A very interesting article, with some great linked resources, thanks for posting. I have started simple wargaming with my young son, and I love how even in defeat, he always seems to take away something from the experience, and improve for the next time we play.
I concur. This is a pretty exhaustive write-up, with a lifetime of resources to devour. And while I think there is tremendous advantage to learning tactics and strategy games. One of my favorites to introduce to the younger set is the GBA classic "Advance Wars". I wonder if it's healthy. It would be nice if there was a PeaceGaming library as well. One that taught diplomacy and conflict resolution through non-violence.
I am reminded of the quote I believe attributed to John Adams along the lines of "I study war and politics, so that my children may master poetry and philosophy" ;)
You could dress up wargaming mechanics with more peaceful dressing. Renowned Explorers has a rock-paper-scissors system using brute force, taunting, and diplomacy, and each encounter can provide different rewards depending on which method was most heavily used, more or less.
There's something essentially analytical that underpins wargames and assessing, e.g. unit strengths and weaknesses, which is good mental practice for plenty of peaceful applications as well.
I've gotten the impression that in the academic use of the term "wargaming" encompasses this as well. For example, there's an article in the "Zone of Control" book I mentioned above titled "Cultural Wargaming: Understanding Cross-Cultural Communications Using Wargames". The emphasis being non-combat, non-conflict of course. There's other discussions of that in the book, though I haven't gotten that far into it yet.
But wargaming issues such as diplomacy, geopolitical interactions, and the like I think all fall into this category as well. Even in IT, we tend to call operational exercises "wargaming". The Model U.N. conferences I did in high school I think fall into this category as well.
I think you nailed it when you said that there's something "essentially analytical" that separates this sorta modeling from roleplaying, in that there's a system of rules which all parties have to abide by in order to help produce a realistic model.
I think "Peace gaming" is absolutely part of this subject, and we might stick it under the "Wargaming" category for established convention purposes, it definitely belongs here.
Wargroove is a solid spiritual successor to Advance Wars. Very similar gameplay in a fantasy/medieval setting. (No affiliation, just had nostalgia for a game like AW and found this one.)
I received "Zone of Control" for Christmas, as it had long since been on my wishlist. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far. It's a great compilation of articles on the whole gamut of wargaming, from the creation of games like Starfleet Battles and the history of Avalon Hill, to statistical modeling and design, real-world use, and insights on their impact and usefulness. It's both deep and broad in it's scope and hugely insightful. I can't recommend it enough.
Edit: This is one of the books mentioned in the article.
If this is your thing, check out Playing at the World by Jon Peterson. It’s a fantastic history of simulation games, including both wargaming and rpgs. Also includes a thorough review of pre-DnD fantasy literature, which I’m sure is appealing to more than a few of us of HN.
