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CNA Talks

Episode 26: Playing a Wargame

In part two of our occasional series on wargaming, CNA’s chief wargame designer Jeremy Sepinsky returns, accompanied by Chris Steinitz, director of CNA’s North Korea program, to discuss what it’s like to play a CNA Wargame. Jeremy describes the different players in a wargame, emphasizing the value of people with operational experience who can accurately represent how military leaders would make decisions. Jeremy and Chris lay out the differences between playing Blue team and Red team. They also take us down the “road to war,” describing how the wargaming team lays out the scenario that starts the game.  Finally, Chris and Jeremy take us through the player’s decisions and how the results of a turn are adjudicated.

Related Resources

Biographies

Jeremy Sepinsky is CNA's lead wargame designer. In FY18, he designed and facilitated more than ten wargames for Navy and Joint Commands, as well as for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. His wargames help strategic decision-makers understand the broad context of actions, as well as the tactical impacts of their decisions. (sepinskyj@cna.org)

Christopher Steinitz  is the director of CNA’s North Korea program. He has managed and contributed to studies of North Korea’s strategic calculus, the role of nuclear weapons in North Korea’s evolving national strategy, Kim Jong-un’s use of provocations, and deterring and dissuading North Korean aggression. He has played and designed numerous wargames focused on North Korean leadership and military operations.

Wargaming Resources

Wargaming at CNA.

“The Art of Wargaming” by Peter Perla (ISBN: 978-1471033735) – The quintessential reference book for wargaming hobbyists and professionals.

“Simulating War” by Philip Sabin (ISBN: 978-1-4725-3391-3) – Explores wargaming in the context of simulations and operations analysis.

“Wargames Handbook: Third Edition” by James F Dunnigan (ISBN: 0-595-15546-4) – The origins of commercial wargaming by one of the hobby’s pioneers.

An introduction to Wargaming, by Matt Caffrey, AFRL (https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a500772.pdf)

https://connections-wargaming.com/ - A yearly wargaming conference that brings together all segments of the wargaming community, including hobbyists, professionals, and military experts.

https://paxsims.wordpress.com/  - A blog dedicated to simulation-based learning, using games for all aspects of war and peace.

https://seriousplayconf.com/ - A conference devoted to using games to explore serious problems.

https://casl.ndu.edu/ - The Center for Applied and Strategic Learning is the wargaming center at the National Defense University, which builds and executes wargames to educate defense professionals.

https://usnwc.edu/Faculty-and-Departments/Academic-Departments/Wargaming-Department - The Naval War College, host of the US Navy’s Title X wargames.

https://www.mcwl.marines.mil/Divisions/Wargaming/ - Marine Corps Wargaming Laboratory – Wargaming Division, host of the US Marine Corp’s Title X wargames.

CNA Office of Communications

John Stimpson, Communications Associate
703.824.2689 | stimpsonj@cna.org