Little Wars Fantasy Supplement

 Little Wars (H. G. Wells, 1913) is one of my favorite games. It is a dexterity-based wargame where you shoot real projectiles from toy guns and knock down toy soldiers. I always bring it out for my birthday gathering as it is fun to watch or play and it's good for all ages. I am always tinkering with the board and scenarios to create a better game, and this year I introduced a bunch of new rules and fine-tuned them with help from my brother and other players; I have collected these into a "Fantasy Supplement" and present them here.

Little Wars Fantasy Supplement & House Rules

revised April 2026

1. Wizards
1. Wizards have a point value of 30.
2. Wizards have a movement of 12". If escorted by a friendly model within 1", they may move at the speed of their escort.
3. Wizards cannot be killed in any way.
4. Wizards cannot be charmed.
5. Spells
1. Charm & Fireball can each be cast once per game.
2. Charm
1. The casting player must declare their intent to cast Charm before the start of their timed turn.
2. The spell range is 12" from the casting wizard.
3. The casting player rolls 1d4+1 to determine number of charmed enemies after declaring.
4. The spell is lost if the casting player decides not to use it after decalring and rolling.
5. The player whose wizard cast Charm controls charmed enemies during the turn in which the spell is cast. If they end the turn within 1" of uncharmed enemies a melee results as normal. The casting player may move the charmed enemies as normal during the turn.
6. Charmed enemies may be disarmed and taken prisoner if they are within 6" of a regular soldier of the charming player and not inlvovled in a melee.
7. On the subsequent turn of the opposing player, all charmed combatants are stunned and may not move or participate in a melee.
3. Fireball
1. The spell range is 12" from the casting wizard.
2. The casting player stands and drops three 3/8" steel balls, holding their arm parallel to the floor and their hand directly above any point within the range.
3. Any models knocked over are killed. Any human models jostled by direct contact with a steel ball are killed; jostled monsters take one Injury.
2. Monsters
1. Monsters have a point value of 5.
2. Monsters who are struck by artillery and are not knocked over are not killed; instead they take one Injury. If they take a second INjury at any point, they are killed.
3. Monsters cannot be part of a gun crew. A gun that is within 6" of 3 soldiers and 1 monster is not In Action.
4. Giants & Trolls
1. Giants and Trolls should be represented by models standing 4"-5" in height and having a base of about 3".
2. Giants and Trolls have a movement of 12"
3. Giants and Trolls count as 3 combatants in a melee.
   
5. Winged Devils
1. Winged Devils may be represented by models of a similar scale to regular soldiers.
2. Winged Devils have a movement of 24".
3. Winged Devils count as 2 combatants in a melee.
3. Monuments
1. If monuments are used, each army should select a monument model roughly 6" cubed.
2. Monuments must be placed during setup exactly 6" from the backline and at least 6" from either sideline.
3. To destroy a Monument, it must be struck directly by artillery twice. Shells that ricochet off the ground or off of any objects do not damage the Monument.
4. Destroying a Monument gives the destroying player 30 points at the end of the game.
5. An army whose Monument has been destroyed is Demoralized and their combatants are counted as two fewer in each and every melee in which they participate. For example, if a group 4 isolated soldiers from a demoralized army is involved in a melee against 4 enemy soldiers, the demoralized soldiers are counted as 2 and therefore all 4 demoralized soldiers are taken prisoner by the 4 enemy soldiers. If the 4 demoralized soldiers are supported, then all 4 are killed and 2 of the attackers are killed.
4. The Big Gun
1. This is a metal toy cannon produced in the Soviet Union with 2.5"-diameter wheels and a 0.5"-diameter, 3.25"-long barrel. It can shoot a wide variety of projectiles. In our game we used 0.375" clay balls.
2. The Big Gun is placed in the center of the battlefield during setup.
3. The Big Gun can only move 3" regardless of the composition of its crew.
4. Hits from the Big Gun count double for the purposes of destrying Monuments and killing Monsters.
5. The Big Gun has a point value of 10.
5. House Rules
1. Capturing guns
1. A gun that was not In Action at the start of a player's turn, which is then plaecd In Action during that player's turn, may immediately be moved or fired.
2. The gun crew placing the gun in action may only move the gun on the turn in which the gun is placed in action if they all have sufficient movement remaining after the gun is placed in action. For axample, 4 cavalry who are 12" away from an out-of-action gun may move 12", place the gun In Action, then move the gun the remaining 12".