"HG Wells Practically Invented Modern Tabletop Wargaming" Topic

"For his work on novels like War of the Worlds and The Island of Doctor Moreau, British author HG Wells is rightly lauded as a visionary. What often gets lost amongst the applause for his ideas on science fiction, though, is another area he was a pioneer: the field of tabletop wargaming.

Which, at least as far as we know it today, was basically invented by Wells while he and a friend were…playing with children's toys.

Before we continue, let's get this straight: Wells did not invent the idea of using abstract rules to simulate the events of a battle. Prussian officers in the 19th century were trained on complex military board games called Kriegsspiel (literally "War Games"), while there are many other examples throughout history of using the basic ideas of war either as a primitive simulation tool or, in the case of chess, a game…"
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Amicalement
Armand

While Wells and friends may have arrived at the concept independently, the idea of miniature wargaming as recreation had been around for some decades already. Though his invention was not completely original, he can certainly be credited with popularizing the idea.

For some thoughts on the origins and development of the hobby, a short essay . . .

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Wells didn't play on a tabletop!

True Bill, he and his friends played on the floor I believe, at least that's is how all the illustrations I've seen portray it.

Many thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand