Author Description

This is an example of an early professional counter insurgency game written for the Pentagon to explore gaming an uprising in an urban area. The game is a multi-player megagame representing a growing urban crisis. The government have their police and the general support of the population. The key is to position the guards at the threatened critical urban infrastructure to increase the chance of detecting bomb threats. They also have their secret police to attempt to discover who the insurgents are. The players representing the public have roles from factory owners to middle class shop keepers. They have to maintain their income, in the face the growing insurgent threat. At the end of the game, they decide the winner by pledging their support either to the government or the insurgents. The insurgents have to try and sway the population, but at the same time, disrupting the cities economy. Of course, they can only do this if they remain undiscovered. Included are detailed briefings for the government, the public and the insurgents. The book also contains after action reviews from the games, along with an analysis of 20 key uprisings. This book is published by the History of Wargaming Project as part of its ongoing efforts to document professional wargaming.