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Wargaming

Autonomous Vehicles

commentary
Developing a Winning Safety Strategy for Automated Vehicles
When policy problems involve many different groups with diverging interests along with significant uncertainty about the future, games can be a valuable way to explore the potential consequences of important policy decisions. What could gaming bring to the area of AV safety?
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Feb 18, 2022
Laura Fraade-Blanar, Brian A. Jackson

Wargaming

commentary
Use Wargaming to Sharpen the Tactical Edge
As a growing consensus embraces the utility of educational wargaming, a more daunting question remains: Can the Joint Force integrate and sustain educational wargaming in the operating forces? The challenges are substantial, but they are not insurmountable. The answer depends on bold leadership, sufficient tools, and eager partners.
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Mar 8, 2021
Sebastian Joon Bae, Paul M. Kearney
Wargaming

commentary
Wargames as an Educational Tool
The benefits of games for military education are well documented. But harnessing the potential of games to foster innovation may require a commitment to sustain gaming over the years needed to explore a problem space and develop and stress-test new ideas.
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Feb 8, 2021
Elizabeth M. Bartels @elliebartels
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

blog
The Most Popular RAND Research of 2020
Here are the RAND research projects that resonated most in 2020, a year unlike any in living memory. Topics include remote learning, election disinformation, income inequality, and more.
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Dec 21, 2020
Wargaming

commentary
Establishing a Wargaming Insurgency at the University
When properly employed, wargaming can serve as a potent experiential learning tool. If educational wargaming is to evolve and endure, a global wargaming insurgency may be required. This will likely demand additional time, effort, and energy, but if successful, the dividends could be remarkable.
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Dec 16, 2020
Sebastian Joon Bae
Wargaming

blog
Now You Can Play RAND Games at Home
RAND is famous for its Pentagon wargames. Now the public can play defense analyst, too. In RAND's new game, Hedgemony, players create a military strategy to allocate troops and resources and hedge against the unknown.
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Nov 10, 2020
Joint Operations

commentary
Two Vignettes: How Might Combat Operations Be Different Under the Information Joint Function?
RAND researcher Christopher Paul employs storytelling to illustrate two distinct approaches to Joint Combat Operations. While both vignettes result in the expulsion of adversary forces and the restoration of territorial integrity, they take different approaches to kinetic and informational power.
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Oct 8, 2020
Christopher Paul
Information Operations

blog
How Russia Targets U.S. Elections, Black Workers and COVID-19, TikTok: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how Russia targets U.S. elections, Americans' increased alcohol consumption during the pandemic, Black workers and COVID-19, and more.
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Oct 2, 2020
Wargaming

commentary
Why Militaries Should Play Games with Each Other
With rising rates of COVID-19 and vulnerable populations at risk, Hawaii's people are understandably nervous about the upcoming Rim of the Pacific exercise scheduled for August. But COVID-19 cannot be a blanket check on international engagement by the U.S. military. With the effects of COVID-19 expected to last for decades, the forward thinking found in games may be exactly what is needed.
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Aug 14, 2020
Jonathan Cham @JonathanKCham, Deon Canyon
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

blog
Preparing for a COVID-19 Election, Hurricane Response, North Korea: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on preparing for a COVID-19 election, how the pandemic is affecting artists, North Korea's deadly artillery, and more.
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Aug 7, 2020
Wargaming

commentary
Wargaming the Department of Defense for Strategic Advantage
Defense acquisition, personnel, and management systems have long been seen as areas in need of reform, as costs and man-hours continue to increase over the years. Gaming new policies that govern these areas can offer early insights into potential stumbling blocks and provide leaders valuable feedback on decisions before major costs are incurred.
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Aug 3, 2020
Elizabeth M. Bartels @elliebartels
Wargaming

commentary
What Strategic Decisions on the Horizon for the Department of Defense Can Best Be Shaped Through Wargaming?
The U.S. Marine Corps is not alone in its avid use of wargaming to shape its decisions of the future. The other services are conducting similar efforts with equal rigor and zeal. And as the national deficit grows and budgetary constraints mount, the Department of Defense will most likely increasingly leverage all its analytical tools, including wargaming.
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Aug 3, 2020
Sebastian Joon Bae
Wargaming

commentary
How Can Wargaming Improve Government Response to Catastrophic Events?
Wargames are abstracted models of national security challenges, where players' decisions and their consequences are adjudicated within a rules-based environment. Due to its inherent flexibility as a tool, wargaming can be applied to a wide range of issues. Yet, it is important to understand what wargaming can and cannot do.
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May 29, 2020
Sebastian Joon Bae
Wargaming

q&a
The Serious Side of Gaming: Q&A with Yuna Wong
Yuna Wong, codirector of RAND's Center for Gaming, didn't expect to make gaming a focus of her career. In this interview, she discusses what drew her to the field, what makes a good wargame, and her latest research on the dangers of putting too much trust in artificial intelligence.
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May 8, 2020
Wargaming

commentary
Book Review: 'A Game of Birds and Wolves' by Simon Parkin
In A Game of Birds and Wolves, journalist Simon Parkin reports on a long overlooked piece of World War II's Battle of the Atlantic. Captain Gilbert Roberts enlisted the Women's Royal Naval Service to build and run a game modeling a two-sided tactical fight between British escorts and German U-boats.
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Jan 30, 2020
Stacie L. Pettyjohn
Artificial Intelligence

commentary
What Chess Can Teach Us About the Future of AI and War
Will artificial intelligence (AI) change warfare? It's hard to say. AI itself is not new, but AI as a critical factor in competitions is relatively novel and, as a result, there's not much data to draw from. Perhaps the most interesting examples are in the world of chess.
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Jan 3, 2020
Andrew J. Lohn

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