Course features

Wargaming is enjoying a modern resurgence. Once central to military planning during the interwar years, it has re-emerged as a vital method for understanding the strategic challenges of the 21st century — including cyber threats, climate crises, and geopolitical rivalry.

In this self-paced course, students will investigate how wargaming can be used as a powerful tool for strategic analysis. Led by David Banks, Academic Director of the King’s Wargaming Network, the course combines theory with practical insight, examining:

• The strategic logic of victory and how it influences decision-making
• The historical development of wargaming and its professional applications
• The concept of contingent choice in uncertain environments
• The core types and methods of wargame design
• How wargaming is deployed across government, academia, and the private sector

By the end of the course, you’ll understand when and how wargaming can inform complex strategic questions, and how to apply it within your organisation or research.

Course format

This course is delivered through the edX learning platform and is designed to be completed in approximately 5 hours. 

This course is also available as part of the Professional Certificate in Grand Strategy.

What you'll learn

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Understand the foundational concepts of strategy and how they inform definitions of victory in conflict and competition
• Explore how strategic choices are shaped by contingent decisions and the behaviour of other actors under uncertainty
• Examine the historical development of wargaming and its evolution as a strategic and professional practice
• Identify the methodological building blocks of wargaming, including scenario design, player interaction, and adjudication
• Differentiate between major types of wargames and their strategic applications
• Evaluate how wargaming is used to test assumptions, forecast outcomes, and support decision-making in complex scenarios
• Assess the educational and organisational value of wargaming for preparing individuals and institutions to navigate real-world strategic challenges

Entry Requirements

Further information

King’s College London has partnered with the online education platform edX to deliver self-paced short courses to learners worldwide. Anyone can audit the course materials for free, excluding graded assessments, for a limited time.

For full access to the course, including graded assessments, and to obtain a verified certificate upon successful completion, the USD fee is $249.

The GBP course fee displayed on this page is for illustrative purposes only and subject to change in line with current exchange rates.

Payment for verified access to the course is made directly via edX. Please see edX Terms of Service for further information.