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On Wargaming: How Wargames Have Shaped History and How They May Shape the Future
Wargames are as old as civilization—and perhaps older. In his informative and entertaining Public Broadcasting series Connections, James Burke argued that the first invention, the one that enabled all later inventions, was the plow. It allowed agriculture, and as agriculture permitted denser populations, the frequency of inventions increased, due either to “connecting” with new applications or combining with other inventions to create one that was greater than the sum of its parts.
- GenresHistory
479 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2019
1 person is currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
Matthew B. Caffrey, Jr.
1 book1 followerMr. Matthew B. Caffrey Jr. is the Air Force Material Command (AFMC) Lead for the Air Force Chief of Staff’s Title 10 wargame, Futures Game, alternate AFMC Lead for wargaming, and the AFMC Integrator for Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Wargaming.
His prior position was Lead, Future Warfare Analysis Team, Directorate of Plans and Programs, HQ AFRL. He has previously served as the Professor of Wargaming and Campaign Planning at the Air Command and Staff College, Research Associate at the School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and Senior Analyst for the SYSCON Corporation, serving at the Air Force Wargaming Institute, all at Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
A retired Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, his final assignment was as Senior Reservist, Information Directorate, AFRL. His previous military assignments include; Chief, Wargaming Strategy Development, with the Air Staff’s Checkmate Division, the Pentagon, Washington DC and assignments at the major air command, wing, group and squadron levels.
He is the developer of the 3rd Generation Wargame concept and the Strategy Cycle. In 1993 he helped found the Connections interdisciplinary wargame conference. In 2007 he created the Air Force Research Laboratory Wargame Course. Matt is the designer of the Air Force Research Libratory (AFRL) Wargame, the Engineer/Strategist Exercise, Joint Resource Allocation Exercise (JRAX), the Joint Deployment Employment Exercise (JDEX), and several other wargames. He co-authored the Gulf War Fact Book, and has written several chapters and many articles on wargaming, airpower, and defense issues. He has spoken on wargaming at the German War College, the United Kingdom’s defense research establishment, and in the US from The Pentagon to Silicon Valley. He is currently writing, On Wargaming, a book on the history, application, and potential of wargaming.
His prior position was Lead, Future Warfare Analysis Team, Directorate of Plans and Programs, HQ AFRL. He has previously served as the Professor of Wargaming and Campaign Planning at the Air Command and Staff College, Research Associate at the School of Advanced Airpower Studies, and Senior Analyst for the SYSCON Corporation, serving at the Air Force Wargaming Institute, all at Air University, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
A retired Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, his final assignment was as Senior Reservist, Information Directorate, AFRL. His previous military assignments include; Chief, Wargaming Strategy Development, with the Air Staff’s Checkmate Division, the Pentagon, Washington DC and assignments at the major air command, wing, group and squadron levels.
He is the developer of the 3rd Generation Wargame concept and the Strategy Cycle. In 1993 he helped found the Connections interdisciplinary wargame conference. In 2007 he created the Air Force Research Laboratory Wargame Course. Matt is the designer of the Air Force Research Libratory (AFRL) Wargame, the Engineer/Strategist Exercise, Joint Resource Allocation Exercise (JRAX), the Joint Deployment Employment Exercise (JDEX), and several other wargames. He co-authored the Gulf War Fact Book, and has written several chapters and many articles on wargaming, airpower, and defense issues. He has spoken on wargaming at the German War College, the United Kingdom’s defense research establishment, and in the US from The Pentagon to Silicon Valley. He is currently writing, On Wargaming, a book on the history, application, and potential of wargaming.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 25, 2019
Comprehensive both for history and practice of wargaming
March 29, 2020
On Wargaming is surprisingly readable - it’s not just for members of the military. I particularly enjoyed the stories of wargames past and future that helped illustrate the potential of wargaming. I also enjoyed the chapter on how wargames can be helpful to non-military folks - parents, educators, businesses, and citizens.
I strongly suggest this book to folks interested in gaming, military history, or strategy development (regardless of your field. I will acknowledge bias (the author is my Dad), that said, I think that many readers will enjoy the personality and perspective that shines through in a book that one might expect to be dry. It isn’t.
I strongly suggest this book to folks interested in gaming, military history, or strategy development (regardless of your field. I will acknowledge bias (the author is my Dad), that said, I think that many readers will enjoy the personality and perspective that shines through in a book that one might expect to be dry. It isn’t.
October 19, 2023
War Games, Wargames, Their History and Practice
Matt Caffrey has made himself the seanchai of the American wargaming community, both professional and hobby/commercial, through his continued efforts to tell the history of war gaming. This book is the collection of that effort in print (or as I read it in e-book form). And by the way, he’s already been working on the next edition of this history since before this one was published.
As with all narratives, there are a few errors or omissions here and there, but the reality is that wargaming encompasses such a wide range of activities including some that were and are not general public knowledge. For a long period of its history wargaming was generally a rather discrete activity not shared widely beyond the immediate participants. What Matt has tried to do in his classroom, public speaking efforts, and in this book is to bring it out for a wider audience to recruit support for the activity as well as more participants.
