Educational Wargaming in Higher Education: A Review of Empirical Studies
By: Ulrika Bennerstedt and Björn Sjöblom
References
- Alme, V., & Hvidsten, A. (2022). To learn or not to learn: On the importance of mode switching in educational wargames. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 5(1), 269–281. 10.31374/sjms.123
- Arnold, R. (2015). Where’s the diplomacy in Diplomacy? Using a classic board game in “Introduction to International Relations.” PS: Political Science & Politics, 48(01), 162–166. 10.1017/S1049096514001711
- Asal, V. (2005). Playing games with international relations. International Studies Perspectives, 6(3), 359–373. 10.1111/j.1528-3577.2005.00213.x
- Asal, V., & Blake, E. L. (2006). Creating simulations for political science education. Journal of Political Science Education, 2(1), 1–18. 10.1080/15512160500484119
- Bae, S. J., & Brown, I. T. (2021). Promise unfulfilled: A brief history of educational wargaming in the marine corps. Journal of Advanced Military Studies, 12(2), 45–80. 10.21140/mcuj.20211202002
- Bell, A., & Bollfrass, A. (2022). To hell with the cell: The case for immersive statecraft education. International Studies Perspectives, 23(2), 129–150. 10.1093/isp/ekab004
- Bennerstedt, U., Ivarsson, J., & Linderoth, J. (2012). How gamers manage aggression: Situating skills in collaborative computer games. Computer Supported Learning, 7, 43–61. 10.1007/s11412-011-9136-6
- Biggs, J. (1993). From theory to practice: A cognitive systems approach. Higher Education Research & Development, 12(1), 73–85. 10.1080/0729436930120107
- Chalecki, E. L. (2021).
Escape only by thinking: Reinventing the Fred Friendly seminar for faculty-to-faculty learning at ISA . Journal of Political Science Education, 17(3), 472–481. ERIC. 10.1080/15512169.2019.1641717 - Combe, P. C. (2021). Educational wargaming: Design and implementation into professional military education. Journal of Advanced Military Studies, 12(2), 115–138. 10.21140/mcuj.20211202004
- Connolly, T. M., Boyle, E. A., MacArthur, E., Hainey, T., & Boyle, J. M. (2012). A systematic literature review of empirical evidence on computer games and serious games. Computers & Education, 59(2), 661–686. 10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.004
- Curry, J. (2020). Professional wargaming: A flawed but useful tool. Simulation & Gaming, 51(5), 612–631. 10.1177/1046878120901852
- Curry, J., Price, T., & Sabin, P. (2016). Commercial-off-the-shelf-technology in UK military training. Simulation & Gaming, 47(1), 7–30. 10.1177/1046878115600578
- de Freitas, S., & Neumann, T. (2009). The use of ‘exploratory learning’ for supporting immersive learning in virtual environments. Computers & Education, 52(2), 343–352. 10.1016/j.compedu.2008.09.010
- Ellström, P.-E. (1992). Kompetens, utbildning och lärande i arbetslivet: Problem, begrepp och teoretiska perspektiv. Publica.
- Ellström, P.-E. (2001). Integrating learning and work: Problems and prospects. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12(4), 421–435. 10.1002/hrdq.1006
- Enstad, K. (2022). Professional knowledge through wargames and exercises. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 5(1), 233–243. 10.31374/sjms.130
- Fowler, M. (2024). Wargames as pedagogical tools: Using wargames for higher education. Journal of Political Science Education, 21(4), 1–20. 10.1080/15512169.2024.2349549
- Frank, A. (2012). Gaming the game: A study of the gamer mode in educational wargaming. Simulation & Gaming, 43(1), 118–132. 10.1177/1046878111408796
- Garris, R., Ahlers, R., & Driskell, J. E. (2002). Games, motivation, and learning: A research and practice model. Simulation & Gaming, 33(4), 441–467. 10.1177/1046878102238607
- Glasgow, S. M. (2014). Stimulating learning by simulating politics: Teaching simulation design in the undergraduate context. International Studies Perspectives, 15(4), 525–537. 10.1111/j.1528-3585.2012.00501.x
- Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
- Hagen, A. M. (2022). Learning (better) from stories: Wargames, narratives, and rhetoric in military education. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 5(1), 282–296. 10.31374/sjms.120
- Haggman, A. (2019). Wargaming in cyber security education and awareness training. International Journal of Information Security and Cybercrime, 8(1), 35–38. 10.19107/IJISC.2019.01.04
- Hallinger, P., & Wang, R. (2020). The evolution of simulation-based learning across the disciplines, 1965–2018: A science map of the literature. Simulation & Gaming, 51(1), 9–32. 10.1177/1046878119888246
- Harris, B. N., & Freeman, S. (2023). Crossing a virtual divide: Wargaming as a remote teaching tool. PS, Political Science & Politics, 56(3), 431–437. 10.1017/S1049096523000045
- Hays, R. T. (2005).
