The Long History of Gaming in Military Training

Abstract

The dual-use of games in both military and entertainment applications has a long history. This has taken the form of sand tables, miniatures, board games, and computer games. The current tension between entertainment and military applications over games is just the return of similar concerns that have surrounded gaming tools and technologies in previous generations. Dynamic representations of the physical world are interesting and useful tools in a number of fields, to include the military, city planning, architecture, education, and entertainment. Modern computer games contain technologies and tools that allow many different communities to accomplish similar goals.