A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby developed in 1954 following the publication and commercial success of Tactics. The board wargaming hobby continues to enjoy a sizeable following, with a number of game publishers and gaming conventions dedicated to the hobby both in the English-speaking world and further afield.
Tactics (1954) was the first successful board wargame.
Axis and Allies, one of the first wargames with plastic miniatures
A Victory Denied is a 2009 hex-and-counter board wargame taking place between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.
Stacks of cardboard counters from the hex-and-counter wargame Screaming Eagles by Multi-Man Publishing
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to study the nature of potential conflicts. Many wargames re-create specific historic battles, and can cover either whole wars, or any campaigns, battles, or lower-level engagements within them. Many simulate land combat, but there are wargames for naval and air combat, as well.
A recreational wargame (Here I Stand) in play at CSW Expo 2009
Bolt Action, a miniature wargame set during World War 2
A game of Julius Caesar from Columbia Games shows how a player may only know the strength and unit type of their own forces, creating a fog of war element that does not exist in most tabletop wargames.
The US Navy Electronic Warfare Simulator (1958)
