Wait this isn't mentioned in the article but it is so good!
By night I am a wargamer but by day I am a history teacher. The two are not mutually exclusive. The wars I simulate on the tabletop often come up as topics of discussion in my classroom. My chosen profession and area of study gives me a boost on the battlefield. Possessing a wide and varied knowledge of military history and philosophy makes wargaming easier no matter the system. Plenty of choice exists from fiction and nonfiction source material when it looking for something to read. I prefer keeping to nonfiction but every so often something fictional about World War 3 or science fiction written by David Drake spices things up a bit. I find that military books help me play better as an individual and on a team.
If I suggested a single book to read right now I would wholeheartedly pick Sun Tzu's Art of War. This book reads more like a poem than anything else and stands the test of time. Over 2,000 years from its original publishing, this book is widely available online for free. In fact, I put a link to a 1910 translation at the bottom of this article from a website I like to use in my classroom, sacred-texts.com.
As a philosophical book, the eager wargamer will receive an excellent big-picture mindset that transitions from Chinese and the real battlefield to English and the flock covered, styrofoam fields of the friendly local game store. Some of the advice on mental tactics from Sun Tzu I don't encourage as they will ruin the gaming experience for your opponent. Additionally there are no rules in real war so Sun Tzu's ideas on spying and withholding knowledge fall under the definition of cheating in the wargaming world and I don't condone that behavior. What I do love comes from Sun Tzu's beliefs on movement and what translate to me as working hard to read up on the rules for the game you are playing, the army you play, and the armies your opponents play.
Reading real military books not only aids a player in becoming a better wargamer but a better leader in real life. Wargaming isn't just about playing the game but building a community where one feels safe to play the game as well. Someone needs to organize play or lead a teammates through a team tournament. I recently read Major Richard "Dick" Winters' autobiography Beyond Band of Brothers where the famous commander of the Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division goes into detail about how to lead small groups of people to complete an extraordinary task.
I mined many many nuggets of wisdom from the mountain of a man that Major Winters was, however, the thing I remembered the most remains never asking someone to do something you wouldn't do yourself. Whether it's taking the poor match up in a round of an American Team Championship-style team tournament so your teammates receive more favorable match ups, or staying up late to finish terrain for a tournament so that each attendee enjoys a fair and balanced table at your tournament. If one wants to start organizing such events then I highly recommend reading Beyond Band of Brothers and any book on military leadership written by people with hands-on experience.
Whether a wargamer wishes to improve their game skills or improve their teamwork, finding advice in the real source material for any war game, real wars, will make a player better. Maintaining a big picture mentality to war and how to fight one makes transitioning rule sets easier. Additionally, learning to lead will drastically enhance the experience of those in a local gaming community through team play, tournaments, campaigns, and other organized play events. We as wargamers keep the legacy of those who served alive by acquiring and applying the knowledge real generals and soldiers amassed serving their countries or causes. I cannot think of a better way to honor their sacrifice than to continue to play games that allow us to educate others about their sacrifices so that they did not die or send others to die in vain. I chose to not write deep reviews of the two books I mentioned today because I want people to go and read them for themselves. I hope I whetted your appetite to know more about these books, their authors, and the genre as a whole. Go forth and learn, my friends!
Keeping it Dank,
Bailey
Link to Sun Tzu's Art of War: https://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/aow/index.htm
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