KNOW THE GAME: WARGAMING

For Christmas I was very excited to receive* a copy of the Know The Game book on wargaming by Phil Barker (1976). I remember this being in the children’s section of my local library when I was first starting to find out about wargames.

*receive: i.e. I bought it myself and placed it in the wrapping pile

It seems to be part of a general series on sports and as far as I can see this is the only one covering a more general hobby rather than more physical sports.

This is a short, softcover book of 40 pages measuring about 135 x 205mm. It’s really more of a well-produced pamphlet. The front cover says “Issued in collaboration with the Wargames Research Group”. More on this later….

Looking at the contents page it attempts to give a wide ranging overview of wargaming as a hobby: origins, how games are played, how to get started, build armies and construct terrain. For such a short volume it does an admirable job, and pretty much gives a good sense of how the hobby would have looked in the mid 1970s.

Unlike some parts of his rulebooks. Phil Barker’s text is engaging, clear and concise. It is a pleasure to read and much as I remember it from 45ish years ago. There are no rules included in the book, and that was probably a sensible a decision in such a short volume. But, everything else you would need to get started is there, including addresses of major suppliers, societies and further reading lists.

The main theme of the book is that it is, in essence, a 40 page advert for WRG. No opportunity is missed to highlight how important and universal their rules are. However, there are also some little gems in here. Mostly due to Phil Barker’s writing style which is playfully provocative at times. Below are some of my personal favourites.

What is Wargaming ?

The distinction is drawn between American leadership in board wargames and British strength in miniature wargaming. It is only page two and Phil goes for a kill shot:

“American pioneers have largely failed to cope with the competition and those new rule writers now starting to emerge are mainly producing fairly crude derivatives of often obsolete British techniques. They are also badly handicapped by much poorer facilities in America for historical research”

Ermmm….

Confrontation on the Euphrates AD 363

A turn-by-turn photo summary of a Romans vs Sassanids battle. Giving a great sense of a 1970s wargame. Also: Includes elephants for added inspiration!

Choosing a Period

This includes a really interesting table of the popularity and support for the major periods. This is 1976 – look at Sci Fi!

Obtaining Metal Figures

Here are some entertainingly frank comments on some of the main sources of figures. Minifigs are too fat, Garrison spears are too thick, Peter Laing horses are ‘sometimes a little strange’. I don’t think I disagree but it is interesting that these comments made it into print.

Choosing a Set of Wargames Rules

Guess who scores most highly here ? Other companies are referred to as well, with the comment that they may have “pretensions to merit”. Ouch.

There is also a rather odd comment on the scope of rulesets:

“Check on the historical period covered. If the rules cover only one campaign instead of an appreciable period and the whole world you are entitled to wonder why. The real reason is always that it is easier for the rule writer…”

Yes, I always found it annoying that WRG Ancient rules only covered c4500 years of history, Sheer laziness.

Military Wargames

Here is a claim that the US Army used the WRG modern rules for training, I remember seeing this in their magazine adverts in Military Modelling but have never found anything to verify the claim.

Conclusions

In summary this is fantastic and entertaining little book. In the hands of anyone other than Phil Barker it might have been a little dry, but fast forward to 2023 and it had me chuckling repeatedly as I reread it.