OSR Commentary On Warriors of Mars: The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature, Gygax & Blume, TSR, 1974.

 "Worlds of heroic fantasy are many, but perhaps the best known of them all is the Barsoom of Edgar Rice Burroughs; where John Carter, Tars Tarkas, Dejah Thoris etol adventure endlessly in eternal youth. These rules are an attempt to expand your curious enjoyment of this Martian world. While there are but eleven books in the entire series there is a limitless new realm of possibility awaiting herein. The essence of Barsoom -- the fearless warriors, the men, the monstrous animals, the geography of Burroughs' Mars, the social customs, the the weaponry -- has been formalized into rules which permit the creation of whole new sagas. The tale can be as simple as a minor sk irm ish between two swordsmen, or it can be as complex as the interactions which arise between several of the Barsoomian city-empires. It can be the lone adventur.es of a hero pitted against the harsh realities of Martian wilderness, or it can be the epic tale of a voyage of discovery aboard small flier. Of course there is a slight hitch .." 

So because of running a post apocalpytic solar systrm campaign we've been looking into various resources. One of those is the original 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature' by Gygax & Blume created in 1974 by TSR. TSR didn't have the permissions to publishing the game or the wargame rules. And as such yanked 'Warriors of Mars from their shelves. The game has become exceedingly rare with booklets going for hundreds of dollars on the collector's market. 

'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature' isn't a role playing game in any respect & is a sixty one page wargame for miniature. It simulates many of the major engagments between the various factions of Barsoom. There are copies of 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature'  in pdf in various outlets on the internet. Reading through 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature'  is like a trip down memory lane for me. Yes back in the Seventies we played this game along with my uncle. 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature'  was meant to be played with Heritage miniatures Barsoom line. 

Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature' has far more in common with original Chainmail then it does original Dungeons & Dragons even though there is some cross compatibility. There are pseudo rpg elements with character models being able to advance up to twelveth level as a campaign progresses. 
There are elements of 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature'  that feel so fundamental to wargaming aspects of original Dungeons & Dragon. The artwork reeks of typewriters, copy machines, and other basement publishing aspects of the original TSR. 'Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature' feels like a slice of gaming history that needs to be preserved in my opinion because this war game is a sort backdoor into the basis of what would become original Dungeons & Dragons. 
There are so many Barsoom battle  options that could be played with this game if the players wanted to run a miniature wargaming campaign. Warrriors of Mars The Warfare of Barsoom in Miniature'  reads like a piece of wargaming history. Becaus that's exactly what is is. And personally this aspect appeals to the grognard within me.