Distilling Historical Battles into Wargames

 “It’s like a bird. If he knew what he was doing, he would fall.”

— Carl Reiner

The Battle of the River Plate on the game
table; not quite as it actually happened.

Earlier on social media I shared the news I’m returning to the City of Chesapeake’s annual reenactment event for the Battle of Great Bridge Dec. 5-6, 2026. Once again I’ll bring along my terrain diorama (sectioned off into convenient board “spaces”), paper miniatures, dice, and signage asking “Can You Win the Battle of Great Bridge?” I invite event attendees to learn about the battle, survey what the area might have looked like 251 years ago, and, using extremely basic rules, play out the fight between British forces and Patriot militia. Last year 1,100-1,600 people passed through the event, and at times it seemed like many listened to my ramblings about history and tried their hand commanding miniature forces to see how they’d fare in this historical engagement. (Spoiler Alert: In most cases the Patriots gave the British a sound drubbing, much like the historical outcome, though occasionally with a few close calls.) In my social media post an old friend, gamer, and educator commented: “Do you have a process for using miniature battles to teach history? Not just tactics, but also the commander's motivation, personality and the battle's likely alternate outcomes.” And it started me thinking about how I distill historical battles into miniature wargames, especially with my focus on using games for learning and introducing wargames to young people and newcomers to the hobby.

Rules Tinkering & Redesign

 “History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.”

— Johan Huizinga

Papercraft Romans awaiting a playtest
battle with Germanic tribesmen.

This past week I started getting an idea for a new set of kid-friendly historical miniatures gaming rules. Having covered World War II tank combat in Panzer Kids and small unit action where individual soldiers each play a role in Skirmish Kids, I began wondering if I evolved the latter rules to accommodate full units in ancient, medieval, and pre-20th century battles on a larger scale. I started jotting down notes, typing out a few ideas, considering how elements of Skirmish Kids would have to change to accommodate battles with lines of infantry, cavalry charges, and artillery (and all that across the ages). I started drafting stats for various units I wanted to field in playtest games. And then I stopped myself. Does the world really need another set of wargaming rules? Do I really need that, even despite my personal design preferences for kid-friendly games? Haven’t I enough game projects requiring attention? Don’t we have enough rules already? Perhaps it’s the restless, unfulfilled creative drive within me, or my urge to share my interest in using games to help people learn about history, or that maybe this one might catch the attention of a publisher other than myself who can better produce and promote the game. And so I soldier onward, despite the leering shadows of doubt whispering “Why bother?”, ignoring my depleted reservoir of time and energy and enthusiasm, oblivious to the adventure gaming world’s inevitable indifference at yet another wargaming rule set.

Playing with Battle Box: Age of Sail

 “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”

— Seneca

I’ve dabbled in many historical wargaming periods over the years. The Age of Sail remains one for which I’ve never really found an accessible game — in both cost and rules — until now. Feral Wizard’s Battle Box: Age of Sail promises to deliver an intuitive game with plenty of tactical choices in a small package (much like its previous game, Battle Box: Napoleonic Wars). The game ran a successful Kickstarter back in the spring and should deliver physical components by the end of the year...but backers received the print-and-play component files when the campaign ended. So I printed out some cards and rules and played a few battles using my craft store sailing ships and my large-hex light-blue ocean canvas. After a few games to help me grasp the mechanics and strategies I found it offered a host of player choices to add depth to what seems on the surface a basic Age of Sail game.

What Do Games Tell Our Adversaries?

 “In our leisure we reveal what kind of people we are.”

— Ovid

Members of the Chinese PLA Navy play Sebastian
Bae’s Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific wargame.

A recent social media post by Sebastian Bae — game designer, wargaming professor, defense analyst, former US Marine (among many other roles) — shared news that members of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) were playing his modern wargame Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacfic. “I did not have the PLA Navy playing my ‘Littoral Commander Indo-Pacific’ #wargame on one of their ships on my bingo card for 2026. Absolutely wild,” Bae posted. It is an interesting testament to our open-source internet age, where information and products travel the world for use by anyone who wants them...including our potential near-future adversaries. It certainly validates the quality and utility of Bae’s wargame. It also raises questions about what adversaries can learn from the games we ourselves design and use, how such games reflect both the designer’s knowledge of battlefield capabilities and assumptions about elements affecting the outcome of combat.

