the Thirty Years War circa 1618-1651.
This work is published as part of The History of Wargaming Project range of books that aim to document the development of wargaming.

Wednesday 19 June 2019

United States Naval War College Rules 1936, now in print


The famous Unites States Naval War College wargames have been seen as an important part of the US Navy’s preparation for war with Japan. The actual naval commanders took lessons from these wargames into the conflict in the Pacific 1941-45. 
This book makes the 1936 edition of the tactical rules readily accessible for the first time to the public. It includes the detailed rules for movement, gunnery, damage and other aspects of real naval warfare from the big gun era. The object of these games was to aid students of strategy and tactics in the comprehension of these complex subjects.

The foreword is written by Jeffrey Harley Rear Admiral, USN, President U.S. Naval War College, who celebrates the contribution of these interwar wargames to eventual victory in the Pacific.
The book includes:

     Original guidance from 1922 on how to play the game

     Sample gunnery tables

     Torpedo fire cards

     Rules for visibility and smoke

     Details about speed and fuel

     Sample ship cards to illustrate how the rules worked

Further supporting material is available from the History of Wargaming Project website.

The book is published by the History of Wargaming Project. It is part of a series to document key steps in the development of modern wargaming.