I actually read Little Wars, and it's an enjoyable read. What is so great about it, is Mr. Wells had no delusions about his hobby. He knew he and his friends were grown men playing with children's toys unironically, and he didn't care, because he had an appreciation for it few tend to realize. He had a love for the hobby. He respected painted figures, building terrain and battlegrounds, following rules and writing scenarios. The man is literally the patron saint of tabletop wargaming. I loved his humor all throughout, asserting the importance of the hobby to grown men, and even pitying those confused onlookers who just don't get it. It could of just been his humor, but it could also have been that the man knew what he and his friends discovered would only grow and expand into the hobbying we all know and love. I am gushing about this book, great vid, Adam.
m jared Swenson funny thing is, despite indirectly being responsible for millions of wars between metal and plastic foes, HG Wells was a devout pacifist.
He also knew, as pointed out in the book, by playing with kids toys on the floor, his wife and his friends wives would have no desire whatsoever to join in and take it over as he observed females had a tendency to do.
Great video. Got a free copy of Little Wars from Guttenberg project and have already read half. I like how they were figuring out activations, the shooting phase, heck, even moving heavy weapons and penalties. Great read. Thanks for introducing me to it.
This is my all time favorite Gaming Book. Everytime I read it, I get a renewed fire in my belly to wargame, paint and play! Thank you for this video! Another person you might want to check out is the actor who played Grand Moff Tarkin is Star Wars Peter Cushing, he to was an avid wargamer and mini painter.
Little Wars is a brilliant little book. JKL is Jerome K. Jerome, Wells' friend and author of Three Men in a Boat, one of the funniest novels of the 19thC.
Best video in months! I love when you take upon such topics. I did not know a thing about beginning of wargaming (outside of the fact it was old and it started as military exercise).
I’ve heard of Little Wars (being a lifelong HG Wells fan, and a more recent tabletop gaming fan), I’ve just gotten into 40K, and this video (specifically, your enthusiasm over the book) talked me into buying that 99-cent Kindle version. So there’s another item on my TBR.
Amazing. I love wargaming and creative writing, and this ticks quite firmly into both boxes. I will be getting and reading this book! Thanks Atom (and Mr Wells!)
That is SO FUNNY how this interests you because going back to the start of my channel I use to LOVE to talk to old era wargammers most of them d&ders and see how this tiny spark in lake geneva turned into on line MMOs with millions of people doing basically what we do in the virtual world that we do on the table top. Glad to see that you share an appreciation of the history like myself.
I was so lucky to have read this book when I had just started my wargaming days(6 th grade summer!) Great man , great philosophy for wargaming. Thanks for sharing this
A few years ago a Padre in the British Army wrote a set of rules entitled. Funny Little Wars, it is TREMENDOUS! I very highly recommended it! On the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo, he and IIRC twenty others were granted permission to take over an entire city park to refight the battle in 54mm no less!
Atom, this is what sets you apart from other TH-camrs tackling 'wargaming'. This is creative, original and highly entertaining. Thank you very much for sharing this with us!
Very interesting stuff. Just realized one of my favorite authors has "invented" one of my favorite hints to do! Imagine a "War of the Worlds" themed war game?
Found this video a while ago after hearing about H.G. Wells book Little Wars. So, I came hear for the video, but stayed for the Wolfman Jack beard. Ha, not really stayed for the great content. Now I've been binging on all your vids from the beginning this whole week. Great job and keep up the great work.
I recently found out that HG Wells had a lot to do with the humble beginnings of wargaming. My father used to play D&D and warhammer. I'm a big 40k player. Then about 6 months later, whilst my grandmother and father were studying our family history we discovered we were distantly related to HG Wells. Wells was my great grandmothers maiden name. It's distant but it was a cool fact to find!
This is by far my favorite of yours so far. And nice job toying with the special effects. How did you pull them off? Wishing for H.G. Wells level prose from gaming companies is a pretty far stretch my friend. Gaming is the hind end of the pulp fiction industry.
