Teaching wargaming - any advice?

[Vanvlak]

The inconceivable happened: in semester two of this academic year I'll be teaching a unit on wargaming at Uni.
I hoarded a tonne of books on the subject (no, not games rules, I already had a few tonnes of those), have practical experience, and have the models and scenery (well, if I finish painting and assembly, not in that order).
But the collective knowledge on LAF is an immensely useful resource, so I hope you don't mind if I ask for any advice, useful resources etc. which might help.

To give you an idea, the aim is to get people to understand the basic mechanisms of wargames, a few concepts of game design, and some take away ideas. I'll be including a few practical sessions (gaming, not modelling).

[Hammers]

The inconceivable happened: in semester two of this academic year I'll be teaching a unit on wargaming at Uni.
I hoarded a tonne of books on the subject (no, not games rules, I already had a few tonnes of those), have practical experience, and have the models and scenery (well, if I finish painting and assembly, not in that order).
But the collective knowledge on LAF is an immensely useful resource, so I hope you don't mind if I ask for any advice, useful resources etc. which might help.

To give you an idea, the aim is to get people to understand the basic mechanisms of wargames, a few concepts of game design, and some take away ideas. I'll be including a few practical sessions (gaming, not modelling).

Very cool. I'd be interrested to hear you intelectualize the topic (you are doing it at a univeristy  level,m righth?).

[Vanvlak]

Very cool. I'd be interrested to hear you intelectualize the topic (you are doing it at a univeristy  level,m righth?).

Yup. Bachelor's level, for a degree in Liberal Arts and Science.
[later]
Sorry for the delay, I had to go off line for some time.
I will be including an intro. to preset some concepts, and a historical background - this can already be quite detailed as it can go into the waxing and waning of interest by the military, the evolution of concepts and approaches, uses during war, interpretation or misinterpretation of wargames due to particular idiosyncrasies e.g. our aircraft carriers cannot be sunk in a simulation , H.G. Wells' pacifistic take on the subject etc.

This will be followed by a description of types of wargames, the range of settings, scales, resources required etc.
On to basic concepts - the board, hexes vs measurement, movement, shooting, combat,  combat resolution, command, morale etc. This can include some examples which feature the use of simple probability to determine the effectiveness of e.g. several poor troops shooting vs few high quality troops shooting.
And then applications - military, recreation, history education and what ifs, peacekeeping and disaster response simulation etc.
I will be focusing on historicals, especially for examples, as I intend to takes modular boards along and have some practical demonstrations and sessions - the historical focus will also help intellectualise it.

[lethallee61]

Feel free to ask away - everyone here is at LAF very accommodating.

I have qualifications and experience as a Corporate Trainer so will offer what little advice I can as you need it. I actually used “How to Play Warhammer Fantasy” as one of my training sessions to get my qualification. Had to keep it VERY simple for the limited time I had (basically a one on one combat example).

I suppose you could start with how wargaming began as an actual serious training tool for the military and then evolved into the hobby as we all know it now.

Good luck with everything. 

[Vanvlak]

Feel free to ask away - everyone here is at LAF very accommodating.

I have qualifications and experience as a Corporate Trainer so will offer what little advice I can as you need it. I actually used “How to Play Warhammer Fantasy” as one of my training sessions to get my qualification. Had to keep it VERY simple for the limited time I had (basically a one on one combat example).

I suppose you could start with how wargaming began as an actual serious training tool for the military and then evolved into the hobby as we all know it now.

Good luck with everything. 

Thanks - I will be including the military evolution and use - and also a spot on its relation with computer simulation.
The use of the How to Play guide reminded me of a dilemma: I will be producing notes for the students, and these will include examples of how to move units, how to effect combat etc. This actually rules out reproducing commercial products, so I have to resort either to open-source rules, or to examples which are based on wargames but not recognizably constituting a full set of commercial rules i.e. include examples without being too specific, and effectively generating my own set of rules.

[Dr DeAth]

If it were me, and I needed to focus on gameplay, mechanics and aesthetics, I'd pick a subject that they can easily identify with for the games; like an old west gunfight, superheroes or something TV / Film related.  That way you're not going to get bogged down with the history teaching too.

