Thread by @gormanst

Hello everyone, I'm here to talk about board wargames and how they can provide valuable insight into how the historiography of the Middle Ages has been adapted for an audience of history enthusiasts outside of the well tread grounds of movies and television. #MAMG22 1/12

Historical wargames designers put a lot of research into their games, but they are often limited by what materials they can access, and even when they can access academic materials current scholarship may not answer the types of questions they are asking. #MAMG22 2/12

This can force game designers to turn to older scholarship that does address the types of questions they’re asking, and then games based on that scholarship can in turn affect the kinds of questions new designs seek to address in turn. #MAMG22 3/12

Take for example Richard Berg’s classic Men of Iron games, which uses hex grids and cardboard counters recreate famous medieval battles. Classic hex and counter games like this are the most popular type of medieval wargame. #MAMG22 4/12

The predominance of hex and counter games subtly pushes forward a narrative that medieval warfare was dominated by the pitched battle. They focus on famous victories like Hastings or Agincourt. Only in rare cases are sieges or campaigns adapting for these systems. #MAMG22 5/12

This interest in field battles is present in other genres, albeit more subtly. In Columbia’s series of block wargames conflict is primarily resolved through field battles, with only one game, Crusader Rex, in the series including rules for sieges. #MAMG22 6/12

Sieges are emphasised in some games – Warriors of God, a strategic game of the Hundred Years War – gives sieges similar prominence to battles. However, it is also a lighthearted game with a random leader death table that leads to absurd historical results. #MAMG22 7/12

Warriors of God is also a Japanese design, and thus rooted in a different historiographical tradition, which could partly explain why it was different.
Medieval wargaming has traditionally not tackled the issues of logistics or politics that dominated in the period. #MAMG22 8/12

There is some good news in the form of Nevsky which places medieval logistics at the forefront of the play experience – portraying longer campaigns and making battles and sieges primarily issues of provender rather than pure military strength. #MAMG22 9/12

Its sequel, Almoravid, even adapts the systems of 11th century Taifa politics, adding an extra political element to the game. Both are part of the Levy and Campaign series which promises to bring new depth into medieval wargaming. #MAMG22 10/12

Medieval wargaming has long been dominated by a historiography rooted in the works of A.H. Burne – a study of Great Battles and Famous Victories at the cost of the sieges, raids, and politics that are crucial to understanding the period. #MAMG22 11/12

The future is bright though as series like Levy and Campaign show players are interested in other forms of medieval warfare but there is still a need for systems to tackle medieval politics and to integrate wargaming with more elements of medieval culture and history. #MAMG22 fin