{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "Little Wars: How HG Wells created hobby war gaming - BBC News", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/163002807858/", "html": "<a href=\"http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22777029\">Little Wars: How HG Wells created hobby war gaming - BBC News</a>\n<p><a href=\"http://femmenietzsche.tumblr.com/post/163002421584/little-wars-how-hg-wells-created-hobby-war-gaming\" class=\"tumblr_blog\" target=\"_blank\">femmenietzsche</a>:</p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>TIL that H.G. Wells wrote a rulebook for miniature wargaming called <i>Little Wars\n\n\n\n(A Game for Boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty <br/>\nand for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys\u2019 games and books)</i>.</p>\n<figure data-orig-width=\"500\" data-orig-height=\"351\" class=\"tmblr-full\" data-orig-src=\"https://64.media.tumblr.com/48e9a25e333c8aa5101ff889e306535e/tumblr_inline_ot43ypxfIY1toi6lv_540.jpg\"><img src=\"/media/tumblr_inline_otl32o9ULS1qdlop9_540_2ab97d93b1ad.jpg\" alt=\"image\" data-orig-width=\"500\" data-orig-height=\"351\" data-orig-src=\"https://64.media.tumblr.com/48e9a25e333c8aa5101ff889e306535e/tumblr_inline_ot43ypxfIY1toi6lv_540.jpg\"/></figure><blockquote>\n<p>A\u2026 Little Wars game sees rival commanders bombard their \nadversaries with matchsticks, fired with little spring-loaded triggers \nin the tiny cannons. Careful measurements from where the matches land \ndecide the number of victims. </p>\n<p>This is looked on with disapproval \nby some modern war gamers, who prefer theoretical bombardments worked \nout with distance tables. \u00a0</p>\n<p>Phil Barker, a celebrated deviser of \nmodern games, acknowledges Wells\u2019s role in \u201cshowing it could be done - \nand giving grown men an excuse to play with toy soldiers\u201d.</p>\n<p>But he \nadds: \u201cCombat was based on shooting solid projectiles at the figures. \nToday, this would be discouraged because of the risk of someone getting a\n projectile in the eye, but it was the chance of damage to the finish of\n lovingly home-painted figures that led to the switch to less lethal \ndice.\u201d</p>\n</blockquote>\n</blockquote>", "thumbnail_url": "https://kontextmaschine.comhttps://64.media.tumblr.com/48e9a25e333c8aa5101ff889e306535e/tumblr_inline_ot43ypxfIY1toi6lv_540.jpg"}