Hex is a free solo RPG in which you fight a random selection of horrible creatures to build your experience points. The author writes:
All you need to play “Hex” is a copy of the character sheet/rules and five or six six-sided dice. “Hex” creates a solitaire gaming experience similar to the dungeon crawling adventures of your favorite table-top or computer RPG.
Hex uses a minimum number of random tables to keep the game accessible and fast. Roll the dice, make a choice. Balance the loss of Health and Endurance to gain XP. Battle giant rats, skeletons, vampires, hellhounds and even a dragon to save your home town!
This is an exciting book that I literally could not put down. Oxford educated historian Tom Holland brings the whirlwind last years of the Roman republic to life—turning what normally is a dry recitation of names and places into a compelling drama. The machinations of Pompey, Cicero, Sulla, and, of course Caesar, are as complex and devious as anything imaginable. What stuck me most, however, was the many ways in which the last years of the Republic reflect our own modern society.Best wargaming bit: There are a few absolutely thrilling chapters that describe the rampaging Roman street gangs who, in support of one politician or another engaged in open warfare in Rome. It would make an outstanding game—especially when a politician opens his stable of gladiators, only to be countered by another’s private guard of legionnaires.
Aside from being a great general, politician—and perhaps even a great statesman (his handling of the varioius conquered tribes in Gaul speak to this), Jullius Caesar also was a top notch reporter. His report to the Senate on the campain in Gaul in 58 - 50 BC is one of the great pieces of military literature. While some argue that the works are little more than propaganda pieces, the detail with which he writes makes me think otherwise. Caesar’s style is powerful for its detail, and spare. My guess is that he no more would waste words than he would waste supplies, or political capital.
For miniature wargamers interested in ancient wargaming, this book is a must read. It is one of the few first-hand accounts of ancient warfare that have survived to the modern age. Most other works are second hand, at best.
I think that this is the one indispensible resource for the miniatures wargamer. This Encyclopedia of Military History covers virtually every armed conflict since 3600 BC. Whenever I think about starting a new period, this is the book I turn to first. While it doesn’t cover any period in the detail that a grognard would demand, it does offer enough names, dates and places to satisfy your curiosity, or settle a bet. It occupies a prime spot on my shelf.
Diana Preston’s Boxer Rebellion:The Dramatic Story of China’s War on Foreigners That Shook the World in the Summer of 1900 was a primary source when I was researching scenarios for my Boxer Rebellion miniature wargaming project. The book reads like a novel, carrying the reader from one exciting event to another. While it doesn’t have the copious numbers and orders of battle so favored by wargamers, it more than makes up for this by providing dozens of raw ideas for good scenarios. Highly recommended.
Keegan is an instructor at Britain’s Sandhurst Academy (the equivalent of West Point in the United States) who is writing some of the best military history today. He often is a commentator in documentaries on The History Channel. In The Face of Battle, Keegan writes about what war must be like for the common soldier at Agincourt in 1415, Waterloo in 1815, and the Somme in 1916. There are some striking similarities in their experiences.
The Forgotten Soldier is Guy Sajer’s memoir of his life as a young soldier on the eastern front in World War II. A member of the famed Gross deutschland division, Sajer fought in most of the major battles of the war against the Soviet Union: Minsk, Kiev, Kharkov, Donetz ... Kursk. The book is an amazing work—exciting ... and chilliing. His descriptions are as vivid as any movie I have seen. Even though I read it nearly ten years ago, I can still recall the final battles in east Prussia—as horrifying an experience as I can think of. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
In this classic oral history, Stephen Ambrose follows Easy Company of the 506th Airborne from their training to the end of World War II. It’s an easy-to-read, compelling account of men at war. I came away from this book greatly admiring the men of Easy Company. This book was the basis of the hit HBO Television series “Band of Brothers.” In many ways, this book reminded me of the classic Cornelius Ryan works like A Bridge Too Far and The Longest Day. Ambrose has taken criticism for some factual errors in his work, but the reader must remember that this is an ORAL history, and the memories of the men involved may have dimmed with time.
Angel In The Whirlwind is a good, one volume account of the American Revolution. Beginning with the war’s proximate causes in the French and Indian War, and continuing on to 1782 and Washington’s retirement, this book is full of the colorful personalities that make this period so interesting. This was the first book I read when beginning my research into the Ameican Revolution. It’s a good place to start—or, if you are a Revolution aficionado, a good read to remind you why the Revolution caught your imagination in the first place.
Philip Haythornthwaite’s The Napoleonic Sourcebook is a good place to start for a basic understanding of the Napoleonic Wars. The volume is divided into six major sections: The Campaigns, Weapons and the Practice of War, The Nations Involved in the Wars, Biographies, Sources, Miscellaea and a useful glossary. There are more than 200 black and white illustrations, maps and charts. For the painter, the book has descriptions of various uniforms and lists of uniform, facing, hat and button colors.
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.
