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2019/10/01 16:56:43
Subject: Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?
It occurred to me the other day that despite being in this great hobby since the 1980s
that I know little about the history of our hobby and how it came to be widespread in a format we all know and love.
For sure, Chess is an obvious starting point, and that game has obviously been around for centuries. And yeah, I'm familiar with the early days of GW, White Dwarf and Citadel miniatures when they first started off.
And as somebody who loves Airfix and Tamiya model kits, both of those companies have been around for decades, and I remember the toy soldiers they did when I was a kid
But what about the rest? Who were the pioneers, the men, and maybe women, who dared to dream?
In short, when did wargaming become a thing, and where can I read about it?
If this were a TV documentary, there would be an old parchment from 14th century France, with a sketchy image of a monk or something as a starting point
Thanks for any replies.
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
2019/10/01 17:18:18
Subject: Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?
Playing at the World by Jon Peterson, is about the development of Dungeons & Dragons, but covers a lot of the history of wargaming both as an actual military tool and a hobby since D&D was an evolution of a Fantasy variant of Chainmail, which was an evolution of Medieval Wargaming.
The Wargaming Compendium by Henry Hyde is another publication that covers the founding of recreational wargaming, and in my opinion is a book every wargamer should own.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2019/10/01 18:14:00
Wow, this is insane. It even has wounds, difficult terrain, measuring with a ruler etc.
Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like soup. Now you put soup in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put soup into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now soup can flow or it can crash. Be soup, my friend.
2019/10/02 08:21:59
Subject: Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?
Post-war in the UK, look for Donald Featherstone, Tony Bath, Charles Grant.
Many of their books have been reprinted in the last couple of years, and an Amazon search will give more details.
Achtung Schweinhund! by Harry Pearson (a Guardian sports journalist, no less) is a potted history of growing up with wargames in the 60s and 70s. It has a good overview of the history of wargames.
The Bronte sisters wrote stories about the toy soldiers they played with as children - search for Angria or Gondal. Forging the Narrative since the 1830s!
Kriegsspiel is republished by Too Fat Lardies.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/02 08:23:12
2019/10/02 11:52:06
Subject: Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?
infinite_array wrote: Playing at the World by Jon Peterson, is about the development of Dungeons & Dragons, but covers a lot of the history of wargaming both as an actual military tool and a hobby since D&D was an evolution of a Fantasy variant of Chainmail, which was an evolution of Medieval Wargaming.
The Wargaming Compendium by Henry Hyde is another publication that covers the founding of recreational wargaming, and in my opinion is a book every wargamer should own.
Thanks for the recommendation
I've ordered myself a copy.
God Almighty, there's a treasure trove of wargaming books I've missed out on
because by focusing on that book, I got hints and suggestions from Amazon on a ton of other books I've overlooked. I'm very disappointed in myself
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Waaaghbert wrote: Great post, it never occured to me to look for the historical roots of my hobby (despite me having studied history for some time )
Wow, this is insane. It even has wounds, difficult terrain, measuring with a ruler etc.
I'm in the same boat - I can't believe I overlooked the history of the hobby.
And yes, that game does look insane, so naturally, I'm curious
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2019/10/02 14:19:45
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
2019/10/02 15:33:21
Subject: Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?
From the quick look at the history of Kriegspiel in the linked article I must say this - this game, through umpires, would infuriate all those modern combo seeking "generals" that want to have direct and absolute control over outcome of their actions. And it is much, much closer to how I personally percieve relation between myself and my little toy soldiers and their battle stories.
2019/10/02 15:43:59
Subject: Re:Who are the founding fathers of our hobby? Any good books about them or hobby history in general?