Historical Gaming and Extracurricular Learning
Students and Faculty playing “the Wheatfield” at Gettysburg in my office.
More than twenty years ago I introduced students to historical wargaming. It was a hobby I had been immersed in since youth. And although it was not a gateway to appreciate history, it did serve as a means of reinforcing my fascination with it. At the time, it seemed to me that, the rise of computer gaming since the early 1990s and its supplanting of boardgames was both a blessing and a curse. It had led to a rapid decline in student interest in traditional games, but at the same time had expanded the audience for gaming through technology. What computer games did not do, however, was provide a physical aesthetic to historical games. I believed that students would appreciate and benefit from an introduction to traditional board wargames and miniature gaming.
The History Gaming Society at High Point University thus serves several purposes. It is a social organization of students who have an affinity for History. Most of the students are History majors or minors, but in recent years an increasing number of students from other majors, including the Sciences, are joining. Gaming encourages the pursuit of History outside the classroom. It fosters teamwork, camaraderie, problem solving and critical thinking. Most significantly, it enables students to consider historical events, including the decisions made by individuals in a historical moment, and then to better understand the efficacy or wisdom of these decisions by gaming them. The physical ability to manipulate History provides a purposeful reinforcement of the actual event.
“Big Mini” December 2022, Battle of Antietam.
Wargaming was first established in 19th century Prussia, but over the course of the 20th century, particularly after the Second World War, it became a popular hobby. Recreating military campaigns and battles as board games, and using miniature figures is a method of understanding the events and the decisions made. Players take on the roles of the commanders, and using rules, which simulate movement, combat, and take into account geography and unit qualities, provide the individual with a better perspective of what the historical commanders had to contend with, and why they made the decisions they did. These are games of strategy, planning and execution. Players come away from the experience with a much clearer sense of the actual events, even if their actions did not replicate the historical reality.
At High Point, we have found that gaming is a good method to recruit for History courses, especially among students who cannot major but can minor, or who can take a concentration to supplement their respective majors. The History Gaming Society also provides an opportunity to bring students and faculty together outside of the classroom. While I run the group, there is another faculty member who participates regularly. Alumni frequently return to campus, and if on gaming days, join the fray. It is a great opportunity to bring students and alumni together. The gaming alumni and their families have also been quite generous in their support of the group and of the History Department as a whole.
What is now the History Department Historical Gaming Society began as an unofficial and irregular meeting of a handful of History students who had been introduced to Napoleonic miniature wargaming and modern Micro-armor games. The group played several times a semester, usually in the evening during the week, or on an occasional weekend. In 2010, the Historical Gaming Group was formally established as an organization within the Department of History. A weekly meeting time was established (Friday afternoons from 1-5pm in my office), and students usually decided what games would be played each week. We used my office because it had sufficient room for a large table, and the option of keeping the game set up from week to week if not completed in one afternoon.
Students playing Gettysburg, the First Day.
Prior to the pandemic, it was not uncommon for 12-15 students to crowd my office on a weekly basis, climbing on the furniture to get around the table and other players. Students enjoyed American Civil War and Napoleonic battles in miniature. They reveled in the tank-to-tank action of hypothetical 1980s NATO v Warsaw Pact scenarios or simulations of the Arab-Israeli conflicts of 1967 and 1973. By 2017, the students requested Second World War miniatures, and with the generous support of two gaming alumni we were able to purchase hundreds of 15mm tanks, infantry, vehicles, and artillery. Beyond miniatures, students were introduced to a variety of Avalon Hill, SPI and GDW boardgames of the Second World War, Age of Imperialism, and Wars of Frederick the Great.
At the conclusion of every semester during finals week, a day is set aside when most students are available to play a day long massive game that the group has dubbed “The Big-Mini.” These games have included large 18th century battles, Napoleonic, American Civil War or Second World War. It serves as a celebration of the conclusion of the semester and a stress release while studying for exams. Students look forward to the game, and their ambitions for playing larger battles each year becomes a personal challenge to organize. It is extremely satisfying to watch students become so consumed and engaged with History outside of class for several hours each week.
The Gaming Society was such an integral part of the History student experience that during the first year of the pandemic I moved the gaming society online using STEAM, the online gaming site, and communicating via Discord. It provided that weekly contact, and the ability for the students to keep in touch, maintain camaraderie from a distance and continue to play. Fortunately, by April 2021, we were back to playing in person. I moved gaming from my office to a large social hall, required masks and constructed “push-sticks” for students to move their miniatures without getting too close to each other. Although the students had not interacted in the flesh for a year, they returned to gaming as fish to water. Only this year has gaming returned to my office for small scenarios, but I retain the larger hall for bigger events.
April 2021, our first in person game in 14 months since the pandemic began. Lots of space, masks, and push sticks to play a Hell’s Highway scenario from Operation Market-Garden, September 1944.
The success of Second World War miniatures led to the acquisition of a 3D Resin printer donated by a gaming alumnus. The machine has enabled the group to produce figures and vehicles from various historical periods at a fraction of the cost, and to address immediate needs in a matter of days. This year, in preparation for a Market-Garden simulation, we printed British armored vehicles – Kangaroos, as well as batteries of Sextons, within 24 hours. For our Fall 2022 “Big Mini” of Antietam, we printed three hundred 10mm Civil War infantry figures in four hours. This technology has also permitted the group to print two thousand 10mm Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon, Second Empire French and Italian infantry and artillery for 19th century battles. While I and another colleague usually paint the figures, in the past year students have actively participated in their painting and preparation. I have a table with figures, paints and brushes in my office, and the students come by in the later afternoon to relax, talk and paint. It is an effective means of building community.
Over the past two decades, perhaps as many as 100 students have participated regularly in the Gaming Society. Although the majority have generally been male, in the past years, female students comprise an ever-increasing number, and this year, often half of the students playing weekly. To provide a firsthand perspective, I invited several students, current and former, to discuss the value of the Gaming Society and how it contributed to their learning experience.
Testimonies
Students and faculty playing and 18th Century War of Austrian Succession “Big Mini” at the end of a semester.
“Over the past two years, I’ve been involved with our department’s weekly gaming club. During these meetings, we play games that focus on recreating historic battles fought all over the world throughout different time periods. One of the most interesting things I learned while participating is how much the effects of long-term planning and luck play a major role in determining the outcome of the game, and by extension, many of the real life scenarios these games are based on. Being part of the gaming club has not only helped me improve my problem-solving skills, but it has also given me the opportunity to grow closer with my fellow players. The history gaming club promotes teamwork between players and gives us the opportunity to learn from each other, which is just as important as learning in a classroom environment. Through games, history becomes more than a lecture or writing in a textbook: it becomes engaging, interactive, and fun. It puts context behind many of the outcomes of historic battles fought in the past and gives us the chance to apply our knowledge in a way that makes history seem to come alive.”
Kayla (class of 2025)
“Gaming… is an immersive experience. As a student it provides greater insight into how the battles occurred and how decisions were made because the same factors have to be taken into consideration when deciding where to launch an attack or reinforce a defensive line. These games were so memorable because they allowed me to actively participate, creating a fun environment and an educational experience that was more memorable than lectures.”
Eve (class of 2020)
“For many students, history can seem abstract, simply a remote story. But when you take a specific point or event in history, a battle and turn it to a wargame, a student can viscerally understand the difficulties, decisions, and challenges that were faced by all the parties who had to make those decisions. They become actors, participants in the event, not simply readers. They internalize and remember the challenges and outcome because they lived it in the game.”
Matthew (class of 2015)
“Wargaming at HPU deepened my enthusiasm for the historical events I was learning about it in class, and it also gave me a better appreciation for tactical and operational considerations facing military commanders. It has remained an interest of mine as I have progressed as a scholar and professor in Professional Military Education.”
Jordan (class of 2010)
Stalingrad October 1942. Students and faculty squeezed into my office to fight for the Red October Tractor Works.