Connections UK 2022
Dates: Connections 2022 was held over 2 events, Part One was live, and held at DSET Conference on 08 June 2022 in Bristol.
Part Two was virtual, and was held on 06 and 07 September 2022. Details are below.
Wargame Details
RCAT Falklands (Joint & Logistics): A 40th anniversary simulation of the crucial landings at, and breakout from, San Carlos. The game will be played 'campaign style', with each group of players inheriting the situation left by the previous group. Air, maritime, land and logistics will feature in gameplay. Facilitated by Graham Longley-Brown and Jeremy Smith.
Pingers! (Anti-Submarine Warfare): An Anti-Submarine Warfare game used to train the tactical use of helicopters and the factors affecting an area search. Facilitated by Ed Oates.
Air Strike! (Tactical Air Operations): An educational game about decisions involved with putting together an air strike package to prosecute a ground target. Facilitated by Tom Mouat.
Strike! - Kestrel's Hover (Land): A section/platoon level game of a British air assault to capture on airfield in Africa. Facilitated by Mike Young.
The Lamps are Going Out (Land): Professional Military Education (PME) through active learning. Participants will have the opportunity to develop their understanding of the Strategic Level of War through use of a COTS Wargame. Facilitated by Ranald Shepherd.
Space Control (Space): This game is a primer on the strategic aspects of orbital space control. Players make choices about the deployment of resources and capabilities with the overarching aim of achieving space superiority and at the same time supporting ongoing operations on the ground. Activities are expressed in terms of deploying Capabilities rather than specific platforms or technologies. The primary purpose of the game is to expose thinking at the strategic level, in particular trade-off, areas of shortage in capability and the challenge of balancing competing priorities. Facilitated by Jim Wallman and Colin Marston.
Decisions and Disruptions (Cyber): Decisions & Disruptions is a tabletop exercise which challenges teams to help a fictional hydro-electric company improve their cyber security. Teams are presented with a physical representation of the organisation in Lego and asked to help invest in new technology, upgrades and audits to help defend the company. The company suffers attacks as a result of these choices. Facilitated by Dr Ben Shreeve.
The Long Village (Information Operations): The game is about the interplay of internal relationships within a community as well as the attempts by an external force (in this case the United Nations) to influence the villagers and discourage insurgent activity and reduce support within the village for the insurgents. This is part of ongoing experimentation on applying multiple players and perspectives to influence wargaming. The basic game structure is designed to be transferable to other village-like communities with replacement action card decks to reflect the specifics of the regional culture and demographics under consideration. Facilitated by John Mizon and Nick Drage.
Integrity: Conflict, Sensitivity and Corruption (Information Operations): Integrity was originally developed within Outreach Group, 77 Brigade as a training aid, working with Transparency International on an anti-corruption toolkit. The game considers core themes of Human Security, CIMIC and Security Capacity Building in the context of operational deployments. Players prepare for a six-month deployment, then deliver activity with limiting factors, balancing force reputation and regional stability. Facilitated by Paul Howarth.
Combat Mission PE (Land): Combat Mission is a realistic tactical constructive simulation where the missions can be played in either Real-Time or our We-Go hybrid turn based mode. The simulation includes a Tactical AI (TacAI) model that simulates the psychological state and inherent qualities of every soldier on the battlefield and allows for genuine battlefield behaviour. Facilitated by Andrew Elliott and Tom Halliday.
Command PE (Joint/Air): A demonstration of the UK Fight Club Campaign of Learning using Command: Professional Edition (PE), a cross-domain modern wargaming simulation. It enables you to simulate nearly all military engagement from post-World War II to the present day and beyond. The scale is primarily tactical/operational, although strategic scale operations are also possible. Facilitated by Paul Bride and Josh Fan.
