GrogHeads Forum

IRL (In Real Life) => Books & Reading => Topic started by: besilarius on October 29, 2015, 06:25:20 AM

Title: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: besilarius on October 29, 2015, 06:25:20 AM
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/zones-control

Not sure what to make of this.  If MIT has deigned to notice wargames, does our hobby meet the criteria of being "respectable" and having value to the Intelligentsia?
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 29, 2015, 06:48:18 AM
I know most of those authors, and have worked with a few of them. They are wargamers through and through.

They're the kind of gamers that will sit down and play with you for 18 hours at a convention without batting an eye
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: mirth on October 29, 2015, 08:48:06 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on October 29, 2015, 06:48:18 AM
I know most of those authors, and have worked with a few of them. They are wargamers through and through.

They're the kind of gamers that will sit down and play with you for 18 hours at a convention without batting an eye

NERDS!!!!
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 29, 2015, 09:01:25 AM
Like you're not one of them
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: mirth on October 29, 2015, 09:03:41 AM
I enjoy the irony
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bbmike on October 29, 2015, 09:52:45 AM
Quote from: besilarius on October 29, 2015, 06:25:20 AM
https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/zones-control

Not sure what to make of this.  If MIT has deigned to notice wargames, does our hobby meet the criteria of being "respectable" and having value to the Intelligentsia?

No, this is more like Jane Goodall noticing the chimps.  :P
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 29, 2015, 10:19:30 AM
Quote from: besilarius on October 29, 2015, 06:25:20 AMIf MIT has deigned to notice wargames, does our hobby meet the criteria of being "respectable" and having value to the Intelligentsia?

The editor (Matthew Kirschenbaum) is a longtime DC-area wargamer, but he's also on faculty at U of Maryland, so he understands the path to getting the book published like this.

Of the contributors, Jeremy Antley, Larry Bond, Lee Brimmicombe-Wood, Rex Brynen, Luke Caldwell, Stephen V. Cole, Greg Costikyan, James F. Dunnigan,  A. Scott Glancy, Troy Goodfellow, Mark Herman, Mark Mahaffey, Brien J. Miller, Joseph Miranda,  Peter P. Perla, Jon Peterson, John Prados, Ted S. Raicer, Volko Ruhnke, Philip Sabin, Marcus Schulzke, John Tiller, J. R. Tracy, Brian Train, and Charles Vasey are all published designers that I know off the top of my head.  Many of the rest are professionals working for the DoD or similar agencies.

But the majority of these guys are actual wargamers that have a long time love of slinging dice over hexes, counters, and occasional bits & bytes.
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bbmike on October 29, 2015, 10:38:43 AM
Steven V. Cole = Star Fleet Battles (https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aarcentral.com%2Fpics%2Fworship.gif&hash=5710f5bfb020c671b0d5b3957c76f589f2922b06)
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: Barthheart on October 29, 2015, 11:07:40 AM
Michael Peck (Diced T) is in that list too.
Title: Re: MIT Press is putting out a book on wargaming
Post by: bayonetbrant on October 29, 2015, 11:22:26 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on October 29, 2015, 11:07:40 AM
Michael Peck (Diced T) is in that list too.

yep, he's a Friend of Grog, but I don't think he's a published designer.