Somehow Facebook led me to a gaming website to show me Adventures in Fiction: Fletcher Pratt. In fact I was interested. I have read and enjoyed several of his books. In the fantasy genre these include the Harold Shea stories, co-authored with L. Sprague deCamp and the more serious novels The Blue Star and The Well of Unicorn.

Back in High School, or perhaps even earlier, I found The Navy’s War in my father’s library. This was about the early years Pacific theater of World War II. It was published in 1944, so it’s perspective was limited by U.S. censorship and a complete lack of of access to Japanese sources. But it was a good read.

The Goodman Games article, understandably, also mantioned Pratt’s Naval War Game. I played it a few times my last year or so in high school (1967-68). I found it through Science Fiction Fandom, which I discovered at that time, and which has been a major component of my life ever since. The SF group and the associated wargamers met in the Rogers Park neighborhood at the far north end of Chicago. Just going there was an adventure for this sheltered south side boy.