I must acknowledge that I am not the originator of the term “Imagi-nations” which often appears with a different spelling. The two best known “first generation” proponents of Imagi-Nations were Charles Grant, author of The War Game, and Brigadier Peter Young who, among a other works, wrote Charge!: Or How to Play Wargames. Both respected gentlemen were miniature wargame enthusiasts whose combined efforts helped to create the massive industry of miniature gaming that exists today, either directly or indirectly.
Personally, I have been heavily influenced towards imagi-nations by others for whose opinions and writings concerning the wargame hobby have stuck with me. In another area of this website, I will provide a list of names and hobby websites of those who have had some impact upon my own thinking and hobby choices as there are far too many to fairly list here.
Yet, the question remains as to why imagi-nations have such an attraction to some, even to the exclusion of strictly historical forces and battles.
First, understanding what imagi-nations are, and are not, is helpful.
They are not a comprehensive set of rules and systems whereby all players agree, collect armies, and then play a wargame. Instead, they are an idea from which individual players may tailor, using their personal play styles and creativity, into a setting from which stories, scenarios, campaigns, spring forth. Imaginations.
An imagi-nations player, for the lack of a better term, is limited only by the scope of their creativity and the extent to which they wish to detail aspects of their creations. For example, the coloring of uniform coats, waistcoats, trousers, gaiters, socks, cuffs, piping, lace, hat, shoes, and buttons were all choices made by the soldier’s respective leadership, whether it be the regimental owner or national leader, or somebody tasked with making those decisions. A creative imagi-nator may choose to ignore such decisions and paint all the uniforms of his miniature troops in the same coloring scheme. Or, that person may come up with a story for each regiment of troops, with selected choices of coloring based on those stories. Or some formulation between those two extremes.
Additionally, an imagi-nator “controls” the nation or nations within the setting they have established as their area of creativity and play. Some create new worlds or alternate Earths, others place their duchy or princedom in a historical setting of both time and place, often near, but not too near, a real historical nation or power. H. Beam Piper’s excellent Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen is not only science-fiction but is also an example of an imagi-nations setting.
While the most popular imagi-nations setting may be the 18th Century Europe, others have created imagi-nations set in modern Africa, ancient Greece and Asia, and even in early 20th Century South America. Several miniature rules systems cater to this style of play, whether or not this was the intention of the author(s), such as Peter Pig’s AK-47. Another fine example is Sam Mustafa’s Maurice, which explicitly allows for imagi-nations armies. However, any set of rules can be used to support non-historical forces, as long as the player is happy with them.
This brings me to my answer to the Why Imagi-Nations question.
Having played numerous games set throughout human history, using “historical” rules and armies, they nearly all had at their core the intention of “re-fighting” actual historical battles or skirmishes. Why is it that gamers want to re-fight these battles over and again? Will the 32nd game of Waterloo finally prove that Napoleon really should have won, because some brilliant gamer decided to avoid the walled farm of Hougoumont and instead push more directly at the Allied left? While these types of games admittedly have their attraction, for me they are a once only type of thing. I expect that this is true for other imagi-nators as well.
Instead, I find that imagi-nations provide a creative outlet, and this gives me license to paint the miniatures of my collection in any way I desire, without regard to historical accuracy or “button counting.” Also, as I expand my imagi-nations timeline, I can use an even greater range of historical figures and in setting where they would otherwise not “belong.” For example, I can pit 17th century Scottish highlanders versus 19th century Zulus, and none can complain about it being ahistorical. It’s my setting and I can do what I want with my toys.
As a result, I find myself being open to purchasing miniatures, books, paints, and even boardgames that will possibly add some element to my thought process or practices in support of my imagi-nations projects. By way of example, I purchased, a few years ago, 28mm French Musketeer miniatures, as in The Three Musketeers or The Man in the Iron Mask. These miniatures would not “fit” all that well within a historical 18th century setting, but for my imagi-nations, they fit perfectly as the guardsman of a particular religious order. Conversely, the miniatures of the villainous counterparts to the Musketeers, the Cardinel’s men, are an easy foe to include for a second major religion in my world. Much more on this later.
The reality of imagi-nations is that we imagi-nators are not confined by historical realities. We can play outside the Matrix, if you will.
Does this make us better than those who collect and play strictly historical armies and battles? No, of course not, but by the same token, it does not make us worse, either. We’re simply motivated to do more than live within the bounds of a particular period with specific antagonists. Instead, we can create the nation of Whatchamacallits, a generous and kind people who are in near-constant conflict with Whosamajigs, led by a dictatorial tyrant who is pushing for a greater share of natural resources in the region. Spreading from that central conflict, we are then free to add allies, other regions, and other conflicts, only limited by our personal creativity.
Many imagi-nators, although they might reject that name for themselves, have tongue firmly planted in cheek when they name their countries and military leaders. Others, like me, do not. We are each free to choose what is appropriate to our creative outputs. If you want NSFW names for your leaders, use them; if you wish to use historical-sounding names, that is fine, too.
For my imagi-nations world, set in an alternate-Earth history, the span of time that my armies and stories cover includes ancients to modern, with the inclusion of Myth (fantasy) and Far Future (science-fiction), allowing me to use figures from Age of Sigmar to Battletech ‘mechs’, and anything in between.
Over time, my desire and intent is to share from my imagi-nations with you all, here, in addition to all of the other content that I have planned and am in the plannings stages of. In doing so, I recognize that my own efforts require me to stand on the backs of giants, as I would be, at best, of the third generation of imagi-nators, perhaps even of the fourth generation. Regardless, I stand in good company.
I hope you enjoy the content and mayhap be inspired it, also.
Justin Penwith
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