Wonderful video thanks! Listening to your enthusiasm for Little Wars reminded me of the first wargaming book I ever read called Charge! by Brigadier Peter Young. Hardly any pictures, no figures but it got me and some friends started.
honestly I don't care that much about war games at all, and played 40k around 4th- 5th edition, but you sound like Jeff goldblums father, and I could listen to you talk about anything for hours.
I do enjoy these little pseudo-documentaries that you do. Between these and your editorials, they really set your channel apart from all the others that populate our little niche. Well done, sir!
WOW I never knew how tabletop gaming begain! I love it. I used to make games like that with my toys as a child it must be in our DNA as you from way back with the cave men.
My brother and I used to set up elaborate forts made of books and cover then with G.I. Joes and then push them down the stairs. We were kind of simple, I guess. Thanks for watching!
Fun video. The book is available on archive.org in full: archive.org/details/littlewarsgamefo00well It was published 1913, so it's out of copyright. JKJ was Jerome K Jerome, another writer. Also, I believe wargaming was done for tactical simulation by the Prussians (Kreigsspiel, circa 1812; book title: Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame).
Well, it depends on what you mean by today, do you mean Warhammer 40k 7th on large tables, or do you mean the simple Warhammer 40k 8th on little mats... he'd hate the latter, he would be in awe of the former. I do like how Warhammer 40k 8th has some of his [H. G. Wells] rules in there.
It is an excellent book and a very quick and amusing read! At present, I can not find my print copy of Little Wars either, but one of the guns pictured appears to be a Britain's 4" breech loading Naval gun (one of which I have packed away somewhere).
9/19/18, watched this video again, went to my Google Books, purchased the audio book version for next to nothing, .99 cents! Super great video, thanks UA!👍
You used to be able to still buy (but made of plastic rather than die cast metal) match-stick firing cannons up to the late 1980s -usually with cheap 54mm Tim Mee plastic army guys. You can still find the old die cast ones on Ebay -some times expensive, though! I have a good few now! And Wells' book -great!
I actually knew this! A couple years ago I actually read through his 'rules' and emulated it using nerf guns and dollar store toy soldiers. BTW I love the videos! your a great host and have earned yourself a new subscriber!
The prose of Little Wars is truly amazing. His exuberance for the game is inspiring. The only other game that I know that even comes close to matching Little Wars for prose is IMHO the original Dungeons & Dragons (1974), and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1e (1977). Or, as we old school RPG gamers like to call it "High Gygaxian". ;)
The first 'wargame' that had elements of modern wargaming (i.e. scaled movement/fire; unit capes) was Kriegspiel, literally "wargame" developed in ca 1812. It was designed to teach the Prussian Crown Prince how to command and employ his forces. One of the very first Kriegspiel tables is on display at the Charlottenburg Palace Berlin.
there was a recent wargames book in the spirit of Little Wars. it's for 54mm scale models played in gardens or on floors. The title is Funny Little Wars and should be available on amazon.
Thank you for this, it kind of sets the question of Wargamers of who we are, where we come from and where are origins are in this cosmic universe... It's kinda like an echo of our past, as if God was speaking directly to us and say, you see? I've created humanity in you through my creations... Cheers! This is the best video to date! 👍👍👍
F*ck yeah!! Why are white folks and black folks killing each other when we should be saying what's the frickin point?? Let's just get on with living and forget all the crap. We migh even find we quite like each other!! Shock horror.
I had actually tried to order a copy of this book about a year ago. I believe it was just the rules part. Unfortunately, there was some difficulty on the seller's part and the transaction was cancelled. After hearing this video, I am now very bummed by not having my own copy of Little Wars. Great age we live in though, I can remedy that problem within five minutes, lol. Thanks Adam, great video my friend.
