"What I've learned from gaming" Topic

Have you had insights into history and decisions made by commanders based on what you've found on the tabletop? Have you walked away from the table with a fresh understanding of some historical event?

I'm not talking about what learning comes from reading the background around scenarios but actually what happened in game.

One that stands out for me was playing Campaigns on the Danube computer game which was playing out the 1805 French invasion of Austria. Frustrated by not being able to duplicate Napoleon's maneouver around Ulm (as described by Chandler), I instead concentrated on keeping my armies in supply, within support of each other, and moving as efficiently down the roads as possible. Due to the nature of the roads and supply lines I suddenly found myself quite accidentally performing the textbook wheeling manoeuver. It wasn't any novel idea. It was the same old Grand tactical marching system that Napoleon always used.

Playing Borodino is an eye-opener for its congestion. Why was there no subtlety in that battle? Why was it a frontal assault? Because the Russians were packed in with so much density that they were effectively round. There is no flank.

no.

No. Best thing wargaming did was got me to read up on the actual history of what really happened.

Years and years of gaming have allowed me to juggle probability spans in my head, based on how many dice and how many sides they have.

Playing the old "James Bond 007" game from AH cemented the multiplication tables in my head in ways that the elementary schools could only dream of.

I've had various games illuminate battles for me, the foremost being the Volley & Bayonet scenario of First Bull Run.

The nearly unplayable boardgame Mighty Fortress made the early 16th century much clearer. It was a great teaching tool and a frustrating game.

Possibly not actual games but I have had that in designing scenarios. A few times I have found myself thinking 'in period' and seeing ideas that wouldn't have made sense in today's understanding of a situation.

When I was younger I discovered I had more time than money.

Now I have more money than time.

You need both to be a highly successful wargamer!

mjc

I played an AWi game using DBA on a 4x6 board where we refought Long Island. While the history makes clear the importance of the flanking maneuver through the undefended Jamaica Pass, playing the game really drove home how(e) that maneuver completely unhinged the American defence.

I don't know if I learned anything new, but certainly the game drove home the effect in a way that words didn't. Nothing like seeing your forces utter flanked and your line of retreat threatened to make you understand the psychological and tactical effects of being flanked.

Yes. After replaying Hastings over a score of times, I think that I know more about the dynamics of the battle than I ever would have otherwise.

1066.us

Refusing one flank, in order to break or turn the other flank, really does work.

What I have learned -- my math abilities have vastly improved! I can now process formulas and conversions in my head (imperial to metric, account for tax or sales, etc..), all from playing games like Squad Leader, and the many, many figures games over the years.

And all while drinking beer too!

It all depends what comes along at what time. Its taken Blitzkrieg Commander to make me realise and wake up to the fact that my troops in Rapid Fire moving where and when they want whenever they want is just not right. I just couldn't see it before.

When I was doing my platoon commanding course (I did really well on it), what I found worked for me was imagining the terrain I was on as a looking at a wargame table from above.

yep, quick mental calculations and probabilities….I couldn't do figures for squat until my wargame opponent when I was a teenager used to rip the P*** out of my maths abilities…I learnt it just to put one over on him…something all my maths teachers could never motivate me to do…these days its a doddle..along with "measurement eyes" accurate to 1/8 inch (or 3mm – I'm bi-measurable)

I've noticed that players look at the "little toy soldiers" on the board as more "human", if part of your "victory conditions" for them to win, is not let their wounded die because they were ignored.

Even with far more information on hand than the original participants, you can get some really odd command decisions.