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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

Report

OCEANS 17 Tabletop Exercise: Findings and Recommendations

In December 2017, the RAND Corporation conducted a tabletop exercise on air operations across the boundaries between geographic combatant commands. This report describes the exercise's design, key insights from our analysis, and recommendations.

May 9, 2019
Report

Report

Conceptual Design for a Multiplayer Security Force Assistance Strategy Game

The authors explain the conceptual underpinnings and basic rules for a RAND-designed security force assistance strategy game. The game is a tool to explore the potential benefits and risks of different security force assistance strategies.

Feb 7, 2019
Report

The U.S. Department of Defense's Planning Process: Components and Challenges

This report explores the current defense planning process used by the U.S. Department of Defense, with a focus on how scenarios are developed and employed to support defense planning.

Feb 4, 2019
Blog

RAND Hosts Forum on 21st-Century Warfare Honoring Roberta Wohlstetter

National security experts, flag officers, and decisionmakers attended the Roberta Wohlstetter Forum on National Security at RAND's Washington office on October 24. The featured speakers, moderators, organizers, donor, and namesake for the event were all women.

Nov 26, 2018
Commentary

Building a Pipeline of Wargaming Talent: A Two-Track Solution

How does the Department of Defense imagine the future of war and make long-term investments to confront the challenges ahead? On issues ranging from potential conflicts with Russia to the future of transportation and logistics, senior leaders have increasingly turned to wargames to imagine potential futures.

Nov 15, 2018
Report

Report

Realigning the Stars: A Methodology for Reviewing Active Component General and Flag Officer Requirements

The authors developed and employed a methodology to review general and flag officer requirements in the U.S. military, used results to identify opportunities to eliminate or downgrade positions, and explored the implications of reductions.

Oct 22, 2018
Commentary

Just Let Them Compete: Raising the Next Generation of Wargamers

Wargames are games that simulate aspects of warfare at varying levels, aimed at analyzing human decisionmaking. To develop the next generation of avid wargamers, the first step is both radical and simple: Let them compete.

Oct 9, 2018
Report

Assessing Will to Fight at the Military Unit Level

Will to fight is vital to understanding war, but it is often ignored or misunderstood. A model of unit will to fight that can be applied to ground combat units of any scale can help U.S. military leaders better assess partner and adversary forces and incorporate will to fight in their planning.

Sep 20, 2018
Report

What Shapes a Nation's Will to Fight?

When considering threats from Russia and North Korea, it is natural to focus on military capabilities. But incorporating will to fight into the analysis of actual or potential conflicts will enhance strategic planning. A model that can be tailored and applied to various conflict scenarios can help U.S. leaders better understand and influence will to fight.

Sep 20, 2018
Report

Improving U.S. Force Development

The U.S. armed forces are larger than needed to fight a single major war. But at the same time, the military is failing to keep pace with adversaries and is poorly postured to meet key challenges in Europe and East Asia. How can the Department of Defense respond?

Jul 9, 2018
Tool

Tool

A Wargame Method for Assessing Risk and Resilience of Military Command-and-Control Organizations

Guide to conducting a command-and-control (C2) risk and resilience tabletop exercise, a new wargaming method of assessing metrics for C2 structures in terms of risks from adversary efforts or the operational environment and resilience to those risks.

Jun 21, 2018
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
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
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
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

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Wargaming