Tabletop Minions Based upon your videos, likes, dislikes, and even opinions, I am a lot like you. I could probably sit and talk with you for hours and not know where the time went. Your game knowledge far surpasses my own, so I would love to pick your brain on certain ones I have had interest in. I teach Science and History at the secondary level, so I have a deep appreciation for the historic games. Do you know of a miniature table top game on the Civil War? I know there is one called "Battle Cry," that has been around since I was young. I was inquiring about one that uses miniatures about equal to the size of Warhammer or Warmachine. I have hundreds of plastic 54mm soldiers that I have hand painted over the years. I was looking to use the "Little Wars" rules integrated with some of my own and have a grand Floor War, if you will. Thanks for responding.
Thanks for your kind words. The only ACW game I've watched played was a game called 'Fix Bayonets!' that I saw at a localish game convention several years ago. Thanks for watching!
If Wells and his “Little Wars” is the Grandfather of Miniatures Wargaming, Georg von Reisswitz and his Kriegsspiel is the Great-Grandpa. It deals with companies and battalions (usually represented by painted wooden blocks) instead of individual miniatures, and was treated more as an official training exercise for officers than a hobby (though many said officers played it recreationally in their free time and introduced it to their friends back in civilian life), but has a lot of gameplay that wouldn’t be out of place in modern wargames, from effects of terrain and morale to complex tables of effects for wounding a unit indexed by dice rolls (which were based on real actuarial tables from the day, but most military GMs/umpires just ignored for convenience and resolved based on their own battlefield experiences). Oh yes, and like Rogue Trader, it had a GM/umpire.
Too Fat Lardies certainly have some prose in their rules - they're pleasant to read and well laid out, though the earlier sets take some time to digest they make for solid games experiences once you master the gist of them. True - good writing in rules is something writers need to take a look at again to complement the experience. Great vid (enough has been said in other comments regarding precursors to this book's content in Prussian and Eastern military training and noble circles) A1+
+Hooves of Doom It's really a lot of fun, and since it's no longer copyrighted, there's many places you can get an ebook copy online for free. Thanks for watching!
Great video, really enjoyed watching it :) If you like this type of narration, like in Little Wars, check Black Powder rules by Warlord Games. It's really easy, entry-level, historical wargame, but it is written in great way. I think the autors (Rick Priestely among others) were heavily inspired by "Little Wars" and you can feel it while reading the rules :)
see I was always under the impression wargaming started out at military colleges / schools for teaching command to the students / officers in training. and that at some point in history around the turn of the last century someone went "you know this would be fun just as a game without it having to be for training / education. I had no idea that it was more or less made independently of that to a degree. I'm sure our current version of it is closer to a mash up of what Wells came up with and how officers trained / practiced but still this was really neat to learn that most view it as having come down form Wells.
If H.G. Wells is the Grandfather then Fred T. Jane is the Great-Grandfather. He made his naval wargame (called just 'The Jane Naval War Game') about 15 years earlier, and more importantly his reference book for it; a book so well researched it and subsequent editions (published to this day) are used for fighting actual wars.
Sir, you may appreciate the irony of what I'm about to tell you if you weren't aware of it already. In the military, when participants of a mission conduct a rehearsal, especially if it uses items to represent the various vehicles and units involved is actually called a "Rock Drill" for the obvious reason it refers to it's "origin" as well as the rehearsal may still involve using rocks. Og and Thog would be proud.
You should see if you can find some of the course work from the War Colleges and the Naval Post graduate school on the history of war gaming. I was a wargamer long before the Naval Post Grad school, but those were my first formal courses. Then you can read about Capt Fred T. Jane RN. Yes Janes Fighting Ships was the first "Fleet list and stat book" for a War Game.
I am familiar with them, and early on just though that they were a band of guys who worked at GW. If only that were actually true. Thanks for watching!
I have a hardcover copy of the book. The introduction was written by Isaac Asimov so it's probably not a first edition. But, alas, I never played it. I was mostly into Avalon Hill games all those years ago.
Likewise, can't wait for more painting tutorials from Sam. All my Vallejo game colours are no good, so waiting on the money to purchase some scale 75 paints and start painting again.
