Wargame: A classic Serious game, Vector of Innovation

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.