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Early Miniatures Games
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18
Doing an advanced search on games dates 1974 or earlier and categorized as miniatures only returns these 25 games (just enough for a 1 page geeklist).

Hopefully seeing this list will motivate people to (1) submit missing games to the BGG database and (2) submit corrections for other miniature games that don't have the Miniatures category flags. Maybe we'll even get lucky and one of these early designers will chime in and say what games were influences?

I'm using a sort by average rating as I'm a fan of dynamic sorts (and they don't have one for year at this time).

[Edit] My initial query was wrong as I only took games with one or more rating. The initial 25 have been increased to 50 by adding the unrated games.
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The items in this GeekList are ordered by average rating
Posted Sun Jan 21, 2007 7:21 pm
Edited Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:09 pm
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1. Board Game: Introduction to Battle Gaming [Average Rating:10.00 Unranked]
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Introduction to Battle Gaming (1969)
2. Board Game: Kriegsspiel [Average Rating:8.46 Unranked]
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Kriegspiel (1824)
Seth Owen
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08
The very first military simulation game, meant for the training of Prussian officers. There was a Bill Leeson reprint a few years ago.
3. Board Game: How To Play War Games in Miniature [Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]
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How To Play War Games in Miniature (1962)
Jay Richardson
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05060708
star:)star:)star:)star:)star

Ah... the FUN I had with this one as a kid! A wonderful book by Joseph P. Morchauser.

Never owned a copy: the town library had to borrow it from a big city library whenever I wanted to check it out... and I hate to think how many times THAT was! Eventually I typed up all of the charts so I could keep playing even without the book.

The book had very simple rules for Ancients, Civil War, and World War II battles (probably Napoleonics as well), and photographs of games in progress. The complexity of these rules would be on the level of today's Memoir '44, and they would still be perfect for introducing kids to miniatures wargaming.
4. Board Game: Naval Wargames Rules Fleet Action 1000 B.C. to 500 A.D. [Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]
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Naval Wargames Rules Fleet Action 1000 B.C. to 500 A.D. (1973)
5. Board Game: The Naval War Game [Average Rating:8.00 Unranked]
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The Naval War Game (1912)
6. Board Game: War Games [Average Rating:7.50 Unranked]
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War Games (1962)
1
7. Board Game: Little Wars [Average Rating:6.88 Unranked]
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Little Wars (1913)
1
Seth Owen
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08
Considered the founding game for the hobby of miniatures wargaming.
Eric Dodd
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060708
I love photo id:98871... that's the way to play wargames.

How many other famous authors have a game to their credit?
Andrew Parkin
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Quote:
I love photo id:98871... that's the way to play wargames.

How many other famous authors have a game to their credit?


Gavin Lyall - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/20940
Andrew Parkin
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Quote:
How many other famous authors have a game to their credit?

Also Dennis Wheatley - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/16231
8. Board Game: StarGuard! [Average Rating:7.06 Unranked]
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StarGuard! (1974)
9. Board Game: Samurai wargame rules [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
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Samurai wargame rules (1974)
10. Board Game: Air War Games [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
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Air War Games (1966)
11. Board Game: London Rules Wargames Section American Civil War 1863c [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
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 London Rules Wargames Section American Civil War 1863c (1970)
12. Board Game: Naval War Games [Average Rating:7.00 Unranked]
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Naval War Games (1965)
13. Board Game: Armour and Infantry [Average Rating:6.93 Unranked]
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Armour and Infantry (1973)
Joe Donnelly
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Oh, what fun I had with this one, a few dozen miniature tanks, some cotton puffs, and those tiny little infantry stands (1/300 scale?). I still have the booklet, and the miniatures have been stowed away in a trunk all these years. Time to take another look...
David Sullivan
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05060708
These rules have stood the test of time and are great for small unit actions. The mechanics are very similar to Overlord and I suppose that latter borrowed from it. I have a few editions of these rules.
14. Board Game: Tricolor: Rules for the Napoleonic Wargame [Average Rating:6.71 Unranked]
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Tricolor: Rules for the Napoleonic Wargame (1974)
1
15. Board Game: Alien Space Battle Manual [Average Rating:6.67 Unranked]
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Alien Space (1973)
16. Board Game: Battle: Practical Wargaming [Average Rating:6.60 Unranked]
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Battle: Practical Wargaming (1970)
17. Board Game: Warpath [Average Rating:6.50 Unranked]
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Warpath (1966)
18. Board Game: Denmark Straits [Average Rating:6.50 Unranked]
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Denmark Straits (1971)
19. Board Game: Bismarck [Average Rating:6.40 Overall Rank:1530]
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Bismarck (1962)
Seth Owen
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08
The original 1962 edition was purely a board game. It was the later edition that included miniatures-style play in the advanced game.
20. Board Game: Tipp-Kick [Average Rating:6.36 Overall Rank:1993]
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Tipp-Kick (1923)
Colin M
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Sticking with football I guess Subbuteo deserves a miniatures tag as well then.
21. Board Game: Seapower II [Average Rating:6.60 Unranked]
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Seapower II (1970)
22. Board Game: Victory at Sea [Average Rating:6.00 Unranked]
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Victory at Sea (1971)
Seth Owen
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08
Was designed as a simpler and more realistic alternative to the Fletcher Pratt rules.
23. Board Game: Ironclad [Average Rating:6.00 Unranked]
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Ironclad (1973)
24. Board Game: Cavaliers and Roundheads [Average Rating:6.00 Unranked]
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Cavaliers and Roundheads (1973)
25. Board Game: Matchbox Traffic Game [Average Rating:5.95 Unranked]
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Matchbox Traffic Game (1968)
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4 comments [Hide]
Thomas Eager
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05060708
:) Great job finding these. I'm allways on the lookout for older rulessets like these. :)
Jay Richardson
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05060708
Great list, Ray! I saw two titles I own that I hadn't realized had been added to the database here.

You're missing "Flight of the Goeben" from S&T #21, 1970. That issue had a regular strategic board game of that name; but it also had a separate set of miniatures rules – with the same name – for fighting tactical battles with the ships that were in the strategic game, and Jutland-like ship counters were provided for people who did not have miniatures.

Only the strategic game is listed here on BGG:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/5864
Ronald Pehr
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While technically an rpg, not a miniatures game, the first edition of "Chivalry & Sorcery" had rules for miniatures which we actually used.
Also see:

The Courier Presents A Timeline of the Historical Miniatures Wargaming Hobby
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline2.html
Edited Tue Mar 4, 2008 9:14 pm
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