Volume I of the Little Brown Books lists the Chainmail miniatures rules among the "Recommended Equipment" for White Box D&D play. It should probably be mandatory and therefore included in the box itself. I did not process the Chainmail miniatures rules in 1977 when I acquired the original edition of the first role-playing game, nor did I see Chainmail for a number of years after that. Therefore, I devised my own interpretation of how to play this new game. I imagine it was just so for many who came to D&D in those days.
Gary Gygax is listed as a co-author of both the original fantasy role-playing game and Chainmail and one may presume the earlier Chainmail product may inform a complete understanding of the Little Brown Books. The subsequent D&D game perhaps represents a certain evolution of thought on the part of Mr. Gygax as he explored the fantasy game and may shed some light on how one might play the new fantasy game.
Taking the turn sequence as an example, we find that in Chainmail both sides roll a die with the higher score choosing to move first or second (after observing the enemy moves). After each side moves in turn, both sides execute artillery fire, missile fire and then melee, in that order. Since magic spells such as fireball and lightning bolt operate much like artillery in Chainmail, I assume we can fit it into the turn sequence after moves and before missile fire.
Magic spells in Chainmail are not the same as in ODD/ White Box. Each type of caster, Seer, Magician, Warlock, Sorcerer and Wizard in order of increasing power, has the ability to know a number of spells and a two-die casting mechanic is (optionally) used to determine the success, delay (it goes off next turn) or failure of each attempt to cast a known spell. Wizards may more reliably cast spells than those magic users of less power as indicated by having greater chances for the spell to actually go off and to take effect without delay. Spells are rated according to complexity and the more complex spells are more difficult to succeed in casting.
In the Chainmail mechanics of magic use and spell complexity we can see the early thinking of the author regarding magic in the fantasy game. Some magic users have greater power than others in terms of knowing more spells and in terms of having the ability to cast them more reliably. The magic spells themselves vary in terms of complexity. Both concepts will be represented with the term "level" in the subsequent D&D rules.
Alignment is a term that appears in the Little Brown Books, but not in Chainmail, however once again we can see a progenitor to this concept in the Chainmail Fantasy Supplement's "General Line-Up" table. The table lists the terms Law, Chaos and Neutral, which are used to categorize the fantastic creatures available for battle along opposing sides, Law verses Chaos, with the possibility that Neutral forces may show up fighting for either or both these sides.
Many of the game concepts such as the forces of Law and Chaos have their antecedents in popular fantasy literature. Chainmail specifically mentions Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions in connection with true trolls and Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melnibone in the section on Magic Weapons and figures combining elements of the "hero" and "wizard". The fantasy supplement to Chainmail and its later cousin, D&D can be seen as game engines to assist players in further exploring the characters and themes they enjoy from popular science-fiction and fantasy stories.
Morale, movement, the effects of terrain, charging, the number of attacks per turn, figure facing and more, all of which shows up in the Advanced game rules, each has their beginnings here in the Chainmail miniatures rules. To be sure, much has been changed and added through the various editions of the world's most popular fantasy role-playing game rules, but the Chainmail miniature rules helps me to understand where it all began and informs how the White Box may be played.
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