War Gaming Techniques Appued to Trade and Industry*

THE SO-CALLED "WAR GAME" or" staff exercise" has long been an accepted vehicle for the training of military staffs. (Here, one should distinguish the war game from the "field exercise" or maneuver, which is primarily for training troops and field commands, not staffs.) Lately, it has been discovered that the war game, if properly designed and played, can also be made to tell something about the merits of various strategies, weapon systems and military organizations. In fact, some war games are now being played primarily, if not solely, for this purpose. Many repetitions of the same game are made, with controlled changes in some of the input elements. By statistical study of the results, it then becomes possible to determine the optimal strategies and weapons. In this respect the war game has become a very important tool in military operatIons research. The great popularity of the late Dr. von Neumann's book** attests to the fact that it is widely recognized that the competitive (game) aspects of industry and trade have a tremendous effect on commercial success, just as they do in \\ar itself. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that war gaming techniques likewise might find many applications in industrial or marcantile OR. In fact, your speaker has been informed that several prominent firms in Japan are already experimenting with gaming, and it is to be hoped that papers on their experiences will shortly be forthcoming. Consequentiy, it is thought that it might be of interest to examine some of the procedures used in military gaming, with a view to their possible adaptation to industrial use.