Wargaming Design for Cyber Warfare

Abstract

Wargaming design serves as a critical tool for military simulation, analysis, training, and strategic planning. Throughout history, innovations in wargaming have paralleled the introduction of new weapons and technologies. As information technology advances rapidly, cyber warfare has emerged as a fundamental component of modern conflicts. However, systematic studies of cyber warfare wargaming design remain inadequate compared to conventional kinetic warfare simulations. The cyber domain has not received appropriate attention within wargaming design frameworks, leading to conceptual confusion among terms such as "Cyber Warfare," "Cyberwar," and "Information War.” This paper addresses this imbalance by synthesizing insights from traditional wargaming design and cyber warfare analysis. After examining the basic structure of traditional wargaming and assessing its adaptability to cyber warfare scenarios, this paper identified fundamental design challenges specific to cyber warfare wargaming. This research proposed an original framework based on analysis of real-world wargaming activities, particularly drawing from China's national wargaming competitions hosted by the Chinese Institute of Command and Control (CICC). The primary contributions of this research include: (1) summary and analysis of traditional wargaming structures, (2) integration of classic models with cyber warfare's unique natures, and (3) identification of key design questions requiring further studies.