Lloyd Nikolas has some advice on making rivers and ponds miniature wargaming terrain pieces out of "brown mastic." That's acrylic window caulking, for us Americans. I've made a large number of rivers and roadbeds using this method, and they can't be beat. Highly recommended.
A review of Two Hour Wargames' Warrior Heroes miniature wargames rules. I really like the Two Hour games. They play well, and the author/owner is great with customer service.
Jim Wallman's Little Lambent Meteors is a set of free wargames rules for 18th Century riots, using 15mm figures. Its an unusual topic, but looks like a lot of fun. He has more rules at his website.
Michael Taylor has written Road Warriors, a set of free wargames rules that uses Matchbox cars for games set in a post-apocalyptic future, ala Mad Max.
The Fantasy Name Generator is neat. You can select from several races (Human, orc, elf, dwarf, halfling and Swords??) and styles, including Tolkien, Deverry and Warhammer. This would be particularly useful if you're creating scenarios for Games Workshop's Warhammer or The Lord of the Rings game.
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.