Wargames According to Mark

Foreword by Peter P. Perla

I am delighted to write a second foreword to Mark Herman’s book, even if I’m playing the proverbial second fiddle to Jim Dunnigan, who mentored Mark at Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) and played a huge role in sucking me into the Wargaming hobby and, ultimately, the wacky world of professional Wargaming. Although I knew of Mark from those early SPI days, I did not have the pleasure of meeting him until a game convention (Avaloncon, if I remember correctly) back in the late 1980s. I was working on my own book about Wargaming and went to the con primarily to meet Mark and ask him if I could set up a time to interview him for my own research. His very gentlemanly agreement led to a long-term friendship and even a professional collaboration, on our game War in the China Sea, created for the Office of Net Assessment in the Pentagon.

Working on that game with Mark gave me a chance to see firsthand how he started the process of designing a game. It was much like a whirlwind. Butcher paper and marker pens; a sketch map and a buckets-of-dice combat system. Not quite mixing paint for Picasso, but as close as I ever came to such an experience.

This book can give you a taste of that experience. It is a no-holds-barred dive into the mind of a true wargame-design master. Mark does not claim to provide here any sort of “right way” to design an historical wargame; instead, he focuses on describing his own approach, philosophy, and thinking about how he designs historical wargames. And that is really the heart of the matter. Mark is an historian, first, and his games concentrate on presenting the historical narrative—not only the paths actually taken in reality but also (and more importantly) the “envelope” of paths that could have been taken.

In the process, he discusses his views about the core ideas needed to translate that historical envelope into a game system that offers its players agency in the context of their simulated roles. Look at the table of contents. He starts with a brief description of his early background in the Wargaming business. Then he quickly presents a series of chapters ranging from how he uses “smoke and mirrors” (design tricks) to distill history into a playable representation of the key options facing historical commanders and presenting those options for players to decide among them, to the core elements in the toolbox, from the sequence of play to the adjudication of combat results. Throughout, he uses examples from his huge body of wargame designs to illustrate and illuminate his thinking.

If you are a fan of historical wargames—and especially of Mark’s games—you will find, as I did, that these mini stories are fascinating glimpses into the workings of one of the most creative and prolific wargame design minds since Dunnigan himself. And one of the most thoughtful and insightful. His ideas will help you understand better not only his own games, but also all historical wargames. And I would be greatly surprised if they did not inspire you to think about how you might find some of his ideas useful in your own wargaming, either as a player or as a designer. As he says at the end of his introduction, “I hope this book contributes to the community knowledge on how designing a game can be accomplished.” I think I can safely say that he achieved his goal.

Peter P. Perla
January 2024

Sadly, this was the last thing my dear friend Peter wrote before his unexpected passing. RIP my friend. – Mark

Mark Herman´s new book is on our P500 list now! As many of you know, Mark Herman is a giant in the wargaming hobby. Over his long and distinguished career as a game designer, Mark designed signature games for SPI, Victory Games, and with us here at GMT. Mark learned his craft beside Jim Dunnigan and so many talented designers at SPI before later running the company that created so many of my favorite games ever, Victory Games.

Beginning in 1991, he brought his design talents to GMT, often paired with his dear friend, Richard Berg. For over 30 years now of working with our teams, Mark has continually pushed the creative envelope in the wargame and strategy game spaces to create a succession of fun, ground-breaking, and award-winning designs like For the People, The Great Battles of Alexander and SPQR (and the entire Great Battles of History series), Empire of the Sun, Churchill, and Fire in the Lake (with Volko).

Mark is so much more than a designer to me. He is my friend. And he´s someone who has been hugely influential to me in the learning and growing process of running a wargame company over these 34 years. Often, even today, when I have a difficult decision to make, I´ll give Mark a call and ask for his counsel. His sage advice is always more than worth my time.

All that to say this: when someone as talented, experienced, and accomplished in our industry as Mark Herman writes a book about game design that tells stories about his experiences over a 45+-year career in our industry, that´s a book I´m going to read. When that author then asks me if GMT would publish it with him, there´s just no way I am going to say no. So, I’m thrilled that today we are adding a book to our P500 list for the first time! It´s so fitting, because of the many ways that his presence, talents, and leadership advice have graced GMT over the years, that our first-ever P500 book should be from Mark Herman.

- Gene