The effectiveness of instructional games: A literature review and discussion . Technical Report 2005–004. Naval Air Warfare Center. 10.21236/ADA441935 - Hirst, A. (2022). States of play: Evaluating the renaissance in US military wargaming. Critical Military Studies, 8(1), 1–21. 10.1080/23337486.2019.1707497
- Hirst, A. (2024). The politics of play: Wargaming with the U.S. military. Oxford University Press. 10.1093/oso/9780197629192.001.0001
- Hulterström, P. (2024). From play to power: A philosophical inquiry into how educational wargaming can help cultivate battlefield acumen (Vol. 2024). Åbo Akademi University Press.
- Kebritchi, M., & Hirumi, A. (2008). Examining the pedagogical foundations of modern educational computer games. Computers & Education, 51(4), 1729–1743. 10.1016/j.compedu.2008.05.004
- Kirschner, P. A., Hendrick, C., & Heal, J. (2025). Instructional Illusions. Hachette UK.
- Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006). Why minimal guidance during instruction does not work. Educational Psychologist, 41(2), 75–86. 10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1
- Knight, C. (2019). Instrumental red teaming of “terrorism”: Attack-concept gaming to develop comprehension, anticipation and resilience. Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, 5(2), 83–94. 10.1108/JCRPP-01-2019-0006
- Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.
- Kuehn, K. (2021). Assessment strategies for educational wargames. Journal of Advanced Military Studies, 12(2), 139–153. 10.21140/mcuj.20211202005
- Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9780511815355
- Linderoth, J. (2010). Why gamers don’t learn more: An ecological approach to games as learning environments. Proceedings of Nordic DiGRA 2010 Conference: Experiencing Games: Games, Play, and Players. 10.26503/dl.v2010i1.510
- Lymer, G., & Sjöblom, B. (2024). Interaction in post-simulation debriefing. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 48, Article
100855 . 10.1016/j.lcsi.2024.100855 - Martinson, R. D. (2024). The rise of wargaming competitions in the Chinese navy. The RUSI Journal, 169(3), 16–27.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03071847.2024.2380423 - Mattlin, M. (2021). Anarchy is what students make of it: Playing out Wendt’s three cultures of anarchy. Journal of Political Science Education, 17(sup1), 226–236. 10.1080/15512169.2020.1861457
- Michael, D., & Chen, S. (2006). Serious games: Games that educate, train, and inform. Thomson Course Technology.
- Minai, K. (2020). Encouragement of learning through war video games as an intelligible textbook on international humanitarian law. Cornell International Law Journal, 52(4), 643–673.
- Perla, P. P. (1990). The art of wargaming: A guide for professionals and hobbyists. Naval Institute Press.
- Perla, P. P., & McGrady, E. (2011). Why wargaming works. Naval War College Review, 64(3), 111–130.
