Wargaming doesn’t inspire us to start conflicts, no more than playing Monopoly makes us into Gordon Gekko. If anything, gaming makes us appreciate that in the real world, the greatest victory is where the threat of conflict is removed without the need to fight. Our efforts towards being conscientious in our approach to history and wargaming aren’t just a way of assuaging some sort of guilt. It is rewarding and fun to undertake research that adds depth and realism to our games, and part of it is to subvert stereotypes with facts. What I would like to present is a different way of thinking about it.

Humour has always been used to leaven tragedy. It can also be a way to reassure ourselves and anyone observing that we are not taking things too seriously. Humour in wargaming comes from several sources: who hasn’t laughed as their deadly King Tiger (or Shadowsword) has rolled yet another one to hit for the second or third successive time in a row? Let’s