A year ago, the wargaming community (and the mostly clueless role-players) lost a legend, Bruce "Uncle Duke" Seifried.
On the first anniversary of his death, it's fair to provide a warm and open invitation he wrote in the Napoleonic rules, Frappé.
A FINAL WORD
In this day and age, pursuit of anything military is ofttimes considered the mark of a bloodthirsty Attila. Quite the contrary, the imagination, creativity and dedication required to play at wargames is the mark of an intelligent, reasoning human being. For those of us sharing this interest, the intellectual involvement, couple with the brilliant pageantry of the miniatures, creates an inviting diversion from the pace of everyday life. We enjoy the opportunity to match wits with our friends in gamemanship, to exercise our artistic urges tin the collecting, organizing, and painting of our miniature armies and to demonstrate our creativity in designing and constructing realistic terrain and buildings. Indeed, a hobby requiring more from the participant would be hard to find!
In kind, however, it would be likewise difficult to determine an activity offering a greater return in camaraderie or pride of craftsmanship. Here is not a static thin, but a viable interest with no limitations. Whether you can field five hundred or five thousand makes little difference in the pure fun of the thing. Some of us are content to uniform our men in a basic coat sufficient of identification while other must make sure each button is correct. Whatever our persuasion, we welcome you. We've had a great deal of fun with these rules as well as having the satisfaction of knowing we are acting in a reasonably historic manner. Ray has worked hard to assure accuracy in the playing manifestation.
So to you, my fellow wargamers, I say -- please give our rules a try. To all others, I assure you that we're quite harmless. To paraphrase our founding father, H.G. Wells, we must indicate that you have but to play briefly at little wars to quickly recognize what a tragedy and a pointless waste real war can be, and how inadequate man is to its many demands. But in miniature, it loses its sanguinary aspect and becomes a game -- somewhat controllable and most exciting.
All kinds of people play at wargames -- from schoolboys to university presidents, tradesmen, merchants, doctors, lawyers. The motivation is the same, the pleasure none the less... providing an easy bridge between individuals, a stimulating activity that generates interest as it develops.
Give our game a go! Here's hoping that you have as much fun with it as we've had!
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