Watch, Read, Play: French & Indian War

 “Fathers, both you and the English are white, we live in a Country between; therefore the Land belongs to neither one nor t’other.”

— Chief Tanaghrisson

French and Indian War provincial militia
re-enactors march forth at Fort Frederick.

I don’t expect many Americans to have much familiarity with the French and Indian War (1754–1763); Europeans might know it as one theater in the larger Seven Years War (1756–1763) which some historians consider the first true “world war.” It’s an interesting period in American colonial history. Major European powers continue to stake claims to lands in the New World, with the British and French clashing primarily on the frontiers in New England and the mid-Atlantic. British colonists remain subject to the crown, yet, being separated from their governing body by several months’ treacherous voyage over the ocean, have cultivated a sense of self-sufficiency bordering on entitled independence. Over my years of reading and playing games about it, I’ve come to realize it sets up many of the issues over which Americans fought for their independence from Great Britain and highlights many issues we still face. One can more easily investigate the French and Indian War through movies, books, and games to gain a greater understanding of the conflict’s many aspects and outcomes that influenced the American War of Independence...and beyond.

Back-to-School Estimation

 “I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.”

— Winston Churchill

My son returned to public school today, a constant gripe given the swampy weather and the lack of adequate environmental air handling in his school. So I offer apologies to regular readers; this piece is a bit more self-centered, having been pulled together late, after several false starts on other topics, and having dealt with several days of frantic back-to-school activities. Part of my deep mental programming still views the start of the academic year in the “autumn” as a time of new beginnings, new routines, and new goals, unlike my ever-growing disdain for personal re-evaluation and re-dedication to often unattainable ideals during the New Year’s holiday in mid-winter. In trying to organize my adventure gaming efforts, I look to projects foremost in my mind develop toward more refined forms worthy of sharing.

Vacation Staff Rides

 “There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home.”

— John Stuart Mill

The author peers out over the wall along
Fredericksburg's Sunken Road.

Our family doesn’t care much for vacations where we lounge on the beach, relax at some lakeside cabin, or hike in the mountains; we much prefer to engage our minds visiting sites of historical interest across numerous periods and subjects. Whether we’re making a summertime day trip or planning a slightly more substantial journey, we make sure the itinerary includes some places of historical significance to explore. Sometimes we re-visit and re-discover past favorites, other times we venture forth to someplace new. Like the “staff rides” of the 19th century Prussian officer corps — and continued by military personnel to this day — we use them as opportunities to place the history we read about, view in movies, and play on the gaming tabletop in a real-world context we experience first hand.

Considering ACW Fog of War

 “Throw forward your cavalry, as soon as you approach your new position, to Culpeper Court-House, and carefully watch the whole country toward Richmond and Gordonsville.”

— Union Major General John Pope

Battle of Cedar Mountain, Aug. 9, 1862,
engraving from a sketch by Alfred R. Waud.

My feature on “Watch, Read, Play: Battle ofMidway” and one of the games noted, Sebastian Bae’s Find, Fix, and Finish, started me thinking about how two opposing forces come together on the battlefield. At Midway the battle came about through a confluence of intelligence analysis and aerial reconnaissance, with each carrier fleet probing for the other before deploying attack forces. The guessing game of Battleship came to mind as a very basic, extremely abstracted representation of this process, but Bae’s game refines it into a fast-playing micro-game modeling modern naval operations. I’ve long wanted to design an easy game around the American Civil War Battle of Cedar Mountain (not far from where I live in Virginia) simulating the fog of war as two armies move toward each other, probing with cavalry and infantry, maneuvering with limited information about enemy location and strength, and screening forces with cavalry. And I found some inspiration for game mechanics in Bae’s game, a starting point from which I began tinkering with ideas on how such a game might work.

Watch, Read, Play: Battle of Midway

“The plump silhouettes of the American Dauntless dive-bombers quickly grew larger, and then a number of black objects suddenly floated eerily from their wings.”

— Captain Mitsuo Fuchida

SBD Dauntless squadron seeks the Japanese fleet.

Many argue the Battle of Midway, June 4–7, 1942, was the turning point in the Pacific War. The engagement epitomizes the role of carriers and aircraft in naval operations as strategies relied less on massive battleships (though they’d still have a final significant moment at the Battle of Surigao Strait). Numerous factors played a role in its outcome: interception and interpretation of intelligence; preemptive deployment of American carriers; and Japanese indecision reacting to emerging threats during the engagement (among many others). All these considerations — as in depicting any historical event — prove challenging to interpret on the screen and the gaming tabletop. Given the battle’s importance, an abundance of Midway media offers many opportunities to engage with history by watching films, reading books, and playing games, all with varying degrees of quality.

