Fletcher Pratt's Naval Wargame Wargaming with Model Ships 1900-1945


Book Description

The Fletcher Pratt Naval Wargame was one of the most successful naval wargames of the 20th century. The straightforward rules, based on the innovation of estimating the range in order to hit, have an enduring fascination as a simulation of the 'big gun era' 1900-1945. As a result of extensive research, this book brings together previously unpublished material into a comprehensive guide to these classic rules, including: The full rules, with previously unpublished amendments by Fletcher Pratt. Optional rules as agreed by Fletcher Pratt. The previously unpublished strategic game. Solo wargaming rules. Guidance on how to play the game. Updates for the rules as suggested by Donald Featherstone. A sample scenario by Fletcher Pratt, The Action off Murmansk. An in-depth evaluation of the rules versus naval reality featuring contributions from experts such as James Dunnigan, Commander Bothwell, Fletcher Pratt and Phil Barker.




Donald Featherstone's Naval War Games Wargaming with Model Ships


Book Description

This book gives potential admirals advice on how to fight their table-top naval battles. No space is too small, nor area too large to accomodate a naval wargame with two contestants or twenty. This book contains rules that allow every sea battle in history to be refought with some of the classic rules of naval wargaming. It includes rules by Fletcher Pratt, Fred Jane, Tony Bath, Jack Scruby etc... This edition includes a new set of rules about Coastal Warfare 1939-45 by David Manley of the Naval Wargames Society




Zones of Control


Book Description

Examinations of wargaming for entertainment, education, and military planning, in terms of design, critical analysis, and historical contexts. Games with military themes date back to antiquity, and yet they are curiously neglected in much of the academic and trade literature on games and game history. This volume fills that gap, providing a diverse set of perspectives on wargaming's past, present, and future. In Zones of Control, contributors consider wargames played for entertainment, education, and military planning, in terms of design, critical analysis, and historical contexts. They consider both digital and especially tabletop games, most of which cover specific historical conflicts or are grounded in recognizable real-world geopolitics. Game designers and players will find the historical and critical contexts often missing from design and hobby literature; military analysts will find connections to game design and the humanities; and academics will find documentation and critique of a sophisticated body of cultural work in which the complexity of military conflict is represented in ludic systems and procedures. Each section begins with a long anchoring chapter by an established authority, which is followed by a variety of shorter pieces both analytic and anecdotal. Topics include the history of playing at war; operations research and systems design; wargaming and military history; wargaming's ethics and politics; gaming irregular and non-kinetic warfare; and wargames as artistic practice. Contributors Jeremy Antley, Richard Barbrook, Elizabeth M. Bartels, Ed Beach, Larry Bond, Larry Brom, Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, Rex Brynen, Matthew B. Caffrey, Jr., Luke Caldwell, Catherine Cavagnaro, Robert M. Citino, Laurent Closier, Stephen V. Cole, Brian Conley, Greg Costikyan, Patrick Crogan, John Curry, James F. Dunnigan, Robert J. Elder, Lisa Faden, Mary Flanagan, John A. Foley, Alexander R. Galloway, Sharon Ghamari-Tabrizi, Don R. Gilman, A. Scott Glancy, Troy Goodfellow, Jack Greene, Mark Herman, Kacper Kwiatkowski, Tim Lenoir, David Levinthal, Alexander H. Levis, Henry Lowood, Elizabeth Losh, Esther MacCallum-Stewart, Rob MacDougall, Mark Mahaffey, Bill McDonald, Brien J. Miller, Joseph Miranda, Soraya Murray, Tetsuya Nakamura, Michael Peck, Peter P. Perla, Jon Peterson, John Prados, Ted S. Raicer, Volko Ruhnke, Philip Sabin, Thomas C. Schelling, Marcus Schulzke, Miguel Sicart, Rachel Simmons, Ian Sturrock, Jenny Thompson, John Tiller, J. R. Tracy, Brian Train, Russell Vane, Charles Vasey, Andrew Wackerfuss, James Wallis, James Wallman, Yuna Huh Wong




Donald Featherstone's War Games


Book Description

Donald Featherstone's classic wargaming book, War Games, was first published in 1962. It was largely responsible for turning a somewhat obscure hobby into a popular pastime across the world. This revised edition includes new material including a foreword by Paddy Griffith, the full version of the Lionel Tarr Modern Wargaming Rules (modern being for Wordl War II) and a timeline of wargaming. It is published as part of the History of Wargaming Project at www.johncurryevents.co.uk




Winning a Future War


Book Description

"To win in the Pacific during World War II, the U.S. Navy had to transform itself technically, tactically, and strategically. It had to create a fleet capable of the unprecedented feat of fighting and winning far from home, without existing bases, in the face of an enemy with numerous bases fighting in his own waters. Much of the credit for the transformation should go to the war gaming conducted at the U.S. Naval War College. Conversely, as we face further demands for transformation, the inter-war experience at the War College offers valuable guidance as to what works, and why, and how."




