What is Kriegsspiel?
Kriegsspiel (German for "war game") usually means the Prussian army's map war game, whose rules Georg von Reisswitz published in Berlin in 1824; the name is also used for a chess variant and for this site, Kriegsspiel by Honey Badger.
| Meaning | What it is | Origin | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prussian Kriegsspiel | A war game for training army officers | Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz, Berlin, 1824 [1][2] | Pieces at the scale of a 1:8,000 topographic map; umpires apply the rules and decide the results [2][3]. |
| Kriegspiel (chess) | A chess variant with hidden pieces | Henry Michael Temple, 1899 [4] | Each player sees only their own pieces; a referee keeps the full position on a third board and announces illegal moves [4]. |
| Kriegsspiel by Honey Badger | A web-based tactical decision game (this site, kriegspiel.app) | Honey Badger Tactical | 36 real battles and 15 fictional exercises; timed decisions, a published odds formula and a review against history and doctrine. |
Data as of 2026-10-25 (sources checked). Battle counts and the phase, option and time-limit ranges are computed from the site's content at every build.
Who created the Prussian Kriegsspiel?
Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz (1794–1827), a Prussian artillery officer, developed the game from an earlier version by his father and published its rules in Berlin in 1824 as Anleitung zur Darstellung militairischer Manöver mit dem Apparat des Kriegs-Spieles ("Instructions for representing military manoeuvres with the Kriegsspiel apparatus") [1][2].
Prince Wilhelm, later Emperor Wilhelm I, introduced the game to General von Müffling, then Chief of the Prussian General Staff; the army recommended it to officers and ordered sets of the apparatus [2]. A 2021 study in the British Journal for Military History calls it the first professional wargame introduced to a military organisation and counts at least 18 rulesets published by Prussian officers between 1824 and 1903 [3].
How was Kriegsspiel played?
Kriegsspiel was a real-time command-post exercise on a topographic map. Units were tokens at the same scale as the map, so players felt how long it took to move forces across the ground; the 1824 rules used a scale of 1:8,000 [2][3]. Players did not need to know the rules: they worked as a staff, as in a field exercise, while umpires applied the rules and decided the results [3].
What is Kriegspiel in chess?
Kriegspiel, usually spelled with one s in English, is a chess variant that Henry Michael Temple devised in 1899 in South Africa after members of a chess club proposed playing a war game. Each player sees only their own pieces on their own board; a referee keeps the full position on a third board and announces illegal attempts, captures and checks [4].
How is this site related to the Prussian Kriegsspiel?
Kriegsspiel by Honey Badger (kriegspiel.app) borrows the name and the idea of training decisions over a map, but it is a modern tactical decision game built on real battles from the Korean War to the Russo-Ukrainian War. It is not the historical Prussian rules set or the chess variant, and it is not affiliated with kriegsspiel.app (double "s") or with any armed service.
FAQ
Is Kriegsspiel the same as Kriegspiel?
No. Kriegsspiel, with a double s, is German for "war game" and usually means the Prussian army's map war game of 1824. Kriegspiel, with one s, is the name usually given to the chess variant with hidden pieces that Henry Michael Temple devised in 1899.
Who invented Kriegsspiel?
The Prussian artillery officer Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz published its rules in Berlin in 1824, building on an earlier game by his father. The Prussian army then recommended it to its officers.
Can the original 1824 rules still be read?
Yes. A scan of Reisswitz's 1824 rulebook, Anleitung zur Darstellung militairischer Manöver mit dem Apparat des Kriegs-Spieles, is on the Internet Archive.
Is kriegspiel.app connected to the Prussian army or any armed service?
No. Kriegsspiel by Honey Badger is a civilian educational game made by Honey Badger Tactical. It takes its name from the 1824 Kriegsspiel and is not affiliated with any armed service or with kriegsspiel.app (double "s").
Read next
Sources
- Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann von Reisswitz, Anleitung zur Darstellung militairischer Manöver mit dem Apparat des Kriegs-Spieles, Berlin, 1824; scan on the Internet Archive
- Bernhard von Poten, "Reißwitz, Georg Heinrich Rudolf Johann Freiherr von", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 28 (1889), pp. 153–154, Deutsche Biographie
- Pia Henning, "'Game on!' A research project on the Prussian Kriegsspiel", British Journal for Military History 7.2 (2021), pp. 174–183
- The Chess Variant Pages, "Kriegspiel", rules and history of the chess variant