A Treatise Concerning Correct Combat Conduct for Officers in the Theatre of War

This project is an interactive art piece, as well as a game rolled into one. It consists of the game board itself, constructed out of cork, inulation, cardboard, and a few tacks. As well as the game pieces and rulebook.

It is a commentary on the romanticism surrounding glory in battle, especially further back in time, as this game is set in the Napoleonic era. The rule book is written from the perspective of an officer so high ranking that he does not see his troops as people but rather pieces on a board to be used.

The pieces are also meant to clash with the surroundings, but not only in their shape and colour. In order to stay in place, they have a little point on the bottom, piercing into the cork. Alone this does not do much, but after moving all of the pieces around over the course of many battles played, then the toll that war takes on the landscape becomes more and more apparent.

The final major design choice is that the rules for the game are conveyed through the use of poetry. This is to further reinforce the divide between common soldiers and the upper class, as the rules are written by someone who wouldn’t be intimately aware of how frontline combat is, and would seek to speak proudly of honour, glory, and dying for your country.

Not to mention, more common soldiers would have a harder time understanding the language used, as they would be less educated than the officers whom they serve under.