Wargames & Fantasy Battles as an Aid to Education - 2

Building the Army
When constructing armies to play the games with there is usually a points value applied to each character in the army. Here then we see some simple addition being used, straight forward enough but the player also has to consider what characters are selected, they need to think about the skills that character has and how they combine with the rest of the army, what army they may fight and how the opposing armies skills may counter the skills of their own army.

In order to do the above they’ll need to refer to various sources of information, such as Army Books and Codices. These will contain a lot of information that isn’t needed and so the player needs to assess the structure and type of information presented, comprehend it’s meaning in relation to the whole and to other armies and the gaming system, then filter needed information and use it effectively.

It must be remembered that these books are reference books that while having structure are not sequential narratives that lead the reader from start to end. The player needs to apply reading and comprehension against highly abstract and creative concepts that may be being encountered for the first time. Add to this the need to understand the game rules in addition to Army Book details and relate the two.

In just setting up an army to play with, before a single die has even been rolled, we’re already seeing the player apply basic math skills, employing reading and comprehension skills in order to make sense of multiple abstract sources of information. They’re constantly applying numerical and tactical / strategic planning and analysis as they select the structure of their army. All the while exercising their creative imagination when learning about and considering the characters and world they inhabit.

In the next part...
Playing the Games, Models and Terrain