Twilight Struggle

Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming

This document is a 2016 book review by Giaime Alonge of "Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming," an 806-page collection of essays edited by Pat Harrigan and Matthew G. Kirschenbaum.

• The review covers an 806-page essay collection on wargaming edited by Pat Harrigan and Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, organized into nine thematic sections spanning history, design, academic applications, and literature.
• Wargaming's lineage runs from 19th-century Prussian Kriegsspiel through the commercial industry launched by Avalon Hill in the late 1950s and 1960s, and wargames are distinguished from abstract games like Risk and Stratego by their realistic simulation of units, terrain, and movement.
• Traditional wargames have declined amid competition from role-playing and video games, while card-driven wargames such as We the People and Twilight Struggle have revived the genre since the mid-1990s.