View Grant Charles
Author, Ancient Battles for Wargamers (1977), Battle! Practical Wargaming (1970), Napoleonic Wargaming (1974), War Game (1971), Wargame Tactics (1979); Creator: -; Fellow Gamers:-; Wargames Clubs:-; Wargaming Honors/Awards:-; Comments: ;
Quotes:
“In this country at any rate [the United Kingdom] this aspect of the war game was left to two singularly unmilitary figures who are in fact the ancestors of the hobby side of the game as we know it today. These were Robert Louis Stevenson, whose whimsical battle narratives have been overshadowed by the writings of H. G. Wells; the latter’s fascinating ‘Little Wars’ was the original ‘vade mecum’ of the war gamer although by present sophisticated standards it is naive and elementary.” - Charles Grant (The War Game - 1971).
“Of course, quite apart from this, the basic question of why be a wargamer is a most difficult one to answer. It has been put to me many times in a variety of contexts and in many different forms, but I have never been able to provide a reasonable reply satisfactory either to the questioner or to myself. One can simply claim to have been ‘bitten by the bug’, like any other hobbyist, but this is not really complete in itself. There are all sorts of contributory factors - a liking for history is one that immediately springs to mind. There may also be the awareness that, like it or not, man is a combative animal… Or the aesthetic appreciation of colour and panoply and the stirring spectacle of formed bodies of soldiers, whether this be in actual form or in miniature. Just as important too is the realisation that while taking part in a wargame one is pitting one’s wits against those of an opponent… All these things, and indeed many others, must combine to provide the wargamer’s raison d’etre...” - Charles Grant (The Ancient War Game - 1974).”