description:  Little Wars was written by Wells as a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers. Its full title is Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred &amp; fifty &amp; for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games &amp; books. Little Wars may be the first modern tabletop war game. It included simple rules for infantry, cavalry &amp; artillery in the form of a toy 4.7" naval gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to it being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war. The development of the game is explained &amp; Wells' thoughts on war, as he was a pacifist, are revealed in his writing. According to him, the idea of the game developed from a visit by his friend Jerome K. Jerome. After dinner, Jerome began shooting down toy soldiers with a toy cannon &amp; Wells joined in to compete. The two decided that with written rules, a good Kriegsspiel type game could be developed. The game revolved around the use of lead hollow cast soldiers made by W. Britain &amp; battlefields made from materials at hand, usually blocks or other toys. Simple rules of movement, firing &amp; close combat were developed with a set amount of time for each player to move &amp; fire. He also provides a chapter of "Extensions &amp; Amplifications of Little War". In an appendix, he provides "Little Wars &amp; Kriegspiel"; more complex rules to be played in a larger space involving Military logistics, military engineers, cavalry charges &amp; railway transport of troops. The book is written in a whimsical style, illustrated with amusing drawings &amp; photographs of a game being played that Wells describes. He also gives a description of the game from the view of a general in the battle bombastically relating his memoirs. Little Wars was first published in 1913 by Frank Palmer. There have been numerous reprints. It's now available online at Project Gutenberg, along with a previous game book by Wells called Floor Games (1911). A recent edition of the book was published by Skirmisher Publishing LLC in 2004 &amp; includes an introduction by game designer Michael J. Varhola &amp; foreword by Gary Gygax.
language: English
title: Little Wars and Floor Games
titlecomplete: Little Wars and Floor Games (A Companion Piece to Little Wars)
ratings_count: 25
publisher: Paperbackshop.Co.UK Ltd-Echo Library