The world is full of challenges that require strategic capability thinking: cybersecurity, hybrid warfare, climate security, water security and much more. To prepare for these challenges, HCSS has developed a strategic capability game as a gamified analysis tool with the aim to increase your awareness and decision support on relevant capabilities in a scenario settings. As of 2021, HCSS has also introduced a methodology for wargaming purposes.
Strategic Capability games are gamified analysis tools
Our games facilitate:
- Strategic discussions on what local organisations or national governments as well as international institutions are and/or are not capable of;
- Makes it possible to assess existing capabilities, identify capabilities that are lacking and supports the transfer of knowledge on capability building as well as network development;
- Helps identify promising new capabilities, exercises using serious gaming methodology help raise awareness and understanding of issues at stake;
- This facilitates synchronized planning as well responsibility distribution.
Uses of HCSS strategic capability games
Our games can be used for training purposes, strategizing, strategic decision making and planning against a specific security threat like hybrid or cyber threats. These games are available for table top exercises as well as fully online versions. They can be tailored made available exclusively if required. Depending on the purpose of the game and the audience that is playing, the game can be used at different levels, multinational, national and organizational.
Examples of the use of these games include:
- Cybersecurity
- Hybrid Warfare
- Stratcom
- Water Security
- Climate Security
- Hybrid Deterrence
Our approach and methods
Based on the in-depth discussions and our experience in the creation and execution of serious games we have designed a proven method. We developed a specific analytical framework for the game that is used as a baseline for the gameplay.
The purpose of the analytical frameworks is to provide an instrument to:
- See the challenge from a whole system perspective
- Structure your thoughts
- Help discuss differences of ideas and suggestions
- Oversee results
- Spot gaps
Some of our clients and what the game was used for…
- Cyber Capability Requirements Analysis, NL MoD, 2015.
- Cyber as a Domain strategic capability analyses and game, NATO NCIA, 2016.
- Future Force Capability Game for the European Defence Agency (EDA), 2017.
- Hybrid Warfare Strategic Capability Game for the Austrian MOD, 2017.
- Strategic Capability games for the Dutch Military Police, 2017.
- Climate Security analysis for NL Senators and Politicians of the Second Chamber, Nov 2018.
- Climate Security analysis during the Planetary Security Conference, global international audience, The Hague The Netherlands, Feb 19 & 20, 2019.
- Climate Security analysis training during the NATO Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence course on Climate Security, Bulgaria, April 2019.
- Hybrid Deterrence Game (Online), European CoE Countering Hybrid Threats, Finland, May 2021.
- Water Energy Food game (4x, Online), Dubai Expo, September 2021.
- Climate Security Game, Warsaw Security Forum, October 2021.
- Hybrid Deterrence Game, European CoE Countering Hybrid Threats, Lithuania, January 2022.
- Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence course on Climate Security, Bulgaria, April 2022.
- Hybrid Deterrence Game, European CoE Countering Hybrid Threats, UK, November 2022.
- Hydrogen Accelerator, NL Value Chain Partners, VNO-NCW, October 2022.
- Climate Security, Industry for Defense Online Game, November 2022.
- Hybrid Deterrence Game, European CoE Countering Hybrid Threats, UK, January 2022.
- Hybrid Deterrence Game, Joint Expeditionary Force Exercise, UK, March 2023.
- Water Security Game, UN Water Summit, NYC, March 2023.
- Online Climate Security Game, in preparation of COP28, November 2023.
- International Behavioral Influencing Game during NATO Exercise Common Effort (3x), November 2023.
- Climate Security Game, during COP28, Dubai, December 2023.
- Climate Security Game, Swedish Defense University, January 2024.
Multimedia
Image Gallery
Video
This video provides the instructions on how to play the online version of the game.
This video provides the instructions on how to play the tabletop version of the game.