[warlord frod]

If you have not obtained this resource I would highly recommend it Wargames Handbook, Third Edition: How to Play and Design Commercial and Professional Wargames by James F Dunnigan. It deals with the development of the classic board game simulations produced by SPI which I think is a good way to introduce a lot of the basics that will later be utilized in miniature gaming.

As far as the practical gaming experiences used in the class I would suggest the simpler the better. Check out http://www.juniorgeneral.org/ a website designed by a teacher. I was a high school history teacher and used several of his ideas in my classes.

I would be very interested in seeing your syllabus if you could share it with us and class notes you would provide for your students would also be fun.

[has.been]

Remember the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple Stupid). If they want to take it further there is
a LOT of stuff out there. I'm sure you could point them in the right direction.

Trying to explain Wargames is similar to being asked to describe all the different games that
can be played with a pack of cards (Patients, Snap, Poker, Bridge to name but a very few)

I would include historical events, especially 'well known' ones, then ask them to make decisions.
A friend was once asked, by a visitor to our Wargames club, what do I need to do under your
7YW rules to win. He replied, 'Whatever would have worked in the 7YW. If my rules are any good
it will work on the table-top, if not I will re-write them.'
Feel free, especially at the start of the course, to Krieg-Spiel  things. Give them a % chance
of what they chose working. It does not matter what the result is, it is important that they
start to think.

[Charlie_]

Cool!

Something I'd be interested in hearing about is WHO are the students taking this module? Do you think they will already be wargamers, or people who are familiar with it and think it sounds like a fun module, or people who know nothing about it? And if the latter, why have they chosen this module? Will you be 'preaching to the converted'?

[levied troop]

You may already be covering this, but there’s also ‘committee’ style wargames or games without figures.  If you need to know more, War games Development:
http://wargamedevelopments.org
Or the Megagamers
http://www.megagame-makers.org.uk/mm-about.htm

[Vanvlak]

If it were me, and I needed to focus on gameplay, mechanics and aesthetics, I'd pick a subject that they can easily identify with for the games; like an old west gunfight, superheroes or something TV / Film related.  That way you're not going to get bogged down with the history teaching too.

Hmmm - that's a good point. Also means I need another set of models finished by February.I wasn't actually planning to re-fight historical battles, just use historical models - a set of ancients and one of tanks. But I see the wisdom of using something relatable

If you have not obtained this resource I would highly recommend it Wargames Handbook, Third Edition: How to Play and Design Commercial and Professional Wargames by James F Dunnigan. It deals with the development of the classic board game simulations produced by SPI which I think is a good way to introduce a lot of the basics that will later be utilized in miniature gaming.

As far as the practical gaming experiences used in the class I would suggest the simpler the better. Check out http://www.juniorgeneral.org/ a website designed by a teacher. I was a high school history teacher and used several of his ideas in my classes.

I would be very interested in seeing your syllabus if you could share it with us and class notes you would provide for your students would also be fun.

I do not have the book - I should give a list of texts I am consulting as it might be useful - but that's something for the weekend. Will check it out - and the website, so thank you.
I definitely agree with keeping it simple - a book I just received and which I am going through seems unrelated - it's 'The Advertising Concept Book'. After watching Mad Men I thought I could learn something about communication from ad creation, and I seem to have chosen the right book for it. Keeping the message simple is one important principle.
Will post a list of topics. Uni might not allow me to post the full notes; but draft notes....  Will take some time to compile all the stuff though.

Remember the K.I.S.S. rule (Keep It Simple Stupid). If they want to take it further there is
a LOT of stuff out there. I'm sure you could point them in the right direction.

Trying to explain Wargames is similar to being asked to describe all the different games that
can be played with a pack of cards (Patients, Snap, Poker, Bridge to name but a very few)

I would include historical events, especially 'well known' ones, then ask them to make decisions.
A friend was once asked, by a visitor to our Wargames club, what do I need to do under your
7YW rules to win. He replied, 'Whatever would have worked in the 7YW. If my rules are any good
it will work on the table-top, if not I will re-write them.'
Feel free, especially at the start of the course, to Krieg-Spiel  things. Give them a % chance
of what they chose working. It does not matter what the result is, it is important that they
start to think.

