- Wells, H. G.
Floor Games.
Springfield, VA: Skirmisher, [1911] 2006.
ISBN 0-9722511-7-0.
-
Two years before he penned the classic work on wargaming,
Little
Wars (September 2006),
H. G. Wells drew on his experience and that of his
colleagues “F.R.W.” and “G.P.W.” (his
sons Frank Richard and George Philip, then aged eight and ten
respectively) to describe the proper equipment, starting with a
sufficiently large and out-of-the-traffic floor, which imaginative
children should have at their disposal to construct the worlds of
adventure conjured by their fertile minds. He finds much to
deplore in the offerings of contemporary toy shops, and shows
how wooden bricks, sturdy paper, plasticine clay, twigs
and sprigs from the garden, books from the library, and
odds and ends rescued from the trash bin can be assembled
into fantasy worlds, “the floor, the boards, the
bricks, the soldiers, and the railway system—that pentagram
for exorcising the evil spirit of dulness from the lives of little
boys and girls” (p. 65).
The entire book is just 71 pages with large type and wide
margins filled with delightful line drawings; eight
photographs by the author illustrate what can be made of
such simple components. The text is, of course, in the public
domain, and is available in a free
Project
Gutenberg edition, but without the illustrations and
photos. This edition includes a foreword by legendary
wargame designer
James F. Dunnigan.
While toys have changed enormously since this book
was written, young humans haven't. A parent who
provides their kids these simple stimuli to imagination
and ingenuity is probably doing them an invaluable
service compared to the present-day default of planting
them in front of a television program or video game.
Besides, if the collectivist morons in Seattle who
banned
Lego blocks launch the next educationalism fad, it'll be up to
parents to preserve imagination and individuality in their children's
play.
April 2007 