Defining Decision Games
A Guidebook for Marines (2 of 7)
A decision game asks a Marine to take on the role of a leader who finds himself faced with a specific set of practical problems. In that role, he engages in a Socratic conversation in which he devises, describes, and defends concrete solutions to those problems. This done, he reflects upon his solutions, searching for insights that enhance his appreciation, not merely of time, technology, and terrain, but also of his own way of thinking.
The names that Marines of the last century gave to decision games showcase the central role played by the problems that they asked players to solve in the course of working through such exercises. These included ‘problems,’ ‘map problems,’‘tactical problems’, and, if the game was based on real events, ‘’historical map problem.’
Soldiers of the nineteenth century also used terms that reminded them that each and every decision game asked them to apply their professional knowledge to the crafting of a custom-tailored response to a particular military problem. They thus referred to the playing of decision games as ‘applied tactics,’ and the use of decision games in courses of instruction as the ‘applicatory method.’
‘Up to this place you must accept what you are told, but beyond here you must think for yourself!’
‘Curiosity leads to investigation, which opens discussion, which gives rise to opinion, which breeds criticism, which results in improvement. Therefore we must cultivate curiosity, encourage investigation, stimulate discussion, and inspire criticism that will result in improvement.’
‘As classes advance in scope and breadth, being designed for men of experience and maturity, they should become more and more open forums for discussion and dissection of special episodes.’
‘As our problems are as unique as they are unexpected their solutions cannot be inelastically anticipated.’
‘There is no formula for waging war or fighting battles; to apply a rule is to invite, or demand, disaster.’
‘Military reasoning should be analytical and critical above everything, because military problems are not susceptible to academic proof; and that which has been proven by force of arms in one place has been disproven in another.’
‘No matter what precedents there may be for what appears to be similar situations we always need to apply original analysis to every situation.’
Lieutenant General James Carson Breckinridge, USMC, ‘Some Thoughts on Service Schools,’ The Marine Corps Gazette (December 1929) pages 230-238 (Internet Archive)Resources
The Infantry School Mailing List of the years between 1930 and 1939 published a large number of decision games, both historical and imagined. A complete collection of back issues of this ‘journal in all but name’ for this period can be found on the Internet Archive. Higher quality, searchable scans for some, but not all, of these volumes can be found on Hathi Trust. (Alas, these are spread over five collections.)
For Further Reading
Leadership development - what a great concept! Why this is not standard practice in every unit is beyond me.
Interesting that you give a nod to the Infantry school. The book, The Road to Rainbow was based on Student War Gaming Material found in 25 footlockers at the Army War College. The material was for the period 1919 to 1940. It’s unclear if these footlockers came from the defunct school house at Ft Leavenworth. As a former PSG, 1SG, SGM, and CSM. All the units I served in over a 25 year period included leadership and gaming decisions. It also included a professional reading list. Yes I was Infantry and Recon and Air Assault but leadership tng was not “novel” it was always integrated into everything. When I became a leader I followed that model. As a Defense Contractor that trained foreign armies, we included leadership and gaming decisions. Probably because we were all combat arms types. I love these little history lessons. What is old is not so old and is new again. Thank you for sharing this stuff and all the work you put into publishing everything.