This Conflicts of Interest Online post, and this free-to-download postcard game Call Sign (click the PDF at the bottom of the post), come from Sebastian J. Bae. Bae designs games at the Center for Naval Analyses, teaches game design at Georgetown University, and left the US Marine Corps as a Sergeant. Also check out his Conflicts of Interest Online designer diary for Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific.

Disclaimer: Call Sign is NOT a US government product and NOT owned or funded by the U.S. Marine Corps or any other government entity. This design is the intellectual property of its designer. This work represents the views of the designer alone and does not reflect or represent the opinions of the U.S. government, US Marine Corps, the CNA/Center for Naval Analyses, or any other affiliated organizations.

Designer notes on Call Sign:

By Sebastian J. Bae, CNA Research Scientist, [email protected],

Call Sign is a simple micro-wargame where players must marshal varying aerial platforms–leveraging each of their strengths–to destroy the opposing carrier. This encourages players to balance the inherent tradeoffs and capabilities of different aerial platforms.

However, as a micro-game, Call Sign significantly simplifies complex, multi-role platforms and the intricacies of air combat for ease of play and accessibility. The underlying goal of this game is to help familiarize players to both the utility and limitations of wargames.

Wargames excel in highlighting the dynamic interaction between opposing minds, each adapting to one another’s actions. Moreover, wargames help players inspect and explore the logic of their own actions and the reactions of their opponent. And like most wargames, the result is less important than the process of acting, reacting, and adapting. Wargames do not predict the future, but help players understand why a particular outcome happened.

The CNA Gaming & Integration Program designs bespoke analytical and educational games on a variety of topics–such as operational warfighting, cyber & space, global security, future technologies, and more. We tailor the wargame design, data collection process, and analysis to meet each sponsor’s unique needs.

If you are interested in learning more about CNA wargaming, you can reach out to the following:

Christopher Ma, Research Program Director, Gaming & Integration Program, [email protected]
Jeremy Sepinsky, Lead Wargame Designer, Gaming & Integration Program, [email protected]

You can download Call Sign here.