Wargame: A Classic Serious Game, Vector of Innovation

Stéphane Goria ()
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Stéphane Goria: Crem - Centre de Recherche sur les Médiations - UL - Université de Lorraine

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Abstract: This chapter examines the evolution and professional utility of wargaming, tracing its development from 18th-century tactical simulations to the seminal Prussian Kriegsspiel of 1824. It highlights the historical tension between rigid and free rulesets and identifies a modern return to analog tabletop formats to avoid the "black box" lack of transparency found in complex digital simulations. A central theme is that wargaming's value is often undermined by leadership's failure to act on "disturbing" results that challenge pre-established plans, a mistake that led to historical military disasters at Tannenberg, Midway, and in 1940s France. Today, wargaming is categorized as a serious game used for four primary functions: learning, collaboration, planning, and foresight. Ultimately, for a wargame to be an effective vector of innovation, it must be malleable, open to debate, and its findings must be credited by the highest levels of the hierarchy.

Keywords: Simulation game; Wargaming; Edutainment; Future studies; Analytic wargaming; Kriegsspiel; Kriegspiel; Tabletop game; Tabletop serious game; Board game; Boardgame; Serious gaming; Serious game; Wargame; Jeu sérieux; Jeu de plateau; Prospective (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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Published in Camille, Aouinaït; Dimitri, Uzunidis. Innovation Digital Modes and Models. Think Innovation through Games, Iste Éd./J. Wiley & Sons, pp.187-216, 2026, 9781836690825

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05638080

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