My dad once knew the brothers that designed the very first Lord of the Rings figures, I forgot their names but they went on to work for Games Workshop. Edit: The Perry Twins
I think encyclopaedic in this context means "comprehensive" or "all-encompassing" (i.e. a good range of terrain represented). However, it is also quite likely that an encyclopaedia or two may have been used to represent a range of hills.
I actually read Little Wars, and it's an enjoyable read. What is so great about it, is Mr. Wells had no delusions about his hobby. He knew he and his friends were grown men playing with children's toys unironically, and he didn't care, because he had an appreciation for it few tend to realize. He had a love for the hobby. He respected painted figures, building terrain and battlegrounds, following rules and writing scenarios. The man is literally the patron saint of tabletop wargaming. I loved his humor all throughout, asserting the importance of the hobby to grown men, and even pitying those confused onlookers who just don't get it. It could of just been his humor, but it could also have been that the man knew what he and his friends discovered would only grow and expand into the hobbying we all know and love. I am gushing about this book, great vid, Adam.
Very well put, I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching!
m jared Swenson funny thing is, despite indirectly being responsible for millions of wars between metal and plastic foes, HG Wells was a devout pacifist.
hahahahaha
He also knew, as pointed out in the book, by playing with kids toys on the floor, his wife and his friends wives would have no desire whatsoever to join in and take it over as he observed females had a tendency to do.
Great video. Got a free copy of Little Wars from Guttenberg project and have already read half. I like how they were figuring out activations, the shooting phase, heck, even moving heavy weapons and penalties. Great read. Thanks for introducing me to it.
"Then they thought he was a witch, and then they killed him." This is why I watch your videos.
Even 3 years after this video's release, Mr. Wells has just sold another book thanks to it. Great vid!
The example Scenario depicted in the Rogue Trader book is "Battle at the farm".
1913, "Little Wars" features "The Battle at Hook's Farm"; 1987, "Rogue Trader: 40k" features "The Battle at the Farm"... coincidence? :D
This is my all time favorite Gaming Book. Everytime I read it, I get a renewed fire in my belly to wargame, paint and play! Thank you for this video! Another person you might want to check out is the actor who played Grand Moff Tarkin is Star Wars Peter Cushing, he to was an avid wargamer and mini painter.
I watched the video with him on TH-cam. I think it's from the 1970s. Maybe a BBC thing? Thanks for watching!
Little Wars is a brilliant little book. JKL is Jerome K. Jerome, Wells' friend and author of Three Men in a Boat, one of the funniest novels of the 19thC.
Best video in months! I love when you take upon such topics. I did not know a thing about beginning of wargaming (outside of the fact it was old and it started as military exercise).
This might be my favorite video you've produced. I'm also rather astonished by the photographs! That terrain looks pretty darned good even now.
I agree, I thought the terrain was quite good. And I think there's even some better photos in the book, as well. Thanks for watching!
I’ve heard of Little Wars (being a lifelong HG Wells fan, and a more recent tabletop gaming fan), I’ve just gotten into 40K, and this video (specifically, your enthusiasm over the book) talked me into buying that 99-cent Kindle version.
So there’s another item on my TBR.
Amazing. I love wargaming and creative writing, and this ticks quite firmly into both boxes. I will be getting and reading this book! Thanks Atom (and Mr Wells!)
I think it's a great read. Thanks for watching!
This definitely gets added to the list of books I need to find. I love the fact that he just flat out drops that gauntlet at the end, awesome.
He does a damn good gauntlet drop, I think. Thanks for watching!
This is so cool. It's really interesting to see the humble beginnings of our hobby.Thanks for researching and sharing this anecdote with us!
Absolutely. Check out the book if you get a chance. Thanks for watching!
That is SO FUNNY how this interests you because going back to the start of my channel I use to LOVE to talk to old era wargammers most of them d&ders and see how this tiny spark in lake geneva turned into on line MMOs with millions of people doing basically what we do in the virtual world that we do on the table top. Glad to see that you share an appreciation of the history like myself.
