Funny Little Wars

Some time ago, I (and several other people) helped to encourage Paul Wright to produce a new, revised edition of his FUNNY LITTLE WARS book. He has, and it is now on sale from Lulu.com for £20.00.

The book is substantially different from the first edition and reflects the developments and changes the rules have undergone in the intervening years. The book comes in two parts, the first explaining the background to the rules, the way the rules work, a couple of scenarios, and suggestion on how to build a suitable toy soldier army and to conduct a garden wargame. The second part contains useful information and a brief summary of the rules.

The contents include:

• Introduction
• 01. The History of Mr. Wells
• 02. Playing Little Wars Yesterday
• 03. Playing Little Wars Today
• 04. The Basic Rules
• 05. The Advance Rules
• 06. Some Sound Advice for Such Men
• 07.Two Classic Scenarios from Little Wars
• 08. The Historical Setting of Little Wars
• 09. Building an Army
• 10. The Garden or Arranging the Country
• 11. The Idle Hills of Summer, and a Last Word
• Funny Little Wars Kitbag
• I. Toy Soldier Resources
• II. Further Reading
• III. Army Lists
• IV. Players Aide Memoire
• V. Playing Aids

The Army Lists include ones for:

• Army Red (AKA Britain)
• Army Blue (AKA France)
• Army Black (AKA Germany)
• Army Black, Yellow, Red (AKA Belgium)
• Armies Orange/Green (AKA The Irish Republican and Protestant Volunteers)
• Army Dark Green (or the Tumbling Bear) (AKA Russia)
• Army Cerise (or the Rising Sun) (AKA Japan)
• Army Orange (AKA The Boer Republics)

The book contains numerous colour illustrations, both old and new. and in my opinion is even better than the first edition.

The book opens with a very interesting statement which sets the stage for the rest of the book:

This is a work of the imagination.

Picture a garden, with HG Wells and toy soldiers ...

...the idea of a Late Edwardian afternoon, and a little campaign in the sunshine set in the far away world of hills, forests, castles and forts.

This is a game of imagination ...

'I dream, therefore I exist'

August Strinberg

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FUNNY LITTLE WARS: EDWARDIAN GARDEN WARGAMES IN THE STYLE OF MR HG WELLS was written by Paul Holcroft Wright and published in 2022 by Battlefield History Litd. (ISBN 978 1 4583 7005 1).