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Wargaming

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Wargames are analytic games that simulate aspects of warfare at the tactical, operational, or strategic level. They are used to examine warfighting concepts, train and educate commanders and analysts, explore scenarios, and assess how force planning and posture choices affect campaign outcomes. RAND has developed and can execute various types of wargames, including scenario exercises, tabletop map exercises, “Day After…” games, and computer-supported exercises.

Q&A

Gaming and Public Policy: Q&A with David Shlapak

Aug 11, 2016

David Shlapak discusses how using games in research can help improve decisionmaking across a wide range of areas, including national security, health care, and climate change.
Report

Wargaming the Defense of the Baltics

Feb 1, 2016

A series of wargames examined the threat Russia may present to the three Baltic republics. As currently postured, NATO could not defend the territory. What might be done to prevent Russia from attempting to reclaim it?

Explore Wargaming

Report

The Russian Challenge: Deterring Aggression in the Baltics

The risk of Russian aggression in the Baltics can no longer be ignored. To successfully deter Moscow, the United States and its European allies should invest in NATO's ability to defend its eastern boundary.

Jun 4, 2018
Report

Report

Gaming Space: A Game-Theoretic Methodology for Assessing the Deterrent Value of Space Control Options

This report introduces and explains a game-theoretic methodology to help decisionmakers assess the potential effects of alternative approaches to space control.

Jan 5, 2018
Tool

Tool

Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT): Version 2.0

This manual explains how to use the Defensive Space Analysis Tool (DSPAT), which was developed to compare alternative approaches to space control in terms of their mission effectiveness, feasibility, escalation risk, and political cost.

Jan 5, 2018
Commentary

Adding Shots on Target: Wargaming Beyond the Game

Figuring out what the future may look like—and what concepts and technology we should invest in now to prepare—is hard. How can the wargaming community build a cycle of research to help understand what these paths might be?

Oct 9, 2017
Multimedia

Gaming Solutions to Global Problems

In this Call with the Experts, David Shlapak, a senior international research analyst at RAND, talks about how serious games can help find solutions to global problems.

Jun 8, 2017
Report

Report

Dominating Duffer's Domain: Lessons for the U.S. Marine Corps Information Operations Practitioner

To support the U.S. Marine Corps and its curriculum for information operations personnel, RAND has adapted the premise of the military classic The Defence of Duffer's Drift for a modern-day audience of Marine Corps officers.

Apr 20, 2017
Report

Report

Dominating Duffer's Domain: Lessons for the U.S. Army Information Operations Practitioner

Adapting the format of military classic, The Defence of Duffer's Drift, this report analyzes alternative courses of action in the same hypothetical mission in order to derive lessons about integrating information operations into operational planning.

Apr 20, 2017
Multimedia

The Serious Role of Gaming at RAND

RAND uses gaming techniques to develop insights into a host of 21st century challenges. In this Events @ RAND podcast, David Shlapak, codirector of the RAND Center for Gaming, discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of using gaming in research.

Mar 23, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Paper Wargames and Policy Making: Filling the Baltic Gap or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the D6

RAND has a long backstory in wargaming.

Oct 5, 2016
Multimedia

Rethinking Russia's Threat to NATO

A series of wargames examined the probable outcome of a Russian invasion of the Baltic states. The wargames showed that a near-term Russian invasion could reach the Estonian and Latvian capitals in less than 60 hours.

Sep 30, 2016
Report

Report

Capabilities for Joint Analysis in the Department of Defense: Rethinking Support for Strategic Analysis

This report stems from a congressional request for an independent report about the U.S. Department of Defense's capabilities for joint analysis and ways to improve them.

Sep 12, 2016
Commentary

In Defense of a Wargame: Bolstering Deterrence on NATO's Eastern Flank

A series of wargames examined the potential results of a Russian invasion of the Baltic states. While such an invasion appears unlikely, its consequences would be so dangerous that not taking steps to deter it more robustly would be imprudent.

Jun 14, 2016
Commentary

How Can Gaming Help Test Your Theory?

The act of designing a game will force you to articulate your theory or to be more specific about it. It will also require you to operationalize your variables and theoretical constructs of interest into a specific context, and prompt you to anticipate the ways in which it may play out in that scenario.

May 18, 2016
Commentary

Outnumbered, Outranged, and Outgunned: How Russia Defeats NATO

Today NATO is outnumbered, outranged, and outgunned by Russia in Europe and beset by a number of compounding factors that make the situation worse. But it is possible to begin restoring a more robust deterrent posture and to do so at a price tag that appears affordable.

Apr 21, 2016
Commentary

Gaming the System: Obstacles to Reinvigorating Defense Wargaming

Reinvigorating wargaming in the defense community offers great potential value given the complex strategic situation that the U.S. faces today. DoD should educate sponsors and consumers about the appropriate use of wargames, set realistic expectations, and build the right amount of risk acceptance into its gaming enterprise.

Feb 18, 2016
Commentary

Getting the Most Out of Your Wargame

Some famous historical wargames offer a compelling narrative of what wargames can be at their best and worst, but they cannot illustrate the full range of contemporary wargaming that leaders should strive to achieve. A better understanding of how wargames can be helpful — or backfire — is critical.

Jan 26, 2016
Commentary

A Funny Thing Happened When These Military Officers and Academics Got Together

If senior officers and academics find themselves divided, is there a way to build respect and trust earlier in their careers, when less is at stake? A tabletop exercise suggested that the best way to bridge the civilian-military divide is not via large conferences or formal papers. Instead, it can be done by building trust, one person at a time, over time.

Apr 6, 2015
Report

Enhancing Army Airborne Forces

U.S. Army airborne forces could play a pivotal role in key missions in the future, particularly against hybrid threats and in anti-access environments. However, they face serious threats that could become more severe. To overcome these new threats, the airborne force will need new capabilities.

Jan 23, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Wargaming