THE WARGAMING COMPENDIUM

Wargaming is a fascinating, engrossing and exciting pastime that encompasses a wide range of different talents. In the course of pursuing his hobby, the average wargamer uses the skills of artist, designer, sculptor, illustrator, historian, librarian, researcher, mathematician and creative writer, as well as the more obvious ones of general, admiral or air marshal for large games, or perhaps lieutenant, commodore or squadron leader for skirmishes.

Not only is wargaming a pursuit which calls upon many skills, but it also covers many aspects of combat, spanning the history of our planet. With science fiction gaming, we plunge into imagined worlds many thousands of years into the future and a fantasy gamer, of course, deals with eons of imagined history, as anyone who has read The Lord of the Rings will know.

A wargamer may find himself recreating an encounter between a handful of adversaries one day, or a massed battle involving perhaps hundreds of miniature troops the next. Moreover, it is possible to play wargames that recreate warfare on land, on sea, in the air or, in the case of science fiction, even in outer space.

This book aims to demonstrate the wonderfully varied hobby of wargaming with miniatures, looking at the broad scope of what it has to offer as well as detailed explanations of how to get involved, including comprehensive rules for gladiator combat, Wild West skirmishes and the horse and musket era, as well as lots of advice for anyone new to wargaming.