What good are games? This full-day workshop introduces participants to some uses of gaming in current approaches to international, national, and human security challenges. "Serious games" range from tabletop exercises to multiday immersive role-playing simulations; players may be military officers or activist leaders as well as teachers and students in many parts of our own university. We'll talk about the value (and possible limitations) of games for strategic thinking, professional socialization, research and critique, teambuilding, and more.
Mershon faculty and grad students will be joined by guests Filip Ejdus, director of the Serious Games Lab at the University of Belgrade, and Cameron Hunter of the Ritual Deterrence Project at the University of Copenhagen. The workshop is an extension of the Scenario Writing Seminar currently being taught in preparation for Mershon's biennial National Security Simulation--coming up again in October 2025!
