number of men.

Moreover, on a big floor with an extensive country it is possible to
begin moving with moves double or treble the length here specified, and
to come down to moves of the ordinary lengths when the troops are within
fifteen or twelve or ten feet of each other. To players with the time
and space available I would suggest using a quite large country,
beginning with treble moves, and, with the exception of a select number
of cavalry scouts, keeping the soldiers in their boxes with the lids on,
and moving the boxes as units. (This boxing idea is a new one, and
affords a very good substitute for the curtain; I have tried it twice
for games in the open air where the curtain was not available.) Neither
side would, of course, know what the other had in its boxes; they might
be packed regiments or a mere skeleton force. Each side would advance on
the other by double or treble moves behind a screen of cavalry scouts,
until a scout was within ten feet of a box on the opposite side. Then
the contents of that particular box would have to be disclosed and the
men stood out. Troops without any enemy within twenty feet could be
returned to their boxes for facility in moving. Playing on such a scale
would admit also of the introduction of the problem of provisions and
supplies. Little toy Army Service waggons can be bought, and it could be
ruled that troops must have one such waggon for every fifty men within
at least six moves. Moreover, ammunition carts may be got, and it may be
ruled that one must be within two moves of a gun before the latter can
be fired. All these are complications of the War Game, and so far I have
not been able to get together sufficient experienced players to play on
this larger, more elaborate scale. It is only after the smaller simpler
war game here described has been played a number of times, and its
little dodges mastered completely, that such more warlike devices become
practicable.