HTML version by Al Haines. Little Wars (A Game for Boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys games and books) With an Appendix on Kriegspiel By H. G. Wells CONTENTS I. OF THE LEGENDARY PAST II. THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN LITTLE WARFARE III. THE RULES-- The Country The Move Mobility of the Various Arms Hand-to-Hand Fighting and Capturing Varieties of the Battle-Game Composition of Forces Size of the Soldiers IV. THE BATTLE OF HOOK S FARM V. EXTENSIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF LITTLE WAR VI. ENDING WITH A SORT OF CHALLENGE APPENDIX-- LITTLE WARS AND KRIEGSPIEL I OF THE LEGENDARY PAST LITTLE WARS is the game of kings--for players in an inferior social position.
And in all ages a certain barbaric warfare has been waged with soldiers of tin and lead and wood, with the weapons of the wild, with the catapult, the elastic circular garter, the peashooter, the rubber ball, and such-like appliances--a mere setting up and knocking down of men. Tin murder. The advance of civilisation has swept such rude contests altogether from the playroom. We know them no more.... II THE BEGINNINGS OF MODERN LITTLE WARFARE THE beginning of the game of Little War, as we know it, became possible with the invention of the spring breechloader gun. This priceless gift to boyhood appeared somewhen towards the end of the last century, a gun capable of hitting a toy soldier nine times out of ten at a distance of nine yards. It has completely superseded all the spiral-spring and other makes of gun hitherto used in playroom warfare.
And it kept getting stronger on me where to seek. This night I knew it was the time. I never got a dress and all before. The chilly fingers touched me again. Still, what she was saying made some weird kind of sense. What about the healing? I tried, feeling a trap slowly descending over me. She smiled at that. I guess I put that punishment on myself for what I done, she said. Then you can still heal the sick? I asked. She shrugged.
take five moves. A supply depot can be destroyed by one man in two moves, no matter how large (by fire). Four men can destroy the contents of six waggons in one move. A contact mine can be placed on a road or in any place by two men in six moves; it will be exploded by the first pieces passing over it, and will destroy everything within six inches radius.* Next as to Constructions: Entrenchments can be made by infantry in four moves.* They are to be strips of wood two inches high tacked to the country, or wooden bricks two inches high. Two men may make an inch of entrenchment. Epaulements for guns may be constructed at the rate of six men to one epaulement in four moves.* [* Notice to be given to umpire of commencement of any work or the placing of a mine. In event of no umpire being available, a folded note must be put on the mantelpiece when entrenchment is commenced, and opponent asked to open it when the trench is completed or the mine exploded.
The methods of gathering and stacking the tricks is the same as at Whist. _=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ The chief object in Cayenne, either with a trump or in a grand, is to take tricks; in a nullo it is not to take them. In any case the highest card played of the suit led wins the trick, and trumps, if any, win against all other suits. At the end of each hand the side that wins any tricks in excess of the book scores them, after multiplying their number by the unit of value settled upon by the announcement. If a nullo is played the adversaries score them. Honours are then claimed; but the game cannot be won by honours alone, as at Whist; those holding honours must stop at the score of 9, unless they also win the odd trick. As soon as either side reaches or passes 10 points, they win a game; but the hand must be played out, and all tricks taken must be counted. If one side goes out by cards, the other cannot score honours. Thirteen tricks taken by one side is called a _=slam=_, and it counts 6 points.