“I’m A Wargamer”

I spent a week in early August at Connections 2019 hosted by the Army War College and held at the nearby Army Heritage and Educational Center (AHEC) in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.  The AHEC facility is easier to access with less disruption to the AWC’s primary mission.  One of the most important things I have learned over several years attending Connections is that I am a wargamer.  And in that regard I can claim both Amateur and Professional status.  (I’m also a ‘systems thinker’ which Volko Ruhnke explained at a previous Connections.)

Why am I a wargamer?

Chess was and is too abstract and too far removed from any identifiable battlefield to hold my interest.  Wargames present varied terrain, asymmetric forces, and potential insights into war, warfare, military and political history, technology, and the people who bring all of these things together.  Wargames offer the historian or any player the opportunity to better understand the warfighter – and offer the warfighter a deeper understanding of military history and of their profession.  As with boardgames in general, playing wargames also offers personal lessons from playing the games – the exercise of foresight and planning; how to cope with plans that go awry (as they usually do); and how to be both a good loser and a good winner as chance picks them.  It is perhaps worth noting that most 19^th Century Kriegsspiels included remarks upon how players should conduct themselves during a game.

The title “wargamer” can be used with negative connotations, as a friend at the Center for Naval Analysis (aka CNA) used it during a conversation early in our acquaintance.  As I described my wargaming history – “You’re a WARGAMER!” he exclaimed – suggesting that I couldn’t be relied upon to enter into his world.  I noted that, yes, I was a ‘wargamer’ but I was the kind of wargamer who marched the Army of the Potomac off of the board in AH’s Gettysburg to see if I could pull off a safe withdrawal when victory was clearly out of reach. 

 

My grandmother shelled out four hard earned dollars in response to my pleading and bought me that first wargame – the 1961 hex version of Gettysburg by Avalon Hill.  Just the discovery that such a thing as a wargame existed was a revelation for a military history mad young boy.   I soon gathered a small circle of like-minded friends in Junior High School and we waited eagerly for what was at first an annual single new game released by Avalon Hill.  We would quickly agree on which of us would buy it and add to our collective game library.  Later, we were introduced to SPI – Simulations Publications Incorporated and Strategy and Tactics – the magazine with a wargame in it – known to grognards even at that young age as “S&T”.

We eventually branched out into miniatures gaming using the classic Tractics II rules, Roskopf model tanks, and Airfix figures.  Another friend introduced us to the world of wargame conventions at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin where GenCon was born in Horticultural Hall.  There we primarily focused on Napoleonic miniatures battles playing with the Napoleonique rules.

Joining the State Department career as a Foreign Service Officer, I found opportunities to explore a whole new level of wargaming.  I was always willing to participate, if otherwise available, in NATO exercises, Continuity of Government exercises, State-DOD exercises, etc.  As a member of the Army National Guard, trained as an Armored Scout /Observer , I participated in field exercises and maneuvers.  After retirement from the Department of State, I worked for about a decade as a Subject Matter Expert , Scenario Scripter, and Role Player/Role Play Manager.  Joining NSDM – the National Security Decision Making Game, I found myself drawing on my professional experience as we guided players through the dark days of the Cold War and the often equally daunting crises of the contemporary era or even a future international situation.  I have also spent a lot of time researching the history of wargames and wargaming, with special interest in the 19th Century ‘kriegsspiels’ adopted by a number of armies in Europe as well as the US Army.  This accumulated on-the-job training led me to Connections, which brings together wargamers, game and simulation designers, etc., from government, industry, private sector, and the hobby world.

If you, too, might be a wargamer or are just curious, you can read about what we did at this year’s Connections 2019 in Carlisle.  In 2020, Connections will be held August 4-7, 2020 at Quantico, Virginia.  You can also learn about other Connections conferences in the UK, Netherlands, Australia, and elsewhere at https://paxsims.wordpress.com/