Time Jumps feature in many training and analytical wargames. They are an aspect of wargames that seem straightforward and so are often not properly considered. If Time Jump planning is poor then you risk presenting a post-Time Jump situation to players that they do not recognise and/or do not think is credible. In either case you risk players’ disengaging from the exercise – and you might as well go home at that point! See how to plan and execute Time Jumps effectively.
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Injects are an essential element of most wargames, whether these be simulation supported or manual exercises. They are a primary means of shaping an exercise so that it achieves its objectives, and can also be used to introduce information, influence participants or trigger decision making. At the very least they provide context and an ongoing narrative that helps wargame participants’ suspend belief and fully engage. Despite their importance, injects tend to be poorly conceived and executed. At best this reduces the value of a wargame. In the worst case a bad inject will cause participants to disengage from an event, possibly causing it to fail altogether. And yet, although it requires some effort, the management of event injects should be a simple process. The key to successful injects is to ensure that each one is a RAT: Reasonable; Actionable; and Traceable.
‘Brilliant’ says Peter Perla on the back cover of Philip Sabin’s new book ‘Simulating War’. That statement alone should be sufficient reason to stop what you are doing now and go buy it. For those in the military, the second endorsement on the back cover is from Brigadier Andrew Sharpe, Head of Research at the UK’s Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre, who says: ‘Wargaming is a neglected and misunderstood art in the modern military; this book does much to put that right, and should be on the shelf of any thinking military professional.’
A BOGSAT (Bunch of Guys Sat Around a Table) or BOGSATT (‘…Sat Around a Table Talking’) is essentially an unstructured discussion. They might have limited utility; for example an initial brainstorming session to flush out factors for subsequent consideration. However, BOGSATs are positively damaging when used in lieu of properly structured analysis. This happens all too often during the military decision making process and frequently results in outcomes that are predicated on faulty assumptions, are not evidence-based and lack credibility. A BOGSAT can occur unwittingly and, most dangerous, might not even be recognised as one, resulting in flawed findings being accepted as credible. Admittedly a sweeping statement, BOGSATs are dangerous and should be eradicated. See how to recognise and prevent a BOGSAT.
Ask twenty people what they think is a wargame and you will get twenty different answers, some wildly different. The recent ‘Power of Wargames’ Blog (see below) explained how wargames can deliver unparalleled benefits, which are often hard to achieve in any other way. But these benefits are unlikely to be fully delivered unless everyone involved in the planning and delivery of wargames understands what they are and, just as important, are not. This is not just semantics; understanding what constitutes and defines wargames is a prerequisite for their effective planning and execution. This Blog will give you that insight.
Well run wargames deliver benefits and outputs that are difficult – if not impossible – to achieve in any other way. This post summarises why wargames are so powerful. It gives you a bulleted compilation of the reasons why wargaming is such a potent technique. This list makes a high impact PowerPoint slide if you are briefing anyone on the benefits of wargaming; feel free to use it if you think the points would be relevant to your work.
Ongoing work by LBS has repeatedly highlighted the need to differentiate between Course of Action (COA) Wargames used for analytical purposes and wargames used for training and educational purposes. If the distinctions are not understood from the outset there is a high risk that the wargame, and whatever supporting simulation is used, will not be fit for either purpose. See what these differences are and how they fundamentally alter the design and delivery of your wargames.
There is a disturbing lack of understanding of the different types of wargame, exacerbated by the recent trend within the British military to equate the term ‘wargaming’ exclusively with Course of Action Wargaming. Worse still, many people assume that there is a ‘one size fits all’ wargame solution, which is fundamentally wrong. No-one would countenance the idea that the single term ‘exercise’ could describe all the various activities that fall under that heading; and so it is with ‘wargame’. See how wargames must be differentiated, how this categorisation can be done and how this will help you design and deliver successful wargames.
A good wargame designer is essential to the successful delivery of professional wargames. But the role is poorly understood so seldom filled. See the necessary blend of skills and expertise for a wargame designer and find out how these are applied to guarantee a successful game.
The Modelling & Simulation (M&S) industry suffers from chronic miscommunication and a lack of standardisation. LBS has witnessed countless instances of experts thinking that they are communicating when, in fact, they are unknowingly speaking different languages!
The root of the problem is a lack of agreed definitions for key terms, the loose application of definitions and M&S standards still only being in a nascent state across the industry. This Blog entry lists the key definitions and distinctions that LBS considers important in all aspects of professional wargaming. There are more, and the terms metioned here are just the basic ones.
General Helge Hansen was previously NATO’s C-in-C Allied Forces Central Europe. He is a man with a wealth of experience, a towering intellect and great insight. In discussion with him recently he was kind enough to give his thoughts about how to conduct COA Wargames in complex non-kinetic operations; stability ops, for example.