Wargaming often brings to mind battlefields, classic board games like Risk, or tense Cold War computer simulations in films. In reality, it is far more than a tool for military strategy—it's a dynamic, hands-on approach to tackling complex challenges in nearly any sector. From preparing for natural disasters to safeguarding supply chains, wargaming is helping organisations across industries anticipate crises, test strategies, and strengthen their response capabilities.
At its core, wargaming immerses participants in high-stakes, uncertain scenarios, forcing them to make critical decisions under pressure. By simulating real-world challenges—whether a cyberattack, a public health crisis, or an economic shock—wargaming helps organisations stress-test their strategies in a controlled environment, in which failure becomes a valuable learning opportunity. Unlike traditional exercises that rehearse pre-existing plans, wargames introduce unexpected twists, pushing participants to think creatively, adapt quickly, and confront the full complexity of a crisis.
Wargaming is an ideal way to bring together diverse stakeholders and break down policy silos, by bringing together government officials, emergency responders, scientists, business leaders. A well-designed wargame doesn't just test strategies and courses of action; it builds trust, encourages teamwork, and exposes blind spots that could prove costly in a real-world emergency. By stepping into different roles and seeing situations from multiple perspectives, participants gain a deeper understanding of the challenges at hand and how to work more effectively across sectors. This approach is particularly beneficial in areas where multi-agency coordination is essential, such as disaster relief efforts or public health responses. It encourages individuals to engage beyond their typical silos, strengthening partnerships that could prove vital in real-world crisis situations.
A well-designed wargame doesn't just test strategies and courses of action; it builds trust, encourages teamwork, and exposes blind spots that could prove costly in a real-world emergency.
Recent wargames highlight just how valuable this approach can be. The first game looked at responses to synthetic drug outbreaks in London. RAND Europe worked with the Home Office to gather local representatives from the Combating Drugs Partnership who had put together preparedness plans for synthetic drug outbreaks. The idea of the game was to see how those plans might work if put into practice.
The game took local stakeholders through a series of escalations where they discussed the challenges and opportunities each presented, the decisions they would take, and the impact of those decisions. It enabled the Home Office to better understand the position of local stakeholders, and vice versa, as well as fostering dialogue between different organisations working in this area. More broadly, it identified challenges and opportunities created by current approaches, which could be incorporated into updated response plans.
Another wargame examined how officials might respond to a potential biological attack for the UK Microbial Forensics Consortium. It immersed participants into an outbreak scenario where they had to determine whether the incident was a natural occurrence or a deliberate act of bioterrorism. For a newly formed consortium, this experience was invaluable in enabling members to discuss strategies, work together on potential responses, and identify obstacles that the consortium might encounter as it seeks to work with diverse stakeholders. This was particularly important in shaping the consortium's terms of reference and helping members consider how stakeholders across various levels of government and organisations can collaborate effectively to achieve shared objectives.
The ability to foresee potential pitfalls and adjust strategies accordingly can mean the difference between success and failure in an increasingly complex world.
Wargaming in the resilience space can help develop new strategies and plans, while testing the assumptions underpinning existing ones. It is particularly useful for assessing responses to a polycrisis, where multiple organisations with different plans and resources must collaborate to achieve effective outcomes. Wargames can also be iterative—for example, by running multiple scenarios or revisiting the same scenario at different points in time or across different geographies—challenging decisionmakers to confront the unthinkable.
Wargames can be tailored to the complexities of resilience planning, drawing on a wide range of approaches. We have found that established methods originally developed for military strategic and operational competition—such as 'Day-After,' '360,' and 'Will to Fight'—can be adapted alongside bespoke and innovative designs. Integrating wargaming with creative thinking techniques can further help participants explore effective crisis responses and enhance decisionmaking in complex scenarios.
Wargaming is a valuable tool in understanding how stakeholders can respond to a particular problem, and what the consequences of that response might be.
Ultimately, wargaming is a valuable tool in understanding how stakeholders can respond to a particular problem, and what the consequences of that response might be. It can also convene different types of stakeholders at different levels and across different organisations to better understand one another's capabilities and approaches. In an era defined by rapid change and complex crises, it has become a necessity.
Whether preparing for natural disasters, pandemics, cyber threats, or economic upheavals, organisations that embrace wargaming will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty and emerge stronger. The future belongs to those who prepare, and wargaming provides the ultimate proving ground to do just that. As more industries recognise its benefits, wargaming is poised to become a cornerstone of resilience planning, ensuring that organisations remain agile, prepared, and capable of responding effectively to whatever challenges lie ahead.
