Peter Perla's The Art of Wargaming: A Guide for Professionals and Hobbyists

"Wargaming is an essential part of the modern military curriculum and it is difficult to
see any officer rising to senior ranks in a Western country, without being proficient in the art of wargaming." Tim Price MBE, UK Defence

“Peter Perla is the leading wargaming expert in the United States. His clear and insightful style make this book valuable to both the casual user and the serious professional. “ Larry Bond, military writer and game designer, including the classic Harpoon simulation.

Peter P. Perla III has been involved with wargaming, both hobby and professional, for over forty years. An involvement that sparked a lifelong interest in military history and games of strategy. A frequent player of commercial wargames as a youngster, he had already published articles in the hobby press before he was an undergraduate. After earning a PhD from Carnegie-Mellon University with his thesis on Lanchester mathematical combat models, he joined the Center for Naval Analyses in 1977 as a naval operations research analyst. By the early 1980’s Dr. Perla had worked on several navy campaign studies, designed naval games, documented
existing navy wargames, and led a study to define the principal uses of wargaming and to identify some of its fundamental principles. Over the next few years, he
participated in a nearly a dozen classified major navy wargame, including the Global War Game.

Since the first edition of this book was published, Dr. Perla continued his work on Navy wargaming, and branched out into analysis and gaming for other U.S.
government agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command.

Dr. Perla is now regarded as one of the nations’s leading experts on wargaming and its use in defence research.

This book provides the most comprehensive and coherent discussion of wargaming
written to date. It brings together the professional military wargames and the recreational side of wargaming into one account. Based on a lifelong experience as a gaming hobbyist and a
professional wargamer in the U.S. defence community. This dual perspective has enabled
him to offer a thorough evaluation of the two arenas, to discuss their similarities and
differences, and to assess their influence on each other.

Perla looks first at the history of wargaming in both its hobby and professional guises,
and especially at its use by the Naval War College. He then draws on historical experience
to define the fundamental principles of what wargaming is, and what it is not, and
describes the subjects that wargaming is most useful for exploring. He also suggests
how best to take advantage of its capabilities and downplay
its limitations.

Finally, he examines modern trends in wargaming in the light of these historical perspectives and theoretical principles and projects them into the future.

is, and what it is not, and
describes the subjects that
wargaming is most useful for
exploring. He also suggests
how best to take advantage of
its capabilities and downplay
its limitations.
Finally, he examines modern
trends in wargaming in the
light of these historical
perspectives and theoretical
principles and projects them
into the future.