A friend tipped me off to RAND Corporation‘s “Events @ RAND” podcast series on iTunes, specifically a recent installment titled “The Serious Role of Gaming at RAND.” David Shlapak, senior international research analyst and co-director of the RAND Center for Gaming, gives an overview of RAND’s history and experiences using gaming and simulations for a variety of tasks, including analysis and policy-making.
Shlapak and Michael Johnson touched off a major debate last year after publishing an analysis of the military balance in the Baltic states, based on a series of analytical wargames. Shlapak’s discussion of the effort and the ensuing question and answer session are of interest to both those new to gaming and simulation, as well as wargaming old timers. Much recommended.
I looked at the report trying to find the methodology used as this often tells a lot about the reliability of the war-game/simulation and the conclusions reached. However there was only a brief high level summary which could fit many methodologies. There was a final comment that “Full documentation of the gaming platform will be forth-coming in a subsequent report.”
Has the full report been published yet?
Not to my knowledge. I have been wondering about that too.
Very interesting. Need to listen through a few more times. Might end up playing/recommending for my students.