Shane Kua is on a mission to wean kids off modern-day smartphones — for a journey back in time.

It is an uphill task, but the associate with Temasek’s Sustainability and Stewardship Group thinks he might have just found a way through a rather peculiar activity, known as historical tabletop gaming.

Shane Kua (left), an associate with Temasek, during a miniature war gaming session with his friends. The 30-year-old, together with a group of like-minded history buffs, founded the Historical Tabletop Gaming society in Singapore in 2014

Also known as miniature war gaming, it is a turn-based strategy game where players stand around a table board to re-enact historical battles and slug it out using scale models.

Miniature war gaming is a turn-based strategy game where players stand around a table board to
re-enact historical battles and slug it out using scale models
 

The history-themed game, it turns out, has rich historical and military roots.

Prussian civilian war counsellor Baron von Reisswitz, widely credited by historians as the inventor, designed the first version of the game using scaled pieces in 1811. The game caught on among society’s elite but only gained traction about a decade later with the military when Reisswitz’s son George, a lieutenant in the Prussian army, refined the game.

Variations of the game, as it evolved over the century, were also used by the US military as part of their officers’ training.

Today, war gaming has moved from the life-death confines of the battlefield to a leisurely social hobby enjoyed in a living room. Many themes and rule sets exist for miniature war gaming, ranging from science-fiction and fantasy genres to those that cover actual historical periods, like the ones that Shane and his friends enjoy.

A war game in progress
 

“There will always be cynics who will say that history is dead and it’s boring studying dead people. But I want the younger generation to see that history is alive,” says the 30-year old.

Shane, together with a group of like-minded history buffs, founded the Historical Tabletop Gaming society in Singapore in 2014. The group started with about 11 but has since grown to more than 20 regular players including teachers, engineers and students.

To the uninitiated, the game can look like a smorgasbord of military models and complex moves. It incorporates miniature figurines and detailed modelled terrain into play — most of which are assembled and hand-painted by the gamers themselves.

Shane Kua, one of the founders of the Historical Tabletop Gaming Society in Singapore. The father of a newborn child
hopes that the younger generation can develop a love for history through miniature war gaming

Gamers take turns to move these models across the board, with combat and shooting usually determined by the roll of dice. Depending on the abilities of each ‘unit’ and the game scenarios, winners of the battles are decided.

Engaging youths however wasn’t the club’s primary goal at first. As Shane readily admits with a wry smile, he and his fellow gamers came together purely out of common interest.

It did not take long, however, for the group, whose ages range from 24 to 60, to realise they had on hand an opportunity to “breathe life into history” for youths seeking outlets to channel their energy and attention beyond the classroom.

Close up of miniatures

Says the self-professed tabletop gaming hobbyist, who spends up to nine hours a week honing his skills: “It’s a social activity that gets you away from the computer screen and forces you to interact with people. Rather than getting obsessed over video games or mixing up with the wrong company during the school holidays, youths can have fun ‘playing’ with history — and the important lessons that come with it.”

Take Singapore history for example.

“You’ll realise there’s so much more to the Japanese Occupation than what the textbooks say. And if we don’t take it seriously, we will lose sight of how our future can be and we will make the same mistakes our forefathers made.” For the last three years, the group has been setting up a booth annually at ITE College Central in Ang Mo Kio to get students interested in history through the game.

Call it geeky if you will, but Shane has personally witnessed how the game has helped families and friends bond.

He adds, “Fathers would bring their children and even partners along for a time of fun together during our weekly meet-ups on Saturdays. We even offer members who do so discounted membership rates!”

A war game in progress

The father of a newborn child knows this all too well, since it was his own father who kindled his passion for history and tabletop war gaming, having started him down this road by building military model kits together since Shane was just 10 years old.

“My father used to quote George Santayana [a Spanish philosopher] saying: ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it’.”

“I think in today’s forward-looking society, a lot of us are always chasing after the next horizon. But sometimes learning to look back at the path you’ve taken and reflect can be as important.”
 

“Through the game, I hope that the younger generation learn to appreciate and understand history, and better prepare themselves for the future that lie ahead of them.”