It really helps because Mr. Wells' writing is so great, in my opinion. Thanks for watching!
I was so lucky to have read this book when I had just started my wargaming days(6 th grade summer!) Great man , great philosophy for wargaming. Thanks for sharing this
H.G. Wells, the man himself. Glad someone has brought this up.
Cool, I love reading old classics. I used to have those wooden blocks in the random shapes, that were in the first picture of the table.
A few years ago a Padre in the British Army wrote a set of rules entitled. Funny Little Wars, it is TREMENDOUS! I very highly recommended it!
On the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo, he and IIRC twenty others were granted permission to take over an entire city park to refight the battle in 54mm no less!
Atom, this is what sets you apart from other TH-camrs tackling 'wargaming'. This is creative, original and highly entertaining. Thank you very much for sharing this with us!
I appreciate your kind words, and I'm glad you enjoy my videos. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting stuff. Just realized one of my favorite authors has "invented" one of my favorite hints to do! Imagine a "War of the Worlds" themed war game?
There is one. Check out 'All Quiet on the Martian Front' for your War of the Worlds gaming. Thanks for watching!
Found this video a while ago after hearing about H.G. Wells book Little Wars. So, I came hear for the video, but stayed for the Wolfman Jack beard. Ha, not really stayed for the great content. Now I've been binging on all your vids from the beginning this whole week. Great job and keep up the great work.
One of your best videos!! I'm going to share it with all the normals I know!!
This is the greatest video of all time. All wargamers should watch this.
Just found this one - really enjoyable. Many thanks for the remembrance of our war gaming roots.
I recently found out that HG Wells had a lot to do with the humble beginnings of wargaming. My father used to play D&D and warhammer. I'm a big 40k player. Then about 6 months later, whilst my grandmother and father were studying our family history we discovered we were distantly related to HG Wells. Wells was my great grandmothers maiden name. It's distant but it was a cool fact to find!
This is by far my favorite of yours so far. And nice job toying with the special effects. How did you pull them off?
Wishing for H.G. Wells level prose from gaming companies is a pretty far stretch my friend. Gaming is the hind end of the pulp fiction industry.
I just messed around in the editing software I used. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!
I've been watching a lot of your videos for some time now but this one caused me to finally subscribe.
Wonderful video thanks! Listening to your enthusiasm for Little Wars reminded me of the first wargaming book I ever read called Charge! by Brigadier Peter Young. Hardly any pictures, no figures but it got me and some friends started.
I've not heard of that one. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for watching!
The JK mentioned was author Jerome K Jerome who wrote "Three Men in a Boat."
Cool, good to know. Thanks for watching!
Interesting factoids like this are why I am subbed to this channel. Very interesting topic! Thanks Atom!
I enjoy making them. Thanks for watching!
honestly I don't care that much about war games at all, and played 40k around 4th- 5th edition, but you sound like Jeff goldblums father, and I could listen to you talk about anything for hours.
That description is very specific, but I'll gladly take it. Thanks for watching!
I do enjoy these little pseudo-documentaries that you do. Between these and your editorials, they really set your channel apart from all the others that populate our little niche. Well done, sir!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy them. Thanks for watching!
WOW I never knew how tabletop gaming begain! I love it. I used to make games like that with my toys as a child it must be in our DNA as you from way back with the cave men.
My brother and I used to set up elaborate forts made of books and cover then with G.I. Joes and then push them down the stairs. We were kind of simple, I guess. Thanks for watching!
Fun video. The book is available on archive.org in full: archive.org/details/littlewarsgamefo00well
It was published 1913, so it's out of copyright. JKJ was Jerome K Jerome, another writer. Also, I believe wargaming was done for tactical simulation by the Prussians (Kreigsspiel, circa 1812; book title: Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame).
I wonder what H.G. Wells would think if he could see table top wargaming now. Very nice video!
+Panzerkuchen It's fun to think of, but I think he'd mainly be scared of cars and trucks and airplanes. And TV. Thanks for watching!
