About Us

WGSoc creates a platform for students, and others in the community, to engage with the world of wargaming in a fun and inclusive environment. We develop and run several wargames in-house, to practice our skills in design and analysis, but we experiment with games devised by other groups as well. While our main area of focus is New Zealand’s foreign policy and strategy, we also discuss strategic studies, history, and game design more broadly.

Our main goal is to introduce more people to wargaming as a tool for teaching, learning, and enriching discussions on world affairs. We encourage people from all walks of life to participate, and we offer advice, guidance, and professional development opportunities for those interested in exploring Strategic Studies in their careers.

What is a wargame?

“Wargame” is a strategic term-of-art, used broadly to describe activities where participants can interact with a particular scenario using a game-like format, to gain insights about past, current, or future events. They can be played with pieces on a board, on computers, or simply with a group of people around a table having a discussion.

Wargames put the “Science” into “Political Science”. The aim is usually to assess the decisions taken by actors within the game scenario. It is a useful method for finding out about how people make decisions, and how key trends and drivers are likely to affect the world around them. This can be extremely useful for many different stakeholders. Some examples might include technology firms scanning horizons for the impact of future technologies, emergency services preparing for unique or complex situations, and non-profit organisations assessing how to maximise the impact of their work, while accounting for risk.

Another point to note is that wargames do not predict the future. Their use lies in their ability to holistically explore a range of possibilities, and observe how strategies can interact with each other.

Most importantly, however: Wargames are extremely fun. Players are put in the driver’s seat of their actor, and allowed to explore the strategic environment for themselves. They are a unique, interactive, and practical way to promote and enrich discussions about almost anything.

How are wargames different to Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, or similar games?

In short, the most significant difference is that afterwards, you get to write a report.

As mentioned above, wargames come in all shapes and sizes, and many of these look very close to more recreational games. Broadly, they share world-building and narrative-creation elements, and often use similar mechanics for measuring players’ effects on the game world. For example, military-focused tabletop wargames often employ combat tables similar to those used in Warhammer to determine combat results. Likewise, constructing immersive scenarios is important for engaging players, whether in a game simulating a city blackout, or a weekly DnD session.

Where they differ is in their respective aims. While wargames are fun, this is not their primary purpose. They are more analytically focused, with the aim of deriving lessons from whatever is being tested. The scenario design often tends to be more rigorous, with games based around future-casting needing strong grounding in evidence in order to be useful.

Do I have to take Strategic Studies to join?

The Wargaming Society welcomes everyone. You do not need to have a background in International Relations, Political Science, or Strategic Studies to join. While possessing some interest in these subjects will always be beneficial, it is not a requirement.

Having other interests, or knowledge of other skills, subjects, cultures, languages, and industries, can actually be a massive advantage. Greater diversity of experience within the club helps enrich our analysis by incorporating more perspectives, and strengthening our collective ability to check biases and blind-spots.

Likewise, we believe in making wargaming accessible because it can be useful to anyone. Whatever you study, and wherever you plan to go, the skills and thinking involved can help make you effective at considering and communicating strategy.