Tactical Wargame Design

Topic Description: Tactical wargame design presents significant challenges to any prospective designer. The term tactical covers the physical engagement of forces and can range from individual combat to divisions. The time scale can be from seconds to days. The designer will focus on significant factors – are those human factors such as morale or limited awareness, or technical factors like speed, range, or gun caliber. The speaker has designed several tactical game systems from different eras and scales and can share insights from the commercial game industry and the wide variety of titles and approaches. A broader understanding of the options can help a designer or player navigate these challenges and design or play the game that they are looking for. In addition to commercial game design, the years of experience in assessing the readiness of forces provides a point of view anchored in the day-to-day issues of organizing, equipping , training, and employing forces that can inform professional wargaming as well as commercial designs.

Biography: Ben Hull is the civilian Director of Readiness Analytics in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Readiness. He retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 2016. During his 27 year career as a reserve infantry officer, he served in Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. When not on active duty, he worked in the transportation industry as a data analyst, database developer and software designer. Ben is also an avid historian and designer of several commercial war games including This Accursed Civil War, Sweden Fights On, Under the Lily Banners, Gustav Adolf the Great, Won by the Sword, Fields of Fire Volumes I & II, and Banish All Their Fears all published by GMT Games of Hanford, CA over the last 20 years.

Host or Publisher Georgetown University Wargaming Society