The War Gamer by Charles Grant

Published by Ken Trotman 

Pages 191 plus covers 

This book has become one of the major classic war gaming books written by Charles Grant, one of our first pioneers of war gaming in Britain.

First Published in 1971 by A&C Black Limited, this was reprinted in 2007 by the Publishers Ken Trotman and it contains some extra text and a couple of coloured pictures.

Although the pictures and maps are all mainly black and white, there is a new introduction by his son Charles Stewart Grant and a set of eighteen century rules.

I received this book back in 2011 at Christmas and It has taken me quite a while to finished reading it. The reason for this is that the book is not heavy going but I seem to read a bit and then put the book down until I have another spell at reading. So in a year I have completed this book and it’s a great book to read.

The book starts from basic requirements for a game with knowledge to what the Infantry Cavalry and Artillery did in the 18th century warfare.

The book then goes on to constructing terrain (if you like DIY) and the effects your army has over them. Charles then goes on to Maps, Pioneers, River Transport and casualties.

At the back of all this there is a simple set of rules for you to play with. This section was not printed in the original book but I think that it raps the whole book up at the end. These you can add to or in fact take the bits out that you don’t need, but this sets you off in the right direction if you are waiting to make your own rules for your war game. It’s another book that I am glad that I have in my collection.