The UK Ministry of Defense has opened the Defense Experimentation and Wargaming Hub, a new venue that will have the space, resources, and personnel to let defense leaders test their plans using military wargames. In normal gaming terms, imagine a bunch of generals and academics playing massive hybrids of tabletop wargames, war board games, and roleplaying games based on real world challenges.
An announcement by the UK Ministry of Defense Strategic Command, given on March 27, states the hub will use “simulated scenarios and tabletop exercises” to “explore alternative futures, assess the effectiveness of different courses of action, and anticipate emerging threats”.
A BBC news report states that the centre will be able to run wargames based on “military conflicts, cyber-attacks, and economic coercion”. According to Lieutenant General Tom Copinger-Symes, quoted in the MOD announcement, this should make it possible for the military to make “evidence-based decisions”, informed by the outcome of tabletop wargaming exercises, more rapidly.
Tabletop wargames and war board games both have their origins in military wargames. The first recognisable wargame, Kriegsspiel, was created by the Prussian army officer Georg von Reiswitz in 1812. While the first game set given to the Prussian king as gift, its rules were based on real world military statistics. The Prussian military adopted it as a training tool for officers.
Military wargaming can have multiple components, from paper exercises, to simulated battles – the world’s most intensive LARP. Bad wargame design can be counterproductive: we recommend anyone interested in modern military history read about the disastrous Millennium Challenge wargame, and this great post mortem of what went wrong.
The new Defense Experimentation and Wargaming Hub is based at Southwick Park in Hampshire, and was developed in partnership with the Defence Science Technology Laboratory. How far through development the facility is, is currently unclear: BBC news reports that preparation of the site began in September 2023.
The MoD states that the finished facility will contain a “500m² reconfigurable wargaming facility”, “a repository of wargaming data, tools and scenarios”, and an “experienced team of professionals” who can advise military planners and assist with designing wargames.
The BBC reports that the centre will run games including ‘Hope and Glory’ “which focuses on infrastructure threats” and ‘Contested’ “which deals with high-level military strategy” – titles that sound like they could have been published by GMT games.
This just may be the largest wargaming centre in the UK where Warhammer 40k isn’t the most popular game. Though we can imagine a few after-hours sessions taking place – there’s a major overlap between service-people and miniature wargamers.
Check out Wargamer’s interview with the commander of a Ukrainian drone hunting volunteer unit who uses remote games of Blood Bowl to keep in touch with his evacuated son; and this interview with disabled tournament wargamers, including ex military personnel.
Photographs by:
Top – Spc. Hubert Delaney, UK MOD © Crown copyright 2021.
Middle – Daniel Harrison, UK MOD © Crown copyright 2022.
Bottom – UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024
Source: Wargamer
