Mentioned In Dispatches S16 E8 – The Wargamer’s Bookshelf
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In this episode of 'Mentioned In Dispatches' Season 16, Episode 8, hosts James and the Armchair Dragoons welcome guest Jan, a frequent contributor to Connections Online and a wargaming enthusiast based in Germany, for a deep dive into the expanding world of wargaming literature. The conversation traces the evolution of the wargaming bookshelf since the early days when only a handful of essential texts existed—like Dunnigan’s Wargames Handbook and Phil Sabin’s Simulating War. Now, post-COVID, the landscape has exploded with new publications, especially in professional and academic wargaming. Key books highlighted include Sebastian Baye’s Forging Wargamers, a free anthology from Marine Corps University Press aimed at institutionalizing professional wargaming; Mark Herman’s War Games According to Mark, a highly personal and idiosyncratic guide to game design; and the Euro War Games anthology, praised for its bite-sized, thought-provoking chapters and global perspectives. The hosts also discuss Natalia Wojcivic’s (now Natalia Swartz) two volumes on wargaming experiences, though both are now out of print, and Aggie Hearst’s The Politics of Play, which explores the psychological and social impact of war games on participants. Other mentions include Maurice Suckling’s Paper Time Machines, Ricardo Mazzini’s The Hexagon and the Sword, and Amabel Holland’s Cardboard Ghosts, which argues for the unique educational power of analog games. The episode concludes with a reflective discussion on the future of wargaming scholarship—whether a centralized annual anthology or digital database would better preserve and disseminate high-quality analysis in a sea of fragmented content.
The wargaming bookshelf has dramatically expanded post-COVID, with new titles now catering to hobbyists, academics, and professional practitioners alike.
For professional wargamers, Sebastian Baye’s Forging Wargamers (free via Marine Corps University Press) is a foundational resource for understanding institutional frameworks and skill development.
Mark Herman’s War Games According to Mark offers a rare, designer-first perspective on game design, useful for both players and creators seeking deeper insight into mechanics and intent.
Anthologies like Euro War Games and Zones of Control are highly recommended for their concise, self-contained chapters that deliver high-value content without fluff.
There is a growing need for curated, annual publications or digital databases to preserve and organize the increasing volume of wargaming analysis, which currently risks being lost in the noise.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Welcome and Context: The Expanding Wargaming Bookshelf
The hosts introduce the episode, welcome Jan as a first-time guest, and set the stage by reflecting on how the wargaming literature landscape has transformed since the early days when only a few seminal books existed. They note the post-COVID explosion in wargaming publications and the shift from a limited shelf to a rich, diverse collection.
Forging Wargamers: A Professional Framework for Institutional Wargaming
“I tend to pull this off my shelf every now and then to reference stuff, to point things out to people. And those articles are focusing on various different aspects of professional wargaming.”
War Games According to Mark: A Designer’s Personal Philosophy
“It's not Mark Herman trying to make generalizations. It's Mark Herman telling you how Mark Herman does things.”
Euro War Games: Global Perspectives and Bite-Sized Wisdom
“It was easy to read them almost as magazine articles than try reading the book from end to end, and that was the Euro War Games book.”
Academic and Professional Frontiers: Natalia Wojcivic, Aggie Hearst, and Martin Suckling
The hosts discuss Natalia Wojcivic’s two volumes on NATO wargaming experiences, now out of print, and Aggie Hearst’s The Politics of Play, which explores the psychological impact of war games. They contrast these with Martin Suckling’s Paper Time Machines, which they find academically rigorous but challenging for general readers.
“It's not Mark Herman trying to make generalizations. It's Mark Herman telling you how Mark Herman does things.”
“I tend to pull this off my shelf every now and then to reference stuff, to point things out to people. And those articles are focusing on various different aspects of professional wargaming.”
“We need to take Euro War Games to the rest of the world... What about South America? What about Asia? What about Africa?”
Host
Guest
James
person
Jan
person
Forging Wargamers
book
Sebastian Baye
person
War Games According to Mark
book
Mark Herman
person
Aggie Hearst
person
Marine Corps University Press
organization
Euro War Games
book
Natalia Wojcivic
person
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