- Proctor, M. D., & Woodman, M. D. (2007). Training “shoot house” tactics using a game. The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation: Applications, Methodology, Technology, 4(1), 55–63. 10.1177/875647930700400105
- Reynaud, D., & Northcote, M. (2015). The World Wars through tabletop wargaming: An innovative approach to university history teaching. Arts and Humanities in Higher Education, 14(4), 349–367. 10.1177/1474022214556899
- Roennfeldt, C. F., Helgesen, D. E., & Reutz, B. A. H. (2022). Developing strategic mindsets with matrix games. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies, 5(1), 257–268. 10.31374/sjms.132
- Rosen, A. M., & Kerr, L. (2024). Wargaming for learning: How educational gaming supports student learning and perspectives. Journal of Political Science Education, 20(2), 318–335. 10.1080/15512169.2024.2304769
- Sabin, P. (2012). Simulating war: Studying conflict through simulation games. Bloomsbury Academic.
- Sabin, P. (2015).
Wargaming in higher education: Contributions and challenges . Arts and Humanities in Higher Education: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 14(4), 329–348. ERIC. 10.1177/1474022215577216 - Säljö, R. (2009). Learning, theories of learning, and units of analysis in research. Educational Psychologist, 44(3), 202–208. 10.1080/00461520903029030
- Shebilske, W., Gildea, K., Freeman, J., & Levchuk, G. (2009). Optimising instructional strategies: A benchmarked experiential system for training. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 10(3), 267–278. 10.1080/14639220802151344
- Sitzmann, T. (2011). A meta-analytic examination of the instructional effectiveness of computer-based simulation games. Personnel Psychology, 64(2), 489–528. 10.1111/j.1744-6570.2011.01190.x
- Sjöblom, B., & Lymer, G. (2025). Conceptual socialization in debriefing: Tactics as an object of knowledge in wargame interactions. Instructional Science, 53, 1781–1808. 10.1007/s11251-025-09717-8
- Smith, J., Ringrose, T., & Barker, S. (2024). An experimental intervention to investigate user perceptions of computer versus manual board wargame. The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation, 21(2), 171–179. 10.1177/15485129221141711
- Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. 10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
- Tynjälä, P. (2013). Toward a 3P model of workplace learning: A literature review. Vocations and Learning, 6(1), 11–36. 10.1007/s12186-012-9091-z
- Van Creveld, M. (2013). Wargames: From gladiators to gigabytes. Cambridge University Press. 10.1017/CBO9781139579872
- Vandercruysse, S., Vandewaetere, M., & Clarebout, G. (2012).
Game-based learning: A review on the effectiveness of educational games . In M. M. Cruz-Cunha (Ed.), Handbook of research on serious games as educational, business and research tools (pp. 628–647). IGI Global. 10.4018/978-1-4666-0149-9.ch032 - Vlachopoulos, D., & Makri, A. (2017). The effect of games and simulations on higher education: a systematic literature review. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 14(1),
22 . 10.1186/s41239-017-0062-1 - Vogel-Walcutt, J. J., Del Giudice, K., Fiorella, L., & Nicholson, D. (2013). Using a video game as an advance organizer: Effects on development of procedural and conceptual knowledge, cognitive load, and casual adoption. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 9(3), 376–392.
- Walsh, K., Lydon, S., Byrne, D., Madden, C., Fox, S., & O’Connor, P. (2018). The 100 most cited articles on healthcare simulation: A bibliometric review. Simulation in Healthcare, 13(3), 211–220. 10.1097/sih.0000000000000293
- Whitney, S. J., Temby, P., & Stephens, A. (2014). A review of the effectiveness of game-based training for dismounted soldiers. The Journal of Defense Modeling and Simulation, 11(4), 319–328. 10.1177/1548512912472773
- Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical investigations (G. E. M. Anscombe, Trans.). Blackwell.
- Zyda, M. (2005). From visual simulation to virtual reality to games. Computer, 38(9), 25–32. 10.1109/MC.2005.297
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.451 | Journal eISSN: 2596-3856
Language: English
Page range: 240 - 260
Submitted on: Jun 27, 2025
Accepted on: Mar 17, 2026
Published on: Apr 21, 2026
Published by: Scandinavian Military Studies
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 1 issue per year
Keywords:
© 2026 Ulrika Bennerstedt, Björn Sjöblom, published by Scandinavian Military Studies
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.