About

[Three purposes for wargames: analytical, educational, experiential]

Curriculum

The first half of the Wargaming Applications course teaches the fundamentals of wargaming using a mix of lectures and practical exercises. The course concludes with the completion of the “Wargaming Apprentice Certification Exam.” The second half of the course focuses on applying wargaming fundamentals to design, develop, conduct and analyze a wargame to answer a DoD sponsor’s actual requirement.

A short game based on this scenario will be played by course participants as part of an introduction. Participants will be expected to take on roles within the scenario. The game has both military and civilian components; it is not a traditional war game that would be focussed on combat.

Topics Covered

• Types of War Games
• History of War Games
• Data collection and management plan
• Constraints, Limitations, Assumptions
• Five Phases: Preparation, Foundation, Scenarios, Execution, and Analysis and Reporting
• 15 Steps in a War Game Project
• Experiences with War Game Execution
• Key Roles: Sponsor, Student Director, Facilitator, Game Designer, Game Analyst
• Analysis Planning
• Operations Research Support to Game Execution
• Joint Military Appreciation Process (JMAP)
• MIlitary Decision Making Process
• The Operational Planning Process
• “Design” and the Problem Framing
• Analysis Opportunities within War Games
• Analysis Report Writing
• Presentation of Results
• Planning a War Game
• Experiences in War Game Analysis
• Experiences Planning a War Game
• Administration for a War Game