Proposal: Hegemony PBEM Game

Started by Tripoli, October 02, 2020, 08:23:48 AM

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Tripoli

It looks like RAND corporation has released Hegemony," a wargame designed to teach U.S. defense professionals how different strategies could affect key planning factors in the trade space at the intersection of force development, force management, force posture, and force employment."  https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL301.html  I am thinking that it might be an interesting game to do an AAR.  So here is the question: Would a team of motivated, dedicated Grogs be willing to learn, play, and write an AAR on their experiences.  Although it is an expensive purchase ($250), I am willing to fund it. Please note that this is a tentative proposal.  I have a lot of work to do before I could firm it up, including reading the rules, determining if I could make a Table Top Simulator module, and actually buying the game.  If people are interested, I would ask the following:

1) This is a professional level wargame.  People would have to be willing to commit to playing it to completion and doing some relatively minor amount of writing about their strategy, etc
2) Ideally, players would have some level of experience (even if it is old) in the military or national security field.  As a minimum,  being an experienced gamer would be a requirement. 
3) While I would try to do the game virtually, it may be possible for people in the Northern Illinois/Wisconsin area to meet and play it.


So here is the question: In an attempt to gauge interest in this, is there anyone who would be willing and interested in trying this?  Right now, I am simply trying to gauge interest in whether this is worth my time and expense to pursue.
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

JasonPratt

Interested, but it may depend on what else I'm currently doing; and also whether I'm even going to be competent at it!  :crazy2:

Even if I don't, I'd still help contribute some funding to a group play of it.  O:-)
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Tripoli

Quote from: JasonPratt on October 02, 2020, 08:59:35 AM
Interested, but it may depend on what else I'm currently doing; and also whether I'm even going to be competent at it!  :crazy2:

Even if I don't, I'd still help contribute some funding to a group play of it.  O:-)

Thanks for your kind offer IRT the funding.  I don't think I will need any right now, but I do appreciate it.  FYI, I've also reached out to some folks I know from my military days, some guys from my wargaming group, and the Georgetown University Wargaming society to see how much interest there is in this game.  Ideally I would like to get an eclectic group of professionals/DoD retirees, talented students and professional/amateur academics to go at it.  That way, we could possibly get some good brainstorming and insights, and publically demonstrate what games can do for for education and analysis, while having fun at it. 
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Yskonyn

How's this progressing? It's way out of my league, but I am interested in following updates about it.
"Pilots do not get paid for what they do daily, but they get paid for what they are capable of doing.
However, if pilots would need to do daily what they are capable of doing, nobody would dare to fly anymore."

Tripoli

Thanks for asking.  So far, only one person has indicated a desire to play.  I figure I need at least 5, so 3 more to go.  :)
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

edatthebeach

If you are still looking for a player for Hegemony, I would be interested in playing and working on the AAR.

jkadtke

Yes, I would be very interested in playing Hegemony, and can commit to whatever AAR you require.

Tripoli

Great!  That is 3 so far.  I think we will need about 5, but we're getting closer.  If we get one more, I'll buy the game so we can start to get familarized
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

jkadtke

Just a suggestion, but maybe consider contacting the developers at Rand and ask them if they would donate a game
to the group, in exchange for a reasonably professional AAR of our playtesting.  It would also be cool if we could discuss
the game with them as we go along.

Vanguars

The Georgetown Wargaming Society sent me to this thread - I'm an instructor who is doing playthroughs of Hedgemony to see if it meets lesson objectives or can be adapted.  I own a copy of the game and have already run two partial games.  I would be interested in helping out this effort and might be able to wrangle in some facilitators/adjudicators if we get to that point.

Tripoli

#10
Quote from: Vanguars on November 04, 2020, 10:46:10 AM
The Georgetown Wargaming Society sent me to this thread - I'm an instructor who is doing playthroughs of Hedgemony to see if it meets lesson objectives or can be adapted.  I own a copy of the game and have already run two partial games.  I would be interested in helping out this effort and might be able to wrangle in some facilitators/adjudicators if we get to that point.

Thank you very much!  Right now, we are still short of the number of players we would need.  However, that may change.  I will definitely keep you in mind!
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Redleg82

I'd be very interested in taking part in testing Hegemony if you are still looking for players - I'm a former US Army officer and Foreign Service Officer, and have a good amount of gaming experience.  Thanks in advance.

Tripoli

Quote from: Redleg82 on November 09, 2020, 09:28:18 AM
I'd be very interested in taking part in testing Hegemony if you are still looking for players - I'm a former US Army officer and Foreign Service Officer, and have a good amount of gaming experience.  Thanks in advance.

Thank YOu!  I'm still gathering names, but we are getting closer to making this a "go"!   :)
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

JasonPratt

Before I really sign up for it, I think I'd need a better idea of why professional military experience is recommended. Because I have none, at all. ;) So I don't want to get involved in something where I'm only going to be a dragging block to other players.

I'd still want to watch the discussions and read the DARs/AARs of course.
ICEBREAKER THESIS CHRONOLOGY! -- Victor Suvorov's Stalin Grand Strategy theory, in lots and lots of chronological order...
Dawn of Armageddon -- narrative AAR for Dawn of War: Soulstorm: Ultimate Apocalypse
Survive Harder! -- Two season narrative AAR, an Amazon Blood Bowl career.
PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

Tripoli

#14
Quote from: JasonPratt on November 09, 2020, 11:54:37 AM
Before I really sign up for it, I think I'd need a better idea of why professional military experience is recommended. Because I have none, at all. ;) So I don't want to get involved in something where I'm only going to be a dragging block to other players.

I'd still want to watch the discussions and read the DARs/AARs of course.

Jason- In my proposal I recommended military/national security experience or significant gaming experience because I am intending to run this as a near professional-level wargame, so experience in the military or national security fields would be useful, as it gives the player some background in how things work in the area.  However, simply having significant gaming experience is also acceptable, as I have found that frequently talented amateurs can be really creative.  Gamers in particular frequently have a way of pulling a system apart, figuring out how it works, then proceeding to come up with innovative ways of breaking it.  Frequently, their "out of the box" thinking gives the pros and their plans the proverbial "monkey wrench".  Ideally, the team of players would be a mix of both types: something in the neighborhood of a 75-25 or 66-33% split between the two

You would certainly be welcome to play.  Your knowledge of the social sciences and gaming experience would definitely qualify you as a talented amateur.  Hell, I'd personally say you are ahead of a significant number of national security "professionals" I've worked with (and sadly in some cases, for).   :(
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln