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The Garrison
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What is Wargaming? Wargaming is the play of simulated military operations in the form of games known as wargames. It can be one of a number of ways of exploring the effects of warfare or testing strategies without actual combat. It can take the form of a hobby in which one or more players simulate battles or entire wars (as a type of simulation game), or a model or computer simulation of possible scenarios in military planning, (this is also called warfare simulation; or the full-scale rehearsal of military manoeuvres as practice for warfare.) Some of the ways warfare can be simulated is through the use of miniature figures (DBM), board games using maps and counters (Diplomacy) and with the use and assistance of computers (Age of Empires). What is miniature figure wargaming? The most famous wargame is Chess. The battlefield is the board. And the armies are made up of foot soldiers (pawns), knights, castles, etc. There are two players each commanding their own army (white and black). Now, instead of a checkerboard have a table much like a table-tennis table. Instead of chess pieces, one uses miniatures designed to represent various soldiers: Infantry, cavalry and artillery. As in all games, there are rules. Instead of moving game pieces a number of squares, wargame pieces are moved a given distance. Instead of moving individual pieces, wargame figures are often joined together in 'units' and moved collectively. In chess, 'combat' is carried out by simply removing pieces, and there is no chance or luck involved. Wargames generally break combat into long-range firing from bows, guns, etc. and melee where hand-to-hand combat is simulated. Shooting is often conducted by measuring the range from the firing unit to the target unit, and then rolling dice to see how many casualties are inflicted. Melee is often simulated by the players moving two opposing units into physical contact and rolling dice to see which unit wins the fight. The losing unit may be driven back a certain distance, or it might be eliminated from the 'battlefield'. If the opposing 'army' inflicts more 'casualties' than they receive and they have more effective units on the 'battlefield' than their opponent, they are considered the winner of the game.
All periods in history have simulators of some sort for it. Periods have generally been divided into: Ancient History (Greeks, Romans) Middle Ages (Hundred years War, Age of Chivalry) Pike and shot (Renaissance) Horse and Musket (Napoleonic Era) Colonial (Early modern war) World War I World War II Modern War (Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War,) All forms Science Fiction and Fantasy. All levels/scales of warfare can be simulated from strategy involving nations and regions Armies and divisions through tactical scales involving combinations of battalion through to squad level to skirmish games involving individuals. Who are wargamers? All wargamers have one thing in common and that is a competitive spirit other than that they come from all walks of life, religions, gender, race and culture. One thing is certain over a wargamers board, we all become equals. What is wargaming good for? You may want to substitute chess for wargames, what hold true for one holds true for the other. For all people especially children love a game and it's a fun hobby or those who take it further a sport. Like chess the wargame developments and demands: both inductive and deductive reasoning requires the wargamer to look at a problem, break it down, and then put the whole thing back together involves logical thinking, recall, analysis, judgment, and abstract reasoning improves decision-making skills increases players' self-confidence and improves organizational habits pattern recognition skills and concentration, interpersonal skills, it makes you read The list goes on….. As with all games it teaches us to be gracious winners and losers if not you will find yourself without opponents to play. As former World Chess Champion Emmanuel Lasker said, "On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long." In Business, Project planning and Management Every management guide, book on business strategy or project planning manual has reference or quotes to Sun Tzu' Art of War. My favorite Quote "If you know both yourself and your enemy, you will come out of one hundred battles with one hundred victories." Warfare and business have plenty in common; arguably the largest single undertaking by humankind has been the invasion of Normandy in the Second World War. The systems, processes and procedures developed, scope of planning, management and administrative skills required for that massive undertaking are still with us today.
All these skills are easily learned and developed over the wargames board.
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