Umpires could preside over these large games to enforce the rules. Complex scenarios could see up 10 players divided between two sides, each one assuming the role of regimental commanders and reporting to an overseeing general-in-chief. It used topographical maps, dice and featured gaming elements that simulated the ‘ fog of war.’ Colour-coded opposing armies in the form of red and blue counters and codified rules for movement and combat were also part of the game. Kreigsspiel, which enabled opposing ‘generals’ to fight a simulated set-piece battle, established several conventions of war gaming that still hold true to the present day. It was the brainchild of Lieutenant Georg Leopold von Reiswitz and his son Georg Heinrich Rudolf von Reiswitz. A table-top war game, it was pioneered in 19 th Century Prussia and used to transform that nation into most powerful fighting force in Europe. The first modern military simulation was Kriegsspiel. Seventh-century India gave the world chaturanga, a forerunner of chess. Ancient kings and generals in the Far East honed their war-fighting skills with xiangqi and shogi. STRATEGY GAMES have a long and storied history. (Image source: WikiCommons) “More than just a war game, Kriegsspiel was an invaluable training tool used to introduce a generation of military officers to the operational art of war.” Many of the Prussian officers commanding troops had been rehearsing the war for years using a simple tabletop board game. German troops handily defeated the French army in 1870.
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