K.I.S.S. - again, definitely - do not want to lose the audience. Interesting to see history gets a vote this time. One item they would be familiar with is the great siege of 1565 - trouble is it's not a straightforward set up (except for some elements) - and I do not have the models for it. Although a close approximation might work - 15mm Venexia 16th cent. Italians and Ottomans.
As for the card game parallel - that's a good one, might quote you!
Also, good point re the start point.

Cool!

Something I'd be interested in hearing about is WHO are the students taking this module? Do you think they will already be wargamers, or people who are familiar with it and think it sounds like a fun module, or people who know nothing about it? And if the latter, why have they chosen this module? Will you be 'preaching to the converted'?

Me too! The course will actually only run if it attracts sufficient students(at least 5), so we'll see if it catches on. It's an evening course, which helps, and it's part of the Liberal Arts and Science degree course - you get a degree by following a number of units over time. So it might be people following the course who take a shine to the whole thing, but if word gets round I might have a couple of students who will thrash me to bits on the field!

You may already be covering this, but there’s also ‘committee’ style wargames or games without figures.  If you need to know more, War games Development:
http://wargamedevelopments.org
Or the Megagamers
http://www.megagame-makers.org.uk/mm-about.htm

Thanks - I know about these, but the sites are helpful. I'm also looking at counter-based games, including a couple designed by Philip Sabin and described in his 'Simulating War', as well as something similar to the committee game used to roleplay crisis intervention. Cheers!

Phew - thanks for all the responses guys, very much appreciated - keep them coming! 

[warlord frod]

I have used the following WW II game to help my students assess the human cost of defeating the Axis. Each time a squad failed its morale check and had to start again I placed a red bingo chip on the beach. We played until they took the beach so in the end the beach was covered with spots. I used Airfix figures and handmade landing craft, beach obstacles wire and bunkers. I have run it at conventions in the area with adults so I know it holds up. Check it out. Also, note the Junior General utilizes paper soldiers which would enable a teacher to touch on a larger number of battles simply by printing out everything needed. 

  http://www.juniorgeneral.org/dday/dday2.html

[cataphractarius]

Good luck, Vanvlak! Chances are you are in for a brilliant experience. Together with a colleague I've been running a course at my university for the past five or so years, and it has been quite popular with students.

Actually, when we started with it some years ago a number of my colleagues joked that I would end up with a bunch of socially challenged nerds (no offense, but you know the stereotype...  ). The reality was and is rather different - usually, only a small percentage of my students has any prior experience with wargaming and the like; even though, they nearly all tend to be eager to take part in it.

Just two small suggestions: If you discuss the importance of maps, how they developed and what the relative merits of gridded and ungridded maps are, actively involving the students can be a worthwhile exercise; turning our university town into a hex map has been an extremely funny experience for everybody involved. And two - but that is something you're already planning to do - let them play. The best way to learn about the problems of wargaming is to actually do it, and you can do quite a lot during the term. While we don't do figure wargaming, we always run a huge corps-level wargame at the end of the term which is usually a great experience. Some pictures can be found in an article we had recently published:

http://analoggamestudies.org/2018/09/pluie-de-balles-complex-wargames-in-the-classroom/

As for literature, you probably already have Phil Sabin's seminal "Simulating War", but just in case.

[Norm]

There are a few board games that are really suitable as intro games. Many years ago Frank Chadwick under his GDW banner released a free game called Battle for Moscow, which had the deliberate intent to introduce gamers to wargame concepts.

The game is available today as a new edition from Victory Point Games. The below link gives more info if this interests you.

https://www.victorypointgames.com/battle-for-moscow/

[lethallee61]

Another relevant option for a game (now you've reminded me about the Siege in 1565) - how about a naval simulation demonstrating the difficulty of getting a convoy through to Malta during the Second World War?

It could be largely map based if you can't get the ship models.