Small Wars - New Perspectives on Wargaming Counter Insurgency on the Tabletop

The author has been a wargamer since the 1970s, member of Wargame Developments and a serious rule writer since the early 1990s. His longstanding interest in asymmetric warfare led him to develop a series of wargames to reflect the individual characteristics of such conflicts. This is his first book published through The History of Wargaming Project.

The topic of counter Insurgency is under represented in table top hobby wargames. The relatively few sets of rules in this area have nearly all focused on the tactical level combat. All except one of these sets of rules are written to portray the operational/ campaign level situation. Using card based systems, these games are particularly suitable for the solo wargamer.

These games are not ‘fair’; they each aim to give the wargamer a greater understanding of the particular conflicts they represent. From the sands of the Sahara, to the Mountains of Afghanistan, they place the wargamer in the position of command; facing an elusive enemy.

The games include:

Boots on the Ground: Company Level Actions in the early 21st. Century

An Isolated Outpost: Six Months in the Sahara

Eight Years in a Distant Country: Soviet involvement in Afghanistan

Ovambo: Counter- insurgency in South West Africa

Good Morning Vietnam: LBJ’s War 1965-68

Flying Column: The Irish Troubles 1920-21

This book is published by the History of Wargaming Project as example of recent innovation in hobby wargames.