Peter Perla's Tribute Video (YouTube) courtesy of Connections UK Professional Wargaming Website

I would recommend The Art of Wargaming by Peter Perla, as it stands the test of time and is a myth buster and gives good practical common sense explanations. No magic, dispelling the aura of professional omnipotence and getting to the "heart of the game" for the "benefit of the players". It is all about the communication and narrative of the event.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA8LB4gr5-0

This is worth reading (or listening to in the final minute of the video) as advice to anyone interested in recreational and/or professional wargaming (see below, I can testify that Peter Perla had time for anybody, he even game me ten minutes):  

The annotated page of advice that Peter Perla wrote to Colin Marston inside the front cover of Peter's Art of Wargaming book (magnus opus) that rings so true! No finer words sum up wargaming! (If you cannot read the handwriting then it is worth listening to in the last minute of the video).

Sad News: The Passing of Dr Peter Perla - The Art of Wargaming

It is old news, but it is sad and still significant news. Others say it far better than me: 

PaxSims: 

https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2024/01/22/we-say-goodbye-to-peter-perla/

Wargaming Miscellany: 

https://wargamingmiscellany.blogspot.com/2024/01/peter-perla-doyen-of-professional.html

Brian Train:

https://brtrain.wordpress.com/2024/01/21/obit-peter-perla-1951-2024/

I had the pleasure of talking with Peter online at VCoW sessions and all I can say was that he gave freely of his time and was encouraging in the endeavours of all gamers, great and small.

He will be greatly missed, his words are worth reading and listening to, again and again.

https://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/OnceAndFuture-Perla.pdf

https://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/OnceAndFuture-Perla.MP3

https://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/2016PeterPerla.pdf

https://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/2016PeterPerla.mp3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czIDMcJBaUM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLQmPA1-4o&t=5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aknHj_6a2RM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvZ1EZukoWY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE7yKFuZwtA

He also published games, his last board game was: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twtWueB4tqs

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2728/peter-perla

Oh and one last important thing, as Dr Perla said, it's spelled: "wargaming" and not "war gaming" despite what some spell checkers think. 

Accept no other!

;) 

Info Chess - ECCO Links

Thanks goes out to Brian Train for pointing me to these links on Info Chess, as any form of online reference seems somewhat illusive to pin down (see below, I don't think a definitive or comprehensive set publicly exists [neither free or for sale]): 

ECCO

https://nps.edu/web/ecco/infochess

https://nps.edu/documents/110773463/121843894/InfoChess+Instructions.pdf

https://nps.edu/documents/110773463/121842570/ECCO+Facilitator+Worksheets.pdf

Naval War College (NWC)

https://nps.edu/documents/110773470/121704572/Handout+of+Infochess.pdf

For the uninitiated Info Chess is a Fog of War style of Chess, where players choose (or rather army build) their own sides chess set and can buy special properties to "power up" the pieces. Invisibility, Scanning and Turning pieces are all integral parts of the standard play of Info Chess.

Note [1]: This is not to be confused with XTR Command Magazine War Master Chess 2000 in Issue#49  https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12691/warmaster-chess-2000

Note[2]: Promises of signing up for an online game seem to be stalled sadly in a "Work in Progress" state.

Note[3]: The "other" ECCO games are of interest too!

Note to Self: Peter Perla Wargaming Research Publication

 Wargaming and The Cycle of Research and Learning (sjms.nu)

Thanks to John Curry from the History of Wargaming Project, Peter Perla himself in the Lost Battles groups.io, Rex Brynan and SDM in Paxsims  for bringing this to my attention.

When three respected sources of information point something out independently, best listen - or even better read it! 

Georgetown University Wargaming Society: YouTube Channel

Bookmark this or whatever, just remember where this is - these wargaming talks are brilliant!

• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw0nVuQu5KoHv0kFiC9yX4Q

The last four talks in particular were spectacular: 

Why and how games work so well in educational settings! (Jared Fishman) Brilliant! I just wish I was a student in a class like that, in a school that taught like that .. heck to be on the faculty teaching this way would be a dream job! Serious envy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPtyNCPzYhk

War Plan Orange (Peter Pellegrino) - Myth Busting the NWC in the development of War Plan but emphasizing the cadre of naval commanders it created via its intensive wargaming teaching methods (that lead to the eventual victory over Japan): 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzwDWX8oQn8

Designing Modern Operational Naval Games (Paul Vebber), the scope of this talk is amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JbSn5bevnI

The Battle of France 1940 (Peter Perla) - this campaign hold so much interest for me, in particular the first tank battle at the Gembloux Gap:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aknHj_6a2RM

And there are many more great talks in the pipeline!

Corona Virus - Loose yourself in some books

There are always "books" ...

In the professional wargame category I have plenty of books to skim, read and re-read (see below, Sabin's [Lost Battles and Simulating War], GLB [Successful Professional Wargames], Dunnigan, Perla [The Art of Wargaming] are old classics long read, but I have plenty of other stuff with interesting idea in abundance, mainly it seems from the History of Wargaming Project):

Then there are the books from the historical category and there are plenty of them on the bookshelves (see below, the Pacific War is my current theme which ties in with the 1/3000 Navwar models, so this is a small section of my dusty books):

Or a general scientific interest (see below, Blink if a good lite-read):

Slightly heavier but packed full of thought provoking ideas (see below, I particularly like Newton's "apple" on the front cover):

And let's not forget the rules which I have bought and should have really read by now. This is a large category. Carrier and Tokyo Express are specifically solitaire games so ideal for the current circumstances(see blow, XTR Victory at Midway is a personal favourite of mine that I am playing via email to an independent umpire against an unseen third party):

Hopefully chances are by the time you read "one or more" book and played "one or more" games then the Corona Virus thing will have all blown over! Famous last words. Anything not done by the end of the lock-down needs seriously to be put on the "never happening" project shelf!

Wargaming Reading Material: Reference from UK Connections 2016 - Why Wargaming Works

I managed to sneak some wargaming reading material away with me on half-term holiday as well as some miniatures to assemble and paint (WWII 28mm Warlord Games Soviets and a quite random collection of things from a hobby shop). In particular I read a reference I had picked up from UK Connections 2016 on "Why Wargaming Works" by Peter Perla and Ed McGrady, the latter who was speaking at the conference and  also had the opportunity to socially chat with afterwards on the 'hobby' side of things (see below, it can be obtained via the link at the Connections UK website:Why Wargaming Works):

An interesting read; key points being 'the suspension of disbelief' as the gamer enters the 'game state', the power and the effect of the game and the fear of those in charge ("high starring generals" and "policy makers") who don't understand the "white magic" people experience when they are let to 'play' with their imagination and think things outside of the expected doctrinal responses. Wargaming provides a relatively low cost way to access the power to cut through reams of statistics and create live-events that coalesce the experience into meaningful dynamics, outside the participants normal 'comfort zone', for example by facing up to a broken plan and having to fix it within a limited time frame. Therein lives the commitment dilemma, to fix it you have to own it, to own involves responsibility for mistakes and transparency. Something as a hobbyist I can easily endure and walk away from (unhurt but perhaps with reflective frustration), but when your professional career is on the line, good luck - you just need to win almost at any cost. Fore reference to these dragons I would recommend listening to Stephen Downs-Martin for the perils encountered here ;)

http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/WargamingToDeceiveBriefing.pdf
http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/2016Analyse.pdf
http://www.professionalwargaming.co.uk/Downes-Martin.pdf

PS: I still think the article is actually a brilliant read! If you get a chance listen to the audio of their various talks at UK Connections. As I mentioned I managed to catch Ed McGrady and he is a commendable speaker that really draws you in to the subject matter.

Perla of a Wargaming Book

An old book, published circa 1990, but still an interesting read nevertheless (see below):

True more "board game" than "table-top" but strikingly deep in theory.