Morschauser’s Wargame Rules

 “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

— Henry David Thoreau

I’ve enjoyed many of John Curry’s volumes in his History of Wargames Project, from republication of early wargame rules and historical wargames used for training and analysis to treatises on matrix games and other serious wargaming. I recently acquired one that had previously eluded me, Joseph Morschauser’s How to Play War Games in Miniature: A Forgotten Wargaming Pioneer: Early Wargames Vol. 3. I was initially lured to it by the claim it included an introduction of a gridded play surface into miniature wargaming, but I pleasantly found it filled with intuitive, concise rules, options for basing, and overall solid advice for miniature wargaming newcomers just as relevant and inspiring as when it was first published more than 50 years ago. It was a refreshing affirmation of many miniature wargaming elements I’ve come to enjoy over the years: concise simplicity; based units; flexibility between open battlefield and gridded surface; flexibility between eliminating units or keeping a roster for a multiple hit system; and an overall informative and welcoming approach to hobby.

Designer’s Cards-or-Tables Dilemma

 “Random chance plays a huge part in everybody’s life.”

— Gary Gygax

To use cards or not to use cards? That’s a question some designers might consider when developing mechanics for a particular game. Cards can deliver a similar infusion of effects we get from rolling dice on random tables. Differences exist in the two systems, but the result — generating a randomized element from a thematic list — remains the same. I’m debating whether to use cards or tables for a game I’m in the early stages of developing, a solitaire simulation focusing on supplying the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. As a player I love cards: the tactile nature, the space for illustrations, blurbs of lore, and stylized icons for values and functions. But at this early stage, and from a designer’s perspective, I’m leaning toward random tables as an expedient to focus more on concepts and system rather than give in to my urge to obsess over physical components.

Sharing Our Toys

 “A toy is seen both as a bauble and as an intellectual machine.”

— Brian Sutton-Smith

Sharing my Star Wars Mos Eisley
toys at a convention back in the
20th century.

I have a lot of gaming toys (some would argue too many) and I don’t share them enough. Roleplaying game books. Boxed wargames. Board games. Piles of material for miniature wargames of numerous kinds. Even a few card games. Having a much smaller circle of acquaintances than in my youth — and hence fewer possibilities to gather folks around the table for a game — I’m always seeking new opportunities where I can share my “toys” with others. I also find taking advantage of playing with other people’s shared toys can expose us to new experiences and help evaluate if they’re something we’d pursue on our own.

Remembering Jean Rabe

 “Virtues are acquired through endeavor, Which rests wholly upon yourself. So, to praise others for their virtues can but encourage one’s own efforts.”

— Thomas Paine

Jean Rabe, 1957–2026

Beloved author and game industry luminary Jean Rabe passed away on January 19, 2026. She was among what I’d consider the “old guard” in the tabletop roleplaying game industry, a veteran of early TSR, head of the Roleplaying Gamer Association (RPGA), host of numerous writers symposiums, and prolific author of fantasy and science fiction literature. She was also a staunch advocate for many who sought opportunities in writing and publishing. Her friendship and efforts helped me during one of the most difficult times of my life: my “Desperate Freelancing Years” after West End Games went bankrupt and dismissed its creative staff.

Exploring Outcomes & Inaction

 “There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long range risks of comfortable inaction.”

— John F. Kennedy

My estimation of serious simulation “wargames” — like tabletop exercises (TTXs) and matrix games — has deteriorated in the past 18 months. Many seek to explore outcomes of various emerging issues with an eye toward affecting policy or future action. These rarely achieve any objective on their own beyond educated speculation how different elements affect the situation and where various actions lead, even with post-game discussion; their success and impact requires subsequent, meaningful action to put the conclusions to any effect in real-world policy. And I don’t see that happening against the overwhelmingly indifferent filter of societal and institutional bureaucracy. The past few years we’ve seen several political simulations, some more tabletop exercises than wargame-adjacent matrix games, intended to “game out” what might happen with various developments in American politics. Many came to presciently frightening conclusions. But this kind of simulation means nothing if participants don’t use what they learned to affect policy moving forward.

WEG Memoirs: Galaxywide NewsNets

 “The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.”

— Edward R. Murrow

West End Games Star Wars Adventure Journal offered many opportunities to publish new material exploring and expanding the wider Star Wars galaxy. New short fiction featured new characters and beloved standards. Source material provided fresh setting elements to enhance games. And adventures offered ready-made action to drop into a game night or mine for inspiration. I’ll be the first to admit that — as a quarterly periodical with deadlines and a limited pool of approved authors — not every article provided stellar-quality material. All passed Lucasfilm standards at the time, but a few really stood out. “Galaxywide NewsNets” was an early example, one that established a previously unexplored aspect of the setting that continued providing inspiration in subsequent Journal issues...and even well into the new era of continuity.

Coping Strategies with Game Hobbies

 “It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness, and a mood of helplessness prevail.”

— Lech Walesa

I am resisting retreating from the world for a while, as I occasionally have when everything seems overwhelming; my usual euphemism for doing so is going to the “Hermitage on the Edge of Oblivion.” Much as I’d like to temporarily remove myself from social media and the madness of the world at large, I cannot. In the absence of actual day-to-day friends I see in person, online interaction remains my primary engagement with other relatively friendly humans (such as it is). So while maintaining awareness of the horrors unfolding in the news, I take the time to indulge in “self care” activities to maintain my ability to function daily and prevent my further descent into madness. Most of these relate to my activities in the adventure gaming hobby and peripheral interests. In outlining them here, I hope readers might find helpful strategies; if not an exact match, then some inspiration for similar pursuits offering temporary respite and renewal before braving the monstrous indifference and active misery our current reality forces upon us.