Resources

‘Why Wargaming Works’ by Peter Perla and ED McGrady was published in the US Naval War College Review in June. It is an excellent article that anyone involved in wargaming should read. It differentiates between a ‘presented narrative’ and a ‘constructed narrative’: “…all games derive their power from the same source – their ability to open up their participants to self-transformation through the power of shared and constructed narrative.”  (Download here)

This article provides a list of all the common abbreviations and acroynms that the professional wargamer needs. Let us know if any are missing and we’ll add them (Download here)

The fundamental assumption challenged is that the M&S industry is doing a good job. We are not! This PowerPoint presentation illustrates key areas where we are failing those we purport to support (Download here)

This article describes the 3 errors most commonly made in the design and delivery of Computer Assisted Exercises (CAX). Most importantly, it tells you how to avoid them!

Whether an experienced professional wargamer or newly posted to a position that involves wargaming, reading this article will help you deliver more successful wargames in any domain (Download here)

Course of Action (COA) Wargaming is an incredibly powerful technique in any commander’s military decision making process tool bag. A well run COA Wargame will identify risks in a forming plan better than any other doctrinal method. They can then be mitigated, greatly increasing the chances of success.

LBS has provided advice to, and observed on, countless COA Wargames. Common mistakes made by practitioners rarely change from year to year or event to event, irrespective of the level of warfare or the operational context. The Do’s and Don’ts of Course of Action Wargaming explains those errors and tells you how to avoid them. Following the advice in the article will ensure that your COA Wargames are effective and efficient, delivering maximum benefit for minimum effort. (Download here)

Not for the fainthearted or casual reader, the Fϋhrungsakademie guide to the preparation and execution of Wargames is a very detailed and useful guide to COA Wargaming. Note that the document title should read ‘Course of Action’ Wargaming rather than just ‘Wargaming’.

It is recommended reading for anyone who will be running COA Wargames. (Download here)

20 years on, The Art of Wargaming by Peter Perla remains the best book written on designing wargames. It was published in 1990 by the US Naval Institute Press. Remember the term ‘wargame’ refers to the holistic elements of wargaming, not just the simulation; don’t buy this book if you want to know how to code models!

Paste the ISBN 0-87021-050-5 into Amazon or any other book retailer to find it. It’s about £16 ($25) for a used copy. If you are involved in any way with professional wargames you MUST own this book. The sections on hobby gaming might seem irrelevant; they are not (even though they are obviously dated), but many people might wish to skip them to save time. Whether you read them or not, make sure you get to the chapters on designing professional games.

Erdal Çayirci and Dušan Marinčič have recently published Computer Assisted Exercises (CAX) and Training – A Reference Guide. This explains how CAX are designed and delivered from a NATO perspective, and is structured as a educational course. It is an excellent book and, being published in September 2009, describes current NATO best practice. Erdal is Chief CAX Support Branch at the NATO Joint Warfare Centre and knows more than anyone else I have met in NATO circles about CAX.

Paste the ISBN 978-0-470-41229-9 into Amazon or any other book retailer to find it. It’s expensive at about £60 ($100) even for a used copy, so maybe only for the committed professional wargamer!

Matthew Caffrey’s Jan 2000 article provides one of the most comprehensive studies of the history of wargaming. It is an unbiased account of the good and the bad of historical wargames and a recommended read for any serious student or practitioner of wargaming. It is written from an American perspective, which is very much in evidence during Caffrey’s discussion of late 20th century wargame developments. (Download here)

A simple list of factors to be considered as part of a training wargame design (Download here). This does not constitute the outcome of a full design phase; it is just a list of example questions.