I find it easier to design a game around a clearly defined story, whether this be from history or a work of fiction. History is so rich in interesting stories that there is no end to the games you could come up with.
Quotes about history
A child will remember Napoleon’s historical situation better by playing the role of Napoleon than by reading pages and pages of text. Better still, if he enjoyed the game, he will read all the historical background in the rules, before or after the game.
So, I think one way that a historical game can succeed both as a game and as an authentic account of history is by focusing on the precariousness of historical events.
The spirit of my suggestion is that no historical events are off-limits, but good historical games are those designed to explore the contingency of history, which may be achieved by focusing on aspects of history that are no less interesting than the battles. I would like to think that it is possible to design good games that focus on the parts of history that we would rather forget, and by playing such games, come to a deeper appreciation of that history.
A work of history can only tell about the events it depicts; a wargame can show the events, and give insight into why the commanders did as they did, and provide the player a gut understanding of the forces at play and the factors that influenced the outcome.
