Little Wars
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Little Wars was written by the famous author H. G. Wells in 1913 and is 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 and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books.
The game, geared towards boys, revolved around the use of lead soldiers and battlefields made from whatever materials were on hand, usually blocks or other toys. Little Wars is considered by some to be the first modern table top war game. It included fairly complex rules for infantry, cavalry, and even artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch 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 and Wells' thoughts on war, as he was known to be a pacifist, is revealed in his writing.
The book was first published in 1913. There have been numerous reprints and it is now available online at Project Gutenberg, along with a companion book by Wells called Floor Games, first published in 1911. The most recent edition of the book was published by Skirmisher Publishing LLC [link] in 2004 and includes an introduction by game designer Michael J. Varhola and a foreword by Gary Gygax.
External links
- [Full text of Little Wars] from Project Gutenberg.
- [Full text of Floor Games] from Project Gutenberg.
- [Little Wars & Floor Games] Introduction to the 1995 edition of Wells' gaming books.
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