Little Wars (Annotated)

Little Wars, by H.G. Wells, is a game book for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books. Little Wars included fairly simple rules for infantry, cavalry, and naval artillery in the form of a toy 4.7 inch gun that launched projectiles, usually small wooden dowels to knock down enemy soldiers. In addition to its being a war game, the book hints at several philosophical aspects of war. The book is written in a whimsical style and illustrated with amusing drawings and photographs of a game being played that Wells describes in the book. Wells also gives a description of the game from the view of one of the generals in the battle bombastically relating his memoirs.