COTS Games for Learning

 “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.”

— Benjamin Franklin

Those in the professional wargame sphere frequently rely on simulations intended for education or analysis, wargames requiring a custom design and implementation. Not all organizations have the resources for such projects, nor are such simulations always appropriate for every circumstance, especially when introducing wargaming in a professional environment to newcomers with time constraints. Sometimes they turn to existing resources, adapting them to particular missions and situations. They adapt “Commercial* Off The Shelf” or COTS games to their specific needs. One doesn’t have to be an innovator in the professional wargaming sphere to adapt COTS games — modifying them for a particular audience and objective — for experiential learning across other disciplines.

The military has the resources to hire professional designers to create specific simulations investigating particular issues. (Though, thanks to People Make Games’ recent video “The Games Behind Your Government’s Next War” one realizes these institutions increasingly turn to the hobby side of gaming for solutions.) They field entire departments of experts, state-of-the-art technology, facilities to host very large serious games, the infrastructure to develop analog games, and conferences where they can share innovations.

Other institutions rarely have those kinds of resources, even if they do realize the benefits of using games for learning (a huge “if” in my opinion). They also have their own objectives in using games as well as particular participants in mind. As much as custom-designed games can work really well for an institution’s mission and audience, people working there don’t always have the time or skills necessary to create them (and rarely the time to learn from experience for future improvements). In these cases adapting COTS games might prove the easiest and most cost-effective route toward using games for learning (though they still take time to evaluate and modify for a specific setting).

I’ve designed a few games with kids in mind — Panzer Kids, Lord of the Two Lands, and Sol O.P. Grand Prix — and these represent some basic immersive simulation experiences one might use to engage a younger audience in particular subjects. I’ve more often modified “commercial” games for convention or museum events geared toward a younger audience or gaming newcomers. Most folks, even kids, quickly learn many games on the market today short of the more complex wargaming fare; although this assumes they’re first attracted to the game’s thematic subject matter. I’ve talked about streamlining the rules to the Wings of Glory aerial combat game for my “Game which Will Live in Infamy,” including how I enhanced game materials for some thoughtful reflection on the action and implications of that attack. I’ve modified Neil Thomas’ One-Hour Wargames to run a quick demonstration of wargaming principles for a museum talk. Bob Cordery’s Gridded Naval Wargames proves a solid game system I’ve modified for running naval actions, including ironclad battles at the local museum and regional game conventions.

I am not a teacher; not certified, anyway, though I do strive to help others learn about history (and even current events) though games. In looking over my game library I notice several titles that, with adjustments for specific objectives and audiences, could provide interesting educational opportunities. In these cases I primarily speak from the perspective of using such games in a classroom setting; however, that doesn’t mean they can’t serve as learning tools in other venues including but not limited to museums, libraries, and historical sites.

B-17 Queen of the Skies: Using this Avalon Hill classic solitaire game could offer participants some insight into the Allied bombing campaign against Germany in World War II. Assign a student to “play” a crew member, allowing them to make decisions and roll the dice relevant to their position. What’s it like as a gunner waiting for a target to come into view, while enemy fighters attack from other angles and you sit tight through flak barrages? How many make it back from the mission? How effective are near misses on targets...and was it worth the cost? I would also recommend, for a solitaire version, my own Operation Drumbeat game, where players captain a u-boat and keep a war journal recounting their activities (though I realize this has potential controversial ramifications of playing the “bad guys”).

Bill Molyneaux Games: Designer and history/wargaming enthusiast Bill Molyneux creates accessible, low-complexity history games well-suited for adaptation in learning environments. The host of the Bill’s Wargame World YouTube channel offers a number of historical print-and-play games to download at his Fastplay Wargames e-storefront at Wargame Vault. Most pit two players in historical conflicts in hex-and-counter-style games, with basic rules and a few suggested options: Antietam and Gettysburg, Poland and North Africa, Agincourt, Korea, and, of course, Waterloo.

Diplomacy: I know I’m asking for trouble with this one, but one could adapt this classic, friendship-destroying game for group play to explore the political dynamics of early 20th century Europe. Have too many players? Form teams for each nation, with players designated to negotiate with other powers or military and political leaders who advocate for various “visions” for their nations. An interesting study not simply of the dynamics of power geographically and politically, but in how nations interact to pursue their goals...and struggle to gain (or take) power in a finite system.

Pandemic: This groundbreaking cooperative game from Matt Leacock, and its slightly smaller cousin Pandemic: Hot Zone – North America, offers a good simulation of different players using their specialties cooperatively to stem the tide of a global pandemic. Much as we’d like to think we won’t ever face another outbreak again (and seem to want to forget about the covid pandemic we weathered), it’s worth learning about threat assessment and response with available resources for the next time...or in other similar situations.

Memoir’44: Whether you’re playing this with one copy of the game or with two in “Overlord” mode, this and similar games from the Commands & Colors lines can offer group-play possibilities. Simply designate one player the overall commander who decides which cards to play to which areas while the other players take charge of actual maneuvers on the left, center, and right of the battlefield.

Hannibal vs. Rome: Since my son’s studying ancient Carthage, we recently tried this game, part of Reiner Knizia’s Rome three-game collection from GMT Games. Easy to learn, hard to master, and with a relatively brief playing time, it offers participants some idea of the geography and logistics of the Punic Wars. Yes, the area control and bidding mechanics could port to any number of periods, but the decisions involved — moving to certain regions, using galleys, trading in a legion to replace a lost galley, managing one’s card strength in battles — make players stop and consider different approaches to victory.

Juniorgeneral.org: This website has long been a resource for hobbyists and educators seeking to study history through games. It offers both a host of scenarios and game mechanics to explore them, but plenty of paper soldiers and other units (both in profile and top-down) to play out such battles.

I’ll offer one recent example of an institution adapting a COTS game for a particular purpose: the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science using Tom Jensen’s Ukraine 2022 wargame (available at Wargame Vault), which I discussed in depth before. In revising its “Defense of Ukraine” curriculum for high school students (now a mandatory program), the ministry used this hobby wargame to orient core staff, who then dispersed to train teachers in schools across Ukraine for use with students. The simulation will help prepare students to defend their nation against Russian incursions along with orientation and training in various technologies, marksmanship, first aid, drone operation, and other military skills. I’m sure if I search the dusty corridors of my memory I could recall other instances of institutions adapting COTS games (and no doubt more examples exist), but this one stands out most prominently at the moment.

Game experiences for learning — across the broad spectrum of disciplines and audiences — seek to use games to explore topics in history and current/near-future events as well as giving participants first-hand experience assessing situations, making choices, and executing plans in a safe-to-fail environment. A COTS game can offer at least a good starting point, if not a solid solid experience on its own; certainly adapting one is easier than custom-designing a simulation from scratch. Customizing such games requires one to reflect on where that game is coming from and where one intends it to go. Adapting a COTS game for a high school classroom might require different modifications than preparing one for a college-level course, professional military education environment, or a more casual venue like libraries, museums, and historical sites. One must judge — according to one’s mission, audience, and other factors — whether it’s easier to find and adapt a COTS game or custom design one.

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”

— Mahatma Gandhi

* By “commercial” I mean any kind of complete game — paid or free, physical or electronic print-and-play — available from someone other than the end user.