Little Wars
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Littlewars.jpg/220px-Littlewars.jpg)
Little Wars is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by English novelist H. G. Wells in 1913. The book, which had a full title of 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, provided simple rules for miniature wargaming.[1] Although first printed in 1913, an updated version was released in 2004.
It is mentioned in one of Wells' other books, Joan and Peter, where, during the Great War, a sensitive young man named Bunny Cuspard tries his best to compare his life in the army as a larger version of the manual.
Contents
Little Wars included fairly simple rules for infantry, cavalry, and artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to its being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war.
The book is written in a whimsical style and illustrated with drawings and photographs of a game being played that Wells describes in the book. Wells also gives a description of the game from the view of one of the generals in the battle bombastically relating his memoirs.
Development
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/52/HG_Wells_playing_to_Little_Wars.jpg/330px-HG_Wells_playing_to_Little_Wars.jpg)
The development of the game is explained and Wells's thoughts on war, as he was known to be a pacifist, are revealed in his writing. According to Wells, 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 and Wells joined in to compete. The two decided that with an addition of 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 and battlefields made from whatever materials were on hand, usually blocks or other toys. Simple rules of movement, firing, and close combat were developed with a set amount of time for each player to move and fire. Wells also provides a chapter of "Extensions and Amplifications of Little War". In an appendix, Wells provides "Little Wars and Kriegspiel"; more complex rules to be played in a larger space involving military logistics, military engineers, cavalry charges, and railway transport of troops.
Publication
Little Wars was first published in 1913 by Frank Palmer.[2] Da Capo Press republished Little Wars in its unabridged form in 1977.[3] There have been numerous other reprints and it is now available online at Project Gutenberg, along with a previous game book by Wells called Floor Games (1911). A 2004 edition of the book published by Skirmisher Publishing includes an introduction by game designer Michael O. Varhola and a foreword by Gary Gygax.[4]
Reception
C. Ben Ostrander reviewed the 1977 unabridged version of Little Wars in The Space Gamer No. 17.[3] Ostrander commented that "There are many line drawings and photos of the author 'at play'. Although it is of little use to the modern gamer, this book stands as an interesting volume."[3]
References
- ^ Rundle, Michael (9 April 2013). "How HG Wells Invented Modern War Games 100 Years Ago". The Huffington Post.
- ^ Palmer, Frank (16 August 1913). "Little Wars. By H. G. Wells". The Spectator.
- ^ a b c Ostrander, C. Ben (May–June 1978). "Books". The Space Gamer (17). Metagaming: 21.
- ^ Wallace, Mark (3 May 2013). "Basic Training". The New York Times.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- Full text of Little Wars from Project Gutenberg
- Full text of Floor Games from Project Gutenberg
- Little Wars on Archive.org
- Floor Games on Archive.org
- Little Wars at "Schild en Vriend"
Little Wars public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- v
- t
- e
- The Time Machine (1895)
- The Wonderful Visit (1895)
- The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896)
- The Wheels of Chance (1896)
- The Invisible Man (1897)
- The War of the Worlds (1898)
- When the Sleeper Wakes (1899)
- Love and Mr Lewisham (1900)
- The First Men in the Moon (1901)
- The Sea Lady (1902)
- The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth (1904)
- Kipps (1905)
- A Modern Utopia (1905)
- In the Days of the Comet (1906)
- The War in the Air (1908)
- Tono-Bungay (1909)
- Ann Veronica (1909)
- The History of Mr Polly (1910)
- The Sleeper Awakes (1910)
- The New Machiavelli (1911)
- Marriage (1912)
- The Passionate Friends (1913)
- The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman (1914)
- The World Set Free (1914)
- Bealby (1915)
- Boon (1915)
- The Research Magnificent (1915)
- Mr. Britling Sees It Through (1916)
- The Soul of a Bishop (1917)
- Joan and Peter (1918)
- The Undying Fire (1919)
- The Secret Places of the Heart (1922)
- Men Like Gods (1923)
- The Dream (1924)
- Christina Alberta's Father (1925)
- The World of William Clissold (1926)
- Meanwhile (1927)
- Mr. Blettsworthy on Rampole Island (1928)
- The Autocracy of Mr. Parham (1930)
- The Bulpington of Blup (1932)
- The Shape of Things to Come (1933)
- The Croquet Player (1936)
- Brynhild (1937)
- Star Begotten (1937)
- The Camford Visitation (1937)
- Apropos of Dolores (1938)
- The Brothers (1938)
- The Holy Terror (1939)
- Babes in the Darkling Wood (1940)
- All Aboard for Ararat (1940)
- You Can't Be Too Careful (1941)
- Anticipations
- Certain Personal Matters
- Crux Ansata
- The Discovery of the Future
- An Englishman Looks at the World
- Experiment in Autobiography
- The Fate of Man
- First and Last Things
- Floor Games
- The Future in America
- God the Invisible King
- In the Fourth Year
- Little Wars
- Mankind in the Making
- Mind at the End of Its Tether
- Mr. Belloc Objects to "The Outline of History"
- The New America
- The New World Order
- New Worlds for Old
- The Open Conspiracy
- The Outline of History
- Russia in the Shadows
- The Science of Life
- A Short History of the World
- The Story of a Great Schoolmaster
- This Misery of Boots
- Travels of a Republican Radical in Search of Hot Water
- War and the Future
- The Way the World Is Going
- The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind
- World Brain
- A Year of Prophesying
- "Æpyornis Island"
- "The Argonauts of the Air"
- "The Beautiful Suit"
- "The Chronic Argonauts"
- "The Cone"
- "The Country of the Blind"
- "The Crystal Egg"
- "A Deal in Ostriches"
- "The Diamond Maker"
- "The Door in the Wall"
- "A Dream of Armageddon"
- "The Empire of the Ants"
- "In the Abyss"
- "The Land Ironclads"
- "Mr. Ledbetter's Vacation"
- "The Lord of the Dynamos"
- "The Man Who Could Work Miracles"
- "The New Accelerator"
- "The Pearl of Love"
- "The Plattner Story"
- "The Queer Story of Brownlow's Newspaper"
- "The Red Room"
- "The Sea Raiders"
- "The Star"
- "The Stolen Body"
- "A Story of the Days to Come"
- "A Story of the Stone Age"
- "Triumphs of a Taxidermist"
- "The Truth About Pyecraft"
- "A Vision of Judgment"
- Things to Come (1936)
- The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1937)
- Political views
- G. P. Wells
- Anthony West (son)
- Joseph Wells (father)
- Simon Wells (great-grandson)
- H. G. Wells Society
- Lunar crater
- Time After Time (1979 film)