For likely my last post of this (relentlessly crap) year I have jumped on board a nice diverting little ditty circulating on Blogs wherein one highlights three books that have influenced your wargaming initially and/or over the years.
Certainly before I was playing in a Wellsian 'chuck stuff to hit' style on the floor with all sorts of Airfix figures and kits.
First up has to be my very first set of 'proper' wargame rules Operation Warboard which I obtained as a 12 year back in the day (ie 1976) and which very much set me on the course of the bottomless pit of miniature wargames.
Have re-read several times and it still has a great set of playable old school core rules and background info.
Lots of stuff about converting Airfix (and other) plastic figures kits due to limits of availability and most of the photos of games by author and his son used unpainted figures and vehicles with very basic terrain pieces (including chalked on roads/rivers) compared to todays items !
Second on my list is not strictly a single volume but the magazine Battle.
I discovered this excellent mag around 1977, before it was amalgamated into Military Modelling (another contender) and it broadened my horizons beyond WW2 and 20mm plastics.
Eye watering pics of colourful metal figures from all periods just blew my impressionable tiny mind.
Last but not least it has to be the Piquet series of rules (that lead directly to my favourite Field of Battle and suchlike) that showed me a much more open and flavoursome style of wargaming compared to the more traditional and somewhat staid types.
Bit of a 'love 'em or hate 'em' set but just such a breath of fresh air and very much a style of game I found myself increasingly drawn too.
There are several others I could have picked that will now get an honourable mention and that is not even considering any historical reference books, movies or indeed board wargames, many of which greatly influenced my wargaming choices and playing time and expenditure over the years.
In no particular order of merit but are all sets that got me into new periods or types of play:
