Playing to Win

Battlefields are moving to space and cyber landscapes, and so can our military training. Wargames have long been played to evaluate military scenarios and make decisions about tactics and strategies to use in real warscapes. Chess, one of the worlds’ most historied and well known games, is widely considered the original wargame. Chess originates from the Indian game chaturanga, invented during the Gupta Empire’s 320-550 AD reign. In the 15th and 16th centuries, courier chess was developed in Germany as a pastime for hobbyists and a tool for analyzing military and political strategy. Courier chess matured into Koenigspiel, or “King’s Game”, a chessboard with 1666 squares colorcoded by terrain and pieces named for common military and political actors. Chess remains popular today, and has grown to advanced computer gaming where permutations and scenarios of play are more complex than its inventors could imagine.