New to the hobby? Completely clueless? Or just a passing stranger, curious to know how we actually go about playing with model soldiers and maybe want to know why! In this section we go right back to basics. You will also find links to information you need to push on from here, such as more detailed historical reference material and companies who supply the things you will need, such as figures, books and terrain.

The links from the menu on the left will help you to navigate within this section. Over the next few months, information will be added section-by-section, building up into a complete explanation of the hobby and some simple rules to get you started, so check back regularly!

Wargaming is playing with toy soldiers. This is a gross over-simplification, but within this simple definition you will find, at the one end, the small child knocking over his hinged assortment of medieval knights, Red Indians, US cavalry and British Guardsmen using marbles or matchstick cannon, to the army staff officer testing a real-life tactical situation on a huge layout before committing real troops to battle.

Somewhere between those two extremes lies the average modern wargamer, whose hobby has advanced from crude beginnings laid down at the turn of the 20th century by H.G.Wells in his seminal work Little Wars, to highly attractive tabletop engagements involving model soldiers which are miniature masterpiece sculptures in their own right, painted to accurately represent historical troop types, battling over model terrain which would put many miniature railway modellers or architects to shame, and governed by rules which make an earnest attempt to recreate accurately the military possibilities of the period represented.

As a hobby it involves a diverse range of interests and skills, and it requires you to DO something to put in as much effort as you are likely to get enjoyment out of it. In fact, I'm hoping that once you have read this Beginner's Guide (which you are welcome to print out for your own use), you will quit your browser, switch off your computer, and get started!

Who gets involved in wargaming? Armed forces personnel, bankers, carpenters, designers, electricians, firemen, gardeners, hospital staff, insurance brokers, surveyors, civil servants... And in terms of age, as H.G.Wells said, you can be "...from 9 to 90..." (In fact, I have to confess to having been routed by opponents even younger...) Nor is your sex a barrier. An increasing number of Boudiccas and Elizabeths, Maria Theresas and Catherine the Greats allow their menfolk to attempt to outmanoeuvre them on the tabletop.

Don't confuse wargamers with warmongers. Just as people who have been exposed to real combat are often some of the loudest advocates for peace I have ever met, the study of military history and wargaming provide sobering insights into the horror and futility of warfare. Fortunately, our games leave no widows and orphans behind, no 'collateral damage' in the news headlines.

In fact, this must be one of the most absorbing hobbies in the world: you learn history, modelmaking, painting, geography, map reading, psychology and a host of other skills you perhaps never imagined you could master. And in the process, you will make friends locally, probably throughout your own country and, especially if you make use of Web sites such as this one, right across the world.

Come on - join the club. The worldwide community of wargamers is happy to welcome you inside!