Wargaming (An Introduction)

Key Insights

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  War gaming has ancient origins, with Sun Tzu formalizing strategic concepts over 2000 years ago.

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  The Naval War College’s war gaming helped turn the tide of the Pacific War in World War II through predictive simulations.

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  War gaming differs from tabletop exercises, seminars, and rehearsals of concept primarily in its competitive, adversarial nature and evolving scenario.

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  Human interplay is a fundamental element distinguishing war games from mere simulations or models.

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  Data collected from war games is often qualitative and analyzed thematically to gauge decision-making quality and scenario fidelity.

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  War games can be run multiple times with the same scenario, acknowledging that individual decisions vary depending on timing and context.

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  Developing personas or emulations of opposing actors is common in war games to model realistic adversary behavior.

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  War games have practical applications beyond military, including business strategy, advocacy, and leadership transitions.

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  Move-countermove pacing in war games enhances depth of strategic thinking compared to synchronous simultaneous moves.

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  Though costly and time-intensive, smaller and quicker war games are possible, especially outside of classified military environments.

Notable Quotes