The book is divided into two main parts – Part One: The History of Wargaming, and Part Two: Toward More Effective Wargaming. There are also five appendices providing supporting information for the first portion and for the reader interested in pursuing wargaming professionally. A short select and annotated bibliography as well as a list of The Newport Papers publications rounds out the information provided.
Given such an extensive topic to cover, a few errors can be expected to sneak into the book. There are now more than a dozen books that present a history of wargaming and none of them is complete given the nature of the topic. Regarding Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, I agree with the author that there are many editions available, I probably have as many as a half dozen editions on the shelf near me as I write this. However, the two principle English language translations used in these editions are by Lionel Giles (1910) and Samuel Griffiths (1963).
With regard to the British Army’s use of wargames, both as map exercises and field maneuvers, it’s perhaps worth noting that by 1912, the annual “Army Manoeuvres” included as divisional units what was essentially the main portion of the British Expeditionary Force that would cross the channel to France and Belgium in 1914. This suggests that whatever benefits anyone got from British war gaming, these included two or more years of having the proto-British Expeditionary Force (BEF) train and exercise together.
I do believe that while Donald Featherstone’s contribution to wargaming, in both the UK and the USA, is important, it has to be noted in this conversation that most of his own inclinations in wargaming were closer to the HG Wells Little Wars school of gaming rather than that of Charles Grant and Paddy Griffith.
The author also overlooked in his discussion of the computer aspect of wargaming the introduction of the Vassal game engine released in 2002 continues in use today as a platform for the adaptation of boardgames for play online, either solitaire or against an opponent. Some players play exclusively on VASSAL while others use the VASSAL platform to record moves for an opponent to see while keeping a physical copy of the game in progress set up for study and analysis as well.
I did enjoy his journey through wargaming especially since the 1960s, which covered my own years of involvement and my interactions with Gary Gygax, Jim Dunnigan, Donald Featherstone. Dunnigan’s checklist of steps to designing a wargame and his other comments are the roots of my paraphrase of Game Design Rule #1 – Steal from the best; Rule #2 – Steal from the rest.
Matt Caffrey has made himself the seanchai of the American wargaming community, both professional and hobby/commercial, through his continued efforts to tell the history of war gaming. This book is the collection of that effort in print (or as I read it in e-book form). And by the way, he’s already been working on the next edition of this history since before this one was published.
As with all narratives, there are a few errors or omissions here and there, but the reality is that wargaming encompasses such a wide range of activities including some that were and are not general public knowledge. For a long period of its history wargaming was generally a rather discrete activity not shared widely beyond the immediate participants. What Matt has tried to do in his classroom, public speaking efforts, and in this book is to bring it out for a wider audience to recruit support for the activity as well as more participants.
The book is divided into two main parts – Part One: The History of Wargaming, and Part Two: Toward More Effective Wargaming. There are also five appendices providing supporting information for the first portion and for the reader interested in pursuing wargaming professionally. A short select and annotated bibliography as well as a list of The Newport Papers publications rounds out the information provided.
Given such an extensive topic to cover, a few errors can be expected to sneak into the book. There are now more than a dozen books that present a history of wargaming and none of them is complete given the nature of the topic. Regarding Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, I agree with the author that there are many editions available, I probably have as many as a half dozen editions on the shelf near me as I write this. However, the two principle English language translations used in these editions are by Lionel Giles (1910) and Samuel Griffiths (1963).
With regard to the British Army’s use of wargames, both as map exercises and field maneuvers, it’s perhaps worth noting that by 1912, the annual “Army Manoeuvres” included as divisional units what was essentially the main portion of the British Expeditionary Force that would cross the channel to France and Belgium in 1914. This suggests that whatever benefits anyone got from British war gaming, these included two or more years of having the proto-British Expeditionary Force (BEF) train and exercise together.
I do believe that while Donald Featherstone’s contribution to wargaming, in both the UK and the USA, is important, it has to be noted in this conversation that most of his own inclinations in wargaming were closer to the HG Wells Little Wars school of gaming rather than that of Charles Grant and Paddy Griffith.
The author also overlooked in his discussion of the computer aspect of wargaming the introduction of the Vassal game engine released in 2002 continues in use today as a platform for the adaptation of boardgames for play online, either solitaire or against an opponent. Some players play exclusively on VASSAL while others use the VASSAL platform to record moves for an opponent to see while keeping a physical copy of the game in progress set up for study and analysis as well.
I did enjoy his journey through wargaming especially since the 1960s, which covered my own years of involvement and my interactions with Gary Gygax, Jim Dunnigan, Donald Featherstone. Dunnigan’s checklist of steps to designing a wargame and his other comments are the roots of my paraphrase of Game Design Rule #1 – Steal from the best; Rule #2 – Steal from the rest.
November 11, 2020
Comprehensive and frequently witty history of the development of wargaming, its purposes, and its effects on military doctrine. Caffrey focuses heavily on military purposes and procedures, but there's still enough material on civilian and commercial wargames to be useful for my own research purposes.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews