Julius von Verdy du Vernois entered in the Prusian Army in 1850, he took part in the campaign on the upper Elbe and after this was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. Shortly, Verdy du Vernois became a reputed General and one of Moltke's principal assistants. Among his works as a lecturer at the War Academy he developed a new wargame inspired in Von Reisswitz's Kriegsspiel. In the new game, Verdy du Vernois propose a free Kriegsspiel without rules manual in which the umpire is free to decide the results of players’ manoeuvres. Simplified War Game is the American version of the original Prussian book, translated and arranged by Captain Eben Swift (Fifth Cavalry). The book includes exercises and examples of manoeuvres on a terrain map.