Talks from the Hoover Institution Wargaming The Pacific: Lessons From The Naval War College's Interwar Games
Mar 26, 2026
John Scott, Naval War College faculty and wargaming educator, and Norman Friedman, naval historian and strategist, discuss interwar Naval War College games and their influence on Pacific planning. They cover game design and adjudication, how games trained decision-making, technology assumptions and AI risks, iteration versus public persuasion, and lessons for professional military education and procurement.
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Wargaming Became The Navy's Planning Laboratory
- Wargaming evolved from pedagogy into operational research at Newport, becoming a method of planning and campaign experimentation.
- Officers used games to test how modern weapons and decisions would play out before committing to procurement or doctrine.
Games Taught Practical Limits Of Emerging Technologies
- Games captured emerging tech like aircraft and trained officers how to use them, shaping carrier doctrine and ship design.
- Mistakes came from poor intelligence on enemy technical details (e.g., torpedoes, armor) rather than from gaming method itself.
Future WWII Admirals Learned Their Trade At Newport
- Many interwar players later led WWII fleets: Nimitz, King, Spruance, Halsey, Richmond Kelly Turner.
- Their Newport gaming experience trained them in independent decision-making and order writing used in combat.
