H.G. Wells - Wargammer

Posted by Joseph Allen McCullough Apr 14, 2006

Although best know for his early novels which helped establish the genre of science-fiction, H. G. Wells is also considered by many to the founder of modern war-gaming. In 1913 Wells released a short book called Little Wars in which he wrote about the many hours he had spent playing toy soldiers with his children. The book follows the evolution of their games as they experimented with various rules for the movement of soldiers and determining how to resolve fights. By the end of the work, Wells has presented the first published set of rules for a table-top war-game.

This may sound strange considering that Wells spent much of his life preaching pacifism, but he saw no contradiction. On the contrary, Wells thought that if more people fought little wars with little toy men, perhaps they would be less inclined to fight real wars.

Right or wrong, modern war-gaming grew from these humble beginnings to become a popular world-wide past-time. Tens of thousands of people now fight little wars. The hobby is supported by dozens of companies who produce toy soldiers or rule sets. Gatherings of war-gamers, usually called conventions, are now so popular in Britain it is probably possible to attend one almost every weekend.

A recent trend in the war-gaming world has been to set little wars in a pseudo-Victorian period consisting of steam tanks and flying ships. Some of these games even include giant alien tripods, first imagined by H. G. Wells in his novel The War of the Worlds. Thus, in a way, war-gaming has come full circle, returning to its creator. That said, some of these games have become so complex and the soldiers and tables used so skilfully constructed, I often wonder if H. G. Wells would immediately recognize his own creation.