The Context of Form

“The key to growth is the introduction of higher dimensions of consciousness into our awareness.”

— Lao Tzu

I admire discourse that challenges me to think more deeply about tabletop games, whether new perspectives or ones investigating (and sometimes affirming) concepts I advocate. I often wish the adventure gaming hobby had more such discussion geared toward the kind of hobbyists and informed generalists who wander the borderlands between more steadfastly ensconced professional and scholarly game circles. Secondary education offers some promising opportunities as young people, not yet established in our staunch intellectual silos, explore and develop their own ideas on gaming subjects. Dr. Jeremiah McCall, himself an innovator in the field of games for learning, recently mentored one of his students at the Cincinnati Country Day School through a senior independent study project examining how different media — literature, film, and video games — presents the same historical event in different ways...and to different ends. It encourages us to more closely analyze how we interact with the various media we consume and how the context of form shapes its messages.

Game Aspirations for Summer

“Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.”

— Heraclitus

A toast to summertime
gaming aspirations.

Our much-manipulated academic schedule calls for the local public school year to end before Memorial Day (and begin the first week in August…don’t get me started). So we’re already considering father-son gaming and history activities to stay engaged over the summer. I remain thankful my teenage son has cultivated an interest in history, one that, over the years, has matured beyond simply visiting sites and playing games into a more critical examination of our past and how we can explore it on the gaming table. This offers me some comfort in my ever-challenging efforts to engage him in anything beyond sleeping, spending time on his electronic devices, and asking what’s for dinner. He has, surprisingly, voiced an interest in several activities that would involve him in somewhat productive intellectual activity (and pry him away from his devices). Right now we have a list of very flexible objectives, but it’s a start in providing some structure to what can easily become a summer of lazy days.

The Personal View of Sweeping Events

 “There are many truths of which the full meaning cannot be realized until personal experience has brought it home.”

— John Stuart Mill

What's it like to lead the advance at
the Battle of Great Bridge?

Too often I see history education in America focusing on broad events and key figures, the sweeping view of events, with little if any time spent on a more personal perspective of those average people living that history. I fear this has become a greater issue in the age of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests (“No Standardized Test Left Behind…”), which emphasize educators “teach to the test,” covering the basics every student should know with limited time for developing critical thinking skills about that material. (Though I’ll freely admit my own education in the latter quarter of the 20th century bore hallmarks of simply hitting the marks, with a few notable exceptions.) Certainly some exceptional teachers inspire students to take a closer look at historical topics, especially zooming in from the macro view of great events to the micro perspective of individuals who lived through history. A personal view can engage our empathy, give us a more relatable impression of history beyond names, events, and dates, and challenge us to ask questions, investigate further, and reflect on relevant issues...important to better inform our current situation and our inevitable slog into the future. Games can help us relate to that personal perspective, though we cannot appreciate it without at least a general knowledge of history to provide context.

Packing A Battle in A Small Box

 “Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

— William Shakespeare

A package recently arrived with a wonderful little game in a small tin: Battle Box: Napoleonic Wars from Feral Wizard in Manchester, UK. It’s the size of a mint tin (do they still put mints in those?), a compact 4 x 2.5 inches, easy enough to fit into a large pocket, a purse, go bag, or backpack. I’ve occasionally dabbled in Napoleonic gaming, though it’s by no means one of my core wargaming interests. But it promised a compact yet entertaining experience with a far smaller tabletop presence than many such games, either board wargames or miniature wargames. I was curious how the combination of wooden bits, map tiles, and rules for, essentially, a Portable Wargame-style game, would deliver. I was not disappointed. It offers a complete Napoleonic wargame in conveniently extreme miniature, with optional rules and solo play rules, that satisfied a number of my criteria for an enjoyable game.

Bibliography Validation

 “The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.”

