Editing BrikWars (section)

== History ==

BrikWars began as a wargame made in 1995 called "Lego Wars" and "Lego Wars II".  When The LEGO Company objected to the use of "LEGO" in a product not made by them, BrikWars 1995 was born.  It was actually completed and formally "published" in 1997, starting a tend of the year in the name lagging behind the year of release.

In 1998, the rules were slightly revised and converted from a flat text document into HTML.  It incorporated new rules for technology levels (with the perspective of who can use what weapons) and campaigning.

More revisions came in 2000, which actually had 2 releases -- the first as a document in the spring, and the second (revised but incomplete) as a set of web pages in the summer.

BrikWars 2001 was created in 2001 but released somewhat later (and received errata in 2004).  It was much more complicated than the editions that came before, and remains the most complicated edition to ever released, incorporating rules for magic, communication delays between sending and receiving orders, and vehicle movement based on physics and vector math.  It was an attempt to make a wargame so complicated that even the most rules-dedicated gamer could only hope to play the game by not following all of the rules (in line with the philosophy).

Mike underestimated the power of a neckbeard's dedication to the rules, so he gave up and made the next editions easier.  After making the super-rules-light (as in, the entire ruleset fits on two pages) QuikWars in 2004, the 2005 edition of BrikWars was created and released (in 2006).  No technology levels or vector math in this beast.  It's undergone a few revisions since, most notably the inclusion of a new chapter for horses and horse-like things (e.g. motorcycles, dinosaurs, and dragons) in 2008.

A 2010 version based on the 2005 edition was released in 2016. It contained rules for more advanced weapons like machine guns and flamethrowers, a (simpler than 2001) magic system, rules for field hazards like minefields, and a few more common animals and units pre-generated from the unit creation system.

The current 2019 version, infused with Patreon-based vigor, resulted in a slight streamlining of the combat system and an extreme unstreamlining of the campaign system.

In May of 2023, an official hardcover rulebook is being made and published by Mophidius, with pre-orders being accepted.