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Kriegsspiel and the Prussian Pioneers of Wargaming - Jon Peterson | grokludo 22
Jon Peterson is the author of Playing at the World, a deep dive into historical tabletop games leading up to Dungeons & Dragons, which just released its 2nd Edition.
Jon is a fantastic source of knowledge on all things tabletop, and has travelled to several European museums to translate wargaming publications dating as far back as the 1600s. I took the opportunity to quiz him about Kriegsspiel – a wargame that Prussian officers used as a training tool in the 1800s.
Translating as "war game," Kriegsspiel has had many versions over the centuries, as it evolved out of Chess and slowly took on more realistic, simulation-like properties. Families would concoct their own rules, bit by bit edging closer to the D&Ds, Warhammers, and XCOMs we'd recognise today.
As Jon illustrates, it's more than just interesting history; Kriegsspiel is a giant whose shoulders support many modern gaming staples. And not only did the Prussians enjoy it recreationally, its mandate to be used in training seems to coincide with a period of Prussian dominance on the battlefield, leading other military powers to develop their own kriegsspiels.
Today, of course, every modern military runs simulations and wargames. It's not only a way to manage risk and learn, but also to increase cohesion with allies.
But the notion of combining random outcomes with empirically derived statistical tables goes back to one particular version of Kriegsspiel, and is perhaps the most important leap in the genre.
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