Wargames Used in Support of Analysis

Note to Users

This is a root page of a wiki on the subject of wargames used in support of military operations research (OR), specifically campaign analysis, testing of ideas, and decision-making. The idea for this wiki originated at the first meeting of the MORS Wargaming Community of Practice at the 76^th annual MORS Symposium, 13 June 2008.

From here, you can access these pages:

The Difference between Civilian and Military Wargames

Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Games That Have Been Used By The Military Operations Research (OR) Community

Games That Have Been Developed By Or For The Military OR Community

A Short Survey Of Simulation And Gaming-Related Articles Available Through The Educational Research Information Centre (ERIC)

A Short Annotated Bibliography of Wargames-related Books

Notes for Contributors:

We need your contributions to this wiki! A tremendous body of information and experience is out there, and we would like to see it documented.

These pages form only the beginning of an online wiki on the use of wargames by the military OR community. Long and very detailed books and book-length histories have been written on the history of “professional” wargaming. While this wiki will mention historical instances and examples of specific wargames being used to support analysis, it is not meant to replace these studies.

Anyone who can access this website (presumably, this is limited to current members of MORS) can also edit its pages. It’s easy to make contributions of any type, but in accordance with the SOPs for this site, please do not delete the efforts or contributions of others.

What we are looking for

• Descriptions of simulations and games, manual or computer-based, that were specifically designed for or developed by the military, but “civilianized” versions have been produced for the general public. Example: Firefight, Logistics Command.
• Descriptions of simulations and games, manual or computer-based, that were primarily designed for the general public but may be or have been used by the military or the military OR community. Example: Tacops.
• Documented examples of these games being used by the military or military OR community: if possible, include online links to documents that describe how the game was used, why it was used, and what lessons it taught to the users.

What probably doesn’t fit here

• “Militainment” or simulations/games designed to recruit people into the military. Example: America’s Army.
• First-person shooter games. Example: Marine DOOM.

If you’re unsure, please ask one of us:

The Authors

Kyle Kliewer: kylekliewer@yahoo.com

Joe Miranda: jamiranda@earthlink.com

Brian Train: brian.train@gmail.com