Ukraine Operational Wargaming System (Joint, Space and Cyber): The Operational Wargame System (OWS) was designed by the US Marine Corps. Initially, it was created for educational purposes but it has taken off as a wargaming system to integrate at multiple operational commands in the US and now, NATO. The 'Ukraine on the Steppes' module was play tested prior to February 24th and illuminated many ways the war would unfold. This module will be on display with OWS tutorial walk-throughs on a smaller map to demonstrate gaming mechanics. Facilitated by Julian Apps and Pace Dean.
Take That Hill! (Land): Take that Hill uses a simple hex and counter, phased turn system and six-sided dice to replicate low-level infantry tactics. It is suitable for both head-to-head or solitaire play. Advanced rules add tactical depth and new mechanics covering direct and indirect fire support, obscuration, depth positions, mines and low-wire entanglements. Facilitated by Ed Farren.
Virtual Connections 2022 - Tuesday and Wednesday 06/07 September 2022
While it was great that Part One of Connections UK was face to face, remote conferencing enables worldwide participation. With that in mind we held a two-day remote conference, with the programme below.
Programme:
Day 1 - Tuesday 6 September 2022
Day 2 - Wednesday 7 September 2022
- 1000hrs to 1015hrs. Introduction and Welcome to Day 2.
- 1015hrs to 1300hrs. Games Fair: A number of different games, delivered remotely, covering a wide range of Military Domains.
- 1330hrs to 1530hrs. Practitioner Sessions: parallel streams with on tops tips and lessons learned from seasoned experts.
- 1545hrs to 1715hrs. Wargaming in Education: How can wargames be used for education?
- Rex Brynen (Chair) with Seb Bae, David Banks, Jonathan Turner and Hugh O'Donnell.
- 1730hrs to 1815hrs. Keynote Speech from Dr Rob Johnson, Director of the Secretary of State for Defence’s Office of Net Assessment and Challenge (SONAC). Presentation. Audio.
Privacy/Security: As part of the Connections UK conference proceedings, screenshots of the virtual or photos of the live event may be put on the www.professionalwargaming.co.uk website. The assumption is that the minimal amount of data you choose to display on-line in the conference context, does not amount to the definition of "personal data" under GDPR. If you do not wish to have your photo used in this way, you MUST ensure you keep your camera off, or tell the photographer, and change your display name appropriately.
Naming. Please ensure your Username is appropriate for a professional context, so "Phil Sabin" or "Amanda D" are fine, but "OrkBossKillah" is probably not. You are also encouraged to add personal pronouns - this is totally voluntary but helps signal that you are committed to diversity and inclusion.
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Guidelines: The aim and purpose of Connections UK is to help bring together two main audiences: People that have something to say about wargaming in order to help build / generate / broaden the community; and People that want to use wargaming to help understanding in order to find out if it is appropriate for their needs. You are therefore asked to note:
- Wargaming is mainstream. To this end, we don't need to waste any time on justifying our existence or apologising for ourselves. All the delegates attending a "professional wargaming conference" will know what they are getting themselves into (and if they aren't, they should be). Let's just assume that they are and you can spend more time concentrating on your area of expertise.
- Timings are tight. Please don't overrun as it simply messes up the programme for everyone else.
- Do not advertise. It would be remiss to not mention that the cardinal sin for a presenter is to give a thinly veiled advertising slot for your sponsor's products or services. The delegates want to be informed and educated about Wargaming ways, means and methods - you are the expert so please concentrate on these. If any delegate wants more commercial information, they can contact you afterwards. Please include your sponsor's details in a slide at the beginning or the end, but no organisation diagrams or other company details that have nothing to do with the topic.
- Making Changes. We understand that you are likely to have to make changes to your presentation. This is completely acceptable, and new versions can be sent at any time up to and including the event date.
- Conference Proceedings. We will try to have an audio recording and a PDF copy of your presentation (but not questions) placed on the Connections UK website following the conference, except in the case of Senior Government Officials. You have been invited on the basis that this is acceptable - the clue is in the title "Connections" - we are trying to share information and best practice with each other.
- Presentation File Formats. Please provide your presentation in PowerPoint or PDF format, but ODF is acceptable.
If you have any questions, please contact the organisers here.
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