Crisis in the Bosphorus: A War Gaming App to Simulate Strategic Interaction

Abstract:

As part of government contracts, Drs. White, Smith, and student testers have developed a war gaming application that allows the good guys to play out very bad scenarios. This allows those involved in protecting our nation’s interests to think through the moves an adversary might make and how the U.S. and her allies might respond.

This presentation will include an interactive session where we will play out the scenario of Russia and her allies blocking trade through the Bosphorus Strait – this will prevent a large portion of Ukraine’s grain shipments. Half of the audience will play Russia and her allies, while the other half will play NATO. A non-player character will control civilian trade flows.

This tool is an application of game theory created using our programming skills and skills we teach in our classes. We will conclude by discussing how data generated through this application is leading to future novel research.

Host or Publisher University of Nebraska Omaha Economics