I searched the thread to find any prior reference, but it's with a certain sense of irony that I find no mention of H.G. Wells' LITTLE WARS.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Wars

Little Wars is a set of rules for playing with toy soldiers, written by H. G. Wells in 1913. Its full title is Little Wars: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books.
See also
http://books.google.com/books?id=M9d...page&q&f=false

plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose