There's a ton of good material in here, but also a fair amount of duds, particularly the more pomo essays. In-line citations remain absolute, illegible garbage. More than anything, though, this shows just how all-encompassing the term "wargame" can be. ( )

It took a long time to finish this massive (over 800 pages and more than 50 chapters) and important work. For people who are involved in wargames, be they hobbyist, professional military, game designer, or merely curious, this is a fascinating look at the theory, history, and design aspects of wargames. It discusses both computer wargames (traditional videogames) and physical (hex and counter) wargames. Both popular (for consumers) and military (pretty much classified) are covered. It touches on reenactment and first person shooter games as well.

The chapters tend to be dense as there is a lot of information presented. Furthermore, that information made me think about it and the ramifications, so it is not a quick read. There are major names in wargame theory and design who have contributed. I wish the table of contents listed the contributors with their chapters, but if you expand the book description, you can find a list. Tetsuya Nakamura, Peter P. Perla, Thomas C. Schelling, Laurent Closier, and Philip Sabin are ones who wrote passages that I particularly enjoyed.

While I enjoyed the chapters on traditional wargames (as opposed to video/computer versions) the most, I can easily understand the ones on electronic versions. My friends who play such games tell me that those chapters are pretty standard in outlook. I found the outlook of some of the academics who study the people who play electronic wargames (as opposed to playing the games themselves for pleasure) to be predictable responses. However, the more theoretical chapters about design and theory of wargames more than made up for those less interesting to me. Also interesting were the ideas about using them in classrooms and how to market them to non-wargamers.

Who would like it? Anyone who enjoys wargames and the theory behind them. Game designers. Military wargamers. Historians who might be interested in military history. People who are involved in marketing wargames. It is well worth the time and effort to read it. It is a book I will long remember. ( )