The United States Naval War College 1936 Wargame Rules


Book Description

The famous Unites States Naval War College wargames have been seen as an important part of the US Navy's preparation for war with Japan. The actual naval commanders took lessons from these wargames into the conflict in the Pacific 1941-45. This book makes the 1936 edition of the tactical rules readily accessible for the first time to the public. It includes the detailed rules for movement, gunnery, damage and other aspects of real naval warfare from the big gun era. The object of these games was to aid students of strategy and tactics in the comprehension of these complex subjects. The book includes: Original guidance from 1922 on how to play the game. Sample gunnery tables. Torpedo fire cards. Rules for visibility and smoke. Details about speed and fuel. Sample ship cards to illustrate how the rules worked. The book is published by the History of Wargaming Project. It is part of a series to document key steps in the development of modern wargaming.




Playing with the Past


Book Description

Game Studies is a rapidly growing area of contemporary scholarship, yet volumes in the area have tended to focus on more general issues. With Playing with the Past, game studies is taken to the next level by offering a specific and detailed analysis of one area of digital game play -- the representation of history. The collection focuses on the ways in which gamers engage with, play with, recreate, subvert, reverse and direct the historical past, and what effect this has on the ways in which we go about constructing the present or imagining a future. What can World War Two strategy games teach us about the reality of this complex and multifaceted period? Do the possibilities of playing with the past change the way we understand history? If we embody a colonialist's perspective to conquer 'primitive' tribes in Colonization, does this privilege a distinct way of viewing history as benevolent intervention over imperialist expansion? The fusion of these two fields allows the editors to pose new questions about the ways in which gamers interact with their game worlds. Drawing these threads together, the collection concludes by asking whether digital games - which represent history or historical change - alter the way we, today, understand history itself.




The Legacy of Belleau Wood


Book Description

In the summer of 2017, the newly arrived president of Marine Corps University, Brigadier General William J. Bowers, ordered a lecture series, "The Legacy of Belleau Wood: 100 Years of Making Marines and Winning Battles." The series would include four lectures, and it was to be supported by an anthology produced by History Division, providing readings to the students on the topics each lecture would cover. The intent was to produce an anthology of lasting worth to Marines, broadly depicting keystone moments in the history of the Corps during the century following the Battle of Belleau Wood. This volume presents a collection of 36 extracts, articles, letters, orders, interviews, and biographies. The work is intended to serve as a general overview and provisional reference to inform both Marines and the general public of the broad outlines of notable trends and controversies in Marine Corps history--Provided by publisher.




Dunn Kempf


Book Description

Inspired by ideas of Phil Barker (of WRG fame), these rules were a tactical training game for the US Army for approximately twenty years. Written by Captains Dunn and Kempf, the rules aimed to accurately model potential battles between American forces in Europe and the Warsaw Pact. In addition to being fun to play, the game aimed to be worthwhile military training including: American and Warsaw Pact Tactics. Weapon capabilities and effects. Correct employment of indirect fire, such as artillery and mortars. Appropriate use of terrain. Defensive use of smoke. Creation of kill zones. This edition of the rules includes additional material that has emerged since the first edition. It is the Fort Leavenworth Combined Arms Training Center edition, plus the optional combat tables from the III Corps edition of the rules. These rules are published by the History of Wargaming Project as part of its work to document the development of professional wargaming.




Eurogames


Book Description

While board games can appear almost primitive in the digital age, eurogames--also known as German-style board games--have increased in popularity nearly concurrently with the rise of video games. Eurogames have simple rules and short playing times and emphasize strategy over luck and conflict. This book examines the form of eurogames, the hobbyist culture that surrounds them, and the way that hobbyists experience the play of such games. It chronicles the evolution of tabletop hobby gaming and explores why hobbyists play them, how players balance competitive play with the demands of an intimate social gathering, and to what extent the social context of the game encounter shapes the playing experience. Combining history, cultural studies, leisure studies, ludology, and play theory, this innovative work highlights a popular alternative trend in the gaming community.




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