Abstract

Historical studies of games have not kept pace with the rapid growth of game studies generally over the past two decades. This is perhaps surprising, given the important role commercial wargames have played in the development of boardgame and computer game design, as well as the related history of military simulation and wargaming for professional military training. This essay summarizes early writing on the relationship of games and warfare as a general problem before presenting a contrasting approach: three focused episodes or «takes» to illustrate the historical development of commercial wargames since the 1950s.