A short bibliography for wargame designers and players

A limited list of sources for someone with interest in wargames beyond simply playing.

Sep 16, 2025
A short bibliography for wargame designers and players

Here is a limited bibliography of wargame-related titles. This is a short list; there are many other sources available, but this is a good start for someone with interest beyond simply playing.


Engelstein, Geoffrey and Isaac Shalev. Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms. 2d ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2022.

Herman, Mark. Wargames According to Mark: An Historian's View of Wargame Design. Westchester, New York: Mark Herman & Studiolo Designs, 2024.

Herman, Mark, Mark Frost, and Robert Kurz. Wargaming for Leaders: Strategic Decision Making from the Battlefield to the Boardroom. Booz-Allen Hamilton, 2009. New York: McGraw Hill.

Longley-Brown, Graham. Successful Professional Wargames: A Practitioner's Handbook. Edited by John Curry. The History of Wargaming Project, 2019.

Masini, Riccardo. Historical Simulation and Wargames: The Hexagon and the Sword. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 2025.

Sabin, Philip. Simulating War: Studying Conflict through Simulation Games. First Indian edition. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing India, 2019.

Suckling, Maurice W. Paper Time Machines: Critical Game Design and Historical Board Games. With a foreword by Volko Ruhnke. New York: Routledge, 2025.

Perla, Peter P. The Art of Wargaming: A Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists. Annapolis: United States Naval Institute, 1990.