"Charles Grant Wargames" Topic

Book has been reprinted
sorry if this has been posted before
link

Wow, the book that got me started in miniatures gaming and launched my interest in history. Highly recommend it, if for nostalgia only.

I thought I was being ripped off back in November 1974, when I paid £3.25 GBP for a new hardbound copy of this book at Willie Figurines in Lower Sloane Street, London The sales receipt, handwritten by Ted Surens, "Willie" himself, is still in the book and sometimes used as a bookmark. This book is one of the prizes in my library.

I got the re-print along with a copy of Brig. Young's Charge from my dad today. A great xmas! :)

I ordered the re-print as well. My original, bought in the 70's when I was about 10 or so, went "walk-about" around 20 years ago. If I ever find the so-and-so who nicked it, watch out.

Thankfully I have still got my original copy of The War Game. £20.00 GBP is a bit steep. I recently picked up a copy of Don Featherstone's 'Wargames' in a second hand bookshop for £6.00 GBP My original copy is so well thumbed from 30 years of use that this new immaculate copy will enable me to retire the original to the bookshelf. Bargains are still to be had out there.

paperback reprint at 20 quid, no thanks!

Aye that's around $40 USD US! Quite a bit short of tempting.

Thankfully I still have the one my best friend and I used in High school and college. I might be tempted if the price was a little less steep, the Scott side goes all the way down to my wallet. :^)

I have the original hardback that got me started in wargaming in the mid 70s. This book is the reason I am a wargamer today. That said, $40 USD is pretty steep and I wouldnt pay it.

I just bought my copy from On Military Matters yesterday. The new version has the wargame rules aggregated in one section of the book, which is helpful. Now I can retire my original HB copy.

I see it is a reprint by Ken Trotman which suggest that the print run will be quite small, hence the hefty price tag. I have better uses for £20.00 GBP

A true Old School Wargamer would not be put off by the price tag, viewing it instead as an opportunity of a lifetime

People nowadays have become spoilt by cheap mass-produced books printed on low-grade paper. The ubiquitous piles of publishers "remainders" at bargain prices add to this. In the mid-eighteenth century a good small book cost from 6-12 shillings. A soldier earned about 2/3 shillings a day, and a laborer 9-12 shillings per week. A jouneryman could expect around 14-15 shillings a week. At least Ken Trotman still makes good quality books.

when you consider that it is probably the most inspirational book ever written for the horse and musket wargamer then 20 quid is a bargain.

Most of us 'waste' more than that every 3 months, I suspect.
Full worth every c. of it, not for nostalgia but for being currently as good and able to cause vocations nowadays as 3 years ago.
The best and most inspirational book ever written for Lace Wars gaming (far better than the better known and most often quoted 'Charge!', imho), with a set of rules still fully playable and enjoyable.
And with a friendly, 'not overserious' "feel" sadly lacking in most recent wargaming publications.
Wargaming evolved indeed during these 3 decades, but any newcomer would be 'hooked' by this book as we were in the seventies.

"A true Old School Wargamer would not be put off by the price tag, viewing it instead as an opportunity of a lifetime"

Alte Fritz,

Was not, am not and never will be an Old School Wargamer so it ain't an opportunity of anytime for me. I still have my old copy of Charles Grant's Battle: Practical Wargaming bought in a model shop in Lancaster (the real one not the one in Pa), keep it for nostalgia value but cannot say it floats my boat these days. I even have a copy of Charge! A battered origianl paid a fiver for it second hand years ago. But cannot say it is something that is my constant reference.

Edinburghhowl: prefer to draw my inspiration from reading up on the history. I have Featherstone's AWI book, nice in its day but horribly dated now.

Luke Mulder: I agree with you about good quality books from Ken Trotman, I have bought more than my fair share of them, Skrine, Ligonier etc. the Grant book is not one I am, personally, prepared to spend 20 quid on. Others are quite free to do so if they wish. Personally I will spending the 20 quid I will 'save' on some of the forthcoming Perry AWI Southern Militia.

Well, Thomas, to each their own. I am personally a big fan of Charles Grant's book. You show good taste in liking Trotman books and the sculpting of the Perry bros.

I'd love to own a copy, but am unwilling to be had by the publisher.

The attraction of "The War Game" is nostalgia and the wonderful narritive style he had in describing his battles.
Totally subjective if it is worth the price.

I would also suggest part of the attraction is the way he describes how he developed his rules in accordance with the research he did. Useful stuff for rule writers everwhere. You also get a very workable set of mid 18th c rules.

I'd love to own a copy, but am unwilling to be had by the publisher.

"Had?" On a short print run like this, you can bet that the publisher's profit margin is very small indeed, not to mention all the work he's put in to create the reprint, incorporate the new material, negotiate the rights and so on. Considering the rubbish that people can waste £20.00 GBP on these days, I think it's a bargain price for such a classic.

Fair enough if, like Thomas, Old School doesn't ring your bell, but to accuse the publisher of profiteering on a print run that doesn't amount to more than a couple of hundred copies seems a little excessive to me! You don't find many millionaires in this hobby -- in fact, you don't even find many people earning anything close to a decent living.

Henry
Battlegames

I am sure that anyone who owns an original copy of either Charge or The Wargame would find a ready market for the books on the Old School Wargaming group or on eBay. Original hard bound copies of both books have been selling recently for around $100, so there is an opportunity to spin your unwanted books into a little bit of gold. Carpe diem.

One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter and one man's junk is another man's gold. It is all in the perception and how one values things, don't you think?

There's certainly nothing wrong with not being interested in the book. I'd just point out that 20 pounds is less than the 30 that is the absolute lowest I've seen a copy of the original for these days. My envy to those of you who picked it up for 5. ;) The original has entered the collector's market rather firmly, from what I've seen, so I'm hoping to get the funds together to buy the new one. Acquire a classic book for less than the price of an original.

After borrowing my copy of "The Wargame" on and off again from the library over a decade, I was very lucky to stumble across it in a used book store. It was an extreme case of serendipity.

Quite coincidentally,I gamed this weekend with a group and we played a Napoleonic scenario called "the irregulars," which I am told was from this book.

An excellent game.

Jim

I did have an original copy from the 70's. My German Sheppard didn't appreciate it as much as I did. Bought a new copy online several years ago.

If it s appropriate to say I hvae two charles Grant books on ebay ."Battle' and 'Wargame Tactics", both originals from the seventies, just search Charles Grant , on the Worldwide search…probably tick descriptions

"Fair enough if, like Thomas, Old School doesn't ring your bell, but to accuse the publisher of profiteering on a print run that doesn't amount to more than a couple of hundred copies seems a little excessive to me! You don't find many millionaires in this hobby -- in fact, you don't even find many people earning anything close to a decent living."

Henry,

I suspect the only millionaires (apart from a few GW shareholders ;-) are ones who have made their pile elsewhere!

I agree with your comment about 'profiteering'. Richard at Ken Trotman books is running a business, he makes a profit that is how it works and good luck to him! Whether it is a big profit or a little one who cares? He has taken the risk by doing a reprint. Grant's book does not appeal to me which why I will not be buying it, although I might be tempted if I ever saw one for a fiver.

In the world of books, today's "valuables" ofen end up in the remainder pile eventually. So sometimes patience is a virtue if you want the book at a lower price.