Entertainment or education?

[Patrick Carroll]

Most of us read a bit of military history as well as playing wargames. A few of us may have experienced actual war. So, thinking over the games you've played, how close do you think most of them come to simulating or modeling actual warfare?

Is the typical commercial wargame pure entertainment? Or does it teach valuable and accurate lessons about military history/art/science?

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the entertainment-to-education value of most wargames?

 

[Janos]

Originally posted by Patrick Carroll
Most of us read a bit of military history as well as playing wargames. A few of us may have experienced actual war. So, thinking over the games you've played, how close do you think most of them come to simulating or modeling actual warfare?

Is the typical commercial wargame pure entertainment? Or does it teach valuable and accurate lessons about military history/art/science?

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate the entertainment-to-education value of most wargames?

For me, even though I almost always learn something, how much I actually learn depends on the game.

 

[Tom DeFranco]

I agree 100% with Jeff.

 

[jguritza]

I am split 50-50 here. There are some games I only play because I know about the time period or battle and have fun asking the “what if”. Other games I pick up to learn about the battle or time period. Sorry but I think I am on the fence for this one.

 

[ericmwalters]

Education over Entertainment...mostly

My wargaming usually propels me into doing more reading...and more reading usually propels me into playing more games on the topic. Certainly the best games combined entertainment and education together, but I tend to focus on the educational aspects as the games help me to understand why things happened. Systems that assist in doing this I will prefer over systems that don't. A good example is command and control rules--I'd much rather have an orders system (a la TCS or CWBS) vice the LIM system or "random activation" system we find. The latter works best for those seeking entertainment over education; the former is sought after by folks with my bent for education over entertainment. Both induce fog and friction into the situation...it's merely a matter of taste.

Now, I will confess that some entertaining games do capture me. For example, ASL is and always will be primarily a "comic book brought to life"--it's incredibly detailed, to be sure, but the educational value is not very high when it comes to understanding tactical-level combat. But it sure as hell FEELS realistic and is a heckuva lot of fun to boot! The educational value is aimed more at the "buffs" (learn about arcane armored vehicles and equipment!) than it is for serious military historians. You have far too much intelligence and control in ASL...and things happen so damn fast. Don't get me wrong--I love this game. But it's FUN more than educational.

Of course, it's very tough to design tactical games that are educational. The scale (particularly in terms of time to make decisions) is hard to model--computer games do this a lot better. Educational board wargames tend to work best for grand tactical, operational, and strategic situations!

My favorite systems/games on that are Kevin Zucker's games on the Napoleonic Wars at the operational level (BONAPARTE IN ITALY, HIGHWAY TO THE KREMLIN, etc) and the Gamers'/MMP's Operational Combat Series (OCS)--TUNISIA, SICILY, HUBE'S POCKET, GUDERIAN'S BLITZKRIEG, ENEMY AT THE GATES, KOREA, etc.

--emw

 

[PanzerElite]

I will play no games which are NOT historical; so the educational aspect is big on my list... As I know little of many battles, it's the most fun I could have learning about them.

 

[jguritza]

Going along with the education thread, do you like it when in the rules they list some history of the battle or time period? Would it make sense to give a suggested reading list if the game design was helped along by a certain book or someone’s research?

 

[Tom DeFranco]

Originally posted by jguritza
Going along with the education thread, do you like it when in the rules they list some history of the battle or time period? Would it make sense to give a suggested reading list if the game design was helped along by a certain book or someone’s research?

Yes I do Jack. As much as they get knocked for their rules writing, the Gamers write some of the best historical articles (exception, there were no historical notes in No Better Place To Die.) w/i their rulebooks. They also write in some of the best bibliographies in wargaming. Another company that does a good job with that is Clash of Arms (especially with their BAR system.). GMT did that with Gringo.

 

[ericmwalters]

Big on Bibliographies and Designers Notes

I'm personally big on bibliographies and designers notes that talk about the sources and any ideas/historical interpretations that influenced the design focus for the game. This is especially true for topics that have been done quite frequently--such as the Battle of Bulge, Gettysburg, etc.

Some game companies have offered campaign studies as part of the package--something I have always deeply appreciated. OSG was (and still is) known for that. L2 Design offered a CD with a talk by Dana Lombardy about the Stalingrad battle with STREETS OF STALINGRAD, 3d Edition. My most favorite efforts show obvious synthesis of research, reading, and wargame play...showing how each reinforces the experience of the other.
The insight obtained is matchless.

--emw

 

[jguritza]

I started going back and looking at my games and the ones I really like somewhere in the rules make references to other books. Picked up a few from the library.