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The complexity of war games poses challenges for single-technique-built agents, as it requires balancing between coarse-grained strategic adjustments and fine-grained action control, thus limiting agent performance. To address this, this paper proposes a multi-level agent architecture for military strategy games based on the "Intent-Task-Action" framework, aiming to integrate various technical strengths for intelligent agent modeling in these games. Through a top-down decomposition and propagation mechanism, this architecture progressively breaks down combat strategies into executable tasks and actions. Techniques such as Finite State Machines, Coalition Games, and Behavior Tree are employed to implement the different levels of the agent architecture. The application scope of the realized agent is preliminarily defined as the tactical level scenario of the land combat unit. Finally, through multi-round adversarial experiments with various benchmark Al on a war gaming platform, the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed architecture are validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we use the dynamic programming method introduced by Mirică (2004) to solve the well-known war game of attrition and attack as formulated by Isaacs (1965). By using this modern approach, we extend the classical framework to explore optimal strategies within the differential game setting, offering a complete, comprehensive and theoretically robust solution. Additionally, the study identifies and analyzes feedback strategies, which represent a significant advancement over other strategy types in game theory. These strategies dynamically adapt to the evolving state of the system, providing more robust solutions for real-time decision-making in conflict scenarios. This novel contribution enhances the application of game theory, particularly in the context of warfare models, and illustrates the practical advantages of incorporating feedback mechanisms into strategic decision-making. The admissible feedback strategies and the corresponding value function are constructed through a refined application of Cauchy's Method of characteristics for stratified Hamilton–Jacobi equations. Their optimality is proved using a suitable Elementary Verification Theorem for the associated value function as an argument for sufficient optimality conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article underscores the vital role of staff rides in professional military education (PME), highlighting their ability to bridge historical military events and the contemporary challenges faced by military leaders. It introduces a hybrid staff ride model which merges historical studies with the practical demands of modern warfare, effectively bridging the gap between past analyses and present-day relevance. The article offers detailed guidance on planning staff rides, including the integration of war games, to create a unified learning experience. It presents an ideal pedagogical planning model to ensure the learning objectives align with the activities, and offers different models for field studies. These insights advance staff rides as crucial tools in PME, ensuring their continued relevance in preparing leaders for current and future challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In teaching Harold Pinter's Mountain Language I have observed how Indian postgraduate students see for themselves the institutionally sponsored biases and the hierarchized linguistic-racist ideologies these biases spawn. Political questions occur naturally to them: Why even democratic regimes should fear language itself? Why they feel driven to deploy a state language as a weapon in their war games? If English silences dissidence and considers BIPOC narratives devious and defiant then Pinter would ask us to think differently about English and its potential linguicidal threat. The politics of interdiction that besets communities is another topic that students engage with in reading Pinter. This Note concludes with a reflection on the impossible task of translating Mountain Language for the simple reason that it stages English as at once its theatre and topic. Brought into dialogue with this conundrum is Brian Friel's Translations a play that stages another cultural scenario where English bespeaks colonial violence without quite letting an audience see the dubious logic of endorsing that violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the historically secretive realm of Soviet wargames, shedding light on two pivotal exercises conducted in 1940. These wargames, previously concealed from public knowledge, have significant implications for understanding the Soviet military strategy and the Cold War era. By analysing archival materials and historical context, the article explores the operationalstrategic doctrine of the Soviet Union, revealing insights into the military's approach to Eastern Europe. The wargames marked a departure from traditional simulations, signalling the Soviet Union's readiness to execute both defensive and offensive operations on a continental scale. Furthermore, they laid the groundwork for subsequent military exercises during the Cold War era, shaping the course of Soviet military strategy and geopolitical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Journal of the Military University of Land Forces is the property of Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Our research question is whether it is possible and how to counteract "the tragedy of the commons" if facing various limitations of real‐world economies. To answer it, we derive regulatory tax–subsidy systems and self‐enforcing environmental agreements in a problem of extraction of common renewable resources. The first considered limitation is that the feasible class of tax–subsidy systems may have a compl icated form, for example, there are transition periods for smooth reduction of fishing. The alternative limitation is that there is no institution that can impose taxes or subsidize, so sustainability can be achieved only by self‐enforcing international agreements. The next limitation is in those agreements: we assume that it takes time to detect a defection. We study these enforcement tools in a continuous‐time version of a Fish War type game with n $n$ countries, with fish indispensable for their economies. We calculate the social optimum, a Nash equilibrium, and partial cooperation equilibria. The Nash equilibrium leads to the depletion of fish, while the social optimum typically results in sustainability. For partial cooperation, only two‐country coalitions are stable. We calculate tax–subsidy systems that enforce maximization of joint payoff, also if there are additional constraints, and we propose an algorithm that looks for such a system in an arbitrary class of regulatory tax–subsidy systems. For the international agreement with imperfect monitoring, we are interested in the maximal detection delay for which the agreement remains self‐enforcing. Counterintuitively, the more the players, the more stable the agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid advancement of metaverse technology, the military field has gradually begun to pay attention to the potential applications of metaverse technology. The military metaverse is a new and comprehensive military ecosystem that integrates the virtual world and the real world, unlocking new possibilities in areas such as military training, education, exercises, combat support, and equipment research and development. This paper analyzes the concept and connotation of the military metaverse and presents its main features and key technologies, as well as the role it plays in the military field. Furthermore, it proposes the primary application scenarios of the military metaverse and provides an application architecture. Finally, the paper offers a forward-looking perspective on the future development of military metaverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a monotone and consistent numerical scheme for the approximation of the Dirichlet problem for the normalized infinity Laplacian, which could be related to the family of the so-called two-scale methods. We show that this method is convergent and prove rates of convergence. These rates depend not only on the regularity of the solution, but also on whether or not the right-hand side vanishes. Some extensions to this approach, like obstacle problems and symmetric Finsler norms, are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simulating upcoming operations has been a key aspect of the German military planning process for generations. They conducted wargames at every echelon to test an operation's hypothesis, investigate alternate courses of action, speculate on possible enemy reactions, etc. Barbarossa was no exception. Among the best-known wargames were those of the Army High Command (OKH), held in the autumn of 1940. After the publication of official directives and orders, the following winter the army groups, armies, and corps conducted their own simulations. This article examines two operational-level wargames conducted in February and March 1941 for Army Groups North and South. It discusses the set-up, conduct, and subsequent analysis of each, with further investigation into how actual operations differed from the simulations. Significantly, both wargames ignored the initial frontier battles, and began 7–10 days into the campaign, while both assumed Barbarossa would begin in the second half of May. Army Group South conducted Planspiel 'Otto' at its headquarters in France from 20 January to 5 February. A Planspiel was a certain type of simulation where staff brainstormed the plan, rather than 'played' a wargame. The Sixth, Seventeenth, Twelfth Armies, and First Panzer Group participated, often with Army Group Commander Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt in attendance. Army Group South was initially very spread out, with the Panzer group especially lacking mass. Describing Otto's conclusion, the army group chief of staff highlighted the location of the main effort, army-Luftwaffe cooperation, flank security, and the roles of allies, among other topics. Second Army conducted a Kriegsspiel of Army Group North's operations at Munich, between 10-13 March. A Kriegsspiel replicates actual operations, as played by Red (German) and Blue (Soviet) teams. Army Commander, Colonel General Maximilian Freiherr von Weichs oversaw the simulation, but unlike Rundstedt, Army Group North Commander Field Marshal Wilhelm Freiherr von Leeb did not attend. Reflecting OKH Chief of Staff Colonel General Franz Halder's emphasis on taking Moscow, Army Group North, particularly its panzer group, concentrated on securing the left flank of Army Group Center. It did not treat attacking Leningrad or crossing the lower Dvina River as important. Neither wargame bore much resemblance to Barbarossa's actual operations. In the Balkans, Operations Marita and 25 (invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia, respectively) dramatically changed Army Group South's landscape. In the Baltic States, independent thrusting operations toward Leningrad became the new main effort of Army Group North. This article sheds light on the planning and execution of the campaign on its two flanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explains how the war mentality of Outlaw Motorcycle Gang (OMCG) culture of interclub violence is a form of game established as an outlet for the natural consequences of the reactionary masculinity of its members. It disputes the claim that all violence by clubs is motivated by organized criminal activity. The original OMCG culture exemplifies extreme camaraderie, risk-taking, a lifestyle that condones violence, and an elitist mind-set that expresses itself through violent defense of club honor, including vendetta between clubs. The war mentality and the battles it produces are performed in accordance with the description of games developed by ludology, being played in a magic circle, according to rules, and only by members of the OMCG cultural milieu. This understanding is important to ensure that intelligence analysis of OMCG activity can distinguish between the game of war mentality and genuine organized criminal activity. Failure to perceive the difference can distort intelligence conclusions and misdirect policing responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents of children with cancer, who face significant financial and psychological burdens, often employ metaphors to convey their distinctive experiences and inner realms. However, these metaphors have received scant attention in prior research. Therefore, this study seeks to investigate the utilization of metaphors in blogs authored by parents of children with cancer, aiming to shed light on this understudied area. This study collected data from blogs authored by 33 parents of children with cancer spanning the period from 2019 to 2022, yielding a total of 181 metaphors. Drawing upon Conceptual Metaphor Theory, the method of qualitative content analysis was employed to analyze how parents of children with cancer utilize metaphors. This study found that "Game", "War", "Journey" and "Plant" metaphors were the most commonly used by parents of children with cancer. Game and war metaphors occupy a dominant position, followed by journey and plant metaphors. Additionally, these parents frequently employ mixed metaphors. The use of metaphorical language enables these parents to effectively articulate their distinct experiences and emotions. The use of metaphors may serve as a means for parents to articulate their feelings and motivate their children to actively fight cancer. By recognizing the metaphors embraced by these parents, we can gain a deeper understanding of their internal world and potentially offer support through both online and offline channels to mitigate their stress levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The video game Valiant Hearts, released in 2014 for the First World War centenary, sold over 2.5 million copies and can be considered one of the major contemporary pop-culture historical representations of this war shaping public interpretations of this event. The paper explores how Valiant Hearts, as a kind of informal institution affecting historical remembrance, constructs and encourages a specific framing through the deployment of Europeanizing elements of anti-war narrative, Franco-German reconciliation narrative, and the de-nationalizing logic that indirectly legitimizes the European integration. The analysis of the videogame in the context of the historical film Merry Christmas (2005) is complemented with a close reading of illustrative empirical examples of Let's Plays (paratextual user-generated videos where people record themselves while playing videogames) that indicate how Europeans of different national backgrounds interact with the game Valiant Hearts. The examined cases point to how the everyday, seemingly apolitical leisure activity of playing and watching videogames dealing with history can advance Europeanizing narratives and present occasions for informal Europeanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a mechanical model for a game of tug of war (rope pulling). We focus on a game opposing two players, modelling each player's body as a structure composed of straight rods that can be actuated in three different ways to generate a pulling force. We first examine the static problem of two opponents being in a deadlock configuration of mechanical equilibrium; here we show that this situation is essentially governed by the ratio of masses of the players, with the heavier player having a strong advantage. We then turn to the dynamic problem and model the response of the system to an abrupt change in activation by one of the players. In this case, the system exhibits a nontrivial response; in particular, we compare a sudden pulling and a sudden "letting up," and demonstrate the existence of regimes in which the lighter player can momentarily take the advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of AURUM: Journal of Social Sciences / Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Altinbas Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Modeling conflict through wargaming is the only option outside of high-cost real conflict for militaries to train their forces and attempt to reveal information about their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of their foes. This is the function wargaming serves in theory, but in reality, the process of wargaming is undermined by information and incentive problems that cause the real-world performance of wargames to deviate sharply from their performance in theory. These problems resolve the conflicting professional views on wargaming between those who want to use them for predictive purposes and those who want to use them for training purposes in favor of the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the author analyzes the results of a three-move space war game conducted by the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center in 2021. The game focused on a possible lead up to a Chinese commercial blockade of Taiwan in the 2027–29 time frame. In the game, China attempts to deter Japan and the United States from coming to Taipei's aid by threatening and then attacking US and Japanese satellite systems. Results of the game – conducted with the assistance of current and former senior State Department, NASA, intelligence, space industry, and Defense Department officials – suggest that space combat is unlikely to be waged only between dedicated military systems. Instead, many of the ground- and space-based threats the United States and its allies face – including laser satellite trackers, commercial space surveillance systems, space debris-removing satellites, and refueling spacecraft – will have legitimate civilian uses but can be flipped to conduct military missions against critical, targeted satellites. The author provides four "takeaways" from the space war game, one of which involves much closer coordination among the United States and its allies in regard to space security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thomas Hobbes's State of War is commonly imagined as a harrowing condition where hostile interactions are the rule and non-hostile encounters are the rare exception. However, while it is generally true that Hobbes purposely outlined his famed condition of anarchy as a condition of perennial conflict, it is also equally true that cooperative behavior was not uncommon. In fact, by only taking into account cooperative behavior, as presented in Leviathan, the anarchic humans leave the absolute uncertainties of the State of War and create the Commonwealth for their safety and well-being. Over the past fifty years or so, several exits from the State of War via game theory have been proposed in the literature, with mixed results. Most (if not all) solutions consider the likelihood of betrayal, usually through the figure of the Fool. This is a valid approach since the condition of anarchy can be imagined as being rife with dishonesty. However, the issue of non-Fools - as far as the players willful cooperation and the ultimate responsibility for the creation of government is concerned, has not been addressed yet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber operations ranging from deception and espionage to disruption and high-end degradation have become a central feature of modern statecraft in the digital age, yet we lack a clear understanding of how decision-makers employ and respond to cyber operations in times of crisis. Our research provides theoretical mechanisms and empirical evidence for understanding how decision-makers react to cyber triggers and utilize cyber responses during crises. Specifically, we argue that the availability of cyber response creates off-ramps for non-escalatory engagement. Based on experimental wargames involving rival states with power parity in militarized disputes and randomized cyber triggers and response options, we find the availability of cyber response options reduces escalatory behavior via a substitution mechanism. In the absence of cyber response options, however, participants pursue more conventional, escalatory actions, regardless of the triggering mechanism. Our findings underscore how enhancing the availability of cyber response options might reduce strategic escalation risks and offer the space to bargain during periods of conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) in military wargaming, highlighting its applications in scenario generation, including the challenges of AI-enabled red team agents and the potential integration of generative AI with traditional wargaming practices.

The article focuses on the potential combined impact of wargaming and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for achieving strategic advantage, including the possibility of AI replacing human-driven wargames and the potential for selective human-machine integration to achieve the best of both worlds.

Numerous factors are known to impact human decision-making: fatigue, stress, fear, sleep deprivation, organizational culture, ethics, and even substances consumed, among others. Making decisions within the context of a military operation poses exceptional challenges. Time constraints are consistently tight, and military personnel often contend with physical and mental exhaustion, along with substantial stress and fear. Our proactive strategies for addressing these hurdles predominantly revolve around educating military personnel, incorporating both theoretical training and immersive simulations that may include different types of war games, role playing and VR applications that mimic real-world challenges. However, can we extend our efforts further to ensure that military personnel surmount difficulties and consistently make morally and legally sound decisions amidst exceptional situations? Moreover, where does trust lie: in the insights of a comrade, a commanding officer, or the guidance provided by sophisticated algorithms and Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems? Could AI potentially outperform human guidance when it comes to elevating the ethical and legal discernment of military personnel amid the intensity of combat situations?

The recent literature has inquired how media, official discourses, popular culture, or even sports and toys, can shape political imaginary into thinking that military intervention is the only relevant course of action. In this endeavour, the role of wargaming in justifying further militarisation remains largely understudied. By building upon the RAND Baltic 2014–2015 wargame and the subsequent NATO decision to deploy troops in the Baltics and Poland, I propose that certain wargames can legitimise the use of force in three ways: by reflecting the security community's concerns in the storyline of the game, by designing the game in such a manner that preparation for war becomes the only well-founded means of tackling the issues posed by the game, and by enhancing its circulation in the defence field, notably by presenting the wargame as having the same level of credibility as science. Drawing upon assemblage theory, I propose that wargaming encompasses more than the individual experiences of its players. It encompasses the extensive sociotechnical assemblage of practices, technologies, networks of actors, and resulting emergent properties that together can amplify the conditions of possibility favourable to military deployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "new" Great Game suggests that, like the imperial competition of the past, we are witnessing a trans-imperial moment whereby Japan and China are vying for hegemony in East Asia. This is a new moment because East Asia, unlike Europe, has never had two co-existing superpowers. The prospect of a new imperial competition is complicated by the still-present American military power and the non-statist arena, especially in popular culture, where the imperial games are played out. Using two popular anti-Japan videogames, Glorious Mission Online (2013) and The Invisible Guardian (2019) as case studies, I argue these games are symptomatic of the relations between warfare and game in general. I then outline the trend in game development that subverts conventional wargames. Finally, I speculate on alternative game design over the disputed territories in the Southern China Sea that prioritizes ecology over human conflict and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on Liyla and the Shadows of War, Bury Me, My Love and This War of Mine through gender studies, platform studies, affect studies and theories of care, the article offers a comparative close reading analysis of the three games with an emphasis on time management, platform and affect, arguing that these games conceptualize a shift from heroism to care based on their temporality and by creating an affect of vulnerability. Liyla enacts the urgency made palpable by war, forcing the player character to abandon the time-consuming task of care. Bury Me, My Love systematically precludes heroic narratives, outlining instead a caring masculinity that relies on the affective time management of the mobile phone. Finally, the game mechanics of This War of Mine combine the time of heroism and caring – provided that the latter is an essential prerequisite for the former. The article concludes that these diegetic care templates may make players really care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of URVIO - Revista Latinoamericana de Seguridad Ciudadana is the property of FLACSO - Ecuador (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)