What is... Little Wars?

Little Wars was a set of rules and guidelines on how to play with toy soldiers written by H. G. Wells in 1913. It was attempting to introduce a sense of structure to playing with toy soldiers which had otherwise been used simply for fun in any way the player's imagination saw fit. Wells actually came up with the idea when playing with toy soldiers himself and decided it would be fitting to come up with a specific rule set for the toys. The book itself changed the toy soldiers from toys which are simply played with for fun an entertainment with no clear goals or rules into an actual miniature tabletop game with regulations and directions for use.

It was interesting how something that was originally intended for simple fun for children, which in itself is was an odd thing due to the fact the toys were soldiers of war, was then adapted to create a more rigid emulation of real life.