Le Jeu de la Guerre
Encyclopedia
Le Jeu de la Guerre is a book by Guy Debord
and Alice Becker-Ho
where they illustrate a game devised by Debord through giving a blow-by-blow account of one of their table-top conflicts
. It was first published in 1987, but unsold copies were later pulped in 1991, along with other books by Debord, at his insistence. The book was reissued in 2006, with an English translation entitled A Game of War, published by Atlas Press
in 2008.
In his 1989 book Panegyric, Guy Debord remarked:
Apart from the books which contain the game, free online versions of the game are available (see external links).
Guy Debord
Guy Ernest Debord was a French Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situationist International . He was also briefly a member of Socialisme ou Barbarie.-Early Life:Guy Debord was born in Paris in 1931...
and Alice Becker-Ho
Alice Becker-Ho
Alice Becker-Ho , is the author of Les Princes du Jargon , as well as numerous works of poetry.-Life:...
where they illustrate a game devised by Debord through giving a blow-by-blow account of one of their table-top conflicts
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
. It was first published in 1987, but unsold copies were later pulped in 1991, along with other books by Debord, at his insistence. The book was reissued in 2006, with an English translation entitled A Game of War, published by Atlas Press
Atlas Press
Atlas Press began publishing in 1983, and specialises in extremist and avant-garde prose writing from the 1890s to the present day. Atlas Press is the largest publisher in English of books on Surrealism and has an extensive list relating to Dada, Surrealism, Expressionism, the Oulipo, the Collège...
in 2008.
In his 1989 book Panegyric, Guy Debord remarked:
- So I have studied the logic of war. Indeed I succeeded long ago in representing its essential movements on a rather simple game-board… I played this game, and in the often difficult conduct of my life drew a few lessons from it — setting rules for my life, and abiding by them. The surprises vouchsafed by this Kriegspiel of mine seem endless; I rather fear it may turn out to be the only one of my works to which people will venture to accord any value. As to whether I have made good use of its lessons, I shall leave that for others to judge.
Apart from the books which contain the game, free online versions of the game are available (see external links).
External links
- Kriegsspiel, Alex Galloway's on-line version of Le Jeu de la Guerre.
- Battle of 1815 - Waterloo, another free online version of Guy Debort's Kriegsspiel
- Game (article), Totality.tv, Sunday, April 13 2008. Originally published in McKenzie Wark, 50 Year of Recuperation: The Situationist International, Princeton Architectural Press, 2008