— Rene Descartes

Every so often I feel inspired (compelled?) to revisit topics I’ve explored in the past. My latest? Bibliographies, which I last featured in July 2024 in “Inspiring Citations.” That piece mostly focused on sources listed in bibliographies sending readers off to learn more about a game subject, whether for their own edification or incorporation in their hobby activities...a process that perpetuates itself as readers look at the bibliographies in those subsequent resources. And I’ll touch on that again here. But lately I’ve been finding bibliographies also give my frail self-esteem a sense that my past intellectual explorations have merit when I find sources I’ve read in the past listed in more current, relevant work. Bibliographies can send us off in new, exciting directions of personal and professional research as well as validate our past readings to remind us we’re on the right course.

Choose Your Own History Path

 “Historical game design is the ultimate historical research project for non-specialists!”

— Dr. Jeremiah McCall

I love interactive fiction, both narrative programmed stories like the Choose Your Own Adventure and Endless Quest series and similar fare incorporating basic game rules, like the Fighting Fantasy gamebooks. I enjoy exploring numerous historical periods. And I’m an advocate for using games for learning with various age groups in different environments. What better way to learn about history than explore a specific topic and incorporate it into a game activity. Dr. Jeremiah McCall has developed a history assignment for his high school students integrating all these interests. His Student-Designed Histories are a model educational tool for exploring historical topics and sharing that knowledge in an engaging interactive format.

One Battle, Multiple Games

 “There is nothing insignificant in the world. It all depends on the point of view.”

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Every gamer has their favorite genre periods and game systems, whether for wargames (both miniature and board), roleplaying games, or board games. Some folks maintain avid interests in numerous favorites. In many cases — but perhaps mostly with wargamers — players enjoy multiple games on the same subject, each title emphasizing something different about the theme. This seems almost stereotypical of wargamers, who fixate on historical periods or even focus on single battles: Gettysburg, Rorke’s Drift, Cannae, D-Day, and, of course, Waterloo. People interested in specific episodes in history rarely settle on reading just one book about them; they read several, often expanding their curiosity further into the period, and sometimes even related subjects. No one book tells the definitive story; neither does one single game perfectly depict a historical event. Different books contain new research, approach from a new perspectives, or incorporate particular biases; multiple game rules simulate conflicts differently in how their systems account for or interpret historical factors. Just like reading several books with different perspectives can broaden our understanding of a historical period, so, too, can multiple games on a subject present different ways of modeling a conflict and hence give us varied experiences from which to learn, both about the history and about effective simulation techniques.

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.

The Joy of Paper Soldiers

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

— Brian Sutton-Smith

Ranks of paper minis march across
the Great Bridge to disperse rebels.

The yuletide holidays infuse the darkest time of the year with wonder and whimsy. Twinkling lights. Savory feasts and fantastic sweets. Solemn carols and joyous hymns lifting our hearts. The mystery of gifts adorned with brightly patterned wrapping paper and shiny ribbon curls...and the exhilaration at their ultimate revelation. I’ve written before about the yuletide season filled with fantasy, especially from a bookish, geeky gaming perspective. Toys, and particularly those tied to my interests like fantasy roleplaying games, board games, and yes, even wargames bring added joy and playfulness to the season. Among my recent favorites are Peter Dennis’ fantastic paper soldiers. Peter’s Paperboys have brought great joy to my gaming recently. Since first discovering them during the pandemic, they’ve enabled me to quickly explore new periods in history wargaming, provided an alternative to purchasing and painting metal and plastic figures, and helped me prepare visually appealing public history game demonstrations to educate the public and engage people in wargames, history, and learning. They serve as innovative and versatile alternatives to more expensive, more labor-intensive options fielding armies for miniature wargames.

Beginner’s Intro to History Gaming

 “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.”

— Patrick Henry

Painting by Glenn Moore depicting
the British attack on the American
breastworks at the Battle of Great Bridge.

This past weekend I participated in the City of Chesapeake’s re-enactment for the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Great Bridge. Astute readers might recall I designed a very basic game — suitable for kids and newcomers to the adventure gaming hobby — for a smaller event in October commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Culpeper Minutemen mustering in response to the call to oppose British military action in the region of Hampton Roads. Some contacts I made there put me in touch with the Great Bridge event organizers...which resulted in my displaying and demonstrating my game and board at the re-enactment. I spent both days busy running many games, meeting some wonderful people, using the board to outline the battle, and discussing how one might explore history through games. On the drive home some of those discussions started me thinking (yet again) about good games newcomers might use to indulge their investigations into historical conflicts. One might follow a logical progression from entry-level battlegames to gridded-style games that can ultimately inspire even newcomers to devise their own historical simulations.