Wargame Design: The Marine Corps' Operational Wargame System w/ Tim Barrick

This presentation covers the development history, design, and vision behind the Marine Corps’ Operational Wargame System. This emerging wargame capability was developed over the past two years to meet the need for an agile wargame tool to support future force development, operational planning, and educational wargame requirements. The contemporary and future operating environments demand a wargame that incorporates all domain warfare and the complexities of conflict against peer adversaries. The first module in the series is Assassin’s Mace and covers a hypothetical conflict in the Western Pacific versus China in the 2025 timeframe. The second module, Zapad: War in Europe, also targeting 2025 covers a hypothetical conflict between Russia and NATO with a focus on the Baltics-Poland region.

Content Overview:

-Initial design efforts: Blending GMT’s Next War and Compass Games’ South China Sea game systems

-The transition: Starting over with an in-house design

-The Die Promotion – Demotion System

-Counter Design

-Design by Domain

-Research & Orders of Battle

-Wargaming Future Capabilities

-Module Overview: Assassin’s Mace & Zapad

-Vision for the Way Forward

Bio:

Tim Barrick, Col USMC (Retired), led the Marine Corps’ Wargaming Division in the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab (MCWL) from 2018 to 2021. He was the lead designer behind the Operational Wargame System working with co-designer Mark Gelston, a wargame designer with BAE working at MCWL. Tim also implemented the commercial computer wargame Command Professional Edition in support of Marine Corps service level wargaming. In previous tours, Tim commanded the Marine Corps Tactics & Operations Group focused on advanced individual and battle staff training in ground operations, he commanded the 1st Tank Battalion, served as the G5 head of strategy and plans for Marine Corps Forces Europe & Africa, and he was an instructor for the Marine Corps War College. He is also a life-long hobby wargamer.