Wargaming Machines:
A Site for Computer-Assisted Historical Miniatures Wargames

GAMES LISTING   GAME PLAY & DESIGN   WOMEN IN (WARGAMING) HISTORY

Latest Updates: Added links to "Revolution: The Wargame" (December 2024) in the Games Listing. Added the "Intelligent Wargames Table" Waterloo re-fight and OnScipt entries to the Games Listing (January 2024).

This site is dedicated to the promotion and distribution of miniatures wargames which are run, not with rule-books and dice, but by software. Such games have been around for a long time, but with the prevalence of tablets and smart phones, in addition to laptops and other PCs, their use is easier than it has ever been. There is a huge difference between wargames played on the PC or games consoles, and those in which the game itself is conducted using tabletop miniatures. Playing the former tends to be a fairly solitary experience, with even group games of networked players not involving a lot of social, face-to-face contact. Computer-assisted tabletop miniatures games combine the visual appeal and more social aspects of tabletop miniatures with some of the advantages of computer games: an improved ability to model and simulate warfare (computers don't shy away from computationally intensive tasks, unlike human wargamers); an ability to handle annoying logistics and record-keeping without taxing players' patience; an ability to depict the "fog of war" effectively; the list goes on. Computers are useful for many things. Ultimately, they support the design and development of tabletop wargames which would be impossible (or just prohibitively annoying) using paper-and-dice systems.

Computer-assisted games not only allow us to improve existing miniatures wargame approaches by using computer technology, but they also allow for the creation of game designs which go beyond those of traditional competitive miniatures wargames. Such aspects of miniatures wargaming which are difficult to handle in traditional contexts - campaign games, for example - can be greatly eased using computer systems. There is a wide range of possibilities, many of which remain to be explored. This site will attempt to provide access to some computer-assisted miniatures wargames of different types, to allow wargamers to try them out, and to see if they can become a more accepted part of a hobby which still primarily employs the technology of its founding father, H.G. Wells. (OK - we use dice and he just fired matchsticks out of toy cannons. Still - dice are not exactly a new technology.)

As an historical miniatures wargamer, the games I describe and publish here will reflect that orientation. That said, like many historical gamers I am occasionally tempted to stray into the realms of fantasy (especially the quasi-historical Victorian kind) and speculative fiction (OK, HMGS people - tell me you don't remember Princess Ryan's Space Marines!). This, too, will be reflected here. Note that Warhammer 40k (et al.) and RPGs are not covered.

I will attempt to make this site as comprehensive as I am able, and provide information about every game system of which I am aware. If you notice something missing, please contact me. I will also use this site as a distribution point for my own creations.

Copyright (c) 2018 by Arofan Gregory. All rights reserved.