Designing A Strange Game: A Nuclear Wargame for the 21st Century

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Worman, Stephen M.

Contributor:

Eusebi, Kelly Elizabeth

Frelinger, David R.

Oberholtzer, Jenny

Pfrommer, Katherine

Shlapak, David A.

Language:

English

Other Title:

Designing A Strange Game

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2023

Summary:

To assist the U.S. Department of Defense and other stakeholders addressing the subsiding interest in and knowledge of a continued nuclear threat, RAND Corporation game designers and subject-area experts developed A Strange Game, named in reference to the 1983 techno-thriller movie, Wargames, which presents thermonuclear war as a conflict that no one can win. A Strange Game, however, very much concerns the present day and the future in that it gives players an opportunity to explore the problems of near- or longer-term future intra-war deterrence where the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons has broken down. This report provides the scientific and theoretical background that informed the creation of the A Strange Game prototype. This report also offers relevant context that went into game design. Therefore, it should be useful to those considering adopting the game, game masters who will want to conduct fully informed gaming sessions, and players wanting a first-hand account of the diplomatic and military concepts used in the game. The information presented in this report can also assist other game designers as they work toward the development of further games that immerse participants in environments designed to improve decisionmaking before, during, and after conflict.