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Miniature wargaming

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File:Hat-8028-bavarian-infantry.jpg
Bavarian Napoleonic Infantry, 1811, from the historical wargame Volley & Bayonet.
File:UrukBatteringRam.jpg
Uruk-hai Battering Ram, from the fantasy wargame The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.

Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming designed to incorporate little "toys," miniatures or figurines into play, which was invented at the beginning of the 19th century in Prussia. The miniatures are used to represent troops or vehicles (such as tanks, chariots, aircraft, ships, etc.). The games may reflect historical situations and armies, or may be futuristic or fantasy-based.

General overview

Miniature wargaming is a recreational hobby where players simulate a battle, which is played out using small figurines to represent the units involved. Many miniatures games are played on a floor or tabletop, with terrain represented by miniature scenery (hills, forests, roads, fences, etc.). Movement of the miniatures is regulated using a tape measure. However, like boardgames, miniature games can also be played using gridded terrain (demarcated into squares or hexagons) or even gameboards.

One of the main reasons for playing miniature wargames, in both these respects, is because it offers players more freedom of play and a more aesthetically pleasing tactical element over traditional games or computer games. Additionally, many hobbyists enjoy the challenge of painting miniatures and constructing scenery. In many ways, miniature wargaming may be seen as combining many of the aesthetics of tabletop train modeling with an open strategy game predominantly, though not exclusively, with a military theme.

The miniatures and scenery used vary greatly in scale, from 10 mm figures up to more conventional modelling scales. Usually, 15, 25 and 28 mm are the most popular scales. The miniature figures are typically plastic or metal and are often sold unpainted. Scenery is often home-made, and figures are painted by the players, who will sometimes even "convert" shop-bought figures to better represent the units they are trying to depict.

There are any number of sets of miniature wargaming rules, some of which are available without charge on the Internet. Scenarios may depict actual historical situations and battles, or they may be hypothetical "what if?" situations. There are also fantasy and science fiction games with attendant wizards, spacecraft and other genres. Rules also vary in the scale they depict: one figure to one soldier is the most common for fantasy and some historical rules, but many historical systems presume that one figure represents a platoon, regiment or even larger formations on the tabletop.

Generally, these games are turn based strategy, like chess.

See also Concise history of historical miniatures wargaming

Scale

Scale is generally expressed as the approximate height of a humanoid figure from base of foot to eyeline (though some count to top of head - hence the possible confusion) in millimeters, as opposed to the ratio values used in scale modeling. Popular sizes include 54 mm, 45 mm, 28 mm, 25 mm, 20 mm, 15 mm, 10 mm and 6 mm. These roughly equate to ratios of 1:32, 1:35, 1:64, 1:76, 1:72, 1:120, 1:180 and 1:300, respectively.

"HO" (1:87) and "N" (1:160) scale are popular among model railroad hobbyists. Some model railroad scales are close enough to the smaller-scale figures to provide usable structures and/or vehicles, possibly requiring some modification. Some wargamers use card model structures because of their economy and the ease of scaling them to appropriate sizes, and many wargamers scratchbuild their structures.

Part of the reason for the profusion of miniature sizes is the need for manufacturers to differentiate themselves in what is a niche market. This results in what has been termed 'scale creep' where miniatures listed in a catalogue may be identified by a measurement, but in reality may vary significantly from that advertised size. This is to encourage the purchaser into brand loyalty based on the aesthetic desire to maintain a look of uniformity on the tabletop.

Over the years the size of new miniatures has tended to increase. For example 25mm figures from the 70s are visibly smaller than the 25mm figures today. Some can even be used alongside modern 20mm figures. Currently most manufacturers and gamers refer to 25mm figures as 28mm figures, since they are so much bigger than the earlier 25mm figs. Some figures still being called 25mm, even if by the foot to eyeline ratio they should be 30mm or bigger. There are many theories for this. One is that as the sculptors get older, the figures they sculpt get bigger, due to diminishing eyesight.

A players choice of which scale to use is a direct reflection of the scope of the game to be played. Larger scaled figures (25 mm and up) tend to be used in skirmish games where the single miniature represents (or signifies) a single man/animal/vehicle. This is for reasons of artistic sensibilities - a few single models do not capture the impression of many hundreds of individuals as if seen from a distance, and also for economic realities - larger figures are more expensive and consume proportionately more room on the playing surface.

Smaller scaled miniatures are typically mounted in groups and moved as groups. This creates the visual effect of a large mass of combatants, allowing games simulating platoon, company, battalion, and even corps level actions.

Historically, the perceived and agreed ratios of representative models to represented 'real world' objects was explicitly stated. This was particularly true of rules systems that claimed some form of historical authority. However, with the growth and popularity of fantasy games such as Warhammer Fantasy, model to man ratios are now predominantly left implicit in most modern commercial rules.

Role-playing games

Main article: Role-playing game

During the 1960s and 1970s, two new trends in wargaming emerged: First were small-unit rules sets which allowed individual players to portray small units down to even a single figure. These rules expanded the abilities of the smaller units accordingly, to magnify their effect on the overall battle.

Second was an interest in fantasy miniatures wargaming. J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit and his epic cycle The Lord of the Rings were gaining strong interest in the United States, and as a result, rules were quickly developed to play medieval and Roman-era wargames, where these eras had previously been largely ignored in favor of Napoleonic and Civil War gaming.

The two converged in a set of miniatures rules entitled Chainmail, published by a tiny company called Guidon Games, headquartered in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Later, in 1974, TSR designer E. Gary Gygax wrote a set of rules for individual characters under Chainmail, and entitled it Dungeons & Dragons. Further developments ensued, and the role-playing game hobby quickly became distinct from the wargaming hobby which preceded it, developments which are not within the scope of this article.

Rulesets

Main article: List of Miniature Wargames
The Rulebook for The Lord of the Rings SBG.

There are many miniature wargaming rulesets, including some which are available free on the internet. Most rulesets are intended for a specific historical period or fictional genre. Rules also vary in the model scale they use: one infantry figure may represent one man, one squad, or much larger numbers of actual troops.

Wargaming in general owes its origins to military simulations, most famously to the Prussian staff training system Free Kriegspiel. Consequently, rules designers struggle with the perceived obligation to actually 'simulate' something, and with the seldom compatible necessity to make an enjoyable 'game'. Historical battles were seldom fair or even, and the potential detail that can be brought to bear to represent this in a set of rules always comes at the cost of pace of the game and enjoyment. Most rules aimed at the non-professional hobby market therefore inevitably contain abstractions. It is generally in the area of the abstraction liberties taken by the designers that the differences between rules can be found. Most follow tried and true conventions to the extent that a chess player would recognise wargaming merely as a different scaled version of his or her own game.

Popular rulesets include, for fantasy and science fiction gaming, Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 40,000, Dirtside, and Full Thrust; for historical wargames, De Bellis Antiquitatis/De Bellis Multitudinis and Warhammer Ancient Battles; for the American Civil War, Fire and Fury, and for World War Two, Flames of War, Command Decision, Rapid Fire, and Spearhead.

Notable miniature wargame organisations

American Civil War miniature battle at the HMGS "Cold Wars" convention in Lancaster.

Notable miniature wargamers and miniature wargame designers

Frederick the Great, one of the most famous historical wargamers.
  • Frederick the Great, king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786, was "obsessed" with automata . According to Manuel de Landa, "he put together his armies as a well-oiled clockwork mechanism whose components were robot-like warriors. No individual initiative was allowed to Frederick's soldiers; their only role was to cooperate in the creation of walls of projectiles through synchronized firepower. Under the pressure of the increased accuracy and range of firearms, military commanders in the following centuries were forced to grant responsibility to the individual soldier, to let him run for cover or stalk the enemy, for instance. The human will returned to the battlefield."
  • H.G. Wells - Known as the "Father of Miniature Wargaming" and author of the miniature wargaming classic Little Wars.
  • Jack Scruby-The Father of Modern Miniature Wargaming. Popularised modern miniature wargaming and organised perhaps the first miniatures convention in 1956. Jack Scruby was also a manufacturer of military miniatures whose efforts led to a rebirth of the miniature wargaming hobby in the late 1950s.
  • Gary Gygax - Creator of Dungeons & Dragons and a number of miniature wargames.
  • Duke Seifried - Sculptor of over 10,000 miniatures, one of the earliest American miniature manufacturers: Heritage, Custom Cast, Der Kreigspielers Napoleonic, and Fantastiques Fantasy Figures.
  • Charles Grant - Game industry author who helped popularise miniature wargaming.
  • Donald Featherstone - One of the most prolific authors on the subject, very influential in the development of the hobby.
  • S. William Nesbitt II - Author of the fantasy tabletop battle game Battlestorm.
  • David Waxtel - Co-founder of the Historical Miniature Gaming Society. Publisher of Fire & Fury, Spearhead, Shako, They Died for Glory, Crossfire, Tactica, Armadi, Grande Armee, Age of Eagles, and over 20 other published games.
  • Fletcher Pratt - Science fiction writer (often in collaboration with L. Sprague de Camp) and originator of a popular set of rules for naval miniature wargaming.
  • Walter ("Wally") Simon - The "Father of the (HMGS)Historical Miniature Gaming Society." First President of HMGS and Organizer of the Potomac Wargamers, publisher of the PW Review.
  • George Gush - Noted for A Guide to Wargaming (1980) as well as the WRG Renaissance Rules and the book Renaissance Armies.
  • John Hill - known for his classic Squad Leader and other Avalon Hill board games, also the author of the popular Johnny Reb miniatures rules.
  • Raymond ("Ray") James Jackson - Author of Classic Napoleonics, an "Old School" set of miniature wargame rules which have been in existence since 1961. Chairman and CEO of both HMGS-West and the War Gaming Society. A miniature wargamer since 1958.
  • Sidney ("Lifter") Roundwood - author of the TooFatLardies range of rule sets and products.
  • Frank Chadwick - Author of the Command Decision rules, Space 1889 and Traveller, and co-founder of Game Designers' Workshop.
  • Phil Barker - founder of the Wargames Research Group, and inventor of the De Bellis Antiquitatis game series.
  • Colin Rumford and Richard Marsh UK - creators of the Rapid Fire rules.
  • Dave Wesely - Credited with the idea of the role playing game.
  • Michael J. Varhola - creator of the Skirmisher miniature system and co-author of the Chevauchee medieval miniatures rules.
  • Brigadier Peter Young, DSO, MC - Highly decorated World War II commando leader, commander of the 9th Regiment of the Arab Legion, founder of the Sealed Knot English Civil War reenactment society, Reader of Military History at Sandhurst, author of several books on military history, also author of Charge! Or How to Play Wargames and The War Game: Ten Great Battles Recreated from History.

Manufacturers

This article may have confusing or ambiguous abbreviations. Please review the Manual of Style, help improve this article, and discuss this issue on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The following abbreviations are used in this section:

Figure sizes are in heights of mm (millimetres); or model railway gauge sizes (e.g. HO, N); or model ship scales.

The manufacturers are:

References

  1. See Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish, New York, Vintage Books, 1979, p.136: "The celebrated automata were not only a way of illustrating an organism, they were also political puppets, small-scale models of power: Frederick, the meticulous king of small machines, well-trained regiments and long exercises, was obsessed with them."
  2. Manuel de Landa, War in the Age of Intelligent Machines, p.127, Swerve Editions, New York, 1991
  3. Interview with Dave Arneson : Pegasus Magazine #1

See also

External links

Scale modelling
Products
Materials
Scales
Related topics
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