Well, it depends on what you mean by today, do you mean Warhammer 40k 7th on large tables, or do you mean the simple Warhammer 40k 8th on little mats... he'd hate the latter, he would be in awe of the former. I do like how Warhammer 40k 8th has some of his [H. G. Wells] rules in there.
HG Wells lived til 1946, so less so than you'd think.
This was a really interesting listen - cheers Adam!
Wells was an interesting guy. Thanks for watching!
This was SUPER great. Thanks!
I super appreciate it. Thanks for watching!
Great video, interesting stuff.👍
This was a very nice episode. Thx for sharing :)
I looked it up, you can read a scanned in original print on archive. org for free
terrific video! thanks for doing this!
Thanks for watching!
Absolutely super cool video!
It is an excellent book and a very quick and amusing read!
At present, I can not find my print copy of Little Wars either, but one of the guns pictured appears to be a Britain's 4" breech loading Naval gun (one of which I have packed away somewhere).
I swear I own a copy somewhere. It's probably in a box somewhere. Thanks for watching!
That is awesome. I think I need to get this book. Thanks for sharing.
I enjoy it a lot. Thanks for watching!
9/19/18, watched this video again, went to my Google Books, purchased the audio book version for next to nothing, .99 cents! Super great video, thanks UA!👍
You used to be able to still buy (but made of plastic rather than die cast metal) match-stick firing cannons up to the late 1980s -usually with cheap 54mm Tim Mee plastic army guys. You can still find the old die cast ones on Ebay -some times expensive, though! I have a good few now! And Wells' book -great!
I kinda want one of those cannons now. Maybe I could make a catapult instead. Thanks for watching!
I actually knew this! A couple years ago I actually read through his 'rules' and emulated it using nerf guns and dollar store toy soldiers. BTW I love the videos! your a great host and have earned yourself a new subscriber!
I hadn't thought of using Nerf guns. That's a good idea. Thanks for watching!
The prose of Little Wars is truly amazing. His exuberance for the game is inspiring.
The only other game that I know that even comes close to matching Little Wars for prose is IMHO the original Dungeons & Dragons (1974), and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1e (1977). Or, as we old school RPG gamers like to call it "High Gygaxian". ;)
Nice, I like that term. Thanks for watching!
Really enjoyed this. Will have to read book again.
It's really enjoyable. Thanks for watching!
Incredible find! I'm hoping Amazon still offers it!
The first 'wargame' that had elements of modern wargaming (i.e. scaled movement/fire; unit capes) was Kriegspiel, literally "wargame" developed in ca 1812. It was designed to teach the Prussian Crown Prince how to command and employ his forces. One of the very first Kriegspiel tables is on display at the Charlottenburg Palace Berlin.
My friend Bryan pointed out that the 1987 Rogue Trader scenario “Battle At the Farm” has to be a nod to Battle of Hooks Farm.
there was a recent wargames book in the spirit of Little Wars. it's for 54mm scale models played in gardens or on floors. The title is Funny Little Wars and should be available on amazon.
Interesting scale. Thanks for watching!
Without doubt this is your best video to date! In fact, it caused me to re-subscribe.
Glad to hear you're back. Thanks for watching!
Thanks, man. that book is awesome
It really is cool, and I'm glad you enjoy it. Thanks for watching!
excellent very interesting video. love the presentation style . thank you for sharing this insight into tabletop games history.
You're welcome. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this, it kind of sets the question of Wargamers of who we are, where we come from and where are origins are in this cosmic universe... It's kinda like an echo of our past, as if God was speaking directly to us and say, you see? I've created humanity in you through my creations... Cheers! This is the best video to date! 👍👍👍
Sorry to hear about Dallas this morning...not good..... sad times we live in....
F*ck yeah!! Why are white folks and black folks killing each other when we should be saying what's the frickin point?? Let's just get on with living and forget all the crap. We migh even find we quite like each other!! Shock horror.
And I always thought it was you dear beloved Atom ;).
Oh gosh, no. I'm not that old. Thanks for watching!
Great video.
Thanks for the reminder, of my youth. free wargames wiki has a fantasy version of little wars, sans cannons.
Interesting. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video, I really enjoyed it. Thanks!
I enjoyed making it. It's a cool book. Thanks for watching!
I had actually tried to order a copy of this book about a year ago. I believe it was just the rules part. Unfortunately, there was some difficulty on the seller's part and the transaction was cancelled. After hearing this video, I am now very bummed by not having my own copy of Little Wars. Great age we live in though, I can remedy that problem within five minutes, lol. Thanks Adam, great video my friend.
If you're anything like me, you'll appreciate the the other non-rules stuff, too. Thanks for watching!
Tabletop Minions Based upon your videos, likes, dislikes, and even opinions, I am a lot like you. I could probably sit and talk with you for hours and not know where the time went. Your game knowledge far surpasses my own, so I would love to pick your brain on certain ones I have had interest in. I teach Science and History at the secondary level, so I have a deep appreciation for the historic games. Do you know of a miniature table top game on the Civil War? I know there is one called "Battle Cry," that has been around since I was young. I was inquiring about one that uses miniatures about equal to the size of Warhammer or Warmachine. I have hundreds of plastic 54mm soldiers that I have hand painted over the years. I was looking to use the "Little Wars" rules integrated with some of my own and have a grand Floor War, if you will. Thanks for responding.
Thanks for your kind words. The only ACW game I've watched played was a game called 'Fix Bayonets!' that I saw at a localish game convention several years ago. Thanks for watching!
Wells was the Great-grandfather of Wargaming! ;-)
If Wells and his “Little Wars” is the Grandfather of Miniatures Wargaming, Georg von Reisswitz and his Kriegsspiel is the Great-Grandpa. It deals with companies and battalions (usually represented by painted wooden blocks) instead of individual miniatures, and was treated more as an official training exercise for officers than a hobby (though many said officers played it recreationally in their free time and introduced it to their friends back in civilian life), but has a lot of gameplay that wouldn’t be out of place in modern wargames, from effects of terrain and morale to complex tables of effects for wounding a unit indexed by dice rolls (which were based on real actuarial tables from the day, but most military GMs/umpires just ignored for convenience and resolved based on their own battlefield experiences). Oh yes, and like Rogue Trader, it had a GM/umpire.
Too Fat Lardies certainly have some prose in their rules - they're pleasant to read and well laid out, though the earlier sets take some time to digest they make for solid games experiences once you master the gist of them. True - good writing in rules is something writers need to take a look at again to complement the experience. Great vid (enough has been said in other comments regarding precursors to this book's content in Prussian and Eastern military training and noble circles)
A1+
I rather enjoyed this, and plan to read this book. Thank you Atom!
No problem, man. Thanks for watching!
I knew about the book before, but now I really want a copy :)
+Hooves of Doom It's really a lot of fun, and since it's no longer copyrighted, there's many places you can get an ebook copy online for free. Thanks for watching!
Hooves of Doom it Free on TH-cam
that Og Throg joke, yeah, that's a thumbs up.
Very interesting video. Thanks
Great video, really enjoyed watching it :) If you like this type of narration, like in Little Wars, check Black Powder rules by Warlord Games. It's really easy, entry-level, historical wargame, but it is written in great way. I think the autors (Rick Priestely among others) were heavily inspired by "Little Wars" and you can feel it while reading the rules :)
Great video! I never knew. How fascinating!
Yeah, I thought it was pretty interesting. Thanks for watching!
This is a very good video, thanks
see I was always under the impression wargaming started out at military colleges / schools for teaching command to the students / officers in training. and that at some point in history around the turn of the last century someone went "you know this would be fun just as a game without it having to be for training / education. I had no idea that it was more or less made independently of that to a degree. I'm sure our current version of it is closer to a mash up of what Wells came up with and how officers trained / practiced but still this was really neat to learn that most view it as having come down form Wells.
This just blew my mind.
If H.G. Wells is the Grandfather then Fred T. Jane is the Great-Grandfather. He made his naval wargame (called just 'The Jane Naval War Game') about 15 years earlier, and more importantly his reference book for it; a book so well researched it and subsequent editions (published to this day) are used for fighting actual wars.
Read Little Wars long ago. I have always played with soldiers. I think Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had a scene with the old style war game.
+Tad Coder Man, I haven't seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in forever. Thanks for watching!
Chatty chatty bang bang had that old cannon settle of gaming in it. I think the grandfather plays it.
That's really neat.
"...more intelligent sort of girl, who likes boys' games and books." -lol
Sir, you may appreciate the irony of what I'm about to tell you if you weren't aware of it already. In the military, when participants of a mission conduct a rehearsal, especially if it uses items to represent the various vehicles and units involved is actually called a "Rock Drill" for the obvious reason it refers to it's "origin" as well as the rehearsal may still involve using rocks. Og and Thog would be proud.
There's evidance of the Romans and the Egyptians doing that, so it has a glorious history to it indeed :D
Thanks for the info! This video is so interesting and has inspired me to get into this book.
I also like the cave man intro thing!
It's a great book. Glad you're looking into it. Thanks for watching!
Thank you for doing this. :D
incredible and beautiful!
Very interesting!; I will definitely try and find a printed version of that book!
That was cool, very interesting
Glad you liked it. Thanks for watching!
Mr. Jkl's first name is Abcde (pronounced ab'-sid-ee). Sorry, couldn't resist.
Also check out Charge and The Wargame. Two great books written in a more civilised age.
Several people have mentioned those titles. I should check them out. Thanks for watching!
You should see if you can find some of the course work from the War Colleges and the Naval Post graduate school on the history of war gaming. I was a wargamer long before the Naval Post Grad school, but those were my first formal courses. Then you can read about Capt Fred T. Jane RN. Yes Janes Fighting Ships was the first "Fleet list and stat book" for a War Game.
you can paint little green men anyway for little wars
Love all your vids 😂 Top stuff! 👍 (UK hobbiest)
I recently got my own copy of Little Wars/Floor Wars. Proper Grognard now.
That's awesome! I wish miniwargaming or someone made a live, video battrep :D
the guys over at frontline gaming do livestream 40k batreps on twitch
I think they meant a "little wars" batrep.
I just woke up man, im in literal mode atm :D
Incredible video as usual! As a metal nut are you aware of the epic metal masters Bolt Thrower??..you may enjoy early album covers of anything :)
I am familiar with them, and early on just though that they were a band of guys who worked at GW. If only that were actually true. Thanks for watching!
I have a hardcover copy of the book. The introduction was written by Isaac Asimov so it's probably not a first edition. But, alas, I never played it. I was mostly into Avalon Hill games all those years ago.
I thought we were getting a tutorial from Sam about weathering with ink through your airbrush..? Interesting video none the less.
+Owf Gaming It's filmed already, and it should be up a week from today. Thanks for watching!
+Tabletop Minions Lovely, cant wait for that one.
Likewise, can't wait for more painting tutorials from Sam. All my Vallejo game colours are no good, so waiting on the money to purchase some scale 75 paints and start painting again.
Fun and games with the spring loaded whatsis until someone loses an eye.
As I've always said: if you want to make an omelette, you have to shoot a person in the eye with a wooden dowel. Thanks for watching!
My dad once knew the brothers that designed the very first Lord of the Rings figures, I forgot their names but they went on to work for Games Workshop.
Edit:
The Perry Twins
They do amazing work. Thanks for watching!
I think encyclopaedic in this context means "comprehensive" or "all-encompassing" (i.e. a good range of terrain represented). However, it is also quite likely that an encyclopaedia or two may have been used to represent a range of hills.
Yooo Adam your a clown you have me dying with the “and then they killed him bc they